Living Books Arthur's Birthday

Classroom Activity

Confetti Clues

Age/Grade

Pre-School, Elementary, or Primary-Intermediate

General Description:

Everyone loves a surprise! Confetti and noisemakers are hiding somewhere on every screen page of Arthur's Birthday. In this activity, teams explore a screen to find the surprise and then draw or write clues to guide other students to the fun.

Objectives:

Observe carefully Record observations

Class Organization:

Team or learning center activity

Materials:

Copy of the Blackline Master: Confetti Clues for each team or center

Procedure:

1. Introduce the word "confetti" to your students. It's a fun word to spell and to rhyme. Demonstrate how Arthur plays with confetti on screen page 5. Then let your students in on a secret: a spray of confetti and noisemakers is hiding on every screen of Arthur's Birthday.
2. Divide the class into teams. Assign each team a different page in the computer program.
3. Schedule each team for 10 to 15 minutes of time at the computer.
4. Direct teams to use the Let Me Play option for their assigned page, exploring until they locate the shower of confetti. They should note or draw the objects near its hiding place, so they can construct an illustrated clue sheet, using copies of the blackline.
5. Off the computer, teams should write or draw a series of three clues leading to the location of the confetti on their assigned page.
6. The exact location should be revealed in a sentence or drawing on the back of the paper.
7. Collect these clue sheets into a folder that you keep near the computer for other children to explore.

Extension:

Challenge children to write a poem about confetti. What rhyming words can they think of in addition to spaghetti, Mario Andretti, and Betty?