Early Years:
Overall Theme - Animals
Overall Themes
Phase One Animals at Home –
Pets/Vets
Phase Two Dinosaurs
Phase Three Chinese New Year
Phase Four Farm animals
Phase Five Wild Animals
Phase Six Animal Patterns
Phase Seven Noah’s Ark
Phase Eight Life Cycles
Communication and Language
Show interest in stories/deaf rhymes. Engage in answering simple
questions related to the day’s routine, e.g. milk/water? What fruit
would you like at a word/sign/phrase/sentence level as appropriate?
Begin to indicate preferences for activities, be able to simply
discuss what has been going on and review activity. Respond to
texts from ‘Rigby Star.’ Develop vocab. for every day activities.
Morning Meeting Settling back in
Focus on greetings friends, known and new children/adults
Circle times/ BSL rhymes – describe their pets/paintings of pets
Discuss photos of pets
Ask each other about pets Respond to stories/ questions from
adults Role play vets
What does a dinosaur do? Small world play to
develop language
Responding to other people’s ideas
Animal noise listening games
Create a class story using small world toys
‘What did the pig do next…?
Retelling stories above/answering questions about stories/deaf
rhymes/ pre-reading skills
Grouping & naming animals and features
Retell Who’s Spots? Who’s Stripes?
Retell Noah’s story, sequence pictures
Making predictions based on life cycles caterpillar/eggs?
Term 3/4 2015/6
CSpencer
Jan 2016
Personal, Social & Emotional Development
Core Learning Skills:
I can explain why people may feel the way they do
Separating from carer/escort Establishing greetings and morning routines known staff, new
adults/children talking about family /family events
Caring for our pets – vet
What can we do if we are scared? Caring for others when they’re scared
Respecting other views / awareness of others / Chinese food tasting, New Year Story/animal
race
Taking turns in games, animal lotto using sign and voice, listening games of animal sounds etc.
Small World/role play
Respecting/caring for animals & their different needs – endangered species, questions about
zoos, trip to zoo etc.
Similarities/differences Camouflage – looking after themselves
Noah’s story/hot seating. Choose animals for the ark,
Growing up/responsibilities/ special events
Life cycle of caterpillar
Literacy
Recognise name/ Recognise other children’s names
Begin to write initial letter of name
Experiment with mark making
Show interest in stories/deaf rhymes
Begin to label work –phrases, words, and sign graphics
Rigby Star Books – lilac level
Environmental sounds – animal/insect taped lotto
Describing pets Fiction and non-fiction books on pets
Naming pets , sign names, deaf rhymes describing attributes
Appropriate pets – e.g. Dear Zoo. Animal features vocab, e.g. ears, tails, whiskers, fins etc.
Gestures to match music – ‘Glump Glump’
Dinosaur stories, Harry & the Bucketful of Dinosaurs (Ian Whybrow &
Adrian Reynolds) Naming dinosaurs
Chinese New Year Story, Information books about China Mon Feb 8th – Yr. of the Monkey
Discuss & retell Farmer Duck (Martin Waddell/Helen Oxenbury), and other farm books.
Initial animal sounds work/ representational sounds of animals
Ongoing small world play
Retell Dear Zoo (Rod Campbell) Write letters to the zoo asking for a pet. Sequence story.
Retell wild animal stories
Who’s Spots?, Who’s Stripes? (Fiona Munro)& create own page of book
The Mixed-up Chameleon (Eric Carle) Create own ‘mixed up animal’
Describe animal patterns Handwriting patterns Non-fiction books
Noah’s Ark story,
Non-fiction books & internet linked to lifecycles
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle)
Early Years:
Overall Theme - Animals
Overall Themes
Phase One Animals at Home – Pets/Vets
Phase Two Dinosaurs
Phase Three Chinese New Year
Phase Four Farm animals
Phase Five Wild Animals
Phase Six Animal Patterns
Phase Seven Noah’s Ark
Phase Eight Life Cycles
Expressive Arts and Design
Weekly – Dance, Flamingo Chicks Ballet, Samba Drumming, Signed
Singing
Adding details to 2d representations, role play, small world play
Painting pet pictures, 3D pets – masks, split pin models
Home corner focussing on pets, Vets role play
Collage, painting,
Making dinosaur noises
Design & make your own dinosaur
Small world play dinosaurs on play mat or landscape
Exploring Chinese colours – red, black, yellow, gold
Chinese music – listen / appraise
Chinese lanterns
Create Chinese dragon
Dragon Dance
Collage animals, Clay/salt dough animals, 3D farm animals – masks, clay,
Collage animals – feathers, tissue etc.
Small world play – farm
Small world landscapes using collage materials,
Plan own zoo on paper, Small world play - zoo
Small world animals outside, 3D wild animals e.g. penguin display – 2D
paint, 3D clay
Explore collage/paints/ pastels/charcoal to create animal prints,
Butterfly prints, Explore patterns,
Use animal patterns as symbols to make sounds e.g. mouse/quiet,
elephant/loud
Ark/rainbow paintings
Each child creates one animal, use different media for each
Noah’s Ark songs – ‘Who Built the Ark’
Build Ark from construction materials
Caterpillar lifecycle paintings, Mother and baby pictures
Life cycle wheels,
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons – Spring; listen, move, paint to
Term 3/4 2015/6
CSpencer
Jan 2016
Physical
Weekly – Dance, Flamingo Chicks Ballet, Swimming
Moving our bodies safely inside/outside
Use large and small equipment safely
Develop cutting and pencil skills
Putting shoes on with increasing independence for sensory room
Helping set up snack table, share snacks, pour drink and wash up
Animal hygiene/role play, Animal movement, Peter & the Wolf, role play 3 little pigs
Dinosaur collage activities
Fine motor skills – chopsticks, create 3D dragon, Dragon Dance
Collage activities, Construction activities
Actions for animal songs
Construction activities, threading penne pasta to make snakes
Explore collage/paints/ pastels/charcoal
Copy movements of animals entering the ark
Life cycles & keeping healthy
‘Feed the frog’ throw bean bags into a bucket
Mathematics
Number recognition, ordering, counting, and counting out.
Basic language of addition and subtraction. Number formation
Sorting pets, attributes of pets
Counting & comparing pets, e.g. large/small,
Sorting/counting dinosaurs
Chinese patterns/numbers/ symbols
Sorting farm animals
Counting farm animals
Songs (Old McDonald) etc.
3 Little pigs
Use shapes to create collage of animal
Sort, count, compare different animals
Nocturnal animals
Which animals live where?
Small world landscapes
Animal patterns/prints
Ladybird – spots/ counting
Mr Wolf’s Week (Colin Hawkins)
Pairs/ counting animals in x2s (into the ark)
Use shapes to make the ark
How many animals would there be if…?
Sequencing/ordering lifecycles
Discuss the Hungry Caterpillar e.g. what does he eat?
How much fruit does the Hungry Caterpillar eat?
Early Years:
Overall Theme - Animals
Term 3/4 2015/6
CSpencer
Jan 2016
Core Learning Skills Category –
Personal and Social Competencies
Learning Strands
Improving own learning and
performance
Skills: Monitoring and evaluating own
learning
 How I learn and how I develop
- learning styles
 Organisation and planning
skills
1. I can copy physical movements in
dance/drama/PE.
2. I can follow a one or two part verbal
instruction given by an adult.
Developing a sense of self-worth
and self-understanding
Skills: Managing ones moral and
social development
 Recognising feelings and
understanding emotions
 Developing a positive sense
of one self
 Stress management and
conflict resolution
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3. I can express my basic needs to
those around me.
4. I can choose an activity and
maintain interest in it over a period.
Understanding the World
Sounds and Letters
Where do pets live in your home – inside/outside, Role play vets
Babies to adult e.g. kitten to cat, Sorting pets – pictures of homes
Time lines/Long ago
Fossils & extinction
Internet research
Dinosaur play mat / landscapes
Fossils
Magnifying glasses
Sand tray archaeology
My World dinosaur
Chinese New Year - food tasting
Seasons – Chinese New Year Celebrations
China – maps / globes
Chinese writing / numbers
Naming animal homes – stable, field etc.
Construct a farm
‘Colour Magic’ pictures of farm animals
Link animal to sounds on tape
Religious animal stories – elephants in India etc. e.g. Ganesh
Where do animals live? – why are some in the zoo?
Small world play,
Discuss/visit zoo
Design & construct a zoo
Internet searches for endangered species & their protection
Small world play – animals in sand/water tray/soil shaving foam,
animal prints etc.
Compare and discuss patterns/ prints/ camouflage
Christian belief
Noah’s story
Making predictions about the weather
Chart daily weather for a week
Colour mixing rainbows/ icing sugar paintings
Prisms on interest table
Life cycles & significant events for friends & family
New life – Easter
Where are baby animals born? E.g. eggs in nest, lambs in fields etc.
Lifecycle – ordering, sequencing, discussing
Spring & Winter pictures
Life cycle of frog spawn / caterpillar – noticing changes, commenting on what they see
Ant/butterfly farm/
■ Aspect 1: General sound
discrimination – environmental sounds
■ Aspect 2: General sound
discrimination – instrumental sounds
■ Aspect 3: General sound
discrimination – body percussion
■Voice Sounds – SALT display, The
Noisy Book, Hear and Say Books
L Links to Core Values
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Responsibility – caring for our pets
Wisdom – Understanding the
world in past times
Respect – Respect for other
people’s beliefs
Fairness – learning to take turns in
activities
Caring/protecting – caring for and
protecting endangered animals
Respect – recognising and
respecting difference
Courage – having the courage to
have faith in what you believe
Hope – the hope that lifecycles will
bring positive change