Peace at Last: Extending Learning Opportunities for Math and Literacy

Submitted by Gwyn McCormack on Nov 27, 2017
a group of stuffed bears with a knit tea cup and treats in front of them
These activity ideas are extended learning opportunities for the book Peace at Last by Jill Murphy.  Begin by reading the story aloud using the Story Bucket and then follow up with the many great Maths early learning ideas!  Children can practice basic concepts, such as same and different, serial order, sequencing, counting, measuring, shape recognition, and time, as well as emergent literacy skills and visual attention.
 

Materials

  • Peace at Last by Jill Murphy
  • Teddy bears of different sizes
  • Knitting needles
  • Toy bed
  • Toy aeroplane
  • Wind-up cuckoo clock
  • Toy car
  • Toy house
  • Alarm clock
  • Newspaper
  • Mug of tea
  • Other items from the story

 

Emergent Literacy Skills:  "Peace at Last" presented in a Story Bucket

  • Gather together items from the story to make a story bucket.
  • Read the story aloud with the children.
  • Watch the video together.

 

 

story bucket with stuffed bears, knit mug, newspaper, and other objects       

 a toy owl and hedgehog among pine cones and star lights

  • Sequence events 
  • Match initial letter sounds to objects
  • Match words to objects
  • Role play the story
  • Put all objects together beginning with the same letters
  • Make model of house, add tactile windows, door 
  • Explore real objects in story bucket
 

Same and Different 

knit mug with hot chocolate and two pieces of knit toast with butter

  • House sides, knitting needles, two legs, arms, eyes, ears 
  • Same aeroplanes
  • Different animals in the trees
  • Explore different textures within story bucket – fur, wool, wood
 

Ordering

a teddy bear with glasses in a car made out of a cardboard box with windshield wipers

  • Arrange bears by size
  • Organize pyjamas and slippers by size
  • Role play story by sequence of events, place items from story in order 
 

Counting

cardboard house with aluminum foil roof, cut out windows and door               different color bears with a spinner indicating different parts

cards with different color paw markets on them, each labeled with a number      a stuffed toy bear on a bed made of cardboard boxes and a green blanket

  • Count snores by bears
  • Count arms, legs, eyes (twoness of two, oneness of one)
  • Count house sides
  • Count windows, door, roof, chimney
  • Count knitting needles
  • Count slippers
  • Count paws (match colours) make patterns with paws
  • Count doors/windows/windscreen wipers
  • Make bed for Bear – how many boxes are needed to make a bed big enough for a teddy bear?
 

Measuring

teddy bear with eye patch sitting in cardboard wheelchair         teddy bear with eye patch sitting next to cardboard wheel chair

  • Measure bears – toy, baby, mum and dad bear (order smallest to biggest) 
  • Measure bears:  biggest and smallest (hold smallest, hold biggest feel difference)
  • Measure knitting
  • Unwind ball of wool and measure length
  • Measure length of knitting needles
  • Measure sides of house
 

Shape Recognition

two circular objects, one bigger than the other

  • Explore circular shape of moon
 

Time

  • Tell time on Cuckoo Clock.
  • Use Lazy Sue to make a clock face and a moving clock hand.
 

Positive Looking:  Visual Skills, such as looking, attending, fixation

Mr. Bear wearing glasses and a shiny throw pillow

  • Shiny roof on house
  • Light inside house
  • Shiny paws on teddies
  • Shiny buttons on dress – Mrs. Teddy
  • Red ribbon on teddy (baby teddy)
  • Red patch on toy teddy
  • Shiny pillow (Mr Bear’s)

Collage of Peace at Last

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