One of our children arrives at nursery and invariably offers a detailed and analytical account of the previous night's television programmes, including soap operas such as 'Coronation Street' and 'EastEnders'. Opinions vary on the value or harm that television poses to young children, but whether we like it or not, most children spend a great deal of their time watching TV programmes and videos. So, tap into their interests and stimulate their imaginative and creative skills as well as developing communication, language and literacy through a project on television.
ADULT-LED ACTIVITIES.
Boxing clever.
Make TV sets for the children to create their own TV programmes.
Key learning intentions.
* To retell narratives in the correct sequence
* To find out about and identify the uses of everyday technology
Adult:child ratio 1:4
RESOURCES.
* Rolls of paper * large cardboard tubes * pens * pencils * crayons * paint * Sellotape or glue * cardboard box with the front cut out to form a TV screen * tape recorder with microphone
Preparation
* Over several days share discussions with the children about television programmes that they have seen. Encourage them to discuss characters and storylines and express their opinions. Find out what they and other family members watched the previous evening or in the morning before coming to the setting.
* Share information about watching television at home - who watches what, when, where and why.
* Provide television listings magazines for the children to explore and discuss. Share information about the times and length of programmes and which channel they are on.
* Encourage children to make paintings and drawings about programmes that they watch, like or dislike.
* Provide clipboards and encourage children to gather information about programmes and record their preferences in graphs and charts.
* Share simple stories with the children, pointing out the order of what happens and the different pictures on each page.
* Let children practise recording and replaying songs, rhymes or other items on a tape recorder.
Activity content
* Explain to the children that they are going to make a television story.
Decide what the story will be about and what pictures will be needed to represent each stage. Initially, choose a maximum of six to ten pictures, depending on the children's age and abilities.
* Attach one end of a long length of paper to a large cardboard tube. Roll the paper around the tube and attach the opposite end to another tube.
* Section off the paper according to the size of your television screen and the number of images you will use.
* Write the title on the first screen, invite the children to draw the pictures in the correct sequence, and on the last screen write the words 'the end', together with the names of all the children who are participating.
* Use the cardboard box as a television. Cut slits in either side for feeding through the paper and holding the screen picture in place. Ask a child to stand on either side to wind on the paper on the tubes.
* The two children can narrate the story as the pictures appear on the screen, while the other two children are the audience.
* They can then swap roles and repeat the television programme or make a new programme together.
* Alternatively, children can record the story on a tape and play it back as they show the pictures on the screen.
* Store the finished tubes and television storylines in a 'television'
cardboard box and build up a supply of favourite television programmes for the children to use independently in the home corner or in any other area in the setting including outside.
Key vocabulary.
Television, screen, frame, picture, programme, characters, story, beginning, end, wind on, record, play-back, listen, sound, volume.
Follow-up activities
* Provide materials for children to devise and produce their own stories or make up sequenced pictures of their own experiences, such as a farm visit, a birthday party, a train journey, visiting a relative, going on holiday or having a pet rabbit.
* Provide junk materials for the children to make their own television sets and remote controls.
* Create stories on the television using hand puppets or finger puppets.
CHILD-INITIATED LEARNING.
Encourage children to explore and develop their own ideas and interests across the curriculum by providing materials for them to create or recreate television programmes on a large scale.
Resources.
* A piece of cardboard with the centre cut out to form a television screen (make the screen large enough for the children to perform within the screen area, and position it in a doorway or suspend it from the ceiling) * dressing-up materials including wigs, hats, scarves and face paints * junk materials, scissors, glue, Sellotape and paint * writing materials * musical instruments, taped music and a variety of taped TV programmes including the weather forecast, children's news, and interviews or discussions * if possible, a video camera
POSSIBLE LEARNING EXPERIENCES
* Dressing up to perform and recreate well-known stories, songs and nursery rhymes on the television and exploring different roles and characters.
* Devising stories and acting them out using dressing-up materials, face paints and props as appropriate.
* Using musical instruments to create sound-effects.
* Using taped music to perform movement sequences or dances.
* Producing television programmes such as the weather forecast, using maps and charts and designing weather symbols.
* Using microphones - real or pretend - to interview adults or each other.
* Producing 'news' programmes - talking about what they have been doing recently, any exciting or interesting events or future plans.
* Talking about the programmes they are producing, giving other children listings and times of programmes on their 'television'.
* Using the video camera to record activities inside and outside the setting. Talking about what is happening and/or interviewing the participants and playing these back on the television.
The practitioner role
* Tape the programmes that the children have made and play these back on a real television. Encourage children to review and assess their programmes and discuss any changes or additions they may wish to make.
* Engage in activities alongside children and become involved in their imaginative play as appropriate - supporting their ideas and extending thinking.
* Model and extend language and vocabulary.
* Ensure children have sufficient time and space to develop their ideas and provide resources as necessary.
* Record children using the video camera or (if you are feeling really brave) teach children how to operate the setting's video camera.
* Support children in learning how to operate the setting's tape recorders and television/video players independently and safely.
Denise Bailey is a nursery teacher at Annesley Primary School, Nottingham