November Teaching Calendar
Updated: Dec 16, 2021
Sensory ideas and inspiration to celebrate the month of November.
'Sensory Poppies' by Year 9 students
November 1st - 7th
UK Parliament Week
Activity Ideas
Hold a classroom debate!
This could be a random topic: 'Is there life on other planets?', a current affair 'Climate change' or write a variety of different topics onto slips of paper, place into a bag for students to randomly select one a topic to debate for a set amount of time then choose another.
Debating promotes turn taking and listening skills (listening to others' ideas), supports critical thinking and builds confidence.
On a sensory level ensure you support your students in having a voice to express their likes, dislikes and sensory preferences. Teaching rejection is equally important.
Provide plenty of opportunities for students to make choices (this could be at snack/lunchtime, through play and in the materials they use for art and craft activities)
November 4th
Diwali
Celebrate the Festival of Lights
Make a 'Diya' candle holder using clay, playdoh or plasticine.
Make a Diwali card.
Engage the senses, explore Indian food including Indian sweets, samosas, pakoras and paneer.
Explore Indian herbs and spices. Explore spindle-shaped cardamom pods. Can the students peel open the capsules to reveal the small, black seeds inside? Smell the smokiness of the cardamom and the intense woody, nutty fragrance of cinnamon sticks. Explore the tiny oblong, yellow-brown seeds and taste the bitter sweetness of cumin seeds
Explore the colours and patterns of a silk sari. Direct torchlight onto the sparkles and sequins to make them glisten. Offer students the opportunity to dress in the sari.
Using chalk, draw a Rangoli pattern onto a Tuff Tray, provide coloured sand for students to pour onto the patterns.
You may like:
'A Train Ride Through India - A Multisensory Exploration'
Table of Contents:
How to Tell a Multisensory Story
A Train Ride Through India (Fully Resourced, Step-by-Step, Multisensory Poem)
A Train Ride Through India Listening Game
A Train Ride Through India Sensory Bin
A Train Ride Through India Sensory Bag
Sensory Indian Flag
Train Ride Role Play
Let's Explore...Asiatic Lions
Mehndi
India Themed Sensory Ideas & Inspiration
You may also like:
'Holi - A Multisensory Adventure!'
Celebrate the magic and colour of the festival of Holi with this fully resourced, step-by-step multisensory story.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Prepare to Celebrate (Gathering Story Props)
How to Tell a Multisensory Story
Holi Poem
Holi- A Multisensory Exploration
Holi Themed Sensory Umbrella
Holi Themed Sensory Tent
Holi Themed Sensory Bin
Holi Themed Sensory Bag
Holi Themed Listening Game
Let's Make...Holi Powder Paint
Jackson Pollock Themed Art
Scented Paint
Paint Bombs & Cinnamon Stick Painting
Paint Splatter Picture
Colour Sorting
Thandai Recipe
Holi Ideas & Inspiration
November 5Th
Bonfire Night
Create a Bonfire Night Sensory Bin.
Place materials for students to make a 'bonfire' in the centre of the tray (leaves, twigs, pinecones)
Add strips of yellow, orange and red tissue paper to recreate the flames.
Add a guy.
Add chalks for students to draw fireworks onto the Tuff Tray.
Create a Firework Display Picture
Lay a large sheet of black paper onto the floor. Take a selection of balls (spiky, tennis, ping pong etc) dip the balls into the paints then roll across the paper to create a firework display.
Make Edible Sparklers
You will need:
A Box of breadsticks
Melted chocolate
Sprinkles/popping candy
Dip the end of the breadstick into the melted chocolate then decorate using sprinkles or popping candy.
Make a Guy
Dig out those old clothes and stuff with straw or newspaper.
November 11th
Remembrance Day
This multisensory picture of 'Poppies in Flanders Fields' is amongst my treasured possessions.
I was teaching a class of Year 9 teenagers with special educational needs and we were tasked with producing a giant piece of artwork to showcase at a Remembrance Day school assembly.
We started our activity by looking at real poppies and watching footage of poppy fields.
We then gathered our craft materials.
We Used
A sheet of paper or card
Material scraps/sandpaper/foil/tissue paper/glitter
Bubble wrap/packing peanuts/shredded cardboard matting/hay/straw
Selection of paintbrushes/rollers/sponges/nail brush/toothbrush
PVA glue or glue stick
Buttons/flower heads/sequins
Perfume
Designing the Background
Students used a variety of materials to make the greenery of the poppy fields, hay and straw, bubble wrap and shredded cardboard matting. We explored primary and secondary colours by mixing yellow and blue paint together to make green paint.
We practiced our hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills exploring a variety of tools to paint the backgrounds. We dabbed with sponges, rolled with rollers, and painted using a variety of different brushes including nail brushes and even an old toothbrush!
The Poppy Petals
I had provided pre-cut petal shaped cardboard templates for students to decorate using a variety of tactile materials from our material scraps bag including sandpaper, velvet, denim, cotton, felt, fleece, cotton wool, aluminium foil, tissue paper, lace, sawdust shavings and of course the obligatory glitter!
The Poppy Centre
The centre of the poppies were decorated using buttons, sequins, cellophane sweet wrappers and real flower heads.
Finishing Touches
The poppy picture was then misted with spray of perfume!
At the end of the activity we proudly displayed our masterpiece at the assembly then displayed it on the wall in the school corridor.
We listened to a recording of The Last Post as each student was presented with their own poppy to wear with pride!
November 15th -21st
Road Safety Week
Get Outdoors!
Using chalk and cones (raid the PE cupboard!) create roads, pavements and a roundabout.
Assign bikes, scooters, go-carts to students assigned as 'drivers'
Assign other students the role of pedestrians (regularly swap roles)
Use chalks to create a zebra crossing.
Assign a zebra crossing/lollipop person. Make a crossing sign for the student to hold (affix a your circular sign to a long cardboard tube) and put them in charge of safely stopping traffic and safely helping pedestrians across the road.
Assign a traffic policeman/woman.
Make road signs ('Stop!', 'Slow', '20mph' etc)
Provide hi-vis jackets.
The imagination is the limit as students engage in role play.
November 27th - Dec 5th
National Tree Week
Plant a Tree from a Pinecone!
This is a wonderful activity can be done indoors.
You will need:
A small plant pot
A pinecone
Soil
Water
A sunny windowsill
Fill your pot with soil.
Plant the base of your pinecone into the soil.
Water lightly.
Place on a sunny windowsill.
You will see new growth sprout from the pine cone which can be replanted outdoors in the spring!
Make Bark Rubbings
Place a sheet of paper over the bark. Rub lightly with crayons/chalks or charcoal.
Hug a Tree!
Share a Tree Poem
'Sitting under the old oak tree
Its branches reach as high as I can see
Have you ever hugged a tree?
Its leaves dapple over me
Feel the rough deep groves in the bark
I love the trees in my park'
November 27th December 11th
The Sensory Festival
I am delighted to have been invited for the second time to present at November's Sensory Festival.
I will be presenting my multisensory 'Jack and the Beanstalk', and discussing how to use the story and the props to build communication skills and promote learning.
November 28th - December 6th
Hanukkah
Celebrate the Jewish festival of lights.
Enjoy Traditional food
Potato pancakes, doughnuts, and fritters.
Play a Dreidel Game
Make an Edible Menorah
Cut a banana into thick round slices. A slice of banana will be the base of your Menorah. Dip the end of a piece of breadstick into chocolate spread or yellow buttercream/icing (this will be you flame) Place the other end of the breadstick into the middle of the banana slice (this will be your candle)
Make a Hannukah Sensory Bag
Place items related to the festival into a non-see-through bag (candles, gold coins, star shaped objects (playdoh cutters), LED candles, tinsel, cinnamon sticks, apples, pretzels
Give the bag a gentle shake to gain the sensory explorer's attention.
Invite the sensory explorer to place their hand into the bag and select an item.
Encourage the sensory explorer to use their sense of smell, touch, hearing and taste to guess what the item is. (If the sensory explorer is unsure then provide plenty of clues.)
Build functional language skills.
Ask the sensory explorer to tell you or show you what you might do with the item and where you might find it.
(If the sensory explorer is unsure, model what to do with the item and see if they can copy your action.)
Allow the sensory explorer time to explore the item and process the information then shake the bag again for them to select another item.
Keep language simple.
Focus on phrases such as 'Choose' or 'Take one' when presenting the bag to the sensory explorer.
Focus on the name of the object e.g, 'pretzel', 'candle', and two-word phrases e.g. 'red apple'
For more information about Sensory bags Click here
Other Dates in November
1st - 12th Nov COP26 Climate Change Conference
1 Nov All Saints Day
2 Nov All Souls Day
3 Nov National Sandwich Day
6 Nov National Saxophone Day
7 Nov Hug a Bear Day
10 Nov World Science Day
11 Nov St Martin's Day
11 Nov Armistice Day
13 Nov World Kindness Day
14 Nov World Diabetes Day
15th - 19th Nov Anti Bullying Week
17 Nov International Students Day
19 Nov International Men's Day
19 Nov Children in Need (BBC)
20 Nov Universal Children's Day
21 Nov World Fisheries Day
21 Nov World Television Day
21 Nov World 'Hello' Day
25 Nov Thanksgiving
28 Nov Advent Sunday
30 Nov St Andrew's Day
Fun Facts about November
November is the last full month of Autumn.
Explore the sights, sounds, smells and textures of Autumn with a Multisensory Story.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Story Props Checklist
How to Tell a Multisensory Story
Autumn Full Story
Autumn Fully Resourced, Rhyming Multisensory Story
Autumn Themed Sensory Bin
Let's Explore...Dormice
Let's Explore...Hedgehogs
Autumn Walk
Autumn Food Tasting
Make a Bug Hotel
Autumn Leaves Craft Activity
Autumn Ideas & Inspiration
What to look for in Nature in November
Head outdoors for an Autumn walk or forage around your outdoor learning area:
Find five different items to look at
Find four different items to touch
Find three sounds to listen to
Find two things to smell
Find one items to taste
Ideas: Acorns, Apples, Animal Tracks, Apples, Bark, Beech, Berries, Birds, Bracken, Brambles, Bugs Colours, Conkers, Elderberries, Frost, Fruits, Fungi, Geese Greenfinch, Halloween, Hazelnuts, Hedgehogs, Horse Chestnut Tree, Hops, Insects, Leaves, Mist, Moss, Nuts, Oak Tree, Pears, Pinecones, Seeds, Sloes, Squirrels, Starling, Swallows, Sycamore Seeds ('Spinners'), Tracks, Trees and Twigs.
Autumn Leaves
In November the outdoor areas will be carpeted with leaves.
Promote gross motor skills, rake and sweep the leaves!
See how many different coloured and shaped leaves you can find.
Make a leaf collage.
Current Catalogue
(Click to Expand)
Find out more
For more sensory ideas and inspiration visit the website
www.rhymingmultisensorystories.com
Health & Safety Advice & Disclaimer
Please Read Before Engaging in any of the Activities
The author has used their best efforts in preparing the information on this website and makes no representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy, applicability, fitness or completeness to the contents.
The information is for pleasure purposes only.
If you wish to apply any ideas and activities contained in this blog, on the website or in any of the multisensory stories or resources, you are wholly responsible and take full responsibility for your actions.
The activities are designed to be led and supervised by a responsible adult at all times.
A Note on Allergies/Intolerances
If you have any doubts regarding any activity or prop used, then seek advice before starting.
Be aware of potential choking hazards.
Check the ingredients in any items you may be using for any potential food or skin allergies or respiratory reactions. If you see any signs of redness, swelling or other symptoms of a suspected reaction seek immediate medical advice.
The interactions should be led by the sensory explorer who should be allowed to participate without expectation.
Never force stimuli and stop the activity if the story explorer shows signs that they are not enjoying the session.
Your questions, queries, comments and feedback are always welcome!
Contact me via email
rhymingmultisensorystories@outlook.com
or send me a message via social media:)