Name
Secrets hidden in a cave
Topic
Teaching Outside the Classroom
Learning time
4 hours
Designed time
3 hours and 35 minutes
Size of class
15
Description
Kindergarten students get to know the cave of their area through activities within the school classroom and experiential activities in the field (cave)
Mode of delivery
Location-based
Aims
Students to get in touch with the world of caves. To discover their sensitive ecosystem. To learn how they are formed. To understand their importance as natural monuments. To develop feelings of respect and protection towards them.
Outcomes
Find out/discover, Classify, Find, Infer, List component parts of, Compare (and contrast), Conclude, Generalise, Evaluate, Show awareness of, Make
Editor
mariaioannidou
Edit
Before the visit in the cave - In the classroom - Work in plenary
35 minutes)
  • Discuss
    10
    15
    0
    "What is a cave?" (Initial concept map) We ask the above question and record the views and thoughts of the children on a concept map.
  • Read Watch Listen
    15
    15
    0
    "Lycurgus and the magic cave" We read the fairy tale "Lycurgus and the magic cave", author Maria Magoula. We provoke a discussion and the children say what impressed them from the fairy tale.
  • Investigate
    10
    15
    0
    We decide to do some research on the internet to see if there is a cave near to us to visit. We discover the cave of our area which is near to our school.
Notes:
Resources linked: 0
Preparation for the visit - In the classroom - Teamwork
60 minutes)
  • Collaborate
    15
    5
    0
    1st team: search on the internet to find photos from the cave we will visit and saves them on the computer.
  • Produce
    15
    5
    0
    2nd team: paints the basic characteristics of a cave (darkness, bats, stalactites-stalagmites, moisture-water, fossils) and writes in each of the paintings the corresponding terminology.
  • Practice
    15
    5
    0
    3rd team: suggests some rules that we must follow during our visit to the cave, what to wear, what to take with us. For example: - I walk slowly and carefully - I do not touch the stalactites - I speak in a low voice, etc. - We wear sneakers - We have a camera (without flash) The rules are recorded and / or painted
  • Read Watch Listen
    15
    15
    0
    All teams present their work in plenary.
Notes:
The kindergarten teacher participates successively in all the groups, helps, inspires and coordinates. She/he stimulates the enthusiasm and effort of the children.
Resources linked: 0
During the visit - At the cave area - Every team takes on a responsibility
65 minutes)
  • Collaborate
    15
    15
    0
    On the day of the visit to the cave, the names of the groups and their responsibilities are determined: 1) The team of speleologists, 2) The team of paleontologists, 3) The team of map designers. Based on the responsibilities, each team write down some questions to ask the guide of the cave.
  • Investigate
    30
    5
    0
    During the visit, each team asks the questions to the guide. It also takes relevant photos (without flash).
  • Produce
    20
    1
    0
    When the visit is over, the children in the yard of the cave are resting. Each child completes a worksheet related to its group. For example: Speleologists paint a stalactite formation that impressed them. Paleontologists paint or associate fossils with the animals to which they belong. The map designers trace the route we followed inside the cave, on the map of the cave.
Notes:
The time during the visit may be longer.
Resources linked: 0
After the visit - Back in the classroom - Work in plenary & team work
55 minutes)
  • Discuss
    15
    15
    0
    "What is a cave?" (Final concept map) We ask the above question again and record the transformed views and thoughts of the children on a concept map. On the same map we draw / write our feelings from the visit. We compare the two maps, the initial and the final.
  • Produce
    20
    5
    0
    We choose a cave hero (a bat? a prehistoric hyena? a stalactite?) We create a fairy tale of our own with the choosen hero. Students are separated to teams. One team undertakes to illustrate, the second team to narrate and the third team to create the cover of the story.
  • Collaborate
    20
    15
    0
    We create a poster or a brochure about the caves, the dangers that threaten them and the ways to protect them. We distribute our product in the local and wider community with the help of digital media.
Notes:
The above activities may be completed in two or three days and this is because for kindergarten's students the maximum time of an activity should not exceed 20 minutes.
Resources linked: 0

Learning Experience

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