Ponds and English

Activities

1. Description

Thinking of ways to describe minibeasts (e.g. lumpy, bumpy, spiky, wriggly) may be a good build-up to children writing about pond creatures and discussing pond life.

2. What am I?

Each child is assigned to be a particular animal. The others must try to deduce his or her identity by asking questions, but the animal may only answer yes or no. In this way the key features of animal classification can be explored. In another variation, two teams face each other. Each team has been given an animal and has thought up several clues to its identity. These are written down in order of simplicity, with the most cryptic or general of clues first and the easiest clues last. The teams take turns at delivering clues. When one of the teams guesses the other animal correctly, the other team must say "correct" and then flee to the safety of its base with the other team in pursuit. The pursuing team is awarded points for the numbers of children caught in each round.

3. Writing

Ponds and their wide variety of wildlife can be used as an inspirational source for poetry, story writing and English comprehension. How about writing a story on what it is like to be a tadpole growing into a frog or living as a pond skater? This could be made more fun by making a plasticine model of the minibeast first and placing this on the desk. Poems can be made more fun by writing them on a paper lily leaf, frog or pond.

4. Pond diary

A pond diary can be kept if a pond is being created or restored, and can also be used to observe seasonal changes in the natural environment.

5. Story time

There are lots of good watery stories for your "Literacy Hour" and other times. Here are a few examples:

• "Big Books" - reference skills, rhyming etc.
• Tadpole and Frog - Stopwatch Science (published by A and C Black)
• Who Am I? - Moira Butterfield and Wayne Ford (published by Belitha Press)
• The Lorax - Dr Seuss
• Tadpoles - Collins Literacy Solutions
• Jo Readman stories - Eden Project - call (01726) 222900

You might also contact Kneehigh and other theatre companies for help. In North Cornwall, North Cornwall Arts will provide advice and assistance - contact Sue Richardson on (01566) 772117.

Pond Pack Introduction Why study ponds? Pond-dipping Safety for teachers Safety for kids Animal variety Moving and breathing Cycles of life Webs of life Plant life Maths English Geography History Art and design Make a pond Plant identification Animal identification Activity sheets Bug dial Where to go Acknowledgements EDUCATION NATURE SEARCH . . . . . . . . .