Live and Learn: End of Year Activity: A Camping Unit

Monday, June 27, 2016

End of Year Activity: A Camping Unit

After a long year of hard work, my kids and I deserved to have some fun. We ended our year with a camping day....it was a great way to get ready for summer vacation! Students were placed in groups of four and met with their friends to create their campsite. They named their camp and created simple signs to mark their site.

We created a tent by hanging brown butcher paper from the ceiling. A group of four could easily fit underneath. Students made a fire pit using black, orange, and yellow butcher paper and paper towel rolls for logs.

Students worked on their reading activities under their tents.

There is a wonderful reading of the fun book: A Camping Spree With Mr. Magee on Youtube.

Listening to this book is a great way to kick off a camping day.

I created a reading response booklet for this book.

Students practiced their good reader strategies and skills as they answered response questions.

They loved working on this in their tent and then got to read Ranger Rick or Big Backyard magazines.

Third graders love simple cooking activities. Here they assembled dirt cups using chocolate pudding, crushed oreos and of course, gummy worms.

Students worked with their camping friends to help create forest ecosystem murals to decorate our walls.

This Tinfoil Boat STEM activity was a great follow up to the book: A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee. Students worked to design and create tinfoil boats that could float a load of bears.

Students experimented with different designs; narrow or wide bottom boats, folded or unfolded foil, etc. Some students were able to create boats that could carry 50+ bears...wow!