Rainbow Resources - Primary

Teacher Guide

At this challenging time, the world has adopted the rainbow as the universal symbol of hope.  This flexible learning resource seeks to use the rainbow concept as a platform for learning, providing a focus on learner engagement and health and wellbeing. 

Rather than trying to adhere rigidly to a prescribed curriculum, the challenge for us all at this time is to keep children and young people engaged with learning and the idea of learning.  With this in mind, the resource aims to provide some additional suggestions to assist teachers as they continue to plan remote learning opportunities for children and young people.  

Using the theme of the rainbow, the learning and activities have been themed around different colours and broadly tailored to age and stage.  Although the suggested activities and resources have been separated into CfE levels, they can be adapted and differentiated by outcome at different stages. 

The help of older siblings could also be used to scaffold learning and provide an opportunity for older children to participate in meaningful fun activities, allowing them to consolidate previous learning, also.Teachers know the children and young people in their classes best, of course, and will select and adjust activities as they see fit to build on their pupils’ existing interests and perhaps recent prior learning.

New resources will be added on a weekly basis and posted on the EIS website on a Wednesday to help with planning the following week’s learning.  Don’t worry if you miss a week, the resources will remain on the website for use at your convenience.

Week 8

Early Level

• Recap on the story of ‘The Colour Monster’. Parents may want to read the story again with the children or invite the children to tell them the story, using their own home-made monsters from last week’s resources.
• Perhaps the children would like to make their own Calm Jar – they might want to decorate their own jars or bottles and decide what colour to make their water (using food dye or petals from flowers). Which colour will they choose?  Will it be pink? For some examples of how to make one, check out there clips - https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Calm-Down-Jar or https://www.bbc.co.uk/search?filter=bitesize&scope=bitesize&q=making+a+calm+jar
• Why not encourage the children to create their very own special place by doing some den building. Dens are great for all sorts of things - a bit of quiet time, some imaginative play as the den becomes a magic cave or a spaceship or even just a place to snuggle up for a story!   And dens can be inside or outside.  All you need are some sheets and pegs and off you go to create a new world…  For some tips on den building, check out these websites - https://www.playfulchildhoods.wales/top-tips-for-dens-at-home or https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2019/10/how-to-build-a-den/
• Why not cosy up in your den for story time? The children might enjoy exploring what Monsters, like the Colour Monster, enjoy eating.  Listen to the story, ‘Monsters Don’t Eat Broccoli’ by Barbara Jean Hicks - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M69VI0Hs8lo – don’t forget to join in!
• Now that the children know what Monsters eat, are they brave enough to take the ‘Monster Eat the Rainbow Challenge’? Healthy eating means eating fruits and vegetables which are the colours of the rainbow. Can the children eat the rainbow in one week? Maybe they could take pictures of what they are eating and make a Rainbow Food Diary to share with everyone.  If they get stuck , this Monster Vlog from Milo the Monster might help -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljh3fxcTwzU

• Recap on the colour pink and the things the children found on the scavenger hunt. Perhaps the children remember seeing the beautiful Cherry Blossom Trees or found some of the blossom when out for their walks.  Here are some pictures which might be useful - https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=cherry+blossom+images&qpvt=cherry+blossom+images&FORM=IGRE  Invite the children to create their own cherry blossom trees through finger painting.  This clip might help - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No9i5pUnCLM or if the children are not confident in painting their own tree, templates of the trees without leaves can be found here - https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/366691594661467800/
• Last week, the children used their mud kitchen to cook up some treats. Why not finish the week with some baking inside.  Here are some recipes for delicious cakes made with raspberries - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1JjrEgXneM or rocky road made with pink marshmallows - https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/rocky-road or if you prefer some unicorn fudge - https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/watch/bp-no-bake-unicorn-fudge.  Enjoy!

First Level

• Recap on the colour pink and their Pebble Poems from last week. This week we are going to continue with the outdoor learning theme and using natural resources.

• Why not start the children off by looking at the trees from which they found their pink petals or flowers last week? Using their blossom and tree ID kit (https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2020/03/tree-id-kids/), which type of tree is the tallest and widest they can find?

• Can the children work out the height of the tallest tree without a tape measure, ladder or even a trampoline? Here is a fun way they can do it and all they will need is a stick and one other person from their family.  Ask the children to compare notes and see who can find the tallest tree in the land.  Maybe ask them to take a picture and send it in.

• As an extension activity, the children can look for trees which have been cut or blown down. By counting the rings on the trunk, can they work out the age of the tree?  For more information, this website might help - https://mocomi.com/age-of-a-tree/ They may also want to do some bark rubbing.

• Now introduce the children to Enid Bylton’s ‘Magic Faraway Tree’. The children might like to read or listen to the book over the summer holidays. As a little taster, they could listen to an audio-clip of one chapter, where the children explore ‘The Land of Topsy Turvy’. Alternatively, the children  might want to watch this short video clip of ‘The Land of Spells’  – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LEomYrVy-k

• Ask the children what would be at the top of their Magic Faraway Tree? What sort of world would they like to find?  Invite the children to share their world with you, in any way they choose.  This might be by audio clip, a video, a dance, drawing or painting or a story.  Why not create a class novel to rival Enid Blyton’s bestseller!

• Time to continue the magic. Last week the children had fun building their dens. Why not see if they can build a home for a woodland elf or fairy?  This website might give them some ideas to get started - http://www.treetoolsforschools.org.uk/activities/pdfs/pdf_elf_houses.pdf

• The children might now like to make their own magic potions, using natural resources from their garden, aprk or a local wood. What magic will their potions bring?  All they will need is a jar with some water, a stick to mix their ingredients and a magic spell!  Ideas for a spell can be found here - http://www.treetoolsforschools.org.uk/activities/pdfs/pdf_woodland_potions.pdf or perhaps the children could make up their own rhyming spell!  For an extra touch of magic, don’t forget their wand.  Here are some tips to create a colourful wand from a wooden stick - http://www.treetoolsforschools.org.uk/activities/pdfs/pdf_magic_wand.pdf

• If the children would like to experiment with magic potions indoors, this website provides some ideas to extend the learning and even make Rainbow Potions - https://redtri.com/pretend-magic-potions-kids-can-make/slide/1

• Why not finish the week with some Rainbow Fudge? Here’s a recipe which the children might like - https://www.booktrust.org.uk/globalassets/resources/blogs/2019/nadiya-holi-rainbow-fudge.pdf Enjoy!

Second Level

• Recap on the colour pink and how it made the children feel.

• Pink is traditionally associated with love, hearts and flowers. Some of the paintings in Pablo Picasso’s Rose Period help to convey those expressions of love.  Here are some images of his work during this period.  The children might enjoy finding out a little bit more about the artist and the different styles of his work. This clip might help to get them started.

• Maybe the children would enjoy creating their own Picasso styled painting from the Rose Period. They might want to style this on a portrait, a flower or even a heart.  For examples of how to do this, these clips might help - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iKmH84hoZo or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auWrjhpppmc

• Last week, the children used lots of natural resources to create their own dens and camps. Why not introduce them to Andy and Terry who live in their own cool den - ‘The 13 Story Treehouse’.  The children might want to read the book over the summer or listen to it being read in the following clips - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeVjrDd9fUM, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufLbi6Ynxno , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LjYm-Gnt5s , and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxtecn0qtzM

• Now ask the children to design their very own 13 Story Treehouse and then to make a model of this with as many natural resources as they can find. Will it have a see-through swimming pool, a lemonade fountain or even a marshmallow machine?  Let their imaginations run wild and see what they will come up with!  Don’t forget to ask them to post pictures of their creations!

• Time now for a challenge! Whether it’s in their den or in their treehouse, the children might like a snack.  Why not ask them to make a solar oven to toast their marshmallows!  All they need is a box, a poli-pocket or clingfilm and some kitchen foil – oh and don’t forget the marshmallows and chocolate!  And the sun…These websites might help with some ideas - https://desertchica.com/diy-solar-oven-smores-kids-science-experiment/ or  https://sciencing.com/solar-powered-oven-kids-4797415.html

• For some fun facts about the sun and solar energy, listen to this clip - https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zgwxfg8/articles/z6w8jhv

• Why not finish the week with some Rainbow Fudge? Here’s a recipe which the children might like - https://www.booktrust.org.uk/globalassets/resources/blogs/2019/nadiya-holi-rainbow-fudge.pdf Enjoy!

Note in relation to the use of online resources

Where online resources have been referenced, access to the resource is currently free. In some cases, this may be for a limited period and members should monitor their engagement on this basis. All online references have been selected on an illustrative basis for the relevant potential learning activities. There may be other websites and platforms which will provide similar activities.  In referencing these websites, the EIS does not endorse any advertisements shown on the page, the views of those presenting or the wider content of the website.