A Journey to Discover South America
A Journey to Discover
South America
This new spring semester began with a South America unit of study, at the beginning of which the children explored the wonders of the Amazon rainforest: its extraordinary giant trees, incredible flowers and fruit, lackadaisical sloths, and giant-beaked big birds. After learning about the unique flora and fauna of the Amazon, the children soon became interested in all things South America.
“I want to see macaws, lizards, snakes, sloths, and llamas!” the children shared. The teachers couldn't wait to take the children to the zoo to look for the real animals. Unfortunately, due to the epidemic, we could not but cancel our “appointment” with the animals.
Seeing the disappointment on the children’s faces, the foreign English teachers decided on an exciting alternative: Let’s bring South America and its animals... to the school!
在新学期开展的南美洲系列主题活动中，世界上最大的热带雨林区奇观很快吸引了孩子们的好奇心，奇形怪状的巨树，不可思议的花果，行动缓慢的树懒，巨型嘴巴的大鸟……
结合孩子们天生喜爱动物的兴趣点，一系列的南美主题活动已经准备就绪，等待着孩子们去探索。
Animal Treasure Hunt!
“寻宝”活动
A Surprise at School
The teachers brought everyone a surprise: “Today we are going to explore the Galapagos Islands!” “We’re going to see some mystery animals.... Listen! Do you hear the animals all around us? They’re here at Little Oak!” The children eagerly discussed what they needed to bring on a treasure hunt. “We need magnifying glasses, backpacks, and our friends!”
“今天我们要去厄瓜多尔群岛探险。”
“我们要去寻找神秘动物！”
“你们听到动物的声音了吗？它们就在小橡树！”
孩子们开始激烈地讨论着探险之旅所需要的装备。
“我们需要放大镜和背包！”
“我们要和朋友们一起去探险！”
With a checklist for animals in hand, the children set off to explore the school and find the Galapagos animals. Let’s go!
每个孩子都兴奋地拿着自己的任务单，开始探寻幼儿园里的“加拉帕戈斯岛动物。”
In all corners of Little Oak hid the animals, waiting for children’s sharp eyes to spot them.
小橡树的每一个角落里，都藏着小动物，等着孩子们去发现。
Searching for the Animals
How did the children find the animals?
孩子们怎么才能找到动物呢？
Throughout the journey, the teachers read clues for the children to solve and find out where each animal was located.
在探险寻宝的路上，老师们准备了丰富的线索，引导孩子们学习倾听和猜测。
“What is this animal? I am a long reptile, but I like to live in water. If I bite you, you will get very sick.”
“这是什么动物？我是一个长长的爬行动物。我喜欢生活在水里。如果我咬你一口，你就会生病。”
“It’s a snake!”
“一条蛇！”
“You will find me somewhere that has things that you can build with.”
“你会在一个可以用来搭建的东西上发现我。”
“I know! It’s in the blocks!”
“我知道啦！就在积木边上。”
A Close Study of the Animals
The children used their little magnifying glasses to check each block and space until finally they found the yellow-bellied sea snake.
孩子们用他们的放大镜仔细地确认每一块积木，直到他们发现了一条有着黄色肚皮的海蛇。
Wow let’s take a close look!
“我们再靠近看看！”
“I want to read the hints myself!”
“我要自己读线索！”
After finding each animal, the children were excited to take close-up looks at the picture.
They carefully checked off the animal on their lists. Then they eagerly searched for the next mystery animal.
每找到一个动物，孩子们都会仔细地对照卡片，和任务单上的动物是否一致，做好标记后，再开始寻找下一个神秘动物。”
After the tour, the children discussed the South American animals they found. They all loved the bird-eating spider, so they planned how to make their own spider.
探险活动结束后，孩子们相互讨论着他们所找到的南美动物。大家都对食鸟蜘蛛特别感兴趣，于是孩子们讨论着如何动手自己做一个蜘蛛。
South America Travel Books
南美洲的“国家手册”
The children were so excited about South America that they wanted to learn more. The teachers took the children on another tour—this time exploring South American countries and their famous landmarks.
孩子们对南美洲主题都特别兴奋，希望了解更多的南美知识。老师们和孩子们又开启了新的探索—南美国家及其著名的地标。
Do the Rainbow Mountains of Peru really have rainbow soil?
Are there dinosaur fossils in the deserts of Colombia?
Does the Amazon River have pink dolphins?
彩虹山（秘鲁火山）上真的有彩色泥土吗？
沙漠里有恐龙化石吗？（哥伦比亚沙漠）
亚马逊河有粉色的海豚吗？
With these questions in mind, the children discussed the landmarks of Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Chile, and other countries. The children made their own South American travel books, by cutting out a map and recording their favorite facts and landmarks for each country. In this way, the children became “little tour guides” of South America.
带着这些问题，孩子们会讨论巴西、秘鲁、阿根廷、智利等南美洲国家地理位置，剪贴每个国家的地图轮廓，绘制自己喜欢的地标图案，活动结束后，每个孩子都拥有了属于自己的南美国家手册，并成为南美洲的“小导游”。
Through this South America unit of study, the children were able to have a fun and exciting adventure, use their endless imagination to role-play as explorers, and acquire and use language in an authentic environment. It was in this spring that the seed of curiosity was planted in the hearts of children so that they would maintain a positive and exploratory attitude towards the world around them, for learning can take place anywhere.
南美主题活动带给孩子们无尽的想象和惊喜，让孩子们在最真实的环境下习得了不同的文化和语言。丰富多样的感受和体验也在孩子们心里种下一颗好奇的种子，保有对周围世界积极，探索的态度，教育将无处不在。
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