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Basic
Intergenerational Financial Literacy
These resources, from The National Center for Family Literacy, offer educators
who work with at-risk children and their parents a variety of strategies and
corresponding activities that build understanding of basic financial
principles. When learners engage in financial activities and discussions, they
are more likely to become fiscally responsible adults. Presented as a series of
short, quick activities, this collection is perfect for informal settings. The
multiple resources provided include online games and hands-on activities,
accommodating variable access to technology. |
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Build Your Community
In the lesson plan from EconEdLink, young people identify businesses that provide valued goods and services and then construct a three-dimensional model of their own communities. Computers with an Internet connection are required to access the interactive drag-and-drop activities, which can be explored individually or as a group. As part of the process, educators in afterschool settings guide participants in making links to the people or businesses they encounter in their own neighborhoods. The extension activity, where youth create a physical model of their towns, presents a wonderful, hands-on learning opportunity and gives them a chance to demonstrate their understanding of community structure.
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Can
You Measure Up?
Designed for K-2 grade levels, this fun project from
ArtsEdge integrates read-aloud activities with inquiry-based learning
in a way that builds understanding of math and science concepts. After
listening to Janet Stevens' and Susan Stevens Crummel's book "Cook-A-Doodle-Doo!,"
participants act out and engage in a variety of measuring activities that
involve estimation, equivalents and elapsed time. Learners then work
collaboratively to conduct measuring "experiments," record their findings and
present what they found to the full group. |
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Creating a Wall Story
In this ARTSEDGE activity, young people listen to a story and illustrate their favorite parts. They share these sketches and sequence them as a group, adding new pictures to fill in gaps in the storyline. This resource provides young learners with a hands-on way to interact with literature, art and each other. The activities are easy to implement and can be carried out in a single session or over a series of sessions. At the conclusion, the entire story is published on a wall, in pictures, which leads to various opportunities for other enriching learning activities, such as story mapping, reader's theater, and writing projects.
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Elements
of Reading
With The Elements of Reading, The National Center for Family Literacy provides
educators with numerous activities for children that focus on building capacity in
phonics awareness, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. This
information-rich resource explains the reading process and other key concepts
and links to techniques and ideas for activities that give children
opportunities to practice their skills. Organized by grade level, the
activities are short and flexible and can be carried out one-on-one or in
groups. |
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Eyewitness
to History
Families connect us to our own history and to the history of the world around
us. In this lesson from EDSITEment,
young people explore this second set of connections, talking with family
members about landmark events they have witnessed in their lifetimes to learn
how history touches our lives. By the end of this activity, young people will
be able to recognize that events they have witnessed in their own lives can
also contribute to how others make sense of history. Any combination of this
lesson's four short activities would work in a variety of afterschool contexts.
These activities can also be adapted for participants of all ages. |
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Family
Money Matters
This resource from The National Center for Family Literacy features a sample
preschool lesson plan that uses children's literature to introduce basic
financial concepts and vocabulary. Following this plan, educators play an
online interactive game with learners that promotes economic word recognition
and discussion. Printable copies of the game and other embedded resources are
provided for programs with limited access to technology. Suggestions for family
activities that extend the learning process are also included. |
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Graphing Trash Material
In this Illuminations activity, young people investigate data in connection with recyclable materials and develop plans to help the environment. Their first step is to examine several items intended for the trash and then work together to create an action plan for recycling. The resource includes an activity worksheet to help with data collection. As an inquiry-based learning experience, this project offers great opportunities for exploring community issues and resources and lends itself to variations based on learners' needs and interests.
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Insect Models
In this lesson from Science NetLinks, young people explore the world of insects and construct insect models out of craft materials. Participants have the chance to interact with both nature and their peers as they observe live insects and/or pictures and discuss what makes a good model. This hands-on lesson is great for engaging learners in the biology of insects, and, at the end, they get to bring home an insect model of their own. Since there are various ways for educators to adapt these activities to suit their needs, this resource is ideal for afterschool learning. In addition, the numerous extension activities give educators ideas on how to continue the learning through multiple sessions.
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Meaning
Behind the Mask
Found on EDSITEment,
this activity encourages learners to explore the cultural significance of
masks, discuss the use of masks in stories and then investigate the role masks
play in ceremonies and special occasions in various African cultures. After
hearing different African folktales, each participant designs a mask to
represent a character in the story. Meaning Behind the Mask provides
young people with a hands-on, creative experience, and it is an excellent
activity for raising awareness about the social purpose and importance of
cultural artifacts and for drawing connections between cultures and societies. |
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Memorializing
Your Family in a Quilt
Here's an activity that's ideal for afterschool learning - found in a set of three lesson
plans from EDSITEment.
In the lesson, learners discover how people of different cultures and time
periods have used cloth-based art forms to pass down their traditions and
history. After conducting family interviews, young people construct their own
or a group quilt from poster board-or whatever materials are at hand. The
family interview is a great way to draw on community resources and add a
cultural dimension to an afterschool activity. It also enables each person to
contribute from her or his unique perspective, which is motivating for youth. |
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Planning
a Read-Aloud Event for Families
Guided by this Thinkfinity
Literacy Network resource, educators can put together a plan for a
special family storytime at their program sites. Inviting families to join
their children for this kind of event builds community connections and
investment in the program. Moreover, educators have the opportunity to model
reading strategies for parents and supply a fun, take-home activity to extend
the learning. This resource includes two sample plans built around different
books and themes, one for K-4 and another for grades 4-7. |
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Portrait of a Hero
Following this EDSITEment lesson plan, young people explore their beliefs about heroes and heroism through a series of activities and discussions. They share names of familiar figures they believe to be heroes and explain their choices. They can also work together to identify the personality traits and characteristics of these heroes. These activities prompt learners to broaden their understanding of what makes a hero, enabling them to identify the real-life heroes who surround them each day. It is empowering for youth to reflect on real-life heroes in their community and to contemplate the ways they, too, may become everyday heroes.
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Practice
Letters, Sounds with Online Games
For beginning readers, repetition is the best way to learn how to recognize
letters, what they sound like and what words start with them. Reading books
is, of course, an excellent way to practice, but games and other activities can
be fun ways for young people to learn and remember these literacy skills. This
lesson from ReadWriteThink
offers three activities about letter recognition and letter/sound matching.
Designed for younger participants (grades K-3), these games can be played one
at a time or in combination with each other, indoors or outside. They can also
be played in a variety of afterschool settings. Parent and community
participation make these hands-on games even more engaging for participants. |
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Rock
Hunters
Presented in the motivation section of this Rock Hunters lesson by
Science NetLinks, this activity prompts young people to make detailed
observations of rocks. In the process, they gain an understanding that there
are many types of rocks with a multitude of different attributes. In
afterschool contexts, learners can look at the online photos of various rocks,
using the embedded E-sheet. Then, if it's an option, they can go outside to
collect rocks and make observations, comparing rocks with one another and
matching them to the types on the E-sheet. |
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Sink
or Float?
Located in the development section of the Sink or Float? lesson by
Science NetLinks, this activity asks learners to make and test
predictions about whether items will sink or float in water. This hands-on
activity will help participants learn about doing experiments and prepare them
for the exploration of concepts such as density and forces in later elementary
grades. Afterschool educators can replicate the printable resource for this
activity on a whiteboard so that the group can work together. This resource
also includes suggestions for related literature, online activities and other
ways to extend the learning. |
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Use
Photos to Write Summer Stories
Developed for ReadWriteThink,
this creative project helps young people tell stories about themselves.
Participants write about favorite photos for a homemade summer memory book.
Designed for grades K-2, the hands-on, individual project nature of this
activity is ideal for afterschool learning. Weaving storytelling, community
involvement and language arts, the activity is easily adaptable for
afterschool learners up through middle school grades. |
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What is History? Timelines and Oral Histories
The engaging activities from this EDSITEment lesson aim to help youth understand history and recognize that the past is different depending on who is remembering and retelling it. After creating a timeline based on events from their own lives and family histories, participants construct a large-scale class timeline. Oral history explorations are great for afterschool learning because they invite youth to interview family and community members as part of the research. This lesson plan does not depend on access to technology and is adaptable, allowing educators to choose which activities they would like to use with their groups.
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