RIC-3623 Big Book of themes - Book 2

2 

The big book of 

themes 

★ Minibeasts ★ Circus ★ Animals 

★ Community 

P 

©R.I.C. Publications 

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Foreword 

This book contains four themes from the very popular Class Ideas K–3 magazine. We have had 

many requests from new subscribers to make the back issue themes available to them. This 

book contains the themes Minibeasts,Circus, Animals, Community. 

The themes in this blackline master were selected because of their universal appeal to students 

and teachers in the K–3 area of primary education. 

By using high-interest themes, students find the learning journey a positive experience which 

allows them to be open to a broader learning path. 

Each theme includes a clip art page, a comprehensive overview of the theme across all 

curriculum areas and supporting blackline masters to develop student awareness of the theme. 

Contents 

The big book of themes 

BOOK 2 

Teachers notes and Indicators 

ii–iii 

Minibeast theme 1 – 13 

Clip art 1 

Minibeast Overview 2 – 3 

Activities 4 –13 

Circus theme 14– 24 

Clip art 14 

Circus Overview 15 – 16 

Activities 17 – 24 



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Animals theme 25 – 36 

Clip art 25 

Animals Overview 26 – 27 


Community theme 37 – 52 

Clip art 37 

Community Overview 38 – 39 


R.I.C. Publications — www.ricgroup.com.au — The Big Book of Themes–Book 2 

ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 

Foreword–Contents –i

TEACHERS NOTES 

The following indicators have been provided as a guide to the purpose of each page within this blackline 

master. They can be used as: 

• a guide to each page to make it easier to select an activity to suit your particular needs 

• a starting point when evaluating the success of the lesson. 

Theme Page Indicators 

Minibeasts 4 Defines the term ‘minibeast’. 

Records information in a tally and graph. 

5 Practises initial sounds and alphabetical order. 

Collects and learns ‘minibeast’-related words. 

6 Recognises the parts of an insect and labels each accordingly. 

7 Practises reading known and unknown words, increasing his/her vocabulary. 

Uses given information to complete a retrieval chart. 

8 Seriates objects to a set order. 

Identifies and follows pathways with accuracy. 

9 Reads and understands information in the form of clues about a variety of 

minibeasts. 

10 Identifies a variety of insects. 

Develops an awareness of how some insects use camouflage to survive. 

11 Designs his/her own minibeast. 

12 Develops knowledge about the life cycle of a butterfly. 

13 Observes and records observations about minibeasts. 

Circus 17 Develops the word study aspects of comparatives and 

superlatives. 

18 Follows directions to complete each page of a booklet. 

Develops variations around a set sentence. 

19 Verb cards can be used to label a circus mural; backed onto card and displayed 

as a mobile; photocopied twice and backed onto card to play concentration or 

snap; or matched to circus nouns. 



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20 Follows directions correctly to put together a circus performance. 

Develops and practises oral skills. 

21 Follows directions correctly. 

Completes detailed descriptions of circus characters. 

22 Practises giving change from $5. 

Practises adding amounts to $5. 

23 Completes basic additon and subtraction facts. 

24 Follow directions and works cooperatively with a partner. 

Records results in written form. 


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Indicators–ii

Animals 28 Solves complementary addition and subtraction problems. 

29 Manipulates a tangram to make animal shapes by following a pattern. 

30 Measures a variety of jungle animals using a 10–cm ruler. 

31 Discusses and completes a diagram of the life cycle of a frog. 

32 Associates each state or territory with its animal emblem. 

33 Becomes familiar with masculine and feminine animal names. 

Becomes familiar with names of animal young. 

34 Shows a knowledge of a variety of animals’ natural habitats. 

Understands how pets’ needs for shelter are catered for in an artificial 

environment. 

35 Recognises the coverings of a variety of animals. 

36 Sorts animal pictures into categories of his/her own 

choosing. 

Discusses the variety of choices and decisions made. 

Community 40–41 Provides opportunities for students to spend time with the 

elderly. 

42 Identifies members of the community and the equipment they use. 

43 Understands that syllable breaks occur between double letters. 

Gains an understanding of base words, adjectives and verbs through using 

community helper words. 

44 Investigates pathways to reach a destination. 

Recognises places in the community. 

45 Finds similar interests in people of different ages. 

46 Understands that some animals also live in communities. 

Understands the different types of ants and the jobs they do in their 

‘community’. 

47 Collects information about his/her family to construct a family tree. 

48 Works with a grandparent or older person to complete a fold-a-book. 

49 Records written information from an interview situation. 

Relates to others and share ideas, to collate and compare recorded 

information. 



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50 Understands emergency procedures. 

51 Identifies shapes and numbers from the community. 

Adds numbers less than ten. 

52 Recognises 2–D shapes. 

Identifies shapes in the environment. 


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Indicators–iii



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Minibeasts Theme –1

Language 

Word Study 

• Sort minibeasts into those that fly, crawl, slide; by colour, 

by covering, initial letters, number of letters, phonic 

sound etc. (Could make theme word mobiles.) 

• Make compound words about minibeasts. For example, 

grasshopper, ladybird, dragonfly. 

• Learn the meaning of the words for changes in life cycles 

– pupa, cocoon, chrysalis, maggot, grub etc. 

• Brainstorm and categorise minibeast words into verbs, 

adverbs, nouns and adjectives. 

• Minibeast alphabet search. 

• Finger paint minibeast words onto card. 

• Sentence expansion using adverbs and 

adjectives to describe nouns and verbs in 

more detail. 

Reading 

• Construct little books about minibeasts. 

• Answer yes/no questions about minibeast facts. 

• Match words/sentences to minibeasts. 

• Complete read and draw activities adding objects within 

a minibeast habitat. 

• Label diagrams of minibeasts. 

• Read and write nonfiction descriptions of minibeasts. 

• Read the poem Triantiwontigongalope. 

• Read the nursery rhyme Little Miss Muffet . Make 

sentence strips for Little Miss Muffet; match and 

sequence sentences. 

• Research to find a number of different and unusual 

minibeasts. 

• Complete fact sheets or semantic grids about minibeasts 

using information gathered by the students. 

• Sequence life cycle pictures and write sentences to 

match. 

• Recommended reading… 

The Hungry Caterpillar – Eric Carle 

The Magic School Bus Inside a Beehive – Joanne Cole 

The Bad Tempered Caterpillar – Eric Carle 

The Very Busy Spider – Eric Carle 

Spider in the Toilet – Edel Wignell 

Ten Loopy Caterpillars – Joy Cowley 

Ladybird, Ladybird – Ruth Brown 

The Very Ordinary Caterpillar – Garry Fleming 

The Worm Book – Janet and Allen Ahlberg 

Writing 

• Write a procedure about how to catch and where to look 

for a particular minibeast and problems that might occur. 

For example, be careful of a butterfly’s wings, crickets 

jump out of boxes easily etc. 

• Make a class minibeast diary—children write about a day 

in the life of a… 

• Make up a class ‘What am I?’ book about minibeasts. 

• Make minibeast puppets on sticks and write an ‘I am…’ 

description on the back. 

• Write and hang questions from a minibeast painting. 

• Write story strips about a minibeast. 

• Write poems using words collected on minibeasts. 

• Write a report describing a minibeast in detail. 

• Have a minibeast of the week—make a board of related 

words, sounds, features, pictures and interesting facts. 

• Research and construct a flow chart to show the life 

cycle of a minibeast. 

• Write a snail story in a snail trail. 


ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 

Oral Language 

MINIBEASTS 

• Recite poems featuring minibeasts and use actions. For 

example, Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home. 

• Children to explain to the class why they like or dislike a 

particular minibeast. 

• Conduct a simple debate. For example, Spiders are pests 

OR Moths are better than butterflies. 

• Play barrier games describing how to draw a specific 

minibeast. 

• Mime the actions of minibeast—children ask questions 

that only require a yes or no response to guess what it is. 

• Interview your friend who is pretending to be a minibeast. 

Studies of Society and the 

Environment 

• Learn about the importance of minibeasts in the 

ecosystem and the roles they play. 

• Students learn to care for minibeasts caught for 

observation—correct handling, proper containers etc. 

• Look at how earthworms help break down food scraps. 

• Different insects are found in different parts of the world 

according to their adaptations. 

• Plot location on grid maps of local environment 

according to the location of minibeasts. 

Music and Movement 

• Sing songs featuring minibeasts and add actions. For 

example, Eency, Weency Spider, Little Miss Muffet, Mr 

Frog jumped out of the pond one day… 

• Move like minibeasts. For example, busy ants, slow snails, 

buzzing bees etc. 

• Discover which minibeasts actually make noises; 

students can mimic the noises. 

• Learn the song Alexander Beetle. 

• Make a worm conga line to show a group of worms 

moving through the burrow. 

• Organise movements based upon a minibeast life cycle. 

• Children perform various jobs. For example, the various 

jobs the different bees or ants perform in their hive or 

colony. 

• Group drama based upon minibeast occurrences. For 

example, ‘The Queen Bee Returns’, or the movement of a 

minibeast. 



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Mathematics 

Working Mathematically 

• Time how long it takes to find a particular minibeast in 

the schoolyard. 

• Plan a minibeast hunt organising children into groups, 

areas each group will cover, equipment needed by 

each group and the amount of time to be allocated. 

• Categorise and classify a selection of minibeasts. 

• Play ‘build a minibeast’ using cardboard cutouts 

of minibeast body parts. 

• Seriating minibeasts according to sizes, 

shapes or patterns. 

• Minibeast tangram shapes. 


Number 

• Complete activities by drawing correct number. For 

example, ‘I can see three slimy snails.’ 

• Ordinal number activities using minibeast pictures. 

• Dot-to-dot to complete a minibeast picture. 

• Colour a butterfly’s wings by—colour by number or 

solving number sentences. 

• Complete multiplication and division sums by grouping 

and counting minibeasts eyes, legs, body parts etc. 

• Solve word problems. For example, How many legs do 

three ants have altogether? 

• Match the number or sum with answers in minibeast 

shapes. 

Chance and Data 

• Tally minibeasts found in certain areas of the schoolyard, 

graph results and compare. 

• Graph children’s favourite and least liked minibeasts. 

• Construct a gameboard using a theme such as a 

caterpillar trying to reach the juicy leaf. Children go 

forward the number on a die after answering a maths 

fact or reading a word. 

• Place a hoop on the ground in a leafy area, record 

number of minibeasts in the hoop. 

Measurement 

• Use a cardboard earthworm or caterpillar as an arbitrary 

measure. 

• Use pieces of string or wool to measure the winding trail 

of a minibeast. Glue on card and compare results. 

• Use various objects such as 1-cm cubes, paper clips, 

buttons, counters or pegs to measure the height and 

area of enlarged pictures of minibeasts. 

• Compare and order minibeasts according to length. 

• Graph changes in time of life cycles. 

Space 

• Continue patterns on a grid left by a minibeast. 

• Find matching butterflies according to wing patterns. 

• Draw a plan of the school and label areas where certain 

minibeasts were found. 

• Introduce symmetry with blob painting to make a 

butterfly. 

• Find symmetrical minibeast shapes. 

• Enlarge minibeast shapes on grid paper. 

• Complete patterns on butterflies. 

• Use recycled materials to construct minibeasts. 

• Follow directions to make their way through a worm or 

ant maze. For example, left, right, straight, straight etc. 

Health and Physical Education 

• Discuss how flies carry disease; precautions to take with 

food; use of flyspray and flyswats. 

• Learn how mosquitoes can spread diseases such as 

Ross River virus and precautions to take. 

• Importance of washing hands after handling minibeasts. 

• Relay races as minibeasts—buzzing bees, hopping 

grasshoppers, scurrying ants or wiggling worms. 

• Play ‘ant dodge’. Ants must dodge the rolled balls. 

• Discuss and record dangerous minibeasts and treatment 

for stings. 

• Define safety rules for dealing with spiders etc. 

• Identify people in the community who help deal with 

minibeasts when they become pests. 

• Discuss the correct information to give to an adult in the 

case of an emergency. 

• Categorise minibeasts according to them being harmful 

and harmless. 

Science 

• Put different coloured layers of soil in a large, seethrough 

container such as an aquarium. Add 

earthworms and observe how they mix the soil over time. 

• Use magnifying glasses to observe ants, slaters, 

caterpillars etc. 

• Observe and record the life stages of various minibeasts. 

• Find the difference between moths and butterflies, 

grasshoppers and crickets, ants and termites, arachnids 

and insects. 

• Define what is a minibeast; chart the various categories. 

• Go on a schoolyard safari. Provide task cards for the 

children. For example, Choose a tree. Record minibeasts 

on an around the tree. 

• Record and discuss the colours of minibeasts. Collect 

pictures, draw, colour and label. 

• Make bug catchers. 

• Investigate homes suitable for various creatures. For 

example, snails, worms, beetles or slugs. 

• Hold a snail race over 30 cm. Trace the sticky snail trail. 

• Investigate how snails move over different surfaces. 

• Investigate spider webs and how they are formed. 

• Visit a museum or zoo with invertebrate displays. 

Art and Craft 

• Make a class wall mural of minibeasts in their habitat. 

Include egg carton caterpillars and bees, papier-mâché 

ants and spiders with pipe-cleaner legs, real bark on 

trees, cellophane for the pond etc. 

• Paint large pictures of minibeasts. 

• Colour pictures on cards of minibeasts and play snap or 

concentration. 

• Make ladybird biscuits with iced arrowroot biscuits, 

beanies for dots and licorice for legs. 

• Make a frog in the pond—jelly with chocolate biscuit. 

• Use thick felt pens to do observational drawings of 

minibeasts. Wash with bright, water-based dyes. 

• Make minibeasts from paper and card using folding, 

cutting, and tearing techniques. 

• Use polystyrene to make prints of minibeast designs. 

• Stuff stockings with newspaper. Use string to make 

segments to form a worm or caterpillar. 

• Use felt to make minibeast puppets. 

• Make marbled paper and cut out butterfly shapes. 

• Use clay to make models of minibeasts. 

• Make butterfly or moth kites to fly in the schoolyard. 

• Use black card and brightly-coloured cellophane paper 

to make stained-glass butterflies. 

• Make minibeasts from food and toothpicks. For example, 

grapes for eyes, carrot or celery for the body and apple 

peel for the feelers. 

• Use crayons to make a background rubbing and draw 

camouflaged insects on the picture. 

• Make minibeast masks and badges. 



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ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 


What is a Minibeast? 

If the word part ‘mini’ means ‘small’ or ‘miniature’, what is a minibeast? 

I think a minibeast is 

Brainstorm some minibeasts in the space below. 

Move into a group of five or six. 

Share the minibeasts you brainstormed with your group. 

Record the minibeasts your group brainstormed. 

Minibeast Tally Total Minibeast Tally Total 



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Draw a graph to represent your tally on a separate piece of paper. 

Compare your group’s graph with the graphs belonging to the other groups in 

your class. 


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Minibeast Alphabet Search 

Collect words related to minibeasts for each letter of the alphabet. 

a 

j 

s 

b 

c 

d 

e 

f 

g 

k 

l 

m 

n 

o 

p 



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t 

u 

v 

w 

x 

y 

h 

q 

z 

i 

r 


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➝ 

➝ 

Cut out the words below. 

Glue them in the correct place on the bee. 

➝➝ 

➝ 



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➝ 

✄ 

eye leg thorax 

wings abdomen head antennae 


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I am a spider. 

I build webs and eat insects. 

I can have a poisonous bite. 

I am a housefly. 

I am an insect. 

I leave germs on 

everything I land on. 

I am an earthworm. 

I live under the ground. 

I help keep the 

soil healthy. 

Read about each minibeast. 

I am a honeybee. 

I have a sting. 

I make a buzzing sound with my wings. 


I live in a hive. 

Put a tick next to the things each minibeast can do. 

I am a ladybird. 

I have bright colours. 

I like to eat other insects that are pests. 

I have wings. 

I am a female mosquito. 


I like to bite and suck up blood. 

I can make a humming sound with my wings. 



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ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 


Can you help the minibeasts find their way home? 

Use a different colour to show each path. 

Cut out and order the 

minibeasts from smallest 

to largest. Glue them on 

a separate sheet of paper. 



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ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 


WHAT AM I? 

I fly. 

I am yellow and black. 

I make honey. 

I live in a hive. 

I am a . 

I am long. 

I wriggle. 

I live in the ground. 

I mix the soil to make it 

healthy. 

I am an . 

I am very pretty. 

I can fly. 

People always think I’m a lady – but I’m not! 

I am red and black. 

I am a . 

I live in dark places. 

People think I’m dirty but I’m 

really clean. 

Some types of me can fly. 

I run along the ground. 

I can be brown or black. 

I am a . 



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There are nine insects hiding in the garden. 

Find them and colour them. 

Sort the insects into the correct group. 

Can fly 

Sort the Insects 



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Can not fly 


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Create your own Minibeast 

Minibeasts are strange and unusual creatures. 

Look at these minibeasts. 

Take parts from each of the minibeasts above to make your own 

creature. 

Draw, colour and label your minibeast in the space below. 



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1. The female butterfly lays 

Life Cycle of a Butterfly 

on a leaf. 

2. The baby caterpillars hatch 

and eat the 

3. The caterpillars 

bigger. 

They turn into a chrysalis. 



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. 

4. After a while a beautiful 

butterfly comes out. 

It drys its . 


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Minibeast Detective 

Where: 

What: 

When: What was it doing?: 


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Look around your home or school gardens to find different kinds of minibeasts. 

Draw and write about your minibeasts in the boxes below. 

What: Where: 

What was it doing?: 

When: 



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CIRCUS CLIP ART 



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ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 

Circus Theme –14

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○Language 

Word Study 

♦ Brainstorm circus words and find definitions for each. 

Sort into: number of letters; beginning sound; phonic 

sound; or categories such as people, food or equipment. 

♦ Compile a list of adjectives, on cards, to describe circus 

characters and their clothes—match characters and 

adjectives; or a list of adverbs to describe circus 

character’s movements. They could be displayed as speech 

bubbles on a mural of a circus audience and characters. 

♦ Produce circus flash cards from a magician’s hat for 

students to read. 

♦ Hang circus words from the ceiling to look like trapeze swings. 

♦ Place a line of string across the floor and cards with words being 

treated in class. Students walk across the tightrope and collect 

words, moving on if they read the words correctly. 

♦ Rhyming words; for example, clown and down. 

♦ Alliteration; for example, big brass band, amazing athletic 

acrobats. 

Reading 

♦ Make action books about the circus; for example, ‘A clown 

can…’ or make fold-up books about the circus; for example, 

‘I am a…’ or ‘I can…’. 

♦ Use a circus advertisement to test comprehension skills. 

♦ Make secret messages for students to solve; for example, 

Take ‘s’ off saw and add ‘dr’ = draw; First letter of the 

alphabet = a; Take ‘d’ off down and add ‘cl’ = clown. 

Makes – Draw a clown. 

♦ Construct flow charts to describe a simple circus act. 

♦ Read information about various acts in a circus and 

complete a semantic grid. 

♦ Read factual articles about circus performers; for 

example, trapeze artists or clowns. Make cloze activities 

from these articles for the children to complete. 

♦ Complete report details on a circus performer from a piece 

of text. 

♦ Make a class book of fun facts about the circus. 

♦ Available reading… 

When the Circus Comes to Town – Brenda Parkes 

Smarty Pants – Joy Cowley 

Spot Goes to the Circus – Eric Hill 

Let’s Look at Circuses – Andrew Langley 

Thumbprint Circus – Rodney Peppé 

Clown Boy – Arnold Zable 

The following points can be drawn from books containing 

animals in the circus. 

♦ Discuss the use of rare animals in circuses. Do children 

have an opinion on the issue of animals in the circus? 

♦ Discuss arguments for and against animals in the circus. 

Oral Language 

♦ Role-play going to the circus or being a ringmaster. 

♦ Students answer questions orally, based on a picture of a 

circus scene. 

♦ Prepare and present a class talk on a circus experience. 

♦ Using masks made in art/craft explain their role in the 

circus. 

♦ Hold a circus theme party or clown 

dress-up day. 

♦ Spot the differences in a circus 

scene, use the circus scene as a 

barrier game. 

♦ Observe and remember circus items 

displayed on a tray. Cover the tray and 

name as many items as possible. 

♦ Make up a circus play to perform for others in 

the class. 

Writing 

♦ Write reviews of a circus performance. 

♦ Write descriptions of circus performers. 

♦ Write captions to add to a circus mural. 

♦ Write beginnings or endings to sentences or paragraphs 

about circus characters, circus life or events. 

♦ Write an invitation inviting people to your birthday at the 

circus. Decorate the invitation in a circus theme. 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○Music 

and Movement 

♦ Mime action words such as leap, juggle, balance. 

♦ Have a juggling session where children learn how 

to juggle. 

♦ Students mime a circus performer’s act, eating 

toffee apple, riding on dodgem cars or a merrygo-round. 

Children guess. 

♦ Listen to music suited to different circus acts. Drum roll 

before exciting part of an act, funny clown music, 

electronic music for rides, entry to Big Top music. When 

familiar with music, children can move accordingly and act 

the part. 

♦ Try to perform simple circus acts; for example, spinning a 

paper plate on their finger, balancing, walking a beam. 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○Art 

and Craft 

♦ Make a diorama of a circus. 

♦ Look at pictures of clown’s faces; for example, make 

contour drawings of clown’s faces with large felt-tipped 

pens, wash with bright, water-based dyes. 

♦ Make a model of a circus tent from recycled materials. 

Decorate brightly. 

♦ Make the classroom into a circus with streamers to make a 

big top. 

♦ Make simple costumes—clown’s hat and frills. 

♦ Make a clown mobile. 

♦ Make wire or dough characters. 

♦ Design a flag for your own circus. 



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○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○Studies 

of Society 

and the Environment 

♦ Look at how circuses have changed over the years. Make 

comparisons. Complete a timeline of circus evolution. 

♦ Locate places on a grid map of a circus fairground. 

♦ Trace circus movements on a world map or concentrate 

only on Australia. 

♦ ‘Clean-Up’—the importance of keeping a circus site clean. 

♦ Visit a touring circus if possible. 


ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 

Circus Theme –15

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○Mathematics 

Number 

♦ Solve word problems; for example, One clown standing on 

the shoulders of three clowns. How many clowns? 

♦ Practise money skills—make a popcorn stand, sell popcorn 

at lunchtime. 

♦ Money—add cost of food items at the circus, rides etc. 

Change from $1 or $2. 

♦ Colour-by-number circus characters; for example, clown 

suit, to solve number puzzles. 

♦ Share balls among jugglers, shoes among clowns. 

♦ Count the number of objects in a circus scene; for 

example, number of juggler’s balls, 

spots on the clown’s suit. 

♦ Make number stories using 

equipment or performers. 

Space 

♦ Make a circus scene using 4 

circles, an oval, 3 semicircles, 7 

rectangles and 4 triangles. 

♦ Use coloured shapes to decorate 

clown outlines. 

♦ Complete a symmetrical drawing of a 

clown’s face or other circus items. 

♦ Find specific shapes in a circus scene or count number of 

circles, triangles, squares and rectangles on clown’s 

clothes. 

♦ Plan a circus ground layout including Big Top, Ferris wheel, 

merry-go-round, caravans for workers, food vans. 

♦ Enlarge or reduce a circus item. 

♦ Maze to match performers to equipment. 

♦ Follow directions to move around circus map. 

♦ Follow directions to draw items near, on, under etc. 

Measurement 

♦ Time how long it takes to walk across the tightrope (rope 

on the ground). 

♦ Measure clown’s feet with arbitrary 

units or a ruler in centimetres and 

order according to size. 

♦ Use string to measure the 

perimeter of circus shapes. 

♦ Measure and compare distances 

of balls thrown or rolled. 

♦ Find the capacity of differentsized 

containers using sawdust, 

sand or water. 


♦ Plan a mini circus ring. 

♦ Make jigsaws from circus pictures. 

♦ Plan an outing to the circus—when to leave by train or bus, 

where to park, what to wear and what to take. 

♦ Plan the route a circus will take around Australia and the 

amount of time spent in each place. 

♦ Work out a timetable for circus performances. 


♦ Survey and graph students’ favourite 

circus act and performers. 

♦ Tally how many times students can 

juggle two balls. 

♦ Play snap or concentration with 

circus cards. 

♦ Play or make a board game using 

dice and circus theme for 

movements. 

Health and Physical 

Education 

♦ In pairs or groups, develop, practise 

and perform simple circus acts of 

balancing, rolling, jumping. Organise a 

circus performance. (Take into 

account correct safety precautions 

and restrictions.) 

♦ Practise throwing, catching and 

balancing balls. 

♦ Develop movement skills with hoops. 

♦ Hold a ‘juggling’ competition. 

♦ Pin the nose on the clown competition. 

♦ Circus Act Circuit—juggle balls 10 

times, 2 forward rolls, balance along a 

line like a tightrope walker, 1 

backward roll, swing on bars like a 

trapeze. 

♦ Appreciate the skill of circus 

performers and the hours of practice 

and healthy living to maintain 

performance level. 

♦ Dangers; for example, fire, height. 

Talk about safety in certain 

situations. 

♦ Discuss the food pyramid and the 

foods which give us the most energy. 

♦ Discuss the types of foods we eat at 

the circus. 

○Science 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

and Technology 

♦ Practise basic magic tricks based on 

simple science experiments. Perform 

the tricks. 

♦ Investigate ‘balance’; for example, 

‘How tall can you build a tower from 

MAB longs?’. 

♦ Design and make a model of a circus 

apparatus. 

♦ Brainstorm how students’ five senses 

are affected by a circus, i.e. what 

they see, hear, smell, taste and 

touch. 

♦ Test a variety of materials to see if 

they are waterproof and suitable to 

be used as tent material. Consider 

strength also. 

♦ Create 

swings. 

♦ Create 

musical 

instruments 

to make a circus band. 

♦ Structures—construct a big top 

tent using straws/popsticks and 

modelling clay. 

♦ Make stilts using string and tin cans. 

Practise walking. 

♦ Investigate sturdy pyramid 

structures. 



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Circus Theme –16

When we compare two or more things we 

can add ‘er’ or ‘est’ to the end of the word. 

For example, 

This toffee apple is sweet. 

This toffee apple is sweeter. 

This toffee apple is the sweetest. 

Add ‘er’ and ‘est’ to describe these circus things. 

high 

Comparing Circus Words 

small 



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funnier 

biggest 


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Circus Theme –17

. 

. 

A clown can 

A clown can 

Draw the clown riding 

a funny bike. 

What can your clown 

do? Draw a picture and 

finish the sentence. 

Join the dots to give 

the clown a big smile. 

Clowns 



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A clown can 

A clown can 

. 

j . 


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Circus Theme –18

t 

s 

swing 

laugh 

catch 

balance 

cycle 

bounce 

juggle 

clap 

jump 

flip 

dance 

spring 



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skip 

throw 

dive 

roll 


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Circus Theme –19

Circus Puppets 

1. Colour the circus performers brightly. 

2. Carefully cut along all dotted lines. 

3. Poke fingers through finger holes to act 

as the legs of the performer. 

4. Use the puppets to create a circus 

performance of your own. 



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Circus Theme –20

Circus Characters 

1. Choose two circus characters. 

2. Complete the sentences below for each character. 

3. Draw and colour a picture for each character. 

I am a 

Colour the balloons to describe your character. 

I am… clever funny silly bossy 

I can 

I like 

I wear 

I am a 

Colour the balloons to describe your character. 

I am… clever funny silly bossy 

I can 



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I like 

I wear 


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Circus Theme –21

$$$ What Will I Buy? 

I have $5 to spend at the circus. 

Work out what I can spend. 

Toffee apples 

cost $1 each. 

How many 

can I buy? 

If I buy two, how 

much change 

will I get? 

The cost of this 

ride is $2. 

How many rides 

can I have? 

Big bags of 

chips cost 

$2.50. 

How much 

change will 

I get? 

Hot dogs cost $1.50. 

A ride on the 

bumper cars is $3. 

How many rides 

can I have? 

How much change will I get? 



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Fairy floss 

costs $0.50. 

How much 

will three 

sticks cost? 

How much 

change from $5? 

Write how else I could spend $5 at the circus on the back of this page. 


Circus Theme –22 

ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0

Maths match 

4 + 4 = 

7 – 1 = 

3 + 2 = 

8 – 5 = 

Draw a line to 

show me which 

number sentences 

equal the same 

total. 

9 – 4 = 

6 – 3 = 

5 + 4 = 



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3 + 5 = 

7 + 2 = 

3 + 3 = 

3 + 1 = 

6 – 2 = 


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Circus Theme –23

Balancing 

Body Balance 

• Try standing on 

one leg with your 

arms outstretched. 

How long can 

you balance? 

• What 

happens 

if you try 

to lean 

forward? 

• Close your eyes 

and rest one foot 

on your other 

knee. How long 

can you balance? 

Walking a Tightrope! 

• Walk along a thin 

beam or pole close 

to the ground. 

How do you use 

your arms to 

balance? 

Keeping Your Balance 

• Work with a friend, 

be gentle. Try to 

gently push the 

other off 

balance. 

Position 1 

standing up, feet 

together 

Discussion 


ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 

This is what happens... 



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• Which position is most stable? Tick the box. 

Position 2 

standing 

up, feet 

apart 

Position 3 

crouching down 

with feet 

apart and 

arms forward 

Talk about which sports might use these positions. 

Circus Theme –24

Animal Clip Art 



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Animals Theme –25

…Language… 

Word Study 

• Discuss, draw and write animal names 

according to masculine, feminine and young. 

• Collect pictures of animals to label and sort 

into categories. 

• Find smaller words inside larger animal words. 

For example, caterpillar, hippopotamus. 

Alternatively, make as many words as possible 

using the letters contained in the words above. 

• Unjumble animal names. 

• Brainstorm ways in which animals move, creature features, 

animal coverings and homes etc. and make lists. 

• Write words to describe animal sounds. Make recordings 

of students making these sounds. 

• Word sort animals names, sounds and movements 

into groups. 

• Match animals to their homes. 

• Choose an animal to complete a simile. For example, as 

quiet as a , as strong as an . 

• Compile lists of animal words to learn to spell in 

spelling program. 

• Write the names of animals on animal-shaped templates. 

• Compile an animal alphabet search. 

• Describe animals using adjectives and adverbs. 

• Complete animal crosswords, sleuths and word shapes. 

Reading 

• Explore various fables to develop the understanding that the 

characters are often animals. 

• Compile interesting word charts—make categories— 

animal names, habitats, animal young, coverings etc. 

• Find answers about animal questions hidden in a sleuth. 

• Complete animal ‘What am I?’. 

• Make a list of animals that could fit a general descriptive 

phrase. For example, it has a long neck, answers—giraffe, 

swan, emu etc. 

• Compile an animal fact book. 

• Read facts about animals and complete a semantic grid. 

• Read and perform animal poems and songs. 

• Look at posters of different animals. Discuss and label. 

• Read about endangered animals. Design posters to help 

save these animals. 

• Use the Internet to find information on a specific animal. 

• Read Aboriginal Australian legend stories. 

Oral Language 

• Make finger puppets of animals to suit a fable; children can 

retell the fable using the finger puppets. 

• Children could dress up or wear an animal mask and act like 

a particular animal. Another child interviews, asking 

prepared questions. 

• Read out made up animal limericks or acrostic poems to 

the class. 

• Prepare and present a class talk on an animal of their choice. 

Writing 

• Complete animal reports to make a class ‘animal’ 

encyclopedia of animals a – z. 

• Write a story about an adventure with your animal. 

• Write creative stories where children take on the 

characteristics of an animal of their choice. For example, 

the child may write about his/her day as a turtle. 

• Compile a class book about ‘A Day in the Life of a 

’ or ‘If I was a I would ’. 

• Complete before and after charts on known/unknown 

animals. 

• Identify words/phrases from text or make own key 

words/phrases to summarise information about 

an animal. 

• Write a report card for three mammals, 

reptiles, sea creatures etc. 

Compare report cards. 

• Make up a ‘Wanted Poster’ for a 

dangerous animal. 

• Complete sentences. For example, A rhinoceros can 

, An ant can . 

• Design a poster for a missing pet. 

• Keep an ongoing observation report on a classroom pet. 

• Write descriptive sentences about animals and illustrate. 

• Write a letter to the zoo asking for information on a 

certain animal. 

• Write poems about animals and pets. 

• Recommended reading… 

Possum Magic – Mem Fox 

Who Sank The Boat? – Pamela Allen 

Rosie’s Walk – Pat Hutchins 

Imagine You are a Dolphin – Karen Wallace and Mike Bostock 

The Rainbow Fish – Marcus Pfister 

Rainbow Fish to the Rescue – Marcus Pfister 

…Music and Movement… 

• Listen to taped animal noises and move like the animal 

making the sound. 

• Children move or make the animal sound. Others guess. 

• Mime animal movements—focus on different levels of 

movement, high and low. 

• Learn words and movements to animal songs and poems. 

For example, ‘Old MacDonald had a Farm’, ‘Prehistoric 

Animal Brigade’. 

• Sing songs involving animals—‘Old MacDonald had a Farm’, 

‘Little White Duck’, ‘A Frog Went Walking’, ‘Heidi, Heidi Ho’. 

• In small groups, students put together and perform a dance 

sequence involving animal movements. 

• Clap out rhythm to animal names. 

• Use simple percussion instruments to make animal sounds. 

…Art and Craft… 

• Use modelling clay to make 3-D representatives of 

various animals. 

• Create murals of various animal habitats. Attach the 

appropriate animals in the correct locations. 

• Make an animal collage selecting appropriate materials to 

show animal coverings. 

• Make and wear animal masks. 

• Reconstruct animal homes such as a nest or a web using 

twigs, bark, leaves, wool etc. 

• Sketch, colour or paint animals to make a classroom 

exhibition. 

• Make animal print footprints using potato prints. 

• Students draw animal-shaped templates. Cut around 

templates on two pieces of calico. Sew the sides together 

and stuff. Decorate using fabric dyes. 

• Make scratch foam print of animals focusing on animal 

coverings and markings. 

• Build an animal using recycled materials (small groups). 

• Create a new animal. 

• Clay-work, for animal shapes, plaque. 

• Crayon-resist wash of jungle scene. 

• Make animal mobiles. 

• Paint animals. 

• Compile funny animal flip books. 

• Construct a model farm, zoo, jungle etc. in a diorama form 

or other 3-D techniques. 



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Animals Theme –26

…Society and Environment… 

• Discuss, list and study animal homes. For example, bird’s 

nest, bear’s cave, rabbit’s warren etc. 

• Discuss and list animals that are endangered or extinct. 

Brainstorm ideas of how to save any endangered animals. 

• Study various animal environments. For example, polar, 

desert, forest etc. 

• Complete retrieval charts or semantic grids of a variety of 

animals. 

• Identify how humans use animals. 

• Record ways in which animals help us. 

• Research to make up animal quizzes. For example, what is 

the largest animal in the ocean? 

• Survey class groups on types of pets they own. 

• Discuss care of pets (need/wants). 

• Hold a pet parade. Fill in an entry form. Students could 

present a short talk about their pet. Pets could perform 

‘tricks’. Prizes could be given for the cutest, biggest, 

smallest, most unusual and best behaved etc. 

• Incursion/excursion ideas—zoo, small animal farm, nursery, 

dairy, pet shop, RSPCA, guide dogs, veterinarian, zoo keeper 

or pet breeder. 

• Make up a brief job description for people who work with 

animals. 

• Identify animals used in farming. 

• Identify ways students can take care of environments. 

For example, rivers, lakes. Take part in a clean-up. 

Write letters. 

…Mathematics… 

Number 

• Solve zoological problems based on mathematical concepts. 

• Count animal footprints by ones, twos, fours. 

• Solve number problems using animal pictures. 

• Use animal-shaped biscuits in a variety of counting activities. 

• Complete dot-to-dots of particular animals using addition 

and subtraction sums. 

• Compose open-ended mathematical problems for students 

to solve. For example, if the Perth Zoo has two giraffes, how 

many giraffes do you think there might be in Australia? 

• Give a certain number of animals to group into their habitats. 

• Add the cost of a visit to an underwater observatory and 

the cost of food and souvenirs. 

• Make number stories involving animals. 

• Colour by number to find hidden animals. 

Space 

• Complete jigsaws of animals. 

• Solve animal tangrams. 

• Locate animals on a grid of the zoo, aquarium etc. 

• Create an environment for your pet using specific shapes. 

• Plan a zoo layout including eating areas and disabled access. 

• Follow directions to move around a map of the zoo. 

• Solve maze puzzles helping animals get to their food. 

• Use 2-D shapes to build animal designs. 

• Animal symmetry shapes. 

Measurement 

• Order animals from shortest to tallest or thinnest to fattest. 

• Measure the height, length of limbs, weight etc. of 

animals brought to school. 

• Measure animal footprints, bodies using arbitrary units. 

• Use animal footprints to measure distances. 

• Compare the sizes of different animals. 

• Compare the capacity of pet food containers. 

• Perimeter—use wool to measure around the animal outlines. 

• Compare the area of animal templates by covering shapes 

with counters. 

• Area—for example, How many bones cover the dog?, 

How many scales cover the fish? 


• Plan an outing to the zoo, animal farm etc. 

• Make sets and subsets of animal pictures. 

For example, wild, pets, fish, small, big, 

by colour etc. 

• Make jigsaws from animal pictures. 

• Plan a feeding and exercise routine for a pet. 


• Make bar graphs, picture graphs etc. of class 

pets, favourite zoo animals, sea animals. 

• Survey and graph students’ pets. 

• Grid coordinates. 

…Health and Physical 

Education… 

• Hold relay races of animal movements. 

• Discuss how you keep pets happy and healthy. How do zoos 

help keep enclosed animals happy and healthy? 

• List good pet hygiene practices. 

• Discuss the importance of immunising pets against diseases. 

• List ways to control household pests—flies, cockroaches etc. 

• Write first aid procedures for bites and stings etc. 

• Look at animal products and how humans use them for 

food, warmth and shelter. 

• Students try to cross a ‘river’ without being caught by 

crocodiles—start with one student. If caught, students join 

crocodiles. Continue until all students are caught. 

• Discuss signs ‘Do not feed the animals’—why? 

…Science and Technology… 

• Classify animals according to: 

– environment; 

– number of legs; 

– covering; 

– diet; 

– continent found; 

– colour; or 

– size. 

• Explore the dynamics of a simple food chain and construct 

flow charts to show a food chain. 

• Study the life-cycle of animals. Use flow charts. 

• Discuss and explore adaptations animals make to suit their 

environment. For example, polar bear – layer of fat. 

• Make charts of mammals, fish, birds etc. or animals that 

live in water, on land, underground. 

• Label various animals correctly. 

• Observe animals that can be confined at school. 

Record behaviour. 

• Set up a class pet environment. (Note: Animals taken from 

the wild should only be kept for two days before being 

returned to their natural environment.) 

• Learn about harmful animals. 

• Discuss differences between young and adult animals. 

• Sort animals into: carnivores, herbivores or omnivores; or 

nomadic or migratory. 

• Write detailed descriptions of animal characteristics. 

• Observe animals in their natural environment. Record their 

behaviour. 

• View videos on animal behaviour. Discuss and illustrate. 

• Discuss and observe differences and similarities between 

domestic and wild animals. Display on chart or 

semantic grid. 

• Categorise animals in various ways. 

• Explore dinosaurs from the past. 

Classify or group according to 

their features. 

• Complete simple experiments to 

illustrate fossils. 



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Animals Theme –27

Complete the number sentences below. 

Look carefully for the + or – sign. 

1. 8 + = 14 1. 12 – = 5 

2. 9 + = 12 2. 10 – = 3 

3. + 7 = 10 3. – 4 = 2 

4. 9 = 3 + 4. – 6 = 3 

5. 16 = 8 + 5. 18 – = 10 

6. 5 + = 11 6. 11 = – 1 

7. + 6 = 15 7. 9 = – 3 



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8. 3 + = 13 8. – 8 = 7 

9. 11 = 4 + 9. – 10 = 10 

10. 7 + = 18 10. 5 = – 9 


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Animals Theme –28

Animal Tangrams 

Cut out this tangram along the dotted lines. 

See if you can make these animal shapes. 



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Animals Theme –29

• Measure the Animals • 

Cut out the ruler and measure the jungle animals. 

The is the tallest. 

cm 

The is the smallest. 

cm 

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 


Animals Theme –30 

ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 

cm 

cm 

cm 



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Life Cycle of a Frog 



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Animals Theme –31

• Animals Around Australia • 

Colour, cut and glue the animals onto their correct State or Territory. 

Tasmania doesn’t have an animal emblem. Choose one of your own. 

Draw and colour it on Tasmania. 



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Animals Theme –32

Animal Names 

1. The masculine names for some animals have been written below. 

Find the feminine names in the puzzle and match them to their partner. 

f 

(a) rabbit buck – d 

(b) sheep ram – e 

(c) pig boar – s 

(d) elephant bull – c 

(e) deer stag – h 

(f) horse stallion – m 

(g) swan cob – p 

(h) chicken rooster – h 

2. Write the names of the young of these 

animals to complete the puzzle. 

c 

g 

d 

a 



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b 

h 

e 

I 

(a) cow (e) bear 

(a) swan (f) duck 

(b) horse (g) cat 

(c) dog (h) sheep 

(d) goat (i) deer 


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Animals Theme –33

Animal Homes 

1. Draw an animal that lives in each of these places. 

pond 

cave 

burrow 

tree 

When we keep animals as pets we make or buy a special 

place for them to live or sleep. 

2. Match the pet to its home. 

dog 

fish 

horse 



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bird 

rabbit 

cat 

Draw your pet’s home or one you would like for a pet on the 

back of this sheet. 


ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 

Animals Theme –34

1. Write each animal under 

the correct heading. 

snake emu possum 

turtle snail lizard 

koala crab duck 

bear 

goldfish 

owl 

2. Choose the correct covering for each of the animals 

below. Write the name of another animal with this covering. 

spines hide hair 



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(a) An elephant and a have 

thick skin called a . 

(b) An echidna and a 

are 

covered with . 

(c) A dog and a are covered 

with . 


ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 

Animals Theme –35

Colour the animals below. 

Cut out the animals around the dotted lines. 

Sort the animals into groups of your own choice. 



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Animals Theme –36

Community Clip Art 

60 



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Community Theme –37

The Arts … 

… Music and Movement 

• Invite local musicians to your class to perform and speak. 

• Invite local dancers to your class to perform and speak. 

• Sing songs for a local nursing home. 

• Children mime an occupation in the community. 

• Sing songs or rhymes about community workers; e.g. Ruba-dub-dub. 

• Reflections—copy your partner’s movements. 

• Learn and perform songs known by the older generation. 

• Have sing-a-longs at assembly, following the bouncing 

ball (similar to karaoke). 

… Art and Craft 

• Make a community map mural showing the different 

facilities available. 

• Paint a mural depicting the different people in the 

community. 

• Make a model of buildings in your community from boxes 

and recyclable materials; or make a 3-D model of their 

community using boxes, recyclable materials, plastic 

figures or models. 

• Do crayon rubbings to record things in your community. 

• Use material scraps to make collage pictures of ‘people 

who help us’. 

• Portraits of an important person in your 

community. 

• Make clay models of people in your 

community. 

• Invite a local artist into your class. 

• Visit a local art or craft gallery. 

• Make stocking-face people. 

• Mould pottery houses. 

English … 

… Speaking and Listening 

• Role-play people from the community. 

• Interview people from a nursing home. Compare 

childhood lifestyles. 

• Role-play emergency situations. 

• Discuss and role-play procedures to follow in the event of 

a fire. 

• Discuss and role-play procedures for emergency telephone 

calls. 

• Child chooses an occupation from a box. Other children 

ask questions to guess the occupation. 

• Prepare a questionnaire to interview an older person in 

the community about his/her life—both past and present. 

• Debate the topic ‘Uniforms should be compulsory’. 

• Play barrier games involving a community scene. 

… Reading and Viewing 

• Make reading books about people who help us. 

• Use a community poster; e.g. a school fair/fete, 

for comprehension activities. 

• Follow directions to get from one place to 

another on a community map. 

• Put together posters outlining emergency 

procedures. 

• Make a book depicting students living in 

the community. Include photographs. 

• Match occupations to descriptions. 

• ‘What am I?’ of different people who work in the 

community. 

• Compile a class newspaper of articles collected from the 

local newspaper. Glue in a book and write a short 

summary underneath. 

• Complete comprehension questions of varying levels after 

reading text about a community service or occupation. 

• Collect brochures and flyers used in the community. 

• Read signs in your community. 

… Writing 

• Write the steps to follow for emergency procedures. Make 

a flyer to pass on emergency information to others. 

• Write letters to people in nursing homes—develop penpal 

relationships. 

• Write to facilities in your community asking for information. 

• Write and illustrate tourism brochures for your area. 

• Write recounts of community excursions. 

• Prepare a questionnaire and interview various people in 

the community; e.g. older person, crosswalk attendant or 

shopkeeper. 

• Complete sentences: What would happen if … teachers 

forgot to come to school? your rubbish wasn’t collected? 

• Fill in missing words. A 

sells us meat. 

• Write an advertisement or design a poster for a job wanted 

in the community. 

• Write a newsletter to the people in your neighbourhood 

about a local fair/fete being held. 

• Write an invitation to an older person, grandparent etc., 

inviting him/her to a sing-a-long or concert at the school. 

… Word Study 

• Brainstorm people who help us in the community. Then 

brainstorm equipment or items used next to each 

occupation. Draw and label them. 

• Draw and label a map of your community. 

• Write the names of facilities in your community on shape 

cards. 

• Group adjectives related to people who help us; e.g. 

nurse—heal, care, considerate, patient. 

• Copy words from signs in your local area. 

• Find the base word of various occupations; e.g. florist— 

flower, farmer—farm. 

• Brainstorm street names in the community. Use for finding 

phonic sounds, small words in big words, reminder of 

capital letters. 

• Introduce the idea that syllable breaks occur between 

double letters; e.g. com/mun/i/ty. 

• Use street names, building titles and peoples’ names in 

the community to teach proper nouns. 

• Play bingo with community words. 



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Health and Physical Education … 

• Learn procedures for emergency situations. 

• Invite a local community worker to visit your class; e.g. 

postal officer, nurse, dentist. 

• Study the roles of health workers in your community. 

• Take part in and train for a local fun run or walkathon. 

• Learn about health services in the community. 

• Tally and graph illnesses or accidents children have 

experienced; e.g. colds, ear infection, measles or a broken 

bone. Discuss treatment and prevention. 

Mathematics … 

… Working Mathematically/Appreciating 

Mathematics 

• Design a playground for your local community. 

• Plan an excursion in your local community. 

• Plan a tourist walk in your local community. 

• Plan a timetable for a baker’s day or a newspaper 

deliverer’s day. 

• Categorise pictures of occupations and 

equipment. 

• Construct a board game that travels to different 

parts of your community. 

… Space 

• Find shapes in your community. 

• Using a map of the community, students find their way 

from one point to another. 

• Describe where facilities are in the local area; e.g. the 

post office is next to the police station. 

• Draw a plan of your local park. 

• Show the route and/or give directions on a map of the 

local community of how they get from home to school, 

library or shops. 

• Grid references of a manufactured community. 

… Measurement 

• Measure distances on a map of the local area. 

• Measure areas of the local area using footsteps. 

• Measure distance in number of steps, number of streets or 

time taken to go from home to school or school to library. 

… Chance and Data 

• Survey and graph the number of people in the families of 

the students. 

• Record and graph the colours of cars passing the school 

yard. 

• Play snap or concentration with community cards. 

• Graph places students use in the community, clubs they 

belong to. 

… Number 

• Role-play shopping situations involving pictures of or actual 

items bought from local shops. 

• Study the numbering of houses in a street. 

• Add numbers from number plates or house numbers. 

• Locate and record numbers used in your community; e.g. 

signs, house numbers, price tags, number plates. 

• Play card games using number combinations. Play with 

older children/parents/elderly. 

• Swap card game ideas with the elderly—each teaches a 

game to play. 

Science … 


ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 

• Discuss jobs in the community that are science-based and 

learn more about each one; e.g. chemist. 

• Research various materials used in buildings, roads. 

• List the various tree, plant and animal species found in the 

school grounds, home or the local park. 

• Water uses in the community. 

• Cooking foods for a visit to an aged care facility; e.g. 

Anzac biscuits. 

• Cook items to be sold at the school canteen. 

Studies of Society and Environment … 

• Interview older people and compare how areas of our 

lives have changed; e.g. education, toys, leisure activities. 

• Map areas of your community. 

• Organise or take part in a community clean-up day. 

• Study the local history of your community. 

• Do a demographic study showing county of origin of your 

class population. 

• Draw a map and label the shops in your area. 

• Create a flow chart showing a system such as the mail 

delivery system. 

• Compile flow charts of community helpers’ jobs. 

• Sort transport pictures into the correct community category; 

e.g. tractor—farm, bus—city or town. 

• Visit a retirement village or nursing home. Children can 

perform for residents, do activities together and talk. 

• Sort pictures of equipment and match them to the correct 

job; e.g. mechanic—wrench. 

• Make a wall map of their local community and label. 

• Guess in which shop you would buy an item; e.g. 

toothpaste—supermarket, chemist. 

• Compare various communities; e.g. busy city, suburb and 

country town. Discuss similarities and differences. 

• Find information on community helpers who: (a) provide 

services; and (b) produce goods. 

• Name places people go for food, health or leisure. 

• Using a map of the local shopping centre or community 

centre, answer questions about each place. 

• Compare students’ community with one of the past. 

• Discuss problems within the community and how they could 

be solved; e.g. graffiti or litter in the park. 

• Compile lists of rules around the community; e.g. swimming 

pool rules or behaviour in the park. 

• Discover the children born in another town, city, State or 

country. How is that community the same or different? 

• Compare our community with that of animals; e.g. ant 

and bee colonies. 



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Technology and Enterprise … 

• Cook hot dogs for a school ‘hot 

dog’ day. 

• Design equipment for your local 

playground. 

• Record sounds in your community. 

• Design a new uniform or vehicle for an occupation in the 

community; e.g. police or postal officer. 

• Make items to be sold at a canteen with proceeds going 

to a worthy cause in the community. 

• Compare an early Australian house with their own. Design 

a house or a room in a house of the future. 


Things to Consider… 

…when organising days with the elderly. 

C 

H 

E 

C 

K 

L 

I 

S 

T 

on 

to 

❑ Send out invitations. See below. 

❑ Greeting and guiding visiting guests through activities. 

❑ Prepare programs on activities for the day. 

❑ Prepare name tags. 

❑ Organise seating arrangements (chairs, tables where needed). 

❑ Provision for seating in shaded or dry areas (e.g. umbrellas). 

❑ Food organisation (e.g. morning tea – plates, cups, tablecloths. 

– types of food to serve 

– who will serve it? 

– who will prepare it?). 

❑ Sufficient water or drinks. 

❑ Groups needed to setup/clear away equipment used. 

❑ Mementos or gifts for visitors. 

Dear , 

You are invited to 

✔ 



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RSVP 


ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 


Theme Ideas… 

…when organising days with the elderly. 

• Adopt a grandparent. 

Organise a day to invite 

grandparents or elderly from 

the community to school for 

a variety of activities. For 

example, morning tea, songs, 

interviews or school tours. 

• Develop special days to involve 

older people into the school 

community. For example, 

Grandparents’ Day, International 

Day of the Aged, ANZAC or 

Remembrance Day, Senior Citizen 

Week, or as part of a health 

program. 

• Conduct a sing-a-long 

with a mixture of old war 

songs. For example, Pack 

up your Troubles; Daisy, 

Daisy; and more 

contemporary songs— 

Pushbike Song. 

• Collect memorabilia 

for displaying— 

appliances, games, 

sports or hobbies 

from the past. 

• Cook and swap recipes 

from each generation. 

Have food styles 

changed? Which are 

favourites? 

• Interview a variety of 

elderly people on topics 

to compare the past. 

• Swap and teach 

each other favourite 

songs, chants and 

games played by the 

different 

generations. 

• Collect photographs from 

children and elderly. 

Compare. Find things that 

are similar and different. 

Discuss memories from 

photographs shown. 

• Cook and serve 

morning tea for the 

aged at home or in 

school. 

• Perform musical or 

drama items for 

aged care facilities. 

• Investigate family 

trees of students’ 

families. 

• Make a time capsule 

so future children can 

‘dig up’ the past. 

• Swap diaries with an 

elderly person. Make 

diaries to write in and 

share ideas from your 

diaries in a week or so. 

• Swap activities with the 

elderly. For example, 

teach them a board/card 

game and get them to 

teach you one. 

• Present a video time 

capsule on local history 

of your school or 

community. Present it to 

all involved before placing 

in time capsule. 

• Investigate the history of 

your school or community. 

Find origins of street names 

or shops. Interview older 

residents about changes and 

memories. 



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• If it is an older, more 

established school, invite 

past students to a 

reunion or celebration. 

Compare changes in the 

school. 

NOTE: All activities will need the supervision of adults at all times. 


Community Theme –41 

ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0

People in our Community 

Cut along the dotted lines and glue the tools under the correct occupation. 

a doctor 

a plumber 

a police officer 

a dentist 



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ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 


Community Word Study 

1. Draw a line to show the syllable breaks. 

Count the syllables. 

community alligator gallop 

The word ‘community’ has four syllables. 

Clap the syllables as you say the word—com mu ni ty. 

When a word has double letters we make the syllable 

break in between. For example, com/mu/ni/ty. 

butter summer spaghetti 

rabbit jellyfish happy 

2. The word ‘teacher’ comes from the base word ‘teach’. Look at the 

community helpers below. Can you write the base word for each? 

firefighter r florist w r 

baker b electrician ect cit 

farmer builder ui 

3. Write two more words to describe these community workers and their job. 

doctor 

heals 

farmer 

busy 

4. Make a list of community workers 

whose names end with ‘er’. 

For example, teacher. 

police officer 

guards 

hairdresser 

cuts 



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ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 


A Community Map 

Imagine you live in this community. It could be a town or a suburb. 

Give the community a name. 

Write your name in the space with the 

King 

Family 

Green 

Family 

Church 

Hill Street 

Dover Drive 


. Draw a house. This is where you live. 

Answer the questions. Write them on another piece of paper. 

1. Which family lives furthest from the school? Show the path in green pencil. 

2. Who are your neighbours? 

3. What four streets border the shopping centre? Colour them in yellow pencil. 

4. Show the path you would use to visit your friend Sally Barker in red pencil. 

5. Who lives in Park Avenue? 

School 

Park Avenue 

Robinson Road 

6. On the back of this page, write the directions needed 

to walk from your house to 

(a) buy a newspaper and (b) buy a new kitten. 

ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 

Park 

Clark 

Family 

Lake 

Piper Place 

Price 

Family 

Doon Way 

Community 

Centre 

Duke Street 

Deli Video Store Pizza 

Newsagent 

Library 

Moore 

Family 

Supermarket 

Scott Road 

Townsend 

Family 

Pet 

Shop 

Evans 

Family 

Barker 

Family 



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Young Road 


Jeremy and Al 

Name: 

Jeremy Jones 

Age: 

7 years old 

Interests: 

soccer 

drawing 

Internet 

swimming 

rollerblading 

Favourite foods: spaghetti 

ice-cream 

pizza 

Favourite drink: cola 

Name: 

Age: 

Interests: 

Favourite foods: 

Favourite drink: 

Jeremy and Al are going to spend a day together. 

What do you think they should do in the morning? 

What should they have for lunch? 

Al Yarra 

67 years old 

painting 

Internet 

watching basketball 

swimming 

reading 

Thai noodles 

roast beef 

fruit salad 

tea 



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What should they do in the afternoon? 

What should they have for dinner? 


ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 


Some animals, such as ants, live in communities. 

An ant community is called a ‘colony’. There are different 

kinds of ants in a colony. Each type has a special job to do. 

The queen ant lays eggs. 

Worker ants collect food and look 

after the eggs and young ants. 

Read and draw to finish the ant colony. 

A worker ant putting 

food in here. 

Male ants mate with the queen. 

Soldier ants defend the nest. 

A soldier ant 

defends the nest. 

An ant 

is resting. 



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The queen ant 

lays some eggs. 

A worker ant looks 

after the eggs. 


ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 


Find out the names of these people in your family. 

If you can, collect small photographs of each person and add them to your tree. 

Mother’s Grandparents 

Mother’s Parents 

Mother 

Brothers 

Father’s Grandparents 

Father’s Parents 

Father 



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My name is 

Sisters 


ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 


Things We Like To Do 

I like to 

We like to 

Favourite food 

Favourite food 

Likes 

Thumbprint 

Thumbprint 

Eye colour 

Eye colour 

Hair colour 

Hair colour 

. 

likes to 

. 

ME 

A Book About 

(your name) 

and 

(older person’s name) 

Likes 



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together. 


ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 


School Days 

Ask a grandparent or an elderly person these questions and record his/her answers. 

Name 

Where were you born? 

How many brothers/sisters do you have? 

Where did you go to primary school? 

Age 

What things do you remember about your school life? 

What did you take for lunches? 

What were your favourite school subjects? 

When did you leave school? 

What did you do then? 

What things do you think have changed the most in school? 

(optional) 



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ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 


List three different types of emergencies. 

1 

2 

3 

If you need the fire brigade, an ambulance or the police in an emergency, 

you should ring 000. If there is an adult around tell him or her first. 

When you dial 

you need the fire brigade, an 

or the . 

, an operator will ask if 

Tick the service you would need for the following situations. 

1. There is a fire in the kitchen. 

fire brigade ambulance police 

2. Your friend is bitten by a snake. 




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3. Someone is trying to break into your house. 


Draw: 

an ambulance. a fire engine. a police car. 


ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 


1. Find four number plates and record them here. 

Add the numbers on each plate to find the total. Write the total in the box. 

2. Look at these signs. 

(a) How many s can you see? 

(b) How many s can you see? 

(c) How many s can you see? 

(d) How many s can you see? 

60 



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ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0 


SHAPES, 

SHAPES 

SHAPES 

EVERYWHERE! 

Look for these shapes in this picture: 

Colour the s green, the s blue and the s red. 

Can you find these shapes in your environment? 

Record below where you can see them. 

triangle 

square 

circle 



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ISBN 978-1-925686-47-0

RIC-3623 Big Book of themes - Book 2

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