5 + 5 Activity Resource (No. 20) – 5 Independent & 5 Cooperative Learning Activities to Try

 

August is upon us and our 20th 5+5 Activity Guide is here! Hope you are all doing well. As ever, I have lots of brilliant suggestions to keep your children busy, having fun, and learning this week.

 

In the UK, Playday, the national day for play in the UK, will be celebrated on Wednesday 5 August. As ever, my philosophy is to jump aboard any ideas that sound like fun! Can you and your children slot in some playtime on Wednesday?

Here are some other teaching and learning activities you may wish to try this week.

 

Cooperative

Non-Screen Activities

• Pobble have put together 100 non-screen activities to do at home. Access them via this Medium article.

• Also, don’t forget the National Trust 50 Things to do Before You’re 11¾ list which I shared previously.

• Our EPIC Indoor Activities and Games List! Beat Boredom and Boost Learning! and We Like to Move it, Move it! posts have lots more activity ideas to try.

 

Further Family Fun

• BBC Bitesize: Select from any of the 6 challenges here for an injection of family fun this week. There are lots of other links to lessons and activity ideas on BBC Bitesize if there is nothing here that takes your fancy. If your child has struggled with a particular subject/topic recently, it is worth checking whether there are support materials available here which will be of benefit to him/her.

• Alternatively, why not try some of the activities from this set of Family Lockdown Lessons by Johnny Kirkwood?

 

English Comprehension

• As teachers, we urge children to read as much as possible during the summer holidays. Reading for pleasure and inculcating a culture of reading in your home is one of the greatest gifts you can give your children. These Reading Rockets tasks have been written with building a reading and writing culture at home in mind.

•  If your children are independent readers, it’s brilliant if you can read the same book as your child now and again such that you are able to discuss it together. A fabulous book is Wonder by R.J. Palacio. I highly recommend it. This Wonder Study Guide is available to download for free from Mr. A, Ar. C & Mr. D and may be helpful to you as you discuss the book together.

• Many authors create additional resources to accompany their books. I recommend checking if they have a website and seeing what additional materials you can find.

 

Science (Biography)

• Today marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of physicist John Tyndall. Despite there being Mount Tyndalls, Tyndall glaciers and Tyndall craters on the Moon and Mars, the man who explained why the sky is blue, and who is credited as the forgotten co-founder of climate science is relatively unknown. 

• Read the linked articles above to learn more about John Tyndall. Find out more here:

  • Irish Times: Celebrating the bicentenary of John Tyndall, one of Ireland’s most influential scientists

  • John Tyndall

  • BBC: Tyndall’s climate message, 150 years on

  • Why is the Sky Blue?

  • John Tyndall’s blue sky apparatus

• Although Tyndall is credited as being the first person to demonstrate the absorption of radiant heat by water vapour and carbon dioxide, the theory underpinning our current understanding of the greenhouse effect, climate change, weather and meteorology,  it is now clear that an American woman, Eunice Foote, made a similar discovery in 1856, three years before Tyndall. Find out more about their discoveries and the likelihood of him having been aware of her work in this scientific paper – Eunice Foote, John Tyndall and a question of priority. 

• These article’s examine Foote’s contributions to climate science and are more accessible.

  • Global Warming Was Long Overlooked. Her Story Is a Reminder to Champion All Women Leading on Climate

• • Eunice Foote: the mother of climate change

• Learn more about the Greenhouse Effect (Climate Kids – NASA)

 

Art

• Why not try one of Darrell Wakelam’s Art Goldmine projects? There are 10 make and do activity ideas to choose from here. 

 

Independent

Maths

• Rigour Maths have released their levelled August maths calendars. See the links and a couple of screenshots below. Even doing 1 sum a day is helpful, but you may also wish to explore some past daily questions or explore past editions of the Daily Rigour Numeracy Newspaper for more activities.

• With your younger children, try some of the suggested activities in my Dyscalculia post for fun ways to boost mathematical thinking and learning without your child realising!

• Rigour Maths Calendar Links:

  • Level 1 Maths

  • Level 2 Maths

  • Level 3 Maths

  • Level 4 Maths

  • Level 5 Maths

 

 

Online Games

• Why not allow your child to try some of the new games on PBS.org? They’ll most likely thing they’re playing, yet they’ll be learning at the same time.

 

STEM

• Join week 2 of the Summer of STEM space-themed activity week. Check out all the activities here.

 

P.E.

• Try these physical activity calendars for elementary and secondary students, available in both English and Spanish. 

 

 

Kindness & Well-being

• Action Happiness have released their August calendar with the theme #AltruisticAugust. Access it here and see how many acts of kindness you can carry out in the month ahead (being mindful kindness to ourselves is critical too).

 

 

There you have it. 10 ideas for the week ahead. I hope you find some of use to you and your family. 

 

Take care and stay safe all!