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Use focused activities to help children explore the world through their senses with a two-part project from Judith Stevens Practitioners may plan a project based on 'the senses' on its own, or as part of a much larger theme on 'ourselves'. The project should cover all five of our human senses - sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.
Use focused activities to help children explore the world through their senses with a two-part project from Judith Stevens

Practitioners may plan a project based on 'the senses' on its own, or as part of a much larger theme on 'ourselves'. The project should cover all five of our human senses - sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.

This theme covers all six areas of learning, but above all supports children 'exploring and investigating', which is one part of Knowledge and Understanding of the World. However, a project such as 'the senses'

shouldn't comprise solely adult-led experiences and activities.

All adults working in the team need to consider very carefully the vocabulary they will be introducing and modelling throughout the learning provision.

Children's awareness of the senses they are using when playing with sand, exploring malleable activities, listening to music or eating their lunch can be raised by the sensitive use of open-ended questions.

By providing stimulating and challenging experiences that promote children's imagination and curiosity, practitioners can engage all children in this popular theme.

Adult-led activities

Off the wall

Create a texture wall.

Key learning intentions

To work as part of a group, taking turns To interact with others, negotiating plans and taking turns in conversation To investigate materials, using all of their senses as appropriate Adult:child ratio 1:4

Resources

* Fabrics with assorted textures, including hessian, felt, fake fur, netting and rug canvas * assorted beads, buttons, straws, feathers * sand, cocoa shells, gravel, shells, wood shavings * aluminium foil, sandpaper, glitter, sequins * paper and card with assorted textures, including metallic, crepe, corrugated and tissue * boxes in assorted sizes * assorted fixing materials * A1 or larger pieces of heavy card

Preparation

* Gather together the textured resources and present them in an interesting way - for example, in natural baskets, boxes and trays.

* Make sure that the creative workshop can accommodate a large group of children working together co-operatively.

Activity content

* Look at the resources and talk about them.

* Introduce and reinforce vocabulary - naming the objects/materials and the way that they feel.

* Talk about the task - creating together several large-scale collages to be mounted on the wall, at child height.

* As the children select textures, write down their comments in 'speech bubbles'.

* Support the children in selecting materials and fixing them to the card.Create a 3D layered effect by attaching some boxes first, then adding additional textures.

* When finally setting up the 'texture' wall, consider having a central feature of something very smooth, such as a mirror tile, to offer children contrast.

Extending learning

Key vocabulary

Nouns such as hessian, netting, canvas, foil, sandpaper Descriptive vocabulary such as metallic, smooth, bumpy, rough, soft, hard, scratchy

Questions to ask

* What does it feel like?

* What do you think it is used for?

* Can you think of a way to fix the box to the card?

* What will happen to the gravel when we pick the box up?

* How do you think we can move the huge collage to the wall?

Extension activities

* Offer opportunities for the children to create individual collages on a smaller scale, using A4 card and many of the same materials.

* Ensure the 'texture wall' display includes speech bubbles with the children's own words about the materials and what they were doing.

* Take photos of the experience, and create a book with the children called 'Our texture wall', using photos, their drawings and writing, and their own comments.

* Encourage the children to look at and feel the wall and support their developing vocabulary.

* Let children try on a blindfold and encourage them to describe what they are feeling on the wall and guess what it is.

* Go for a 'texture walk', looking at walls in the local environment.

* Use 'touch and feel' books with the children, and encourage them to create their own textured books.

Sound it out

Go on a sound walk.

Key learning intentions

To distinguish one sound from another

To use ICT to support their learning

To notice differences between features of the local environment

Adult:child ratio 1:up to 6 (1:2 off premises)

Resources

* Digital camera and cassette recorder with microphone * A4 card, glue sticks, markers, speech bubbles

Preparation

* Before going on the walk with the children, ensure the adults are familiar with the route, within the setting, the outdoor area, or in the local environment and identify appropriate places to stop and listen. Where necessary, carry out a risk assessment if the children are to be taken off the premises.

* Ensure the children are familiar with the use of the digital camera and recorder.

Activity content

* Talk to the children about the walk, where you are going and what you might see and hear.

* Walk slowly, encouraging the children to listen all the time. When someone hears something interesting, stop, listen and identify the sound together. Where possible, make an audio recording and digital image. In a similar way, make pre-planned stops on the route.

* Back at the setting, edit and print the images with the children as they write comments in speech bubbles about the sounds they heard. Where appropriate, act as a scribe.

* Help children to fix the photographs and matching speech bubbles on a piece of A4 coloured card.

* Continue until a group book is created, with the children's photographs and comments on each page.

* Later, at group time, listen to the audio recording and try to find the image and comments to match.

Extending learning

Key vocabulary

Noise, noisy, quiet, sound, loud, quiet, nice, horrible, microphone, recorder, image, record, route, describe, beep, bang, siren, alarm, buzzer, bell, horn

Questions to ask

* What do you think is making that sound?

* Can you think of a way to describe that sound to someone else? What else does it sound like?

* Where have you heard that sound before?

* Do you think it could be a....? Why not?

Extension activities

* Encourage the children to use the book and audio tape independently to recall the journey.

* Support the children as they record sounds and images indoors and outdoors independently.

* Use the edited audio recording and images to make a sound lotto game for the children to use independently.

Child-initiated learning

Role play - at the optician's

Additional resources and adult support

* Wherever possible, take the children to visit a local optician.

Alternatively, invite an optician to visit the setting to talk to the children and/or watch CD footage about an optician (see resources).

* Create a role-play area that includes a reception space with appointment book and cards, keyboard, till, money, mirrors, calendar, eye care leaflets, price labels, instructions, and lots of spectacle frames and sunglasses. Also include an examination area with eye charts (letters and pictures), seat and prescription pad writing formats.

* Observe, and where appropriate, extend the children's imaginative role play.

* Support the children as they select glasses, book appointments and carry out 'sight tests'.

* Model the use of specific resources and act 'in role' as an optician, receptionist, sales assistant or anxious/angry client.

* Ask open-ended questions that encourage the use of imaginative and descriptive language.

* Encourage the children to add additional resources or use equipment in creative ways to support their play.

Play possibilities

* Making up their own stories

* Talking about past experiences with glasses or opticians

* Sorting the frames by size, colour or style

* Expressing and communicating their ideas, thoughts and feelings through role play

* Taking on different roles and exploring the use of language

* Identifying pictures and letters during 'sight tests'

Possible learning outcomes

Has a growing awareness of the needs of others

Uses language to recreate roles and experiences

Remembers and talks about significant things that have happened to them

Uses imagination in role play

Feely box

Additional resources and adult support

* Make a feely box, using an empty photocopy paper or similar-sized box.

Cut a hand-sized hole, and cover box in bright, colourful wrapping paper.

Fix a piece of fabric over the hole, from the inside, allowing room for a hand to fit inside, but obscuring vision.

* Provide a selection of assorted objects, some of which have attributes in common - for example, wooden, plastic and metal cars, assorted spherical objects or soft and hard items.

* Introduce and reinforce the use of specific descriptive vocabulary.

* Support the children as they explore and describe the objects.

Play possibilities

* Making connections with previous experiences

* Finding items which have similarities and differences

* Identifying objects and their uses

* Talking about events which have included the items

* Developing descriptive vocabulary

* Asking and answering questions appropriately

Possible learning outcomes

Persists at an activity of own choosing

Uses simple statements and questions

Uses language such as 'heavier', 'lighter', 'smaller' and 'bigger'

Investigates objects, using senses as appropriate

Explores materials by patting, stroking, poking, squeezing and twisting them

Exploratory play - lenses and coloured acetate

Additional resources

and adult support

* Provide a selection of magnifiers, lenses, coloured acetate sheets, binoculars, telescopes and viewers. Present these in attractive wicker baskets or wooden trays. Add information texts about sight.

* Encourage the children to collaborate as they explore the resources.

* Introduce and model the use of key vocabulary, including sight, seeing, vision, look, see, eyes, lens, magnify, distort, acetate.

* Ask open-ended questions about what the children are doing and why - what can they see? Why do they think it looks different to usual?

Play possibilities

* Exploring the lenses and magnifiers

* Making connections with earlier experiences

* Looking at photos and text in books

* Using the resources to support imaginative or role play about explorers, adventures or pirates

* Working as part of a group, co-operating and negotiating

Possible learning outcomes

Displays high levels of involvement in activities

Knows that information can be retrieved from books

Investigates objects, using senses as appropriate

Handles objects with increasing skill

Sound lotto

Additional resources and adult support

* Provide a sound lotto game (see resources) and cassette/CD player.

* Introduce and reinforce language specific to the experience.

* Support the children as they take turns and co-operate to play the game autonomously.

* Encourage the children to talk about the sounds and come to a consensus about what makes the sound.

* Support the children's conversations, encouraging them to discuss the game.

Play possibilities

* Recalling and making links with own earlier experiences

* Creating story lines involving the sounds

* Experimenting with making sounds that mimic the CD or making up own sounds and sharing them with others

Possible learning outcomes

Works as part of a group, co-operating and negotiating

Distinguishes one sound from another

Uses ICT to support their learning

Uses a range of equipment with increasing skill

Areas of learning

Personal, social and emotional development

Communication, language and literacy

Mathematical development

Knowledge & understanding of the world

Physical development

Creative development

Child-initiated learning

Recent EPPE research has found that: 'in the 'excellent' settings, the balance of who initiated the activities (staff members or child) was nearly equal, revealing that the pedagogy of the excellent settings encourages children to initiate activities as often as the staff. Also, staff regularly extended child-initiated activities, but did not dominate them...freely chosen play activities often provided the best opportunities for adults to extend children's thinking. Adults need, therefore, to create opportunities to extend child initiated play as well as practitioner initiated group work, as both have been found to be important vehicles for promoting learning'.

* EPPE Technical Paper 10 - Case Studies of Practice across the Foundation Stage (DfES/Institute of Education, 2003, London)

Resources to support the theme

* Ourselves theme pack - handbook, CD-Rom and DVD, including footage of visit to an optician (Early Vision, tel: 01989 567353, www.

earlyvision.co.uk)

* Senses Big Book (NES Arnold, tel: 0845 1204525, www.nesarnold.co.uk, Pounds 20.95)

* Our Five Senses - pack of 35 photographs (NES Arnold, 24.95)

* Soundtracks lotto game (NES Arnold, 5.99)

* Senses by Jinny Johnson (Kingfisher)

* See! (also Touch!, Hear!, Smell and Taste!) by Ruth Thomson (Franklin Watts)

* The Senses by David and Penny Glover (Franklin Watts)

* The Five Senses by Sally Hewitt (Franklin Watts)

* The Eye Book by Dr Seuss (Random House)