Activity 1
A-L All I want for...
Share the story of Toby's Doll's House and make a doll's house. All Toby wants for his birthday is a doll's house, with an upstairs and a downstairs. But Grandad, Auntie and Dad think a fort, farmyard and multi-storey carpark full of cars are much better ideas. Toby's birthday ends well when he creates the doll's house of his dreams from the boxes and wrapping paper that came with his other gifts.
Planned learning intention
To use developing mathematical ideas and methods to solve practical problems
Adult:child ratio 1:6
Resources
Toby's Doll's House by Ragnhild Scamell (Levinson Books, 8.99) paper crayons one large cardboard box and two smaller ones masking tape sticky tape small boxes cotton reels dowelling card plasticine magazines blue, red and green paper large felt pens scissors Preparation
* Make a display about the story. Put the book in the centre of the display and the resources to be used to create the house around it. At the end of the activity, add the house you have made to the display.
Step by step
* Read the story to the children and talk about the birthday presents that Toby was given. Do any of the children have a fort, farm, multi-storey carpark or doll's house at home?
* Suggest to the children that they make a doll's house with the things that Toby used in the story.
* Show them the three boxes. Which one do they think held the multi-storey carpark? Look at the pictures in the book to decide how to arrange the two smaller boxes on top of each other.
* Talk about how Toby wanted a doll's house with a front that opened up. Close the lids of the boxes and open them and talk about whether this arrangement is the same as the one in the book. Tape the two boxes together.
* Look at the picture of Toby's house and choose children to draw windows and a door on the sides of the boxes.
* Use the sheet of red paper to create a roof. Can the children suggest how to make sloping sides by referring to the picture? Use some of the spare box to create gable ends and attach the paper with tape.
* Use the blue paper to make carpets. Ask the children how they will measure the amount needed for each room.
* Stand the house up on a sheet of green paper.
* Look at the small boxes, cotton reels, dowelling and card, and experiment with making pieces of furniture together. Put the furniture in the house.
* Cut some people from magazines and glue them to card. Make them stand up using lumps of plasticine. Arrange the people in the house.
* Talk about how successful the activity has been. Does the house look like Toby's? Do the children think that Toby would be happy to play with their house?
Stepping stones
* Children with little experience may benefit more from listening to an adult tell the story using the resources as props to demonstrate how Toby made the house as the story progresses. At the end of the story the children will have a doll's house to play with.
* Children with some experience will be happy to help an adult to make the house following the steps taken by Toby. They should be able to respond to simple questions and make choices from a small number of options, for example, which boxes to use. An adult will probably need to draw the windows and doors.
* Children who have had more experience will probably have a good understanding of the task in front of them. They will able to make choices and suggestions of their own. They should need less adult support with tasks requiring fine motor skills such as making small furniture and cutting out people from magazines.
Extension ideas
* Suggest that the children draw pictures of their ideal doll's houses. Do they look similar to Toby's?
* Make a farmyard, fort and multi-storey car-park. What do the children know about the purposes of these buildings?
* Toby wanted a house with an upstairs and a downstairs. Do the children know the word for a single-storey house? Make bungalows from boxes. Are they easier to make? Why? Do any of the children live in a bungalow?
* Paper the walls of the house with suitable small designs from a wallpaper pattern book.
* Suggest making small accessories for the doll's house, such as doorknobs from paper fasteners, fabric curtains and polythene window panes.
* Cut out the outlines from the back of the poster, mount them on card and choose the most appropriate ones to glue on to the house.
C-I Wishes come true
Encourage the children to explore the recycled materials used in the 'Helping Toby' activity to make buildings, or original models, of their own.
Resources
Boxes of different sizes cotton reels small pieces of dowelling card glue tape scissors coloured paper magazines crayons paper clips Play suggestions
* Give the children time to explore the materials freely.
* Provide pieces of coloured paper of the correct size for creating a roof and carpets so that younger children are not discouraged and can achieve success. Include larger pieces to challenge older children.
* Ensure that the resources are sorted into separate containers. This will help children to realise all the options that are available to them and encourage them to categorise objects themselves.
* Supply various resources for joining materials, such as tape, glue and paper clips.
* Provide one table for children to display their finished buildings or other creations and another for them to leave partially finished work if they intend to return to it.
* Have available name cards and pencils so that children can name their models. Sheets of names printed on a computer are ideal for younger children to stick to their work and for older children to use with models that are too sticky to write on.
* Visit the activity at intervals to give praise and encouragement and replenish diminishing supplies of materials.
Possible learning outcomes
* Shows increasing independence in selecting and carrying out activities.
* Continues to be interested, excited and motivated to learn.
* Works as part of a group, taking turns and sharing resources.
* Shows pride in own achievement.
* Interacts with others and takes part in conversations.
* Uses talk to clarify thinking and ideas.
* Writes own name.
* Sustains interest for a length of time on a pre-decided construction.
* Uses appropriate shapes to make representational models.
* Investigates construction materials.
* Realises tools can be used for a purpose.
* Chooses suitable tools and techniques needed to shape, assemble and join materials they are using to make a model.
* Adapts and cuts materials to size.
* Uses developing mathematical ideas and methods to solve practical problems.
* Handles tools and construction materials safely and with increasing control.
* Explores colour, texture, shape and form in three dimensions.
