Extracts fromthe

Activity School Pack




Back in School


McDonald's stores were designed for role play in the Nursery, Reception and Year 2 areas with machines, tills, money and food baked by the children. These were made from a wide variety of waste materials and play dough.

Using information gained on their visit, the children and teachers used a wide variety of materials to recreate McDonald's. The store provided uniforms, and soon children were working in their own stores and visiting them as customers.

In Year 2 this activity was made more complex by giving the children role-play cards. These consisted of a number of cards indicating different jobs in the store e.g. Manager, Customer, Crew Member etc. There were also a number of cards indicating what might happen in the store that day e.g. A BREAK-IN The Store has been broken into. A Police Officer comes to investigate. Will they solve the mystery?

Once the stores were up and running the children began to set up a Head Office to take orders for suppliers and also a main supply depot. Typewriters and telephones were provided. The children in reception built their own delivery truck from large construction blocks. This work was not directed by the teachers, the children saw the need and filled it.

The Manager of the local store came in often to supply the children with real materials for their store e.g. Cups, Party Items, Containers and Wrappers for the hamburgers etc. The children had soon built up a working relationship with the Store Manager. The children also instigated extensions to their role-play and were so well motivated by this work that soon the teachers' pack had been extended, with suggestions from the children themselvs.

Activities included the use of database programs on the computer.
It was noticed in the store, office and at the main suppliers that a similar system was used to check stock and order. PIGEONHOLE - (a Database Program) was used and extended in conjunction with a role play office/store.

The program was used to record what was sold each day in the Berkeley Infants McDonald's Restaurant. The children used this information to estimate the quantity of each food item they would need to order for the following week. This was then printed on a block graph.

This work involved storage and retrieval skills. It also helped the children understand what it means to be a consumer and the implications of consumer choice.

Computers were also used to build graphs showing pupils' favourite foods.

We also noticed on our visit to the McDonald's store that the till was similar to a concept keyboard. The children on their visit also noticed this, as they are familiar with their use in school - an ideal opportunity to experience the use of a computer linked with their use in the real world.

Party hats and models of McDonald's stores were designed and made. Dance, role play and the use of money, poetry, report writing and science investigations also developed through the McDonald's theme.

Board games were developed by all the teachers to address Maths attainment targets and to make Maths fun.

Later in the term, staff from McDonald's School Governors and Representatives from the Education Business Partnership visited the school. They toured the school watching and talking to the children as they worked. They saw activities that covered all areas of the curriculum. During the visit children in the school demonstrted their excitement and interest in the work they were doing. Their attitude and the quality of work produced demonstrated that when basic skills are reinforced through real life experience, the work is more relevant and meaningful.

The very reason why the partnership was taken up in the first place!

IDEAS

Topic Work

START OF TOPIC

  • Visit to the local store as part of investigative work about the local High Street. Revisit the store as a consumer to buy a meal.

    GEOGRAPHY

  • Draw a plan of the local High Street showing the position of McDonald's and other local stores.
  • Draw a plan of the inside of the store.
  • Make a model of the inside of the store using Lego or felt.
  • Paint pictures of the store inside and out.
  • On the map of England showing distribution of the stores (available form McDonald's), mark the local store and those in parts of the country which children have visited.
  • Discuss the use of buildings and compare the use of other buildings in the local area.
  • Talk about the people they saw at work in the store and the work they were doing.
  • Use the distribution map to discuss the length of the journey from Manchester, the main local supply depot, to the store.
  • Sort some of the items used in store. Discuss what they are made of.

    HISTORY

  • Explore changes in the use of the McDonald's store site - using old photographs of the high street. (available from the local museum)
  • Talk to parents/grandparents about where they used to eat when they were young.

    IDEAS

    MUSIC

    Make up own words for Old McDonald had a Store to the tune of Old McDonald had a Farm.

    Use instruments and voice to represent the sounds of the store - work in small groups to make up their own repetitive piece. Perform to others.

    Use above as music to enhance their dance / movement.

    Use simple signs and symbols to record their music for others to play.

    Examples of worksheets contained within the pack