In the Foundation Stage, children will become increasingly aware of their own surroundings, recognising where things are and why they are there. They will be able to talk about buildings they recognise, journeys they make, parks and playgrounds they visit. Some children will be familiar with signs, numbers and language in the built environment.
Learning about people and their jobs in their area will help children to understand their place in the world and the value of the roles that other people play. They will begin to have a greater awareness of cultural differences and to develop ideas of citizenship. Developing a respect for the environment, and thinking about how people affect it, helps to foster the children's sense of wonder about the world around them.
Here are just some examples of cross-curricular activities that you may want to plan for children in the Foundation Stage.
All shapes and sizes
Explore different types of building in your local area. Start with houses and flats, and you will discover that you could easily repeat the exercise and focus on different shops and services or offices.
Sense of time and place
Shape, space and measure
Media and materials
Before you go
* Gather together a wide variety of pictures of houses from books, magazines, and estate agents' literature. Include less common homes such as caravans and pictures of houses similar to those near the setting.
* Use the correct vocabulary to describe the different types of houses and to make children aware of the many different types that exist.
* Talk about features that may be common to different houses - doors, windows, roofs, chimneys, bricks and walls.
* Look for patterns in brickwork, shapes and sizes of windows and doors.
Outdoors
* Choose a route for your walk that includes examples of different types of homes - large, small, old, new, flats, terraces and bungalows.
* Provide the children with clipboards and pencils and encourage them to draw the different types of houses that they see. Take some photographs to accompany these drawings.
* Take rubbings of the brick patterns.
* If the light is right, look at the children's shadows against the brick walls.
Back in the setting
* Talk about all the different houses you have seen and the children's drawings.
* Ask the children to describe the house in which they live. With careful questioning and prompting you will be able to help them recall some of the detail of where they live.
* Talk about and display the brick pattern rubbings. Encourage the children to make more on the outside walls of the setting.
* Provide drawing materials for the children to draw pictures of their own house. This is a good opportunity for children to use fine pens and pencils to produce more detailed drawings.
* Use the children's pictures and drawings to construct an 'imaginary street' in 2-D.
* The street can then be recreated in 3-D using small-scale construction or clay.
* You can use the street to develop mathematical vocabulary relating to position, size, distance and pattern.
* Provide building blocks for the children to build models of some of the houses or blocks of flats they have seen. Encourage the children to draw plans of the building that they plan to construct and to refer to and modify the plans when necessary. Work with the children to develop their plans and devise solutions to any problems that arise.
BUILDING BRICKS
Explore how buildings are constructed.
Behaviour and self-control
Movement and sense of space
Before you go
* Gather together a wide range of different materials for construction and provide lots of opportunities for the children to investigate them. These could include construction sets, large and small wooden blocks, sand, clay, boxes and cartons, bricks, planks of wood, plastic piping and guttering, fabric.
* Provide books and pictures showing the different stages in constructing a building.
* Perhaps a family member or friend working in the construction industry could come in and talk to the children about the job they do.
Outdoors
* On the walk, look for different types of buildings and any evidence of how they are made.
* Look out for examples of construction work that the children can observe safely and point out the different stages in constructing a building.
Back in the setting
* The outdoor area of your setting is a great place for construction activities, providing more space to build on a bigger scale, over a longer period of time.
* Remember to think about safety considerations when working on large-scale constructions. Negotiate with the children some rules that everyone will stick to.
* Help the children to plan a large-scale construction outside. Use structured questioning and discussion to help them think about and plan the different stages of the process.
* What are we going to build? Who is it for? What will it look like? How big will it be? Where will we build it? What materials will we need? Where will we get these from? How long will it take?
* Spend time on this planning stage to provide lots of opportunities for children to think through their ideas, express them in drawings and pictures, and organise the resources and help they need.
* As they are constructing, use every opportunity to draw attention to the different stages in the construction process and help the children to refer back to their original plans and ideas.
* Record the whole design and construction process with a camera to capture all the different stages. Talk about any changes that were made to the original ideas.
RIGHT DIRECTIONS
Plan a journey that involves following directions and looking out for and recording landmarks along the way. This activity will work best if you can arrange to take the children out in small groups of about six or eight.
Each group can record its own story of the journey for the others to share.
Different children will focus on different aspects of the built environment around them.
Communication, writing
Investigation and exploration
Before you go
* Talk to all of the children about the different journeys that they make with their families. Don't forget that there will be some children who rarely leave their immediate neighbourhood, while others will be seasoned travellers.
* Provide some large-scale maps and plans, or aerial photographs, of your neighbourhood for the children to look at. You will find that some children have a natural interest in places and plans.
* Decide which part of your area you want to visit and talk to the children about the route you will take to get there. Ask them what they think you will pass and what you will find when you get there.
Outdoors
* Take a camera to record significant features along the route. Each child will need a clipboard, paper and a pencil. You will also need a clipboard to do the recording for younger or less confident children.
* Record points of interest along the route - roads, signs, shops, street names, fences and walls, windows and doors, postboxes and litter bins.
Back in the setting
* When you get back, help the children to sequence their drawings and photographs to create a map of their journey. They may choose to make a book, a large-scale plan or a folding map.
* Different groups of children can share their recollections, observations and preferences by talking about their representations.
AT YOUR SERVICE
Investigate lights, pipes and cables.
Investigation and exploration, ICT
Communication
Before you go
* Provide a range of photographs of lights being used outside, such as streetlights, car headlamps, floodlights, security lights, shop windows, advertising signs and traffic lights.
* Discuss the different sorts of lights and their purpose - for safety (street lights, car headlamps), to give instructions (traffic lights), to attract your attention (advertising signs).
* Talk about road safety and the importance of being visible in the dark.
* Talk about services such as electricity, gas and the telephone - what we use them for, and how they reach our homes.
Outdoors
* Go out on a walk along a route that has examples of different types of lights for the children to see.
* Draw their attention to the street lights and ask them how they think they work.
* If there is a convenient set of traffic lights, spend time looking from a safe distance at how the lights change and how the traffic moves.
* If a road is being dug up nearby, use this as an opportunity to talk about different services such as gas, water, sewers and underground electricity and telephone cables.
* Point out any overhead cables or telephone lines.
Back in the setting
* Help the children to investigate the inside and outside of your building to look for evidence of pipes and cables.
* Rainwater guttering and drainpipes, central heating pipes and radiators are all good examples to look out for.
* Listen to and record children's ideas and feelings about the dark.
* Talk about all the different sorts of lights there are outside, including the moon and the stars. Discuss their ideas on why it might be important to be seen easily at night.
* Look at the photograph collection and talk about all the different activities which go on at night. Talk about all the different people who work at night. Ask: What would happen if all the lights went out?
LOOKING UP, LOOKING DOWN
Observe the built environment from the calm of a local park.
Exploration and investigation
Sense of space
Media and material
Before you go
* Make a collection of photographs and pictures of green spaces in built-up areas.
* Talk to the children about why they think there are green spaces in the built environment. Some things to think about could be that green spaces are attractive and 'soften' the townscape; parks are a haven for wildlife and people; playing fields are spaces for leisure and play; allotments are used for growing food and keeping people healthy.
* Plan a walk to your local park or common.
Outdoors
* Very often we don't notice what is under our feet or above eye level when we are walking outdoors. Remember that children in buggies have an even more restricted view of the world. Encourage them to look up and down as you walk along - try playing 'I Spy'.
* In the park, encourage the children to sit or lie down and look at the buildings overlooking the park and along the skyline. You may see rooftops, chimneys, cranes, towers. Talk about size, shape, structure and colour.
Remind the children never to look directly at the sun.
Back in the setting
* Play a game of 'Simon Says' with instructions to look up, look down.
'What can you see?' You can do this activity either indoors or outside.
SIGN LANGUAGE
Take a look at signs and symbols.
Reading, writing
Sense of community
Sense of place
Before you go
* Share with the children a range of pictures and books showing street scenes. Include a range of different images such as busy towns, city centres, small villages and country lanes.
* Talk about the different types of signs in each location, including road signs and markings, street names, directions, shop names, parking signs, adverts and notices.
* Look for examples of street furniture such as street lamps, traffic lights, post boxes, litter bins and recycling bins, bus stops, hanging baskets, seats, bus shelters.
Outdoors
* Take the children on a walk in your neighbourhood.
* Ask them to look out for signs and street furniture.
* Take time during the walk to talk about the signs and what they mean.
* Look at where the different sorts of street furniture are positioned and the purposes they serve.
* Take photographs of all the different types you see.
Back in the setting
* Talk to the children about where signs and street furniture could be introduced around your setting, especially outdoors. Decide where these could help people to:
* find their way around
* move and play safely
* know where things are kept
* look after the environment.
* Help the children to design and make some 'road signs' to be used outdoors.
* Look at different ways of improving the environment by introducing planters, litter bins and recycling points.
MAKE SENSE
Investigate sounds, smells and textures. This activity will need careful planning to make the most of the multi-sensory opportunities in the built environment.
Investigation and exploration
Communication
Before you go
* Plan activities in your setting which help children to focus on using their different senses. You might use a feely box, texture or sound blocks; play sound lotto; or make a 'sniff and tell' box.
* Talk about smells, sounds and textures in the built environment.
* Encourage the children to think about what they experience on their way to your setting and to predict the sounds, smells and textures they might find in the market, in a place of worship, outside the take-away restaurant or in the street on a rainy day.
Outdoors
* Choose a destination that will have interesting sounds or smells. You may decide to go to a bakery or Indian restaurant, a clocktower or a fountain.
* Plan the route so that it includes as many different sensory experiences as possible, such as touching walls, lamp posts and trees; listening to the birds, traffic, sirens and voices; smelling freshly cut grass, smoke and fumes, food and perfumes.
* Take a small tape recorder with you and record the children's reactions and the sounds that you hear.
Back in the setting
* Use the tape you recorded to recollect the sensory experiences on the route and to share memories of your walk.
* Use the children's heightened awareness to explore the sounds, smells and textures in your setting. Talk to the children about the ones they like and the ones they don't like. This will give you an interesting view of what the children think about their own built environment.
Keeping in touch Plan an activity that focuses on the job of a postman, as an example of somebody who works in your local area and has a detailed knowledge of the built environment.
Writing, reading
Numbers as labels
Sense of place
Imagination
Before you go
* Gather together a selection of examples of different things the postman delivers. These could include letters, cards, postcards, packages, catalogues.
* Look at the the address and stamps on envelopes, and talk with the children about where these have come from.
* If possible, invite the postman into your setting to talk about their job.
* This will give you the opportunity to talk about places close by and places far away, and how addresses are used.
Outdoors
* Go out on a 'detective hunt' to find how the post is delivered in your area.
* Look for street signs and house numbers and talk about how these relate to the addresses on envelopes.
* Look for letterboxes on doors, gates and walls. What shape are they? What size are they? Where are they placed - high or low?
* Find your nearest postbox. What shape and colour is it? What time is it emptied?
* Where in your neighbourhood can you buy stamps?
Back in the setting
* Set up a communication area where you provide: cards, paper, postcards and other writing materials, stamps and a postbox.
* Encourage the children to send messages. These could be to:l Other children in the group
* Children in another group or class
* Other family members.
* Help the children to organise a rota of who will be the 'postman'
responsible for delivering mail in the setting.
* You will need to decide how messages to family members are going to be delivered. Receiving their replies will cause great excitement in your setting.
* Think about positioning the communication area near to the door, and put the post box outside.
* You could then redesign the bikes so they become postal delivery vans.