CHCPR502D: Organise experiences to
facilitate and enhance children’s
development
Provide creative and challenging opportunities
which stimulate learning and development of
the child
Contents
Encourage the child to gain skill and competence by persevering
with a developmentally significant activity
Indirect teaching techniques
3
Direct teaching techniques
4
Provide a range of creative experiences, play areas and
materials, including natural and recycled materials to encourage
children to explore and make choices
10
Creating aesthetic learning environments to encourage exploration
and choice
10
Make opportunities for active free play and independent play
Criteria for free and independent play
Provide opportunities for children to practice developing skills
Review of key developmental characteristics of children
Provide experiences and activities for the principal areas of
development
2
3
13
13
16
17
20
Review of traditional principal areas of development
20
Developing curriculum outcomes
21
Organisation guidelines
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Encourage the child to gain skill and
competence by persevering with a
developmentally significant activity
Adult carers working with young children need to develop a diverse range of
teaching techniques to support children’s learning. The use of specific teaching
techniques ensures that the child’s free and independent play choices provide
meaningful learning opportunities.
How do you, as a carer, encourage children to gain a skill and develop
competence by persevering with a developmentally significant activity?
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Do you have an understanding of indirect teaching techniques that you
can use to support children’s learning?
Are you familiar with direct teaching techniques to support children’s
learning?
Can you select and use teaching techniques appropriate to the situation
and the individual child’s developmental abilities?
Teaching techniques can be divided into two distinct methods:
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indirect teaching techniques
direct teaching techniques.
Indirect teaching techniques
Indirect teaching techniques are characterised by the careful organisation and
arrangement of the learning environment to promote and extend children’s
interests and development. As we have already discussed, the carer selects ageappropriate provisions and experiences by considering the children’s
developmental skills and abilities as well as their specific interests. The provisions
and experiences within each learning area are presented with attention to detail
and aesthetics to encourage the child to explore and experiment within the
learning area. In this way the carer is indirectly assisting the children’s learning.
Examples of specific indirect teaching techniques to consider:
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Identify a child’s preferences for materials or activities and use them to
motivate the child to participate or practise a certain skill.
Integrate the child’s preferred activity with another activity or place the
child’s favoured activity next to another activity.
Limit distractions and interferences in the learning area where you would
like the child to persevere. Place loud and quiet activities apart, use
partitions and dividers and place learning areas in quiet parts of the room
(well away from traffic).
Place a learning area in a traffic way to draw a child’s attention to it.
Place key tools (or equipment to make a task easier) next to the child
while they are playing.
Maximise the child’s chances of success so that each new learning
experience leads to positive results by choosing equipment and materials
that the child is able to use and choose by themselves.
Ensure the child is offered ample time to practise, experiment or play at
significant tasks.
Position adults so that they are able to facilitate the child’s discoveries
and assist them with their learning immediately.
Direct teaching techniques
Direct teaching techniques are characterised by the adult carer’s interactions with
the children. Direct teaching strategies are the important partner of indirect
teaching strategies.
To extend children’s learning, the carer needs to engage in meaningful and
authentic interactions with the child (or children).
MacNaughton and Williams (2004) have identified a number of direct teaching
techniques. We will discuss these methods below.
Demonstrating
Demonstrating is showing a child how something can be done. It assists the child’s
learning by showing or reminding a child how to approach a particular task. This
technique is very effective when combined with clear verbal instructions. It is best
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to keep demonstrations brief and simple to suit the child’s attention span. When a
skill or task is complex, break it down into simple steps and demonstrate one step
at a time.
Describing
Describing is a technique used to draw a child’s attention to a significant aspect of
their experience, activity, object or skill. Describing assists a child’s learning by
helping to expand their understandings of what is happening or relevant. This
technique is sometimes referred to as a monologue or ‘self-talk’ where the adult
narrates and describes each step of what they or the child are doing.
Encouraging and praising
Offering support and reassurance to the child as they undertake a new task or
practise an emerging skill is an effective way to help the child to persevere.
Encouragement is the way we verbally and non-verbally support the child while
they attempt and engage in a task. Praise is the verbal and non-verbal
acknowledgement we offer the child after they have attempted part or all of the
task.
Encouragement and praise acknowledge the child’s achievements and show the
child that their efforts are valued. Remember that the focus of encouragement
and praise is on the amount of effort and perseverance a child demonstrates and
the way they have approached the task—rather than whether they were
successful or accurate.
Facilitating
As carers, we facilitate a child’s learning by assisting to make the learning as easy
and successful as possible for the child. Our ability to facilitate learning relies on
careful observation and thoughtful timing as well as identifying the children’s
needs and interests. Facilitating involves us, as carers, observing a child approach
a task and identifying aspects that the child may be having difficulty with. We then
need to be able to modify the learning environment with minimal intervention, by
providing extra information, materials or time.
Feedback
Feedback provides children with relevant information before, during and after an
experience. Feedback helps support children’s learning by giving them
information about what they are doing, how well they are doing, and what they
should do next. Children use this information to make informed decisions about
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what they are doing, the way it should be done and when; therefore feedback
should be specific and be given at the time the child participates in the activity.
The way feedback is given should be altered to suit the child’s individual
temperament and developmental understanding.
Listening
Listening to children provides carers with important information about how the
child is thinking or about the information and assistance that the child is seeking.
Children who are listened to by their carers are encouraged in their learning as
their thoughts and feelings are valued and responded to. Carers can assist the
child’s learning by rephrasing questions and interpreting what is said or
discovered during play. When we, as carers, listen to children, we are able to
identify the emerging interests of each child from which we will be able to plan
learning experiences.
Modelling
Showing a child how to behave by providing yourself as an example is known as
‘modelling’. As carers, we should demonstrate and show the children the
behaviours that we would like the children to imitate. Modelling occurs when the
children copy the adult carer’s behaviour. Modelling should occur consistently and
spontaneously throughout the day. Peers can also act as models for other
children, particularly when the behaviour to be imitated is seen to be rewarded
with recognition and praise.
Questioning
Using questioning well is a skill that takes time and practice to learn. As carers, we
should use questioning to prompt the children’s learning. However, we need to
avoid asking questions that are not relevant or meaningful.
We need to be careful that we do not over-use this technique. It is important that
we limit their questioning to open-ended questions. This type of question
provides scope for many possible responses whereas a closed question has a right
or wrong response or a one-word answer.
A well-structured question provides the child with direction about what
information may be required for the answer—the question is specific to what they
are doing. All questions should be simple, short and asked one at a time. We
should provide the child with adequate time to answer questions and respond to
the child’s answer with genuine interest.
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Recalling
This technique assists the child to remember, or recall, a past experience or skill.
Assisting children to recall past events can assist their learning by encouraging
perseverance and reminding them of their responses and successes.
Recalling also assists the child to link their past learning with the present, making
the experience relevant to the child in a concrete way. Recalling is particularly
useful if the child was interested and successful and enjoyed the past experience.
Recalling relies heavily on the child’s ability to remember events, sometimes with
assistance. As carers, we need to be aware of the individual child’s capacity for
long- and short-term memory recall.
Suggesting
We often use this technique when we offer advice, ideas and thoughts on what to
do next. It is important that we understand that suggestions are not directions.
Therefore children can refuse to use or respond to our suggestions.
Suggestions should be phrased positively and tell the children what they might do
instead of what they should not do.
A well-timed suggestion can increase a child’s perseverance by:
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reducing frustration
prompting a new discovery
directing attention to a particular feature or aspect of a problem.
Suggestions need to be more direct with younger children.
Instructing
This is a very traditional technique where we tell a child what to do or how to do a
task. This method needs to be used with care as it is a one-way process and
children often quickly lose interest or may become passive learners—waiting and
relying on adults for information. This method is useful in situations where
discovery in not an option (eg instructing is appropriate when answering
questions about sexuality or safety issues).
Empowering
Allowing children to make choices about their own learning and be as
independent as possible empowers children to persevere at particular tasks.
Allowing the child to make decisions about how and when to do things can
encourage the child to continue to practise a meaningful task. Children can feel
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empowered by inviting peers to participate or by explaining tasks to them.
Another way to empower the child is to allow them to modify or construct the
learning environment by adding, taking away or moving provisions.
Reinforcing
Direct positive reinforcement occurs when carers verbally and non-verbally
acknowledge and praise aspects of the child’s behaviour that they would like to
see repeated. Reinforcement can encourage a child to persevere at a task or to
increase their interest and motivation. Indirect reinforcement occurs when the
carer praises and acknowledges another child’s behaviour, in the hope that the
child’s desirable behaviour will be emulated by the other children.
Scaffolding
Scaffolding is characterised by the temporary support offered to a child to assist
them in their learning and discoveries. The assistance is given by the adult carer or
can be given by a more competent child. Scaffolding relies on the social
interactions between the adult and children involved as they engage in joint
problem solving. Scaffolding aims to move the child to a point where they can
demonstrate a skill or solve a problem without assistance. Scaffolding can also be
used to extend a child’s learning by providing new information, skills and
provisions that the child can utilise to further their discoveries and
understandings.
Task analysis
This teaching technique involves us, as carers, breaking up a complex task into
smaller, manageable tasks and assisting the child to learn each step of the task.
Task analysis encourages a child to persevere at significant tasks by reducing their
complexity and allowing the child opportunities to achieve success in stages. We
need to teach each step of the task until the child is competent before moving on
to the next step. Eventually the child will be assisted to put all the steps in the task
together.
Family and community consultation
It is always important that we consult with the family members of the child when
we are working closely with young children. We must acknowledge the family’s
unique knowledge of the child. Family members may be able to provide us with
specific information about the interests of the child or cultural practices that
could help us assist the child to persevere at meaningful tasks. Alternatively,
family members may provide invaluable information about the home
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environment or the child’s general health and development that may be
influencing the child’s ability to learn.
Activity 1
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Provide a range of creative
experiences, play areas and
materials, including natural and
recycled materials to encourage
children to explore and make choices
Once we identify key curriculum learning areas, we need to consider the activities,
experiences and provisions offered within each area.
We need to ask ourselves:
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How will these activities, experiences and provisions encourage the
children to participate, explore and make choices in their learning?
What skills and knowledge do you, the carer, need to be able to provide a
range of creative experiences, play areas and provisions that
encourage children to explore and make choices?
You will need to know:
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the role that aesthetic presentation plays in encouraging children’s
involvement and participation in play and learning
the theory of creative development which identifies how children
participate and use provisions within experiences and activities
the variety of creative play types and provisions we can include in play
and learning areas
how to select creative play provisions and experiences based on
knowledge of the creative development of children.
Creating aesthetic learning
environments to encourage exploration
and choice
To ensure that the physical learning environment fosters interest and prompts a
child’s innate desire to explore and experiment, we focus on the aesthetic
presentation of experiences and activities.
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The care with which we present materials and equipment
will influence the child’s level of interest and involvement
A proven way to prompt a child’s innate desire to explore is to foster the child’s
aesthetic awareness by presenting learning areas and activities in a way that
engages the child’s senses of sight, touch, sound and smell. Aesthetics could also
be described as how attractive, welcoming, visually exciting and pleasant a
particular space is to be in. Examples of how the presentation of learning
environments can influence children’s interest and involvement are given below.
Here is an example of a poorly presented learning area in terms of aesthetics:
A book corner is set up in a busy indoor space. It has only a few books—
and these are scattered on a rug.
It would be reasonable to assume that few children will enter such an unattractive
area. Children who have a particular interest in books may even find this area
unstimulating and be disinterested in its contents. The area has not been set up in
a way that encourages children to engage and interact with the provisions.
Now for a good example of an aesthetically pleasing book corner:
The books are presented on a shelf or in cane baskets. The area is placed
in a quiet area outdoors under the shade of a tree. Rugs and cushions of
different textures and colours are added to enhance the sensory
opportunities offered to the children.
A small hammock is also available. The cushions and rugs are placed
facing the garden bed or road so that the children have a view.
The books on the shelf have been chosen to reflect the sorts of things the
children might be observing as they sit and read—things such as cars,
trucks, people walking along the footpath, birds and flowers.
A large sheet is suspended above the area to form a false roof and give
the area a cubby-house effect. The sheet billows and shimmers in the
breeze. The movement of the sheet prompts the children to take a closer
look inside the area as they wander by.
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Activity 2
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Make opportunities for active free play
and independent play
The NSW Curriculum Framework for Children’s Services (2001) lists one of the
major obligations of a children’s service as: ‘to practise in ways that acknowledge
the child as capable and resourceful’. Providing a child with a learning
environment that allows them to choose their own play freely and independently
is critical if we are to meet this obligation. As we encourage the child to be an
active learner who explores, experiments and asks questions, we also allow them
the scope to construct their own learning.
To be able to provide the children with free and independent play choices, you
will need the skills and knowledge outlined below.
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Can you identify the criteria for free, independent play?
Can you identify the carer’s role in providing free, independent play?
What is the value of free independent play for children and carers?
Can you establish the relationship between free, independent play and
individual learning programs and outcomes for children?
We will now discuss each one of these questions.
Criteria for free and independent play
What do we mean by free, independent play? Reflect on the scenario below—and
ask yourself if the children are engaged in free, independent play.
The preschoolers have had their morning snack. Calista, the carer, tells them that
it’s indoor play time. Calista lets the children play in whatever way they choose to
in their designated areas. She does not interfere in their play—until lunch time
when she calls them for lunch.
Free, independent play occurs when:
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participation in a type of play or learning area is chosen by the child
the length of time that a child spends engaging in any one activity is
chosen by the child
the depth of interaction that the child engages in with peers or adults is
chosen by the child
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the creative use of provisions and equipment is chosen by the child and
supported by carers
the opportunity for the child to create their own type of play or activity is
supported by carers who provide additional equipment and provisions
as requested by the child.
The carer’s role
Carers can demonstrate their ability to provide opportunities for free and
independent play by establishing a variety of core curriculum learning areas
where children are encouraged to move about the environment using the
provisions and resources and establishing relationships with their peers. While the
children are engaged in free-choice play, the adult is a focused observer, providing
minimal direction and interference.
The carer’s role is not limited only to the provision of learning areas. The carer’s
role extends to the way he or she interacts with the children during their freechoice play—this is critical to the children’s learning. The carer needs to be able to
identify spontaneous learning opportunities where adult intervention could
further engage the child in play, foster their understanding or stimulate their
thinking. The carer is a facilitator of learning rather than an intruder in the
children’s play.
The value of free and independent play for children
The NSW Curriculum Framework for Children’s Services (2001) identifies the
following benefits for children when they are provided with opportunities for free,
independent play:
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The children’s opportunities to participate in certain activities and
develop certain skills are not limited by adults’ perceptions of the
children and what they can or cannot do.
The development in children of positive self-esteem and concept arising
from the active contributions children make to their own learning are
valued and encouraged by adults.
Children’s positive feelings of power and control over their own learning
leads to lifelong attitudes of competence.
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The value of free and independent play for carers
Allowing opportunities for free and independent play within curriculum learning
areas will provide carers with the framework from which specific goals for
individual children are identified and addressed. While children engage in freechoice play, we are able to gather the following information:
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we learn about the child’s emerging developmental skills and existing
developmental competencies in a natural setting
we learn about the child’s temperament and personality, how they relate
to others and how they feel about themselves
we learn about the child’s life experience, culturally relevant learning and
ideas and beliefs
we learn about the child’s intrinsic interests.
Individual learning programs and outcomes
We use the information we gather about the children during free-choice play to
inform our curriculum practice. This information allows us to individualise our
programs. We are empowered with detailed information that will allow us to take
the children’s interests and perspectives into account when planning learning
experiences and choosing resources for inclusion in the curriculum learning areas.
In this way, we weave an individual focus into our program and can offer selfpaced learning to actively engage and extend the individual children.
Activity 3
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Provide opportunities for children to
practice developing skills
As a carer of young children you will aim to provide a quality learning
environment that stimulates children to develop and grow. You will do this by
providing opportunities for the children to practise their developing and emerging
skills.
To be able to do this you will need to develop the following essential knowledge
and skills:
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implement the principles of developmentally appropriate practice
create a physical learning environment that caters for the children’s
developmental and social play characteristics.
Developmentally appropriate practice and the learning
environment
We facilitate children’s learning by:
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arranging the learning environment
providing materials, equipment and experiences that match or enhance
the child’s level of development and understanding.
This is known as ‘developmentally appropriate practice’. Materials and equipment
are carefully selected and set up to meet the general needs of the age range of
children in a group.
Each age group of children has distinct and unique developmental characteristics.
These developmental characteristics will influence:
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the type of learning experiences we choose
the provisions and equipment we provide
how we set up and present the provisions and equipment.
Children who are cared for in environments where the materials and equipment
are matched to their abilities and interests will gain the most benefit from them,
as they are provided with the greatest variety of opportunities to practise skills
that are developing and emerging.
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Review of key developmental
characteristics of children
You will recall from your studies of child development that children display
particular developmental characteristics at certain ages and stages of
development. While it is well recognised that individual differences in
development for each child will be evident, it is also clear from research that
some characteristics of development are universal. This means that we will be
able to observe and identify some key milestones and behaviours in most children
of certain ages.
Understanding these universal developmental characteristics is important to
overall curriculum development. This information will allow us to recognise the
child’s existing developmental skills and behaviours. This information will also
help us to identify emerging developmental skills and changes in the child’s
development.
We will use this information as the starting point from which to design our
learning curriculum and experiences—we will be able to select, set up and modify
provisions, equipment and the environment to best suit the individual learning
needs of all the children in our care.
Listed below are some important developmental characteristics that will influence
curriculum development and the learning environment.
Developmentally appropriate learning environment for
infants
The most important developmental characteristic to influence infant learning
environments is the young infant’s need for security and attachments.
Infants require responsive carers who respond to their needs in a timely,
appropriate manner. Carers need to be able to offer infants quality one-on-one
interactions, or interactions involving only two children at the most.
When working with infants, use familiar, home-like settings and experiences to
enhance attachment and feelings of security. Minimal changes, repetition and
opportunities to anticipate events through regular and familiar routines are also
critical factors.
A well-balanced daily play curriculum that focuses on sensory play but does not
over-stimulate or under-stimulate infants is important. The program and any
routines must be flexible enough to cater for infants’ individual needs as they
arise.
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Developmentally appropriate learning environment for
toddlers
The most important developmental characteristic to influence toddler learning
environments is the toddler’s innate desire for independence and discovery.
Toddlers will require secure infant environments and healthy attachments, but
will also need an environment that can offer opportunities to use and practise
emerging self-help skills.
Toddlers enjoy using their new skills to be independent. They are very active
learners but can easily become frustrated, bored and/or overwhelmed.
The toddler needs responsive carers who can assist them with their emerging
social and language skills and support and facilitate their efforts for
independence.
Developmentally appropriate learning environment for
preschoolers
The most important developmental characteristic to influence the preschooler’s
learning environment is the quest for knowledge and social awareness.
Preschoolers enjoy the company of their peers and are learning how to function
as part of a small group and sometimes a large group.
Preschoolers still require stable, secure environments that encourage and support
their independence, as well as carers who can facilitate and nurture their initiative
as they strive to learn new skills and consolidate and extend existing skills.
Play curricula that offer challenges, choices and opportunities for self-directed
learning are critical.
Developmentally appropriate learning environment for
school-aged children
School-aged children have very different needs from younger children.
Adult supervision, guidance and companionship are crucial in school-aged care
environments.
The curricula for before- and after-school care and vacation care focus on
developing individual children’s interests and expanding on their leisure choices.
Much focus and attention is given to peer-group social development such as
conflict-resolution strategies and inclusive-principles education.
Activity 4
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Activity 5
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Provide experiences and activities for
the principal areas of development
For a learning curriculum to be well balanced, the learning experiences and
activities offered need to provide opportunities for the children to practise and
extend skills in all the main or principal developmental areas.
Many services develop what are known as ‘core curriculum goals’ or ‘outcomes’
or ‘developmental goals of the program’. These goals or outcomes identify the
main skills and/or abilities in each developmental area that the service aims to
provide for all children.
In order to provide experiences and activities for all the principal areas of
development and to develop relevant curriculum outcomes for children, you
should:
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understand the principal areas of child development
develop and design curriculum outcomes or goals based on the principal
areas of development
be aware of how curriculum outcomes or goals influence the curriculum
framework
understand the core curriculum learning areas
be able to establish core curriculum learning areas to provide
opportunities for learning skills in developmental areas
know what the additional curriculum learning areas are that extend
children’s existing developmental skills
be able to establish additional curriculum learning areas to extend
children’s learning.
Review of traditional principal areas of
development
Before we begin to discuss this topic in more detail it is important that we identify
and review the principal areas of development with which you will probably be
familiar.
Activity 6
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NSW Curriculum Framework developmental areas
The NSW Curriculum Framework for Children’s Services (2001) suggests areas of
development that are similar to traditional principal areas of development. These
areas which should be considered when developing activities and experiences to
extend children’s learning are:
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the communicating child
the thinking child
the healthy, physically active child
the social child
the feeling child
the creative child
the spiritual and moral child.
The creative child
Activity 7
Developing curriculum outcomes
Curriculum outcomes or program goals are designed to meet the needs of the
children and reflect the needs and wishes of the family and community members
using the service. Program goals will therefore differ from service to service
depending on the unique developmental needs of the children and the needs of
the community using the service.
It is important that curriculum outcomes and goals are developed in consultation
with the families and community members. Here is an example of such
consultation: A preschool service in a rural area with a large number of families
who do not speak English as a first language may have a curriculum outcome or
goal in the developmental area of language—which would be to focus on
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providing opportunities for the children to maintain their first language while they
learn English.
The feeling child
Activity 8
Developmentally appropriate curriculum outcomes
Curriculum outcomes will also differ for different age groups of children because
what is considered developmentally appropriate will differ based on the children’s
ages and stages of development. For example, the curriculum outcomes for
toddlers in a day-care centre will be different from those of the preschoolers. One
program goal in the language development area for a toddler group may be for
them to use simple words and labels to have their needs met (eg saying ‘juice’
when they are thirsty). A curriculum outcome for a preschooler group in the same
area of development may focus on developing verbal conflict-resolution skills—
this is a much higher-order developmental skill and more developmentally
appropriate for an older child.
An example of a program with developmentally-appropriate curriculum outcomes
for infants is provided by Hutchins (1995) in the physical area of development:
The program will provide for children to:
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develop muscle strength and control
develop a sense of balance and body in space
accomplish independent locomotion
develop healthy appetite and preferences for nutritious food
develop healthy rest, relaxation and sleep routines
attain appropriate gains in weight and height
gain independence in personal-care routines.
The NSW Curriculum Framework (2001) also provides examples of possible
curriculum outcomes. As previously explained, program goals are known as
‘outcomes’ in the curriculum framework document.
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The following outcome examples relate to the development area of the
communicating child:
Children are being supported to:
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develop the ability to seek and understand information, express opinions
and convey feelings effectively
learn to communicate easily and effectively with peers and with adults in
familiar situations
use and understand non-verbal communication
show pleasure in playing with language through rhyming, making up
words and sounds and telling stories
recognise a range of literature
appreciate literacy and numeracy as invaluable means of making meaning
in the world
demonstrate the beginnings of understandings needed to learn to read
and write.
Learning to communicate easily and effectively with an adult in a familiar situation.
Activity 9
Activity 10
Curriculum outcomes and their influence on the
curriculum framework
Curriculum outcomes will greatly influence the learning opportunities that we
offer to the children.
The curriculum learning areas chosen will support the core developmental
outcomes identified by the service and will guide the choice and variety of play
experiences and activities presented in each of these learning areas. The process
of identifying curriculum learning areas from the curriculum outcomes is referred
to as the ‘curriculum framework’.
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© NSW DET 2010
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There are many key curriculum learning areas that support curriculum outcomes
and extend children’s learning. Some key learning areas or centres are discussed
below.
Core curriculum learning areas
There is an infinite number of possible learning centres or curriculum areas that
will provide opportunities for skill development in all the areas of development.
It is important to note that other possibilities for curriculum learning centres
should come from discussions with the children and observations of their play and
interests.
Why do we need to merge the children’s ideas and interests with the service’s
existing curriculum outcomes of the program? We do this to create more
meaningful and relevant learning for individual children and groups.
Developmental learning opportunities in curriculum learning
areas
A curriculum learning area
Sensory play curriculum learning area
This curriculum area should provide a variety of opportunities to engage the child
in learning directly through stimulation of the senses. Touch, sound, sight and
smell are important factors to consider here. The sensory play area is particularly
relevant for the infant and toddler age groups or children with sensory
impairments.
When choosing provisions and/or activities for placement in the learning area, we
should aim to provide learning opportunities in all the developmental areas.
The provisions offered will depend on the carer interactions, provisions placed
within the learning centre and the age of the children participating. You might, for
example, offer some of the following developmental learning opportunities:
•
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physical—opportunity for eye-hand coordination
Diploma of Children’s Services: CHCPR502D: Reader LO 9388
© NSW DET 2010
•
•
•
•
social—opportunity for onlooker and solitary play
emotional—opportunity for independence
cognitive—opportunity to use cause-and-effect problem solving
language—opportunity to learn new labels.
Sensory play
Activity 11
Dramatic play curriculum learning area
This learning area provides children with opportunities to role-play and to imitate
the world around them.
It doesn’t take much to create a dramatic play area
When choosing provisions and/or activities for placement in the learning area we
should aim to provide learning opportunities in all the developmental areas.
The provisions offered will depend on the carer interactions, provisions placed
within the learning centre and the age of the children participating. You might, for
example, offer some of the following developmental learning opportunities:
•
physical—opportunity for fine motor and manipulative skills
Diploma of Children’s Services: CHCPR502D: Reader LO 9388
© NSW DET 2010
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•
•
•
•
social—opportunity for parallel and cooperative play, social problem
solving
emotional—opportunity for empathy development
cognitive—opportunity for memory recall and sequencing events
language—opportunity to use expressive language to assign roles to peer
participants.
Activity 12
Physically active play curriculum learning area
This learning area provides children with opportunities to develop confidence
using their existing and emerging gross motor skills. Once the key gross motor
skills (walking, running, jumping, hopping, etc) are evident, the child is offered
opportunities to enhance their stamina, flexibility, coordination, spatial awareness
and balance.
We should aim to provide learning opportunities in all the developmental areas
when choosing provisions and/or activities for placement in the learning area.
The provisions offered will depend on the carer interactions, provisions placed
within the learning centre and the age of the children participating. You might, for
example, offer some of the following developmental learning opportunities:
•
•
•
•
•
physical—opportunity for gross motor skill development, enhancement
and confidence building
social—opportunity for all types of social play; skill development including
turn-taking and sharing
emotional—opportunity for confidence building
cognitive—opportunity for recall of rules and problem solving using
spatial awareness
language—opportunity to use expressive language to communicate with
peers during play.
Developing confidence
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Diploma of Children’s Services: CHCPR502D: Reader LO 9388
© NSW DET 2010
Manipulative play curriculum learning area
For school-aged children, manipulative play focuses on offering opportunities to
children to extend their fine-motor and manipulative skills by applying them to
specific leisure tasks and activities.
We should aim to provide learning opportunities in all the developmental areas
when choosing provisions and/or activities for placement in the learning area.
The provisions offered will depend on the carer interactions, provisions placed
within the learning centre and the age of the children participating. You might, for
example, offer some of the following developmental learning opportunities:
•
•
•
•
•
physical—opportunity for specific fine-motor and manipulative skill
development (eg wrist rotation, finger isolation, refined pincer grasp,
pencil grip)
social—opportunity for turn-taking and sharing of equipment
emotional—opportunity for confidence building
cognitive—opportunity for problem solving using integration of problemsolving skills and manipulative skills
language—opportunity to use expressive language to plan and express
intention while participating in a challenging activity.
Practising fine motor skills
Literacy curriculum learning area
We should aim to provide learning opportunities in all the developmental areas
when choosing provisions and/or activities for placement in the learning area.
The provisions offered will depend on the carer interactions, provisions placed
within the learning centre and the age of the children participating. You might, for
example, offer some of the following developmental learning opportunities:
•
•
•
physical—opportunity to practise manipulative skills when writing and
drawing
social—opportunity to work cooperatively when co-writing stories with
peers
emotional—develop positive self-concept related to pre-writing/prereading skills
Diploma of Children’s Services: CHCPR502D: Reader LO 9388
© NSW DET 2010
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•
•
cognitive—opportunity to develop long-term memory and practise
sequencing (when recalling events, writing stories) and identifying
and labelling key words and names
language—opportunity to maintain and learn another language (or key
words in that language).
Sharing a book with a carer is part of a toddler's literacy development
Creative art curriculum learning area
Ideally, experiences in a number of creative play learning areas should be
provided on a daily basis. Many creative art experiences can be integrated as part
of other learning areas—for example, playdough is an excellent provision in a
manipulative play learning centre, finger painting is a wonderful provision as part
of the sensory learning centre. However, the nature of creative art activities lends
them to separate areas within the program that are set up especially for art
experiences. These areas will provide children with opportunities to fully
experiment and explore materials without being concerned about creating a
mess.
Examples of activities that would extend older children in this area are:
•
•
ongoing project work for both individuals and the group
activities that involve specific art techniques.
We should aim to provide learning opportunities in all the developmental areas
when choosing provisions and/or activities for placement in the learning area.
The provisions offered will depend on the carer interactions, provisions placed
within the learning centre and the age of the children participating. You might, for
example, offer some of the following developmental learning opportunities:
•
•
•
•
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physical—opportunity to practise manipulative skills and develop strength
and control of fine motor skills
social—opportunity to play parallel and onlooker play and associative play
emotional—self-satisfaction and pride in accomplishments and creations
cognitive—opportunities for colour recognition and mixing
Diploma of Children’s Services: CHCPR502D: Reader LO 9388
© NSW DET 2010
•
language—constructing expressive language to describe creative efforts;
the opportunity to learn, compare and use descriptive words for
objects and textures.
Exploring textures and shapes
Activity 13
Additional curriculum learning areas to enhance and
extend older children’s development and learning
The learning areas suggested below are additional to the key learning areas.
When working with older children it is important to extend our curriculum areas
to offer opportunities to extend their learning. The introduction of these learning
areas would rely heavily on observed skills and behaviours. The learning content
and focus within each learning area would be based entirely on the children’s
interests as displayed or expressed in interactions with their peers or carers.
Maths curriculum learning area
We may introduce opportunities to learn key mathematical concepts to extend
children’s emerging cognitive skills and problem-solving abilities. We can
introduce opportunities to develop:
•
•
•
•
pattern making (eg, red, blue, red, blue, red, blue...)
ordering and sequencing (eg, the child puts in order a series of three
pictures showing the order in which things are done and understand
that the pictures are in a sequence—put seed in soil, water it and
watch it grow tall and flower)
rational counting (as opposed to rote counting). With rational counting,
there is an understanding of one-to-one correspondence (eg, 1 is
assigned to one item, 2 is assigned to two items etc)
grouping by a specified criterion (eg, put all the red balls in one group and
the yellow ones in another group).
Comparative concepts related to length, weight and height can also be
introduced. You can also introduce the use of scales and rulers for weights and
Diploma of Children’s Services: CHCPR502D: Reader LO 9388
© NSW DET 2010
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measures. Monetary concepts and measurement of time are examples of other
challenging additions to this area.
Technology (electronic) curriculum learning area
Research indicates that children from as young as two years have an awareness of
electronic technology such as television, video recorders, cameras, mobile
phones, computers and game consoles. The introduction and use of these
provisions needs to be carefully considered. Many of the learning possibilities
offered by these provisions are best suited, and most valuable, to older
preschoolers and school-aged children who have had previous opportunities to
participate in beneficial social free-play.
Science and environment curriculum learning area
There are limitless learning possibilities in this curriculum area. Any focus should
come directly from the children’s interests and enquiries.
Organisation guidelines
While we are guided by the principal areas of development in providing
experiences we should always arrange and implement appropriate experiences
according to the organisation guidelines of the child care centre where we are
employed.
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Diploma of Children’s Services: CHCPR502D: Reader LO 9388
© NSW DET 2010