Create British castle guards as a thematic activity.
Add themed arts and crafts to reinforce your lesson plans centered on the country of England. Shape the activities around the history, sights and cultural traditions of the British citizens. Allow the crafts to be graded as a group project or just for an enjoyable activity to align with the British thematic unit.
British Citizens
Create a British bobby, also known as a police officer, using construction paper. Draw and cut out a head, hat, body and nightstick and glue the pieces together. For younger students, such as those in preschool and kindergarten, print a template found on the Internet or photocopy one from a teacher resource book. Another British citizen is a royal guard, characterized by their red coats and tall fur hats. Glue the pieces to a toilet paper roll or a wooden craft stick to create puppets for story retelling.
Dramatic Play
Create a queen's crown for use during dramatic play. Cut a piece of construction paper in half lengthwise and tape it together end-to-end. Cut a zigzag shape in one edge of the long strip and decorate it with stickers, markers and glitter to replicate the Queen of England's royal headwear. Use metallic gold paper to cover poster board or card stock to make it shine and glue faux craft jewels on the points of each zigzag section.
Medieval England
During medieval times -- and even now -- large historical castles adorned the British countryside. Group students into pairs or threes and instruct each group to construct a castle from cardboard or large tissue box. Cut a castle shape by removing the top flaps and cutting into each side. Arrange towers, an entrance gate and an inner tower to protect and house the royals. Another craft idea is to create a medieval helmet by painting a plastic gallon milk jug and cutting off the handle area.
National Pride
Encourage students to draw the national flag of England on a piece of paper. Instruct students to create one of two types of flags. They can create the initial white flag with a large red cross across its length and width as the Flag of St. George, nationally recognizes as the British flag in 1278. They can also make the more well-known Union Jack flag with a red "X" under the red cross, each outlined in white. Display both types of flags on a themed bulletin board.
Holiday Celebrations
In British culture, Christmas crackers are used to celebrate the holiday and spew treats and decor when pulled apart from both sides. Fill an empty toilet paper tube with candy, confetti and small toys. Wrap a piece of tissue paper around it, leaving an extra 4 inches of paper at each end. Twist and wrap the excess tissue paper on each end with curling ribbon and allow the kids to crack open the wrapping.
Tags: construction paper, Create British, flag with, paper each, tissue paper, toilet paper