Children put their hands in the drawstring bag (‘Feely’ Bag), with the
various materials in it. They pick one piece and, without taking it out
or looking at it, describe what the material feels like, e.g. smooth/
fluffy, hard/soft, silky, etc.
2. Having talked about the children’s coats, and asked them some of
the trigger questions, they could be asked “What is the commonest
colour of coat here today?”
They should first predict, and then a bar chart could be made of the
colours of their coats. They should now answer the question.
(a) The children could then be asked what else they would like to
discover about the coats in the classroom, e.g. “I wonder if all
the red coats have hoods?” or “Do all the waterproof coats have
pockets?”
A Carroll diagram, or a Venn diagram with two circles or hulahoops could be made. Questions such as “How many red coats
have no hoods?” can then be answered quickly.
(b) The children could be asked what material would make the
perfect coat for a cold wet winter.
They may suggest ‘soft, warm, waterproof’. A Venn diagram with
three circles could be made. This could be done with real coats by
using chalk or hula-hoops on the floor. Alternatively the children
could wear their coats and BE THE VENN DIAGRAM
I love the idea of the children designing their own coats as a follow on from this activity especially focusing on what material they might use. This could easily be done through Aistear, with scraps of material for children to create with, especially for theme’s such as Spring.