Attention Getter: PVC Pipe Phone
Create a simple phone with a PVC pipe and two elbow pieces. Tell the class that you are going to go around the circle and whisper a special message to them. Place your mouth on one end and let them hold the other end near their ear. They will be surprised that they can hear your very soft, "Good Morning" greeting.
Activity 1: Types of Communication
Write Communication on the board. Ask the class what they think communication is. Point out that it is the way we can share messages with people near and far. Tell the class that they are going to get to see some different types of communication today.
*Draw a picture of each thing below on the board as you discuss it.
A. Talking: Let the children watch as you draw a picture of two faces talking. See if they can guess what type of communication that is. When they do, point out that we can communicate by talking to one another. It is easy when we are in class. Let each child talk with a buddy for a minute.
B. Telephone: Draw a picture of a cell phone. When the children guess what it is, have someone (another teacher) call your cell phone during class and ask to talk to each child. Pass the phone around while the other teachers says a quick hello to each one of them. Point out that we can communicate by telephone.
C. Mail: Draw a picture of an envelope. As soon as the children guess it, show an envelope and a piece of paper. Point out the we can send messages to people through the mail. Then, send a child to the farthest away area in the room. Ask the class how they can communicate with that child? Lead them to the conclusion that they can send a letter. Take out a paper and an envelope and a pencil. Draw a happy face on the paper and a short message that says something like, "We love you, come back to circle time." Put it in the envelope and have another child be the mail carrier and take it to the other child. When both children come back they can show the mail they received.
D. Newspaper: Draw a picture of a newspaper. This will be trickier for the children to identify. Show a newspaper. Discuss how we can get messages from it by reading the news from our community.
E. Technology: Draw a picture of an Ipad on the board with a person in the middle. When the children guess what it is, have the other teacher make a facetime call from another room. The children will be surprised again, and enjoy talking to their teacher and trying to figure out where he/she is!
Book: The Jolly Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
The Jolly Postman is a very small book about a mailman who delivers special messages to various fairy tale characters. It is best to read the story in a close group so the children can see the pictures. Each page has a small envelope with a special message in it. You may want to paraphrase those short messages.
Activity 2: None Today
Activity 1 is longer than usual for this topic and so no secondary activity is needed.
What fun ideas! I can't wait to give some of these a try. Thanks for putting together such a great resource.