The Specialists at Canterbury PS are a highly motivated and collaborative team that work to ensure that
their curriculums are connected as much as possible to the scope and sequence topic at each level.

During Term 1 the music teacher, and myself started to discuss the possibility of a World Cup unit as an
integrated activity. The other specialists were quick to jump on board with the idea. We decided that
we would integrate with Level 3 and the Term 2 topic, Cultural Diversity. The focus of this unit is on
immigration and more specifically where each student’s families originated and Soccer is
considered the “world game”.

The six Level 3 classes randomly selected one of six countries (India, Vietnam, England, South Africa,
China and Italy.) as their class team. Each Specialist teacher contributed to the development of the
teams and students’ knowledge of the country they were representing so that at the end of the
term a World Cup Tournament and Expo could be held to celebrate and share the learning that occurred
over the term.

The rules and skills needed to play soccer were taught during PE sessions.

In Music, students learnt the songs of the World Cup and their chosen country’s national anthem.

In the Learning Resource Centre each class learnt how to research their country and prepare relevant and
valid information for presentation during the expo. Students worked in groups to create displays which
included factual posters, quiz games and interactive activities.

Art sessions were dedicated to the creation of a team mascot. The project began with a presentation of all
World Cup mascots from England’s “World Cup Willie” to South Africa’s
“Zakumi”. We discussed each mascot’s features using Art Elements and Principles and
why each mascot was effective or how it could be improved. We brainstormed key features of the country
that could be used to design mascots. Students considered flora and fauna, food, rituals/ceremonies,
climate, colours and uniforms as elements they could incorporate into their design.

The first challenge was to create a large and simple A4 mascot drawing. Students traced their drawing
through to scrap paper. They used this pattern to cut out two felt shapes for the front and back for
their soft toy.

I discovered several instructional videos on the internet to teach students how to thread a needle and sew
with a running stitch. After they completed a sample stitch, they attached different felt parts to
their mascot. Because some details were difficult to sew on, some students chose to use Supertac or
permanent markers. Blanket stitch was used to attach the front and back together and stuffing was added
before it was sewn up.

The classes voted and chose one mascot to represent their team.

In Italian, students were taught the commands for coaching soccer, how to describe their mascots and the
country they were researching. This information was a crucial part of the Opening and Closing
Ceremonies, which were conducted in both English and Italian.

The final celebration was organised, invitations were sent home to families welcoming them to watch the
events and visit the expo.

Several Year 4 students ran the Opening Ceremony. After each country’s national anthem they
introduced each team in Italian and then translated into English. The expo followed and students from
other levels visited the displays, which included the mascots and participated in the games and
activities the students had prepared about their countries.

A round robin tournament was held where students competed against all teams to decide who would play in the
finals. Students showed excellent sportsman ship and all students were proud of their achievements on
the day.

The bilingual Closing Ceremony included presentation of awards and acknowledgments to everyone who made the
project possible. Celebrating the end of the project through the Tournament and Expo allowed for
students, parents and staff to share in the learning that is possible through collaboration.

Deirdre Zabel
Visual Art Teacher
Canterbury Primary School
Suitable for Level 3