In the first of a new series on planning for the Foundation Stage, Jane Drake focuses on the book area to show how practitioners can think ahead in the long, medium and short term for effective learning
Long-term planning
Long-term plans chart learning that is likely to occur while a child is in a setting and the main experiences, resources and activities that will allow this learning to occur. Such planning ensures that a setting's permanent provision gives continuous access to a broad and balanced curriculum.
Possible learning experiences
The book area offers rich learning opportunities in communication, language and literacy, especially in reading. It should also promote learning in other areas of the curriculum by enabling the children to:
- select books to look at
- share books with children and adults
- listen to stories
- become familiar with the basic conventions of books
- become aware of the difference between illustrations and writing
- learn that, in English, text is read from right to left and top to bottom
- turn pages
- talk about illustrations, key characters and events in a story
- tell a story from memory or using picture clues in a book
- make up stories, and perhaps record these on tape
- use books to find out information. The children may take the books to other areas of the setting to support their learning, for example, recipe books in the home corner or instruction books to the technology workshop
- make books.
Organisation
Position the indoor book area in an area free from distractions and away from any 'thoroughfares'.
Organise books into categories - fiction, information, poetry and so on. If groups of books are offered on a rotational basis, compile a catalogue of titles and store the books in clearly marked boxes.
Provide open shelf units, wall-mounted book racks, magazine racks and kinderboxes to make books accessible and attractive to children. Where necessary, provide labels with both pictures and words.
Store hand puppets on wooden paper towel holders and hang story sacks on safety hooks.
Provide display space such as a low table for a non-fiction book display on insects, or pin a piece of carpet to the wall and use it as an interactive storyboard with Velcro-backed pictures.
Provide comfortable seating and floor cushions to create a cosy atmosphere. If the floor is uncarpeted, provide a large rug. If the ceiling is very high, drape fabric such as chiffon to create a 'marquee'.
Plan to provide books in the outdoor area - book display racks can be hung on fences.
Spend time supporting children's learning in the book area on both a spontaneous and a planned basis.
Resources
Settings should provide:
- fiction and non-fiction books reflecting a range of cultures and promoting positive attitudes towards racial and religious diversity, disability and gender. Include traditional and modern material and dual-language textbooks
- pictures related to stories, poems and rhymes and information posters
- catalogues, comics, magazines, instruction leaflets
- children's handmade books and photograph albums
- a listening centre, story and rhyme tapes/CDs, blank tapes, environmental sound tapes (such as jungle sounds)
- hand and finger puppets and puppet theatre, soft toy book characters (such as Kipper), small-world equipment that relates to storybooks
- mark-making equipment, clipboards and book-making tools and materials
- story sacks
- items to stimulate children's imagination such as lengths of fabric, exotic shells, interesting stones and keys.
Adult role
- Share stories, rhymes, poems and information books with children.
- Tell stories using props and without the support of a book.
- Listen to children's storytelling and attempts at reading.
- Model the use of key vocabulary such as front, back, page, word, letter, next, picture, illustration and author.
- Ask questions to challenge children's thinking, for example, 'What do you think the story might be about? What do you think will happen next? Do you know any other stories about Kipper? Which book do you think will tell us about shells?'
- Support children caring for books.
Medium-term planning
Medium-term planning usually covers the next two to six weeks and enables practitioners to offer children additional experiences within the permanent areas of provision.
Medium-term planning may be linked to a topic, interactive display or curricular area. Topics can provide a useful stimulus for learning, but practitioners should guard against imposing too many adult-initiated activities and let children determine the direction in which to take their learning. The following are examples of medium-term planning for the book area.
Autumn
Additional resources
Information books about trees, display of leaves, magnifying glasses, paint shade strips (available from DIY stores), pencils and paper.
Activities
Collecting fallen leaves, handling leaves and talking about observations, matching leaves to pictures in books, matching colours of leaves to shade cards, drawing leaves from observation using books for reference.
Author focus: Eric Carle
Additional resources
A range of Eric Carle books, 'review' sheets, picture props for each story.
Activities Looking at similarities in the styles of illustration, talking about favourite stories, looking at the characters in different books, retelling stories.
Number focus
Additional resources
'Ten in a Bed' poster and book, doll's bed, ten small soft toy characters.
Activities
Attempting to read the book, counting back from ten and using the props.
Christmas
Enhancements
Nativity story, information books (including maps) about the Holy Land, seasonal songs and rhymes books/tapes, small-world display area including stable, farm animals and people, festive recipe books.
Activities
Retelling the Christmas story through small-world and role play, talking about festive food, sharing experiences of Christmas, singing Christmas songs.
Short-term planning
Short-term plans cover what a setting will do over the next few days and enable practitioners to respond to children's individual learning interests and needs. The starting point for short-term planning is always observation. Through observation, practitioners can assess children's learning and plan for a child's next steps. Several children may have similar needs, so staff can sometimes plan to target a small group.
The following case study illustrates how practitioners responded to a child's interest.
Case study: Liam
Observation
Liam was delighted to discover a dinosaur 'world' in the sand tray and has returned to it each day, creating scenarios and developing story ideas. He shows a wide knowledge of dinosaurs, including the feeding habits of the stegosaurus and tyrannosaurus rex. He has described features of dinosaur models he has at home. Liam has been keen to find out more and has asked questions such as 'Does this dinosaur eat leaves?' and 'Why has this one got wings?'
Staff response
Staff, recognising Liam's fascination with dinosaurs and his general reluctance to use the book area, planned for him and other interested children to access information and storybooks about dinosaurs in the book area.
Key early learning goal
To 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 of where, who, why and how.
Resources
Dinosaur information books, storybooks, comics, rhymes and posters; photographs of the children's play as their ideas develop (taken by children where possible); model dinosaurs; paper, pencils, A4 plastic pockets, treasury tags.
Activity content
- Encourage the children to talk about dinosaurs while playing in the sand area.
- Ask them to choose dinosaur models to take into the book area.
- Show and give the children time to explore the books, comics and posters.
Encourage them to identify their models in the information books.
- Show the children the photographs. Encourage them to talk about their play, ideas and observations. Sequence the photographs with the children and scribe any story ideas that develop.
- Encourage the children to make observational drawings of dinosaurs from the models, help them to record a 'fact file' for each dinosaur, slot the drawings and fact files into the plastic pockets and bind with treasury tags.
- Encourage the children to share their made books with others, and perhaps take the books to the sand area.
- Keep the dinosaur literature in the book area for as long as children are interested.