Kindergarteners Go Around The World: Week 23 ~ Italy

This post is part of the series “Around the World in 28 Weeks: Art, Literature & Geography Lessons for Kindergarten.” For an introduction, overview of the entire course, and links to more lesson plans, please click here. Thank you for visiting Cotton Ridge Homeschool!

Introduction to Week 23

This week you will be returning with the children in your class to the continent of Europe and traveling to the country of Italy. You can do the lesson plan activities in the order that you prefer.

Below is a Printable Lesson Plan Schedule for the entire 28 weeks and a blank lesson plan grid. Just click on the thumbnails below to open and view. For best results, download to your computer or open in Adobe Reader before printing.

Prep Work

Gather books and supplies (see checklists below)
Print out handouts and 3-hole punch them for notebooks (see checklists below)

Thanks for joining us!

Disclosure: The books and supply links below lead to products on Amazon. I am an affiliate and will receive a small commission if these links are used to make a purchase.

Week 23 Lesson Plan

Date and Destination

Date: Third Week of March**
Continent: Europe
Country: Italy

Pretend Passport: Please see Week 2 for suggestions on how to use the Play Passports during your lesson. Below are free printable Passport Stamps. Please click here for free Airline Tickets, and Cruise Ship Tickets printables. Just click on the thumbnails below to open and view. For best viewing/printing results, open in Adobe Reader.

Reading (10 – 15 minutes)

Story: The Clown of God by Tomie dePaola

Discussion: Ask questions to determine reading comprehension; tailor these to your children’s ages and abilities. Depending on the size of your class and as time permits, try to allow each child to participate. Don’t drag this part on too long or your kids will lose interest. Here are a few to get you started:

Did you like the story? Why or why not?
What was your favorite part?
Questions based on the Who?, What?, Why?, When?, and How? of a story are great for getting kids thinking.

Geography (5 – 15 minutes)

Globe or Wall Map Activity: With your class,

find the Continent of Europe
find the country of Italy
find the capitol: Rome.

I have been allowing the kids to take turns putting little dot stickers on the country we visit on our wall map each week. They have really enjoyed this little extra!

Map Handout*: Pass out the Map Handout to your class and allow them to color the page as time permits. You may want this to be the last activity of your class so they can be kept busy until the next class starts or until their parents pick them up. Have the kids place their handouts in their World Traveler Notebook (3-ring binder) before they leave.

Below is a free printable Map Handout in PDF format. Just click on the thumbnail below to open and view. For best results, download to your computer or open in Adobe Reader before printing.

Art (30 – 40 minutes)

Stained Glass Votive or Canvas Art

You Will Need:

Glass jar or 5″ X 7″ Canvas Panels (one for each child)
Tissue Paper Squares in various colors
Elmer’s Washable Glue, Clear
Water
Small shallow bowls and spoons
Paintbrushes
Wipes or damp towel
Battery Operated LED Tea Lights or tea light candle (if using glass jar)

1. Mix equal parts of glue and water in shallow bowls and stir until blended well.

2. Brush glue on a small part of your surface, then apply tissue paper. It tears easily, so be careful and try not to touch it until the glue dries.

3. Repeat until surface is covered, varying colors and overlapping each square slightly.

4. When dry, cover surface one more time with glue/water mixture.

Note: My 5-year-old wanted to make a pattern with her colored squares on her canvas. I covered my canvas randomly, then added the cross with black tissue squares to see how it would look. I like both the before and after results!

Other Activities (10 – 15 minutes)

Facts and Flag Handout*: Pass out these handouts to your class and allow them to color the pages as time permits. You may want this to be the last activity of your class so they can be kept busy until the next class starts or until their parents pick them up. Have the kids place their handouts in their World Traveler Notebook (3-ring binder) before they leave.

Just click on the thumbnail below to open and view. For best results, open in Adobe Reader before printing.

*If there is not time in class, provide these as handouts for the kids to do at home. The pages can go in their World Traveler Notebooks as a record of their journeys.

**Our homeschool coop begins during the last week of August, but the Around the World course can be started at any time of year. Some re-arranging of the weekly plans may be necessary due to holidays, but with a little planning ahead of time, this should be very manageable.

Supply Lists

General Supply List

Globe or large World Wall Map
3-Ring Binder for each child for handouts, 1-1/2″ size
3-Hole Punch
Date Stamp
Markers, crayons, and/or colored pencils
Roll of paper towels
Computer and Printer (color printer is recommended)

Week 23 Supply List

The Clown of God by Tomie dePaola
Passports and World Traveler Notebooks for each child from Week 1
Printables from this post: Travel Tickets, Passport Stamps, Map Handout, and Facts & Flag Handout