Overview of learning 14

Example of literacy planning and resourcing 14

What we want children to learn (Development matters)

Show an understanding of the elements of stories, such as main character, sequence of events, and openings, and how information can be found in non-fiction texts to answer questions about where, who, why and how

Related Early Learning Goals

Express and communicate their ideas, thoughts and feelings by using a widening range of materials, suitable tools, imaginative and role-play, movement, designing and making, and a variety of songs and musical instruments (CD)
Ask questions about why things happen and how things work (KUW)

Possible contexts

Use books, story boards and puppetry.
Use the Internet and CD-ROMs.
Engage in imaginative and role-play.
Use music, songs and rhymes.
Exploit areas of children's experience within the setting, for example 'small world' play, construction, malleable materials and the creative area.
Find out about people from the local environment, for example a shopkeeper or policewoman.

Example of adult-led activities

Context: Storybook leading to non-fiction (The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle)

Read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Become familiar with the text. Share the book in different ways (scanned into interactive whiteboard software, on tape, in a PowerPoint, with objects in a story sack).

Discuss who or what is the most important in the book, who the book is about, who the main character is. Ask what happens to the main character, and play out the story with the objects from the story sack as the children lead you through. Prompt them when needed: 'What happens in the very beginning?'

Research into caterpillars and their cycle. Encourage children to find pictures in non-fiction texts that show what happens to a caterpillar: 'Is it the same as the caterpillar in the storybook? Do you think it ate the same foods? Does the book tell us what caterpillars really like to eat?'

Look up the author on the Internet: www.eric-carle.com. Use the site to see if there are more books by Eric Carle that they would like to read or have read, and to see how he creates his pictures, then copy his technique to make their own caterpillar pictures using pictures found in non-fiction texts.

Adult role

Share stories, rhymes and songs and refer to them across children's experiences. Bring favourite and well-known characters into play.
Pay attention to all details of a book, including front and back covers, who the author is, what the text on the spine is, why we have page numbers, where we start to read etc. Use a 'silly puppet' to read incorrectly and be corrected by children.
Provide story and rhyme sacks with books, objects, tapes, CD-ROMs, etc. Model uses and make available for play. Extend into puppetry, 'small world' or role-play.
Encourage shared contexts, through the use of stories, songs and rhymes, to imagine and recreate roles and experiences in 'small world' play, role-play, puppetry, construction, etc.
Extend dramatic play by planning with the children and helping them to record and reflect on experiences through photographs and video.
Model uses and follow up children's lines of enquiry by referring to non-fiction texts, CD-ROMs and the Internet.

Opportunities for children to explore and apply

Extend stories inside and outside. Provide props in a number of areas, for example add a making basket of cloths, tape, string, clothes pegs, etc. to construction, and make a story trail of objects from a favourite book or fairy tale that can be found and used by the children.
Make sharing stories, songs, rhymes and poems part of everyday experience. Make collections of favourites for rereading and learning some off by heart. Make story/rhyme sacks, including props, make story/rhyme/song tapes and CD-ROMs readily available. Use talking books on the computer or make your own. Make props that can be used on story boards or with the interactive whiteboard. Encourage retelling by providing microphones, listening back to stories or scribing children's own stories.
Follow children's lines of enquiry and interests by showing them how to find further information and pictures from non-fiction texts and websites. For example, a child fascinated by car badges and who knew many by heart was helped to make a collection by finding them on the Internet, printing them out, putting them into a scrapbook and adding it as an information book for others to learn from.

Adult role

Make a language and literacy rich environment. For an audit see Early Reading Audit.
Give opportunities to share and enjoy a wide range of rhymes, music, songs, poetry, stories and non-fiction books.
Share stories, rhymes and songs and refer to them across children's experiences. Bring favourite and well-known characters into play.
Provide story and rhyme sacks with books, objects, tapes, CD-ROMs, etc. Model uses and make available for play. Extend into puppetry, 'small world' or role-play.
Encourage shared contexts, through the use of stories, songs and rhymes, to imagine and recreate roles and experiences in 'small world' play, role-play, puppetry, construction, etc.
Extend dramatic play by planning with the children and helping them to record and reflect on experiences through photographs and videos.
Encourage story play by making story trails of objects from books.
Model uses and follow up children's lines of enquiry by referring to non-fiction texts, CD-ROMs and the Internet.

Look, listen and note

Do children understand the elements of stories? For example: Mehmet refers to the 'beginning' and 'end' of a story. He says, 'I don't like that ending; I think he should've run away and been happy ever after.'
How do they use non-fiction books?
Observe how they use language in their pretend and imaginary play.

Assessment opportunities

Observe children recreating familiar roles in play.
Observe children retelling stories and see if they are able to sequence, for example in a story board, and if they pick out main features, for example what happened in the beginning and who the main characters are.
Do children ask who, what, why, when questions when sharing non-fiction texts?