Educational Activities
GIVE VOCABULARY A WHOLE NEW MEANING!
DISCOVER NEW WORLDS THROUGH APRICOT BROWN’S LINGO
Social Studies/Vocabulary Activity
Step 1: Split the class up into groups and give each person in the group an index card
Step 2: Assign the groups a foreign greeting or a farewell from the Apricot Brown book/glossary
Step 3: Provide copies of the glossary and instruct each group to locate their assigned word and determine its country via the definition
Step 4: Instruct students to write the country of their assigned greeting/farewell on their index cards
Step 5: Provide a book or computer access for each group to investigate their assigned country
Step 6: Instruct each student to write down a factoid they’ve discovered on the back of their index cards
Step 7: Collect the cards and place them in a drawing box to be passed around the class
Step 8: Have each student draw a card and recite the factoid, from the card they’ve chosen
Step 9: Instruct students to raise their hands and guess the country belonging to each factoid
Or… Have each group stand up, site their country and share the facts they discovered with the class
Tip: If students need a place to begin their discovery, encourage them to identify the continent of their global greeting/farewell and country
MAKE LITERACY COME ALIVE!
“I Spy…” with Apricot Brown
A Vocabulary Development Activity
Develop vocabulary with engaging visuals and create an interactive experience playing “I Spy…” using the art and words in Apricot Brown’s book!
Step 1: Create and distribute 2-3 “I spy…” index cards with an Apricot Brown book to grouped students
Step 2: Explain that each group is responsible for identifying the object, word or feeling specified on each card by shouting “I Spy…” when they spot the object, word or feeling, as you read the book and peruse through the pages together
Step 3: Encourage students to huddle together and briefly discuss the best way to describe the object, word or feeling to the class. If you wish, you can provide factoids on the “I Spy” index card to help introduce the object, word or feeling
Step 4: Instruct each “I Spy…” group to take turns describing the object, word or feeling or reading the provided factoids to the class
Step 5: Explain to the class, that the first group to raise their hand, can guess the object, word or feeling. If the group is wrong instruct the “I Spy…” group to provide addition hints, and allow the whole class to guess until the correct answer is achieved
Step 6: Once the correct answer is achieved. Resume reading the book until the next “I Spy” is spotted
Examples:
“I Spy…”
An object that’s yellow and begins with the letter C
A type of shoe worn in some European countries like Holland
Shoes made out of wood
Answer: Clogs
“I Spy…”
A word that refers to a tube shaped object you can look into that contains bits of colorful glass
A word that refers to changing patterns and colors
Answer: Kaleidoscope
Tip: Bring in some of the items you’ve chosen to highlight during the “I Spy…” game, and allow students to interact with the items in real life!
CELEBRATE INDIVIDUALITY!
EXPRESS YOUR INNER RHYME-N-REASON FREELY
A Literature/Free Verse Poetry Activity
Free Verse poetry is the perfect platform to introduce writing as a form of creative self expression. It puts your students or child in charge. They make the rules, so their poems can take on any form.
Step 1: Introduce Free Verse Poetry via Apricot Brown’s poetic rhyming style
Step 2: Instruct students to write a Free Verse Poem, leaving the topic up to them
Step 3: Provide Apricot Brown’s glossary to help spark your students or child’s interest in discovering new words
Step 4: Instruct them to write freely, incorporating the new words they’ve learned from the glossary
Step 5: Invite students to share their poetry with the class and encourage your child or students to start a poetry book
Discovery Resources: Vocabulary building site: www.visualthesaurus.com and rhyming resource: www.rhymezone.com.
EXPRESS YOURSELVES!
MY A.K.A. IS…WHO AM I?
A Self-Expression/Identity Game
Use Apricot Brown’s “Rasta Fairy” or “Chica Bonita” personas to illustrate the pairing words to create an A.K.A (Also Known As)
Step 1: Instruct students to jot down nick names and adjectives that describe their personality i.e.: Johnnie, Buzy, etc.
Step 2: Instruct students to jot down things they love and represent aspects of who they are i.e.: Star, Heart, Train, Beats, etc.
Step 3: Instruct students to combine the two words and coin their very own A.K.A.
Step 4: Instruct students to create their own definition describing their A.K.A
Step 5: Have students create A.K.A index cards by writing their A.K.A on the front of the card and their A.K.A description on the back
Step 6: Instruct students to drop the cards into a shoe box
Step 7: Draw each card and read them aloud. Read the description first. Then reveal the A.K.A. and ask “Who am I?”
Step 8: Instruct the class to guess who’s who!
Example:
Description: I’m always looking up at the sky… mom says it’s because I got a twinkle in my eyes. Plus my friends call me “Johnnie” all the time.
My A.K.A. is Johnnie Star…WHO AM I?
