Extension activities

Instructions

1. With your class, brainstorm about the tasks and responsibilities of a detective. Ask them, “What do detectives (like Detective Jill) do?”
• Draw attention to answers that emphasize asking questions and finding information to solve problems.
2. Ask students to list the characteristics of good detectives (e.g. curiosity), some of the questions that detectives might ask, and the tools that detectives might use to investigate cases.
• Write down students’ ideas and keep it where they can see it.
3. Have students draw a picture of themselves as a detective investigating an exciting case. Ask them to explain the case they are investigating and help them write a summary on their drawing. Don’t forget to give them a speech bubble so they can write a question that they would need to ask in order to solve the case.
   Tip: To expand this activity, you can ask students to also think about the questions that someone in a different occupation might ask as part of their job, or what tools they might use. For example, a doctor might ask patients how they are feeling and use a stethoscope to listen to their heartbeat, a construction worker might ask what materials to use to build a house and use a hammer to put nails into a piece of wood, and a scientist might ask why certain birds behave the way they do and use a computer to keep track of their research.
4. Then ask your students if they know what a journalist does and how they are like a detective. Using the The new friend times worksheet, demonstrate how students can play the role of a journalist and interview a friend for your classroom newspaper.
• Assist students with recording their interviews and then compile all the interviews for a classroom newspaper.

Instructions

1. Remind students that detectives have to stay alert and keep a watchful eye on what’s going on. Out of students’ sight, place some items on a tray and cover them with a towel. Tell students that their mission is to memorize as many items on the tray as they can in 30 seconds.
2. Uncover the tray and place it where students can see it (you can also have small groups of students take turns coming to your desk to observe the items).
3. Students then have a minute to write down or draw as many items as they can remember.
4. Have students compare their lists; the student who remembers the most items wins!

You can extend the game by changing the criteria of the objects that students must remember. For example, you can ask students to remember only the items that are round or used for certain tasks. You can also remove items from the tray and ask students to identify only the items that have been removed.

Instructions

1. Read a detective book to students. Some great books about kid detectives include:
• Encyclopedia Brown – Donald J. Sobol
• Nate the Great – Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
• Spy Camp – Stuart Gibbs
• Junie B. Jones – Barbara Park and Denise Brunkus
• Bunnicula – Deborah Howe
• Harriet the Spy – Louise Fitzhugh
• A to Z Mysteries: Detective Camp – Ron Roy
2. After the story, ask students how they know when a story is a detective story (e.g. there is a detective character, something unexpected or strange happens, characters have to solve a mystery, other characters may be suspects, etc.). Remind students to use examples from the book to back up their points.
3. Make a list of students’ ideas and display it for them to see.
4. Have students write and illustrate their own detective stories. They should make sure that their own stories follow the same patterns that they identified in the detective story you read.
• Optional: Have students create their stories in pairs or in groups.

Instructions

1. Ask students for examples of situations when someone might need to send secret messages to someone else. You can describe some ways in which secret messages have been sent in the past (embedded in quilts or attached to carrier pigeons, for example). Explain that sometimes a detective might need to send a top-secret coded message to his or her partner.
2. Have students decorate their paper towel tubes, then tape or glue paper strips together to form a single strip of paper long enough to wind around the tube. Secure the paper to the tube with paper clips or rubber bands, and ask students to write their secret message across the paper. You could ask them to write about their favorite book, what they want to be when they grow up, or any other topic.
3. When their messages have been written, students unwind the paper and exchange messages with a partner.
4. They then wrap their partner’s message around their paper towel tube to read the secret message.
   Tip: You can have older students devise more complicated codes using numbers to stand in for the letters. Have students create a key listing the letters of the alphabet with their corresponding numbers, then they can create a series of simple addition or subtraction problems for their partner to solve in order to figure out the number and corresponding letter. For example, if D=1;O=2; G=3 then 3-2; 1+1; 5-2 = DOG.
5. The tube and paper decoder is a low-tech way of sending secret messages. Ask students to think of more modern ways that someone might send a secret message. Use this opportunity to explain how jobs and skills can evolve over time due to changes in technology.

Instructions

1. With your class, brainstorm different information that students can include in their collages by asking questions such as:
• What activities do you do in your free time?
• What games or sports do you like to play?
• What music do you like?
• What’s your favorite food?
• What do you like to learn about at school?
• What are you really good at?
• Who are your friends?
• Do you have any pets?
• What do you want to be when you grow up?
• Do you have any brothers or sisters?
2. Once students have reflected on their interests, strengths, experiences, and relationships, there are endless ways to approach creating a collage. You could have students lie down on a sheet of brown craft paper while a partner traces them (with your help) and helps them cut out their silhouette, or you can ask students to draw a picture of themselves and write their name in the center of a piece of poster board.
3. When the paper has been prepared, students can draw or cut out pictures that represent their interests, strengths, feelings, traits, relationships, and experiences and glue them to the paper. Make sure students don’t leave large blank spaces between their images.
4. After the collages are complete, each student can explain his or her collage to the rest of the class. Ask students to point out examples of similarities and differences in their collages. Explain that it’s important to respect people’s differences—it’s what makes them unique—and ask for examples of how to be respectful.

Instructions

1. Bring in a paper bag of 4 small items that are meaningful to you and explain each item to the class as you draw them out of the bag. Tell the class that they are going to decorate and fill their own All About Me bags.
2. Pass out paper bags to students to decorate. They can decorate the bags to look like themselves or to reflect their interests.
3. Print off the "About Me" Bag Instructions and staple the instructions to each student’s bag so parents and guardians can help their child with the activity.
4. Each student then takes their bag home and fills it with 4 things that represent something about themselves, such as an award or badge, a souvenir from a family vacation, a favorite book, a special, photo, or anything else meaningful.
5. Each student presents their bag to the class or in to other students in small groups, explaining in one or two sentences why each item is important to them. Encourage other students to ask questions about the items and their meaning.

Instructions

Creating a family tree is a great way for students to reflect on who they are! Explain to students what a family tree is—you can show them your own tree as an example. Tell them that information about family members is often passed on to each generation through oral histories or stories. In this activity, students will create their own family trees and engage in the oral history tradition by passing along a story about a member of their family tree.

1. Print off copies of the Family Tree and Leaf Worksheet for your students. Students will get assistance from their family members for this activity.
   Tip: You may want to send a brief note home with students explaining the purpose of this activity and how parents and guardians can help.
2. On each leaf, students write the name of one family member, date of birth, where they were born, and their relationship to the student (i.e. father, mother, aunt, grandfather, etc.). They can then glue the leaves to the tree to form a family tree.
3. Students should ask parents or family members to tell a brief, interesting story about one of the people in their family tree. The story can be about something funny the person did, a job he or she had, an amazing achievement, or any other interesting detail. To help them remember, students should copy the story to a piece of paper (one paragraph) and attach it to their tree.
4. Students can present their family trees and stories in class or in small groups.

Instructions

This is a good activity to do at the beginning of the year and revisit at the end of the year to see how much students’ interests and references have changed. Students can also review their letters and videos from year to year to track how they have grown and changed.

1. Tell students that they’re going to be writing/recording messages for their future selves! Ask them to imagine themselves in the future—it could be at the end of the school year, next year, or even when they’re grown-ups.
2. What would they like to say to their older selves? What would they want to remember about themselves now?
3. Have students fill out the "Dear Future Me" Worksheet and draw corresponding pictures. They should be creating a “snapshot” of the things that they like and that are important to them right now. The script is just a guide.
4. Encourage students to go “off script” to talk about other things that are important to them that their future selves might want to remember.
5. On recording day, ask students to dress as the occupation they identified in the worksheet and have them talk to their future selves about what their lives are like now and what they hope to be able to do in the future. If students are shy, they can use their scripts. Students can show the pictures they’ve drawn as they give their presentations to the camera.

Instructions

Classroom salad

1. Begin by telling students that a fruit salad is like a classroom: all of the different components work together to complement each other. There are many important things that students need - especially good friends and happy days at school.
2. Ask students to name an important quality that a responsible member of the class should have. For example, classmates should:
• Be kind
• Be generous
• Be polite
• Work hard
• Listen to others
• Try their best
3. Pick one of the fruits and explain that it represents one of those characteristics (kindness, for example) and pour some into the serving bowl. Ask students if they think a fruit salad only needs one kind of fruit. Explain that there are a lot of qualities that go into making a great classmate.
4. Continue composing the salad, using the fruit to represent the qualities that students suggest.
   Tip: You can incorporate math standards by asking students to count scoops or fruit slices that are included.
5. Bring out the rotten banana (or other piece of rotten fruit). Ask your class if they think you should add the rotten fruit to the salad. Ask them to explain what would happen to the salad if you added it. Explain that demonstrating rotten qualities, such as being mean or not sharing, can affect the whole class.
6. Portion out the salad to students. Encourage them to try fruit they’re not familiar with.
7. As you scoop out salad for each student, ask the other students to name some of the “good” qualities that the student you’re serving demonstrates in the classroom (e.g. the student cleans up after himself, the student shares her markers). This is a great way to teach young students how to be kind and compliment each other.
8. Offer a sprinkling of the sweet treats (marshmallows or chocolate chips, for instance) and explain that these are like the kind or encouraging words that students should use in class, such as “please,” “thank you,” “You can do it!” or “Good for you!”

Friendship book:

1. Hand out a piece of paper to each student. Explain that are going to create a Friendship Book that they can read throughout the year to remind them what great friends they have in their classroom, school, and community.
2. Have each student write “I’m a good friend because…” at the top of the sheet and finish the sentence with a word or words that describe how they’re a good friend. You can model the activity by creating your own example. Students can then draw an example of a time they demonstrated that quality in the class.
3. Ask all or a few students to share their drawings and examples.
4. When students are finished, compile the templates into a binder and remind students to read it throughout the year.

Instructions

1. Enlist the help of parents, classroom aides, or senior student to accompany small groups of 5-7 students around your neighborhood as they search for objects on the list. Students can collect items or photos on their hunt.
2. You can adapt the Our Community Scavenger Hunt Worksheet to meet the unique opportunities in your community or neighborhood and the interests of your classroom. Some examples of suitable items for your list include:
• Leaves from 4 different trees found in your town or city
• Crayon rubbings of six different building materials
• Something that shows the best thing about your town or city
• A sign or flyer for a community event
• A takeout menu from a restaurant
• Something from a place where people go to have fun
• Something that shows you have visited public transportation (e.g. transfer at a subway station, bus ticket, photo at a bus stop)
• A crayon rubbing of some decoration or a historic marker found on a building
• Something from local government office (e.g. a photo at city hall)
• Something from a neighborhood helper (e.g. a pen from a police officer, a photo with a firefighter, a brochure from a nurse from a health clinic, etc.)
• A count of some of the things in your town (e.g. the number of schools, restaurants, convenience stores, trees on the block, parks, etc.)
3. Discuss each group’s findings. Ask your students what they learned about their community and what else they’d like to know about where they live. Brainstorm ideas about how they can be helpers in their community.
4. Using a large sheet of paper, have students work together to create a mural of their community. They can paint a streetscape from the community and glue items or print-outs of pictures they collected as part of the scavenger hunt to the mural. Have students paint themselves in the mural, performing a task to help their community. For example:
• Working as a police officer, firefighter, or other community helper
• Picking up trash
• Helping people carry groceries

Instructions

1. Brainstorm possible class speakers or local field trip destinations with your class. Poll your class to understand their interests, and have students tally the results.
2. Send a the Parent/Guardian Class Speaker Letter home with students to help recruit class speakers.
   Tip: Networking among school staff to organize a Career Day, where students can choose which speakers to listen to, can create a fun and energizing school-wide activity.
3. If you choose a school trip, be sure to incorporate learning about career paths, occupations, and the business or organization’s impact on the community into the day’s activities.
4. After listening to a speaker or visiting a local workplace, ask students to draw a picture of themselves in a job they learned about. Have them identify key career information, such as where they’re working or tools they’re using. Ask them to think about what they like about the job and what they don’t like.
5. Don’t forget to have students write and send thank-you letters!

Purpose

In this activity, students participate in a class citizenship project. The purpose of these activities is to:

The purpose of this activity is to:

• Help students understand the importance of citizenship and community
• Encourage students to work as a team (with each other and/or members of the community)

In-app My files

There are four projects in this class citizenship activity:

• Project #1: Classroom elections
• Project #2: Community mural
• Project #3: Neighborhood clean up
• Project #4: Take your child to work day

Project #1: Classroom elections

Area of community learning: Civic education

Teamwork: Students work in teams to design and make “I voted” ribbons, create campaigns, draw posters, and write speeches.

Builds on

• Community Scavenger Hunt and Paper Mural - Grade 1 Activity
• Class Speaker/Field Trip - Grade 2 Activity

Artifacts

Set up

1. Hold classroom elections for classroom positions (e.g. president) or, to lessen the emphasis on personal competition, to vote for class party themes (e.g. space, pizza, etc. ).
2. After the vote, create graphs and charts to communicate the results.
3. Everyone gets an “I Voted” ribbon for voting in the classroom election.

Research

1. Visit your town’s municipal office to learn about local government and to speak to councillors or other public officials about elections.
2. Students can also research different government styles and historical elections on the computer.

Communication

Students create and ask questions for their field trip, deliver speeches, speak to classmates about important issues, and write journal entries or reflection paragraphs about what they have learned. They also learn election-related vocabulary.

Project #2: Community mural

Area of community learning: Place-based learning

Teamwork: Students work in teams (or as a class) to conduct research, develop the theme of the mural, and to paint it Students also work together with local business owners and other community members.

Builds on

• Classroom Salad and Friendship Book - Kindergarten Activity
• Community Scavenger Hunt and Paper Mural - Grade 1 Activity

Artifacts

Set up

1. With the support of local businesses, tell students that they’ve been hired to create murals all about their community!
2. In teams (depending on the number of participating businesses) or as a class, students develop themes for their murals and plan out what they want to depict.
3. Temporary murals can be painted with washable paint on business’ windows.

Research

1. Invite an artist to class to speak about his or her work.
2. Students can learn more about their community by exploring its features and researching its history online.
3. They should also survey business owners and community members to find out what makes their community and its citizens special.

Communication

Students speak and listen to business owners and community members, write proposals for mural themes, present proposals and murals to the business owners and the community, and write reflection paragraphs on what they have learned.

Project #3: Neighborhood clean up

Area of community learning: Environment-based learning

Teamwork: Students work together to plan the event (with teacher supervision and approval), and to create materials to write or advertise the event (e.g., press releases). Students also clean together.

Builds on: Community Scavenger Hunt and Paper Mural - Grade 1 Activity

Artifacts

Set up

Bring the Clean Up mini-game in Xello K-2 to life by organizing a park or neighborhood cleanup day!

1. Have students brainstorm ways to:
• recruit volunteers (e.g., speaking to the local newspaper)
• organize the cleanup (e.g.,dividing the park into manageable sectors)
• obtain the supplies they’ll need
• and raise money for future projects (e.g., bake sale or lemonade sale—garbage free, of course!).
2. Students can also create presentations, drawings, skills, or materials to help educate everyone on keeping the community clean.

Research

1. Students can use the computer to research the environmental impact that litter has on communities; they can also research what materials are recyclable in preparation for the cleanup.
2. Students can visit the park or neighborhood in order to plan the event.
3. They can survey their classmates, parents, and members of the community to see which park or area of their neighborhood needs the most attention.
4. You can invite representatives from the local parks department to speak to the class.

Communication

Students write “press releases” about the event, listen to and speak to community members about the event, read about the environmental impact of trash in our parks, speak to local businesses to gather donations such as garbage bags and gloves, and write reflection paragraphs on what they have learned.

Project #4: Take your child to work day

Area of community learning: Work-based learning

Teamwork: Students brainstorm possible questions together and create presentations in teams that illustrate the similarities and differences between classrooms and workplaces.

Builds on:

• Class Speaker/Field Trip - Grade 2 Activity
• Classroom Salad and Friendship Book - Kindergarten Activity

Artifacts

Set up

1. Have the class brainstorm some questions they have about people’s jobs. What do they want to know?
• How did you get your job?
• Do you have a boss?
• What do you wear to work?
• What kind of people do you work with?
• When do you eat lunch?
2. Encourage students to ask some of these question - and others - as they accompany their parent to work.
3. After students give their presentations about their day, have a class vote to see which occupation they’d like to learn more about.
4. Invite class speakers or arrange a follow-up field trip based on students’ interests.
5. You can then ask students to compare and contrast the workplace to their classroom and deliver a team presentation on their observations.

Research

1. Students can research occupations on the computer.
2. You can invite community members in an occupation that interests students to the class and arrange a class visit to a workplace where students can learn more about a job that interests them.

Communication

Students speak to workers about their jobs, listen to students’ reports on how they spent Take Your Child to Work Day, deliver reports, speak and listen to class speakers and field trip experts, and write reflection paragraphs on how the classroom is like a workplace.

Instructions

1. Print the Rhyme Time Worksheet for students to complete.
2. When students have finished the worksheets, you can have them brainstorm different occupations and related tools and equipment that they know. Explain any vocab words that might be unfamiliar to students.
3. Divide students into 5 or 6 groups. Select words from the list with the most rhyming potential, and give each group one or two of the words.
4. Ask students to draw pictures of as many things that rhyme with the words that they can. For example, if a group has “Vet” as an occupation, students in the group can draw pictures of a pet, a jet, a barrette, etc.
5. Have the groups show their pictures to the class and explain their rhyming word. Ask if anyone can think of other rhyming words that the group hasn’t drawn.

Instructions

1. Print copies of the Coco the Cow Worksheet for your students. Explain the terms on the worksheet—job, skill, work, money, interests—and read the story with students. Ask them to fill in the missing words.
2. As an extension activity, have students brainstorm some other occupations that Coco might have picked. Ask each student to draw a picture of Coco Cow in one of those occupations. What if she had decided to be a pilot or a plumber?
• What would it look like?
• What would she do on the job?
• What tools would she need to use?
• Does Coco have the skills or interests for those occupations?
• Would she be good at her job?
3. Compile students’ drawings into a class book and, as a class, create a story about the pictures. You can use the class book for story time, or distribute copies for students to take home and enjoy.

Instructions

1. Ask your students to think about some occupations that they would like to learn more about.
2. Have students write down the names of each occupation they think of on a sticky note. Put all the sticky notes on a wall and ask students to help you group them so the same occupations are together.
3. Once you’ve organized the notes, you can ask students some basic math questions about the results. For example, if there are 3 notes for vet and 5 notes for astronaut, how many more notes are there for astronaut?
4. Select the 4 or 5 top results and ask students to vote on which occupation they would like to learn more about. You can do this informally, keeping track of the results on the blackboard, or you can create a survey sheet that students can use to tally the results of the vote. Ask students to explain why they voted for the occupation or what interests them about the occupation.
5. Next, help students create a bar graph with the occupation names on the x axis and the number of students on the y axis. Students can then use the information from their survey to indicate how many people in the class voted for each occupation.
6. Once you’ve determined which occupation students are most interested in learning about, you can create a bulletin board display, identifying tasks, tools, and terminology related to the occupation. You can also arrange field trips (real-world or virtual), guest visits, and other in-class activities that support learning about the feature occupation.
7. Repeat the activity throughout the year to decide as a class which occupation you would like to learn about next. You can also opt to create your own bar graph after surveying students about which occupation they’d like to learn more about, and have students answer questions, compare data, and solve problems using the information presented in the graph.

Instructions

1. Print copies of the Career Interview Worksheet for students to take home.
2. Explain to students that a career interview is when you talk to someone to get information about his or her work. Ask students to think of a family member or trusted adult that they can interview.
   Tip: You may want to provide a brief note that students can give to their parents or the interviewee to explain the purpose of the career interview worksheet. You could also suggest that parents or guardians record their student’s interview so that it can be uploaded to the My Files app.
3. Model appropriate interview techniques for students. Students should read their questions clearly and carefully and listen to their subject’s responses. Remind students to say “Thank you for your time” when they have finished interviewing their subject.
4. As an extension activity, you can invite someone who works in your community to the class to speak about his or her job. In groups, have your students brainstorm questions they could ask the guest. Then, as a class, decide on several that you will pose to the guest. Have volunteers ask the questions the class has composed during the interview.