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Classroom Activities

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Early Elementary Activity
Materials:
 * Markers
 * Blank map of South America with outline of countries.
 * Blank map of Ecuador

Procedure: Students will be given a print out of map of South America. They will need to follow the instruction on the print out. The instructions suggest to the students to color each country a certain color. This would be a great introduction to a unit on Latin America. Students will then need to take their map of Ecuador and follow the instruction.


 * Label all 4 regions
 * They should make a star next to the capital, Quito
 * Label the Andes Mountain
 * Label 2 main rivers
 * Label 5 cities [|(Enchanted Learning, 2011)]

Upper Elementary Activity
In order to take part in our journey, everyone needs a passport! As a United States of America citizen, you must have a passport when leaving the country. Students will use their own creativity to create their own passport.

Materials:
 * Construction Paper
 * Typing paper (or other plain paper)
 * Stapler[[image:k-passports.jpg width="281" height="372" align="right" link="http://provoprimary.com/blog/wp-content/blogpix/k-passports.jpg"]]

Procedure: **These two ideas create oversized passports. Show the students the size of a real passport and what it looks like inside.** #1 Take a large piece of colored construction paper and fold in half. Take several sheets of blank white paper and fold in half. Put the white paper inside the construction paper and staple along the center fold. Let the student decorate the outside of their passport. On the inside, attach a picture of the student and have them write their information, as you would find on a passport. #2 Use colored folders with the prongs in the center. Decorate the front cover and place paper inside the folder. On the inside, attach a picture of the student and have them write their information, as you would find on a passport.
 * Paper folders with 2 or 3 prong center, notebook paper, or plain paper and hole punch
 * Stickers or stampers
 * Art supplies (crayons, markers, glue and glitter, etc)
 * Photograph of child
 * 1) Talk about passports and what they are used for.
 * 2) Older students can call to find out how to get a passport, what information they have to provide, how much it costs, how long until it expires, and what countries, if any, you do NOT need a passport to get into. Otherwise, the teacher/parent can gather this information.
 * 3) Make your own passports!

How the Passport is used Now, use stickers of flags from each country* (or a special stamper or other sticker) to attach to the pages inside the passport, as the student completes their studies of each country. Make a list of all the countries you plan to study.....or make a list of all the countries in the world and allow the student to explore as many as they like (as time allows). This passport will serve as a record of all the countries he/she has learned about. [|(Passport to the World, 2011)]

Fine Arts Activity
** Masapan Bread Dough Sculptures of Ecuador **

Masapán sculpting is a special craft technique associated with the town of Calderón in Ecuador. It is an art form from which beautiful and detailed figurines are created from a bread dough mixture (Masapan means bread-dough). It is said that the exact mixture varies from artisan to artisan, and that the recipe is a family secret, passed down through the generations. Masapán crafts are unique to Ecuador. Step-by-Step Instructions:

__Materials (per child__):
 * 3 slices of white bread,
 * Lots of glue (2 - 3 tablespoons),
 * Poster board paint
 * Paint brushes.

__ Step 1: __ Peel the crust off 3 slices of white bread and break into smaller pieces.

__ Step 2: __ Add lots of glue to the mix (approximately 2 - 3 tablespoons full ) or enough to cover the bread without soaking it completely.

__ Step 3: __ Mix the bread and glue thoroughly with hands until the mix becomes doughy and pliable enough to be molded. Then roll the dough around in the palm of the hands until you have a nice round shape.

__ Step 4: __ At the point at which the group has a nice round ball, you may find the class is begging to wash their hands. This is a good stopping point for doing so before beginning the sculpting process!

__ Step 5 __ Sculpt your desired image. You may find it helpful to have several cups of water spread along the work station that can be used to smooth the sculpted images with more ease. Also, you may want to first show students examples of designs you have premade, as well as show actual masapán artwork for creative inspiration.

__ Recommendations of things to sculpt: __ Elementary Ages: a sombrero, a pitcher of tea, an American flag, an ice cream cone, an animal, a picture frame.

Preschool / Pre-k: a sun, a moon, stars, or some amazing object taken from their imagination. This age group may fair better by using cookie-cutters.

__ Step 6: __ Paint the masapán figurines with brightly colored tempura paint. [|(Hot Chalk Lesson Plans, 2011)]

After each sculpture is complete, take a picture of each sculpture. This picture will be used for the next assignment.

Pen Pals Ever wonder what it would be like to be a 6th grade student in Ecuador? Well, you are about to find out. For this project, we have been paired with a 6th grade class in Ecuador. We are going to write letters back and forth to them over the course of the year. Some of the letters may be written in Spanish so you will have to use your Spanish skills that you have been learning in Spanish class with Ms. Smith. For the first letter, you are going to send an introduction and explain what 6th grade is like here in Chicago. Also, explain your sculpture that you made because we are going to send your pictures along. I wonder what they will think of 6th grade in Chicago! Make sure to check back here to see the feedback that we receive from them.

References

Category. (2011). Elementary Educators - Online Project Center - Passport to the World - from About.com. //Elementary Education - Lesson Plans and Teaching Strategies for Elementary School Teachers//. Retrieved December 11, 2011, from http://k6educators.about.com/library/blpassport.htm

Hot Chalk Lesson Plans. (2011). //This is a lesson on Ecuadorian MasapÃ¡n bread dough sculpting//. Retrieved December 8, 2011, from www.lessonplanspage.com/ArtSSMasapanBr

South America - Follow the Instructions: EnchantedLearning.com. (2011.). //ENCHANTED LEARNING HOME PAGE//. Retrieved December 8, 2011, from http://www.enchantedlearning.com/geography/followinstructions/southamerica/index.shtml

Page Created by Kathleen Malloy © kamallo@ilstu.edu Created: November 28, 2011 Last Modified: December 11, 2011