Additional Activities
These activities offer options for continuing the learning in this unit. Whether your curriculum is skill-based or more open-ended, select the activities that are most appropriate for the children in your classroom. The Writing Spot is primarily a writing program, but writing can be integrated throughout your curriculum—in art, drama, reading, math, and science.
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Sing “Happy Birthday” and write some new verses.
Post the first verse of the song on chart paper. As a shared writing, create a new verse or two. Invite the children to sing along on all the verses.
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Share “unbirthday” cards.
Explain that an “unbirthday” is any day that isn’t one’s birthday. Any day is a good day for children to make cards for each other—cards that share a picture and a short note or a simple “hi.” After they finish their cards, children should place them in one another’s mailboxes or on a class message board. (Be sure that each child receives a message.)
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Have a “Happy Birthday” hunt.
Find all the “Happy Birthday” words posted in the classroom. Share some birthday cards. Read the message and point out the words “Happy Birthday” on each card. Pass the cards around for children to look at.
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Start a birthday calendar.
Begin with a calendar that shows all the months of the year. Ask the children to write their birth dates on cards that you provide. Collect the cards and sort them by month. Talk about what the birth dates mean: Who is the oldest child? Who is the youngest? How many children were born in spring, summer, winter, fall? Were any of the children born on the same date? Were any of the children born on a holiday?
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Use lists to plan a birthday party for Spot.
Make a list of everyone who will be invited to Spot’s birthday party (this includes all of the children and Spot’s special friends). Make lists of the food you want to have, games, songs, presents, and decorations. Have the children draw a picture of the party based on information from the lists. Implement "Party Plan."
Have children use their imaginations to plan a special outing on their birthdays. Suggest places like the beach, amusement park, zoo. Have each student draw a picture of this special place and label it.