Infant School
Learning to Lead: Part 2 12
By Angela Dawson, Assistant Headteacher, Infant School and the Infant School Our World team Progression through KS1
Children taking the lead in their learning
The curriculum in KS1, although more structured, continues to nurture the children’s desire to lead their learning through over-arching themes which become a vehicle for the teaching of key skills and subject knowledge.
Within the Early Years and through into Key Stage 1 (KS1) children learn from everything they do, they are naturally curious, wanting to explore and discover all that is around them. During these early years, children form attitudes about learning and the part they play in the process which will last a lifetime.
In both Year 1 and Year 2 the areas of interest the children identify within the theme are used as starting points for exploring a topic. Working with the teacher the children create a ‘learning wall’ which details what they already know on a topic and what they would like to find out.
As the EYFS curriculum primarily aims to create confident, independent learners we offer the children plenty of opportunities to lead their own learning. Many children have already developed leadership skills that are apparent the minute they walk through the door! Teachers strive to plan activities that focus and build upon the interests of their class, allowing children to influence which themes and topics are covered. Teachers note current interests across the class which they then add to their planning. For example, a group of children were showing an interest in finding and
identifying ‘bugs’ so the teacher put model mini-beasts in the sand tray with leaves, twigs and magnifying glasses and set up a ‘bug lab’ with microscopes and cameras to capture live action! In another class the children were interested in finding out more about the people who help us which led to the construction of a ‘fire engine’ and small world play with the ‘fire fighters’ all playing their part on engine number 5!
At the start of the recent Year 1 topic of ‘Once upon a time’, the study of traditional fairy tales provided class teachers with the ideal opportunity to investigate the science of materials. The children were asked what they knew already and what they would like to find out by the end of the project. This ‘brainstorm’ of ideas engages children in the planning process and enables staff to steer the learning towards the children’s interests. In Year 2 this is developed further with children encouraged to include their own personal research to the ‘learning wall’.
Classrooms are set up in such a way that children have free access to resources which cover all areas of learning, from pens and paper in the writing area to magnifying glasses and weighing scales in the investigative areas. This not only encourages independence, but also means that children are able to extend their own learning by self selecting certain tools and resources. In addition to this we also want to develop reflective learners. Children are given the opportunity to look through their Learning Stories with parents and teachers, making comments on the work inside. This teaches children to reflect on past events and take pride in the progress they have made.
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4/13/12 4:09 PM