Today my kids asked to me to read Wombat Stew- a story featuring well known Australian animals. There are some great repetitive chunks of text in this story and the children love to join in the chant 'Wombat stew, wombat stew, gooey, brewy, yummy chewy wombat stew'.
Recalling some of the fantastic concoctions that have been mixed up and featured on Let the Children Play recently, I invited the children to mix up their own stew. I asked them "If you were one of the animals, what would you tell Dingo to put into the stew?". We brainstormed our ideas and the children went outside to collect up the items they would need.
Once the stew had been brewed, the children started acting out the story, taking on the roles of Wombat, Echidna, Platypus, Koala and of course Dingo. They stirred the stew with a stick whilst dancing around singing Wombat Stew! I'm sure the parents who were gathering around for pick up time thought some strange ritual was being performed but hey we were having fun and through re-enacting the story were developing important comprehension skills - story structure and sequencing of events.
You can find teaching notes for a wide range of literacy activities based around the book Wombat Stew here.
We have a similar brew still cooking in our carport at the moment. I imagine your students would have loved this!
ReplyDeleteLove your blog - some great ideas :)