Recap the situation, describing where we are sitting and being specific about our positions.Īre you sitting in the same place on the mat as you were yesterday?.They further explore the ideas using cut outs of the Hairy Maclary characters. In this session the students explore movement sequences by both explaining a path taken and by giving and following instructions for paths in the classroom and in the playground. You could write down these notes and record them on a display (e.g. They might tell you what made descriptions easy, or difficult, to follow. Gather the class back together and encourage students to share their reflections of the activity.As the class completes this activity, rove and encourage the students to be specific in their descriptions. Model the giving and following of directions. One student hides Hairy Maclary and gives the other student a description of where to find him. Explain the ‘Where is Hairy Maclary?’ game.Introduce cards with pictures of Hairy Maclary drawn on them (these need to be colour-coded or made slightly different from one another so that you know who each card belongs to, to avoid arguments as students begin the activity).I am under a table, beside a chair, in the middle of the room. I am on a chair, at the art table, near the back of the room. With a partner, students move to other parts of the room and describe their position to their partner.I am sitting on a chair, next to the teaching station, at the front of the mat.Ĭan you tell me who is behind and in front of you?Īre you near the front or the back of the mat? Talk about where we are sitting, trying to get students to be specific in the description they give.

Reread 'Hairy Maclary, Scatter Cat!' or revisit the previous session’s work by reading the wall display or book made of the students' work.

We follow and give instructions about where to place items in the classroom. In this session we describe the position of ourselves and of objects. This could also be recorded on a digital device to me made into a powerpoint.

These will be used as a wall display or made into a big book to share as part of each maths session. Each student or pair draws a scene from the story and provides a caption about the position of the characters or a description of the movement.Encourage the students to describe the paths they take. Get the students to describe the position of the two characters to start with and where they end up. Get students in pairs to role-play with one as Hairy Maclary and the others as one of the other cats.Where does Slinky Malinky go when Hairy Maclary chases him?Ĭan you describe where Mushroom Magee went? Relate to their own experiences of cats and pets.Ĭan you describe where Butterball Brown is sitting? Encourage discussion about the cats and Hairy Maclary. In this session students use the story 'Hairy Maclary, Scatter Cat' by Lynley Dodd, to provide a context in which to use the language of movement and position and to provide opportunities to move themselves as they act out parts of the story. Te reo Māori vocabulary terms such as roto (in), raro (on), iho (under), whakamua (forwards) whakamuri (backwards), whakamauī (to the left), whakamatau (to the right) could be introduced in this unit and used throughout other mathematical learning. the school office, the playground, a memorial, a tree, a feature of the landscape). Session 4 could be adapted to take place outside in an area surrounded by “landmarks” that the students are familiar with (e.g. Images of Hairy Maclary and friends can be swapped to images of Kiwi and friends. The book 'Little Kiwi's Matariki' by Nikki Slade-Robinson is a suitable book also.

While the sessions in this unit are centred on the storyline of Scatter Cat the context for session 3 could be readily adapted to include two characters from a favourite story. allowing students to walk the directions as they say them either by themselves or with a buddy.grouping students flexibly, with a range of levels of understanding in each group.providing materials for students throughout the unit.providing direct teacher support to some children while those able to work more independently work with a partner.The learning opportunities in this unit can be differentiated by providing or removing support to students and by varying the task requirements. Ways to support students include:

Simon says video for angles