What do sheep do all day?

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Activity 2

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Learners consider their prior knowledge and understanding about sheep. They use primary and secondary sources to gather further information and extend their thinking. Learners consider possible dangers to grazing animals and apply what they have learned through authoring a story or cartoon.

LNFLiteracy Numeracy

Developing numerical reasoning, Using data skills.

Oracy across the curriculumDeveloping and presenting information and ideas.

Reading across the curriculum Locating, selecting and using information, Responding to what has been read.Writing across the curriculum Organising ideas and information, Writing accurately.

Opportunities to develop

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3

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CurriculumFoundation Phase

Personal and social development, Well-being and cultural diversitySkills - 1,4-9.Range - PD:2,3,5,6; SD:1,2,4,6; MSD:1; W-b:1-5,9.

Knowledge and Understanding of the worldSkills - 1-5,7,9,10,12-20 Range - PAP:1-3,9; TAP:1,3,4; MAOLT:1-6.

ResourcesResources included with this activity1. Cartoon image showing dangers to grazing animals

2. Suggested focus questions in sets, relating to each task, which can be given to each pair as they start each task. Conversely, these questions can be used by the teacher.

Resources required for this activityA3 paper, pens, PC access.

DCFCitizenship

Identity, image and reputation; Digital rights, licensing and ownership

Planning, sourcing and searching; Creating; Evaluating and improving

Producing Interacting and collaborating

Collaboration; Storing and sharing

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Ask pairs of learners to think about and discuss what they think sheep do all day. Invite learners to share their ideas with the class and then, in small groups to create a mind map on A3 paper to show their thinking through drawing and writing.

Suggested questions• What sorts of things might a sheep do during the day? Why do you think that?• What might they do at night? How do you know?• When do they eat? How do you know?• Do you think sheep drink water and sleep? Why do you think that?• Who looks after sheep? Why do you think that?• What needs do these animals have? How do you know?

FoundationPhase

Task 1: What does a sheep do all day?

How to run the activityPreparationPrior to this activity you will need to arrange for someone local to bring a sheep or lamb into school. For example, one of the learners might live on a farm or a teacher or school governor might know someone. If required, you could contact PONT via their website to help set this up https://www.pontcymru.org/ . Alternatively, learners could be taken to visit a farm or petting zoo if there is one in the nearby locality.

Ensure that the sheep minder has been given clear information about arrival time at the school, where to park, how to gain access to the building and so on. Provide the minder with your mobile number and school contact details and check with them the day before that they are still okay to attend and bring the sheep with them. Carry out a full risk assessment.

Doing the activityEncourage learners to use ‘Think-pair-share’ when they are considering questions you might ask. They think individually about a question, discuss their ideas with a partner and then share their combined ideas with the rest of the class. Try to steer clear of learners putting their hands up to answer by randomly selecting different pairs to feedback. This will keep learners more engaged as they know they might be chosen to share their ideas at any moment and it will stop the same children answering all the time.

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Explain to the class that they are going to meet a sheep and you expect them to behave calmly so that the sheep does not become scared or distressed.

Arrange the learners into small groups of 3 or 4. Explain that each group will be given one minute to touch the sheep. The rest of the time you want learners to observe the sheep and add any new ideas or thoughts to their mind map.

Ask the minder to bring the sheep into the classroom and invite each group of learners to spend a minute with the sheep and to add to their mind map.

Suggested questions• Why do we farm sheep? What makes you think that?• What do you think we use sheep for? Why do you think this?• What does the sheep feel like?• How do you think the sheep’s coat is taken off? Why do you think that?• What happens to the coat after that? How do you know?

When all groups have had time to touch the sheep for a minute, encourage learners to ask the minder questions to find out more information. For example, they might try to find out what it eats, when it sleeps etc.

Ask the learners to consider what they have learned about sheep and what other questions they might have that still need answering. Encourage them to also look for data about sheep, for example, they might find out how many sheep farms and sheep there are in Wales or the UK or what is the world record for the heaviest sheep. Provide support if required, to help learners use the internet to find any further information they need to answer all their questions and to add new ideas and information to their mind map.

Suggested questions• What else do you want to find out about sheep?• What data about sheep could you search for?• How will you search for this information?• What sort of websites might be best to find this information? Why do you think that?• How will you know if the information you find is true/reliable? Why does that make it

true/reliable?

Task 3: What do we need to complete the sheep jigsaw?

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Task 2: What can we find out by observing sheep?

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Provide small groups of learners with Resource 1 and ask them to imagine they are a grazing animal in the cartoon image. Invite learners to discuss and consider what might be a danger to them in the cartoon image. Learners might share their ideas with the class and say which they think is the greatest danger and justify their reasoning.

Suggested questions• What might be a danger to you in the cartoon image? Why do you think that?• How could this be a danger to you? How do you know?• What harm could you come to? What makes you think that?• How could this danger be prevented? Why would that work?• What would be the greatest danger to you? Why do you think that?• What should people do if they are on land where you are grazing? Why?

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Task 4: What dangers do grazing animals face?

Explain to learners that they will be given a choice of two activities that will give them the opportunity to show what they have learned about what sheep do. These could be drafted as hard copy or digitally if possible.

Invite learners to either:

A. Pretend you are a sheep – you have a voice now.Write a short story to tell people about a typical day in your life.

OR

B. Pretend you are a sheep – you have a voice now.Draw a cartoon story to show the day in the life of a sheep. Add speech bubbles toshow your thoughts throughout the day.

Suggested questionsInvite learners to consider:

• How will you start your story/cartoon? Why start it like this?• What information do you want the story/cartoon to contain? Why?• What type of story/cartoon will you create? Why?• How could your story/cartoon be an adventure, comedy or horror?• How will your story/cartoon end? Why?

Task 5: How do I tell a story like a sheep?

Learners might be encouraged to take their story/cartoon home to complete or redraft. These might be brought back to school and shared with other classes or posted on the school website.

Extension Ideas