Squirrel Away - Key Stage 1 Literacy

Download our KS1 Literacy - Squirrel Away worksheet here

Learning Objective: Key Stage 1 Literacy

Composition - Writing for different purposes

Resources

• 15 Acorns
• 3 sets of large numbered leaves from 1 -5, Paper, clipboards, pencils, trowels
• Pre-printed maps of the school grounds from Google Earth, with three defined areas.

Introduction

Discuss as a class how in the autumn, squirrels collect nuts from Oak and Beech trees and hide them away, to create a surplus food supply for winter. Talk about the phrase ‘squirreled away’ and where it comes from! Discuss how a squirrel would bury the acorn in loose earth, and ask the class to think of how the squirrel might find their hidden acorns in the winter. Then split the class in to three groups of 10.

Activity

Show the class the pre-printed maps of the school grounds, and explain you would like to class to ‘squirrel away’ the acorns, hiding them under the large leaves.

Give each group an area in the school grounds, and a copy of the map with their area marked, a clipboard each with paper and pencils, 5 numbered leaves, and 5 acorns to hide.

In their groups, put the children in to pairs.

Each pair is a pair of squirrels, must work together to hide the acorn under a numbered leave, is then write a clue for the other group, give each group an area of the school grounds to hide their acorns

Model a sentence such as ‘Acorn number one is between the shed and the tree’, and ask the children to work together as a group to decide where to hide their acorns, ensure the acorn is covered with a numbered leaf, write their clue, and then mark on the map roughly where the acorn is hidden.

Join the class together and explain it is now winter and they must together as a group find the hidden stash of acorns.

Visit each of the three areas, and ask the pairs to read aloud their clue, look for the acorn together, and discuss if the clue was accurate.

Extension

Once all the acorns have been collected, talk about how sometimes the squirrels forget where they have planted their acorns, and how this works well for the acorn, as the acorn germinates and begins to grow.

Find an area in the school grounds where the acorns can be planted, and use the trowels to plant the acorns, and ask the children when they are back in class to write a step by step guide on how to plant an acorn!