The country of Sweden is surrounded by approximately 221,800 islands.
Learning about landforms, and islands in particular, can lend itself to many enjoyable projects. An island is any landform smaller than a continent that is completely surrounded by water. Islands can be close to land, like Cuba, or in the middle of an ocean, like the Azores. Having students create their own islands or making an island with ant inhabitants is a fun and educational way to learn more about this landform. Studying the island cultures of various island nations is another way to help children learn and retain information about islands.
Make an Island
Read a book related to islands, such as "Treasure Island" or "Lord of the Flies." As part of the lesson, study characteristics of islands, and challenge students to make their own miniature islands. Recommend that students create an island inside a small plastic tub using rocks, dirt, sand, clumps of grass and sticks for trees. Encourage the students to decorate their islands to reflect a scene in the book.
Ant Island
Dig up a black ant hill, and put it in a large glass jar. Fill in the empty spaces with loose dirt. Do not cover the jar. Place the jar inside a plastic tub filled with water. The ants will walk on the top of the jar and even on the sides but will not cross the moat. You can also place other smaller jars of dirt in the tub and make bridges to see if the ants cross over and repopulate the new "islands."
Hawaiian Culture
Another creative project for a unit on islands is to study different island cultures, such as that of Hawaii. Surprise your students by wearing a grass skirt and lei while teaching about Hawaii. Have a class luau, and ask the students to bring in traditional Hawaiian foods, such as poi. You can even clear some space in the classroom to teach the class to hula dance as a nice break from worksheets and book work.
The Island Nation of Japan
Another island culture that is enjoyable to study is the island nation of Japan. Younger students will enjoy making paper lanterns to decorate the classroom. Students can learn about the differences in plant and animal life on the island. For a craft, take small branches and pink tissue paper to make blossom trees with the students. You can also explore religious and cultural differences. Use small Styrofoam trays of sand and rocks selected from the school yard to create miniature zen gardens.
Gateway to Freedom
Students can learn about how Ellis Island was an entrance way into the United States. During the unit, they can learn about genealogy and research their family trees. Discuss the myth of how names were changed at Ellis Island and how names were really changed over time. Have students research their own last name to see if it has changed, or make up variations of their names for fun.
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