|
Alphabet and Animals
Can you sing your ABCs? Do you know what letters your name has? Through reading the book of ABC about furry animals “The Furry Animal Alphabet Book,” students will be practicing their ABCs with fun, and learning about animal names they might not have heard before. At the museum, we have big alphabet letters scattered all over the galleries, and we’ll go explore those letters together. After the exploration, students will play matching game, using the alphabet and animals that they just learned about!
Black History
Come celebrate Black History month in February at the NPM. Students will learn about jazz great, and Washington, DC native, Duke Ellington by listening to the story “Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and a his Orchestra”. Students will pretend to be part of Duke’s band as they travel by train to perform for audiences all over the country. They’ll learn the names and sounds of the different instruments and play a game to compare and contrast them. Finally, they’ll have fun playing instruments and get to really be part of the band!
Communication
Grandma may live far away, but writing a letter to her is a great way to stay close! Join us at The NPM as we explore the theme of writing letters to communicate about ourselves and stay in touch with loved ones. Students will enjoy hearing the story of “Dear Juno” about a young boy that stays in touch with his Grandmother in far away Korea, by sending her pictures that he draws. Then the students will have an opportunity to practice the entire letter writing process. They’ll explore the museum to get ideas about what to write, write an actual letter with the group, prepare the letter to go in the mail (envelopes, addresses and stamps!) and finally mail their letter at the Post Office!
Community Helpers
Who are the people that we meet, as we’re walking down the streets of our neighborhood? One familiar face is that of the Letter Carrier! Come learn about his job at the NPM! Students will follow the journey of a Little Letter that can’t wait to get delivered in the story “Let’s Deliver the Mail”. We’ll talk about different community workers and how to identify them in our neighborhoods (for instance, by looking at their uniforms!) Then we’ll focus on the job of a Letter Carrier and learn how he collects, sorts and delivers the mail. Finally, the students will pretend to be Letter Carriers and collect and deliver mail around the museum with their real mailbags!
Fairy Tale
“Once upon a time” is the start of many a fairy tale. Students will enjoy learning the elements of Fairy Tales including repeating things in 3s, good vs. evil characters and most importantly, problem solving! Students will hear the story “Fairy Tale Mail” about a Queen trying to answer all the mail she receives from characters in Fairy Tale Land that need help solving problems. Then the students will get a chance to help the Queen solve the problem of how to handle all that mail she has been receiving by sorting her mail at the Railway Post Office! Finally students will work as a group to write their own Fairy Tale, using all the elements we discussed, and act it in out in a puppet show!
Transportation
Feel the wind rush through your hair as you “ride the rails” with Owney the Dog, U.S. Rail Mail Mascot! Students will enjoy hearing the story of Owney the Dog and then exploring the museum to see all kinds of transportation including trains, airplanes, trucks and even a horse-drawn wagon! The discussion will focus on comparing the different attributes of each kind of transportation-which is the biggest, fastest and can carry the most? Finally, we’ll focus on one kind of transportation-airplanes-and let the students practice flying their own balsa wood plane that they can take home!
|
