07 Playground and Beach

👩‍🏫 Teacher’s Guide

Objective
Students will compare play at the playground and the beach and describe ways to stay safe.

Vocabulary
playground, slide, swing, sand, shell, wave, shore

Teaching Notes

• Ask students to share experiences at playgrounds and beaches (or similar local places).
• Make two columns: “Playground” and “Beach” and sort activities into each.
• Talk about safety: taking turns, staying near a trusted adult, and following water rules.
• Highlight ways to enjoy nature: noticing sand, shells, water, slides, swings, and sounds.
• Encourage students to compare: “At the playground I… At the beach I…”

🧒 Student Worksheet

Concept and Helping Material

Definition. A playground is an outdoor place with equipment for play, such as slides and swings. A beach is a place where land meets water, often with sand, shells, and waves. Both are places to have fun and enjoy nature.

Helping ideas and samples:

• At the playground, children climb, slide, swing, and run.
• At the beach, children build sand structures, look for shells, and splash in shallow water with an adult.
• Both places require safety rules like taking turns, watching where you walk, and staying with your group.
• You can use your senses everywhere: what do you see, hear, feel, and smell?

Vocabulary and Definition

• — an outdoor place with equipment for children to play on
• — a smooth surface you sit on to glide down
• — a seat that hangs and moves back and forth
• — tiny grains of rock found on beaches and in sandboxes
• — the hard outer covering of some sea animals
• — water that rises and falls in the ocean
• — the place where the land meets the water

Words to Learn

e.g. , , , ,

Sentences to Fill In

e.g.

1. 07 Playground and Beach connects to .
2. A is an idea we use in this lesson.
3. I can use one new word, , in a sentence today.
4. I can share one thing I learned with my family at .
5. I can listen and take turns when we talk about .

🧪 Think & Respond Q&A

1. What is different between a playground and a beach?

2. What is something both places let you do?

3. How do you stay safe at the playground?

4. How do you stay safe at the beach?

5. Why do waves move?

6. Where do you find playgrounds?

7. Where do you find beaches?

8. How can you tell the two places apart?

9. What happens if you run on wet sand?

10. How would you explain these places to a younger child?

Hands-On Experiment or Activities

e.g.
What You Need:

• Chart paper divided into “Playground” and “Beach”
• Crayons or markers
• Paper for drawing a favorite outdoor place

What You Do:

1. Brainstorm activities and sort them into the Playground or Beach column.
2. Circle any activities that can happen in both places (for example, running, laughing, eating a snack).
3. Have students draw themselves either at a playground or at a beach and label three things they do there.
4. Create a short list of safety rules for each place.

Think and Talk:

• What is one way to be a good friend at the playground?
• What is one way to be safe near water at the beach?

Reflection

e.g.

• Which place do you think is louder, the playground or the beach? Why?
• Which place feels more calm to you, and why?
• If you could build a new playground or beach feature, what would it be?