Literacy Reading Interested in books and rhymes and may have favourites. Writing Children’s later writing is based on skills and understandings which they develop as babies and toddlers. Before they can write, they need to learn to use spoken language to communicate. Later they learn to write down the words they can say. (See the roots of Writing in Communication and language). Early mark-making is not the same as writing. It is a sensory and physical experience for babies and toddlers, which they do not yet connect to forming symbols which can communicate meaning (See roots of mark-making and handwriting in Playing and exploring and Physical Development). Mathematics Numbers Knows that things exist, even when out of sight. Beginning to organise and categorise objects, e.g. putting all the teddy bears together or teddies and cars in separate piles. Says some counting words randomly. Shape, space & measure Attempts, sometimes successfully, to fit shapes into spaces on inset boards or jigsaw puzzles. Uses blocks to create their own simple structures and arrangements. Enjoys filling and emptying containers. Associates a sequence of actions with daily routines. Beginning to understand that things might happen ‘now’. the World People & communities Is curious about people and shows interest in stories about themselves and their family. Enjoys pictures and stories about themselves, their families and other people. The world Explores objects by linking together different approaches: shaking, hitting, looking, feeling, tasting, mouthing, pulling, turning and poking. Remembers where objects belong. Matches parts of objects that fit together, e.g. puts lid on teapot. Technology Anticipates repeated sounds, sights and actions, e.g. when an adult demonstrates an action toy several times. Shows interest in toys with buttons, flaps and simple mechanisms and beginning to learn to operate them. Expressive Arts & Design Exploring and using media and materials Explores and experiments with a range of media through sensory exploration, and using whole body. Move their whole bodies to sounds they enjoy, such as music or a regular beat. Imitates and improvises actions they have observed, e.g. clapping or waving. Begins to move to music, listen to or join in rhymes or songs. Notices and is interested in the effects of making movements which leave marks. Being imaginative Expresses self through physical action and sound. Pretends that one object represents another, especially when objects have characteristics in common. A Unique Child: observing what a child is learning
Literacy Reading Has some favourite stories, rhymes, songs, poems or jingles. Repeats words or phrases from familiar stories. Fills in the missing word or phrase in a known rhyme, story or game, e.g. ‘Humpty Dumpty sat on a …’. Writing Distinguishes between the different marks they make. Mathematics Numbers Selects a small number of objects from a group when asked, for example, ‘please give me one’, ‘please give me two’. Recites some number names in sequence. Creates and experiments with symbols and marks representing ideas of number. Begins to make comparisons between quantities. Uses some language of quantities, such as ‘more’ and ‘a lot’. Knows that a group of things changes in quantity when something is added or taken away. Shape, space & measure Notices simple shapes and patterns in pictures. Beginning to categorise objects according to properties such as shape or size. Begins to use the language of size. Understands some talk about immediate past and future, e.g. ‘before’, ‘later’ or ‘soon’. Anticipates specific time-based events such as mealtimes or home time. Understanding the World People & communities Has a sense of own immediate family and relations. In pretend play, imitates everyday actions and events from own family and cultural background, e.g. making and drinking tea. Beginning to have their own friends. Learns that they have similarities and differences that connect them to, and distinguish them from, others. The world Enjoys playing with small-world models such as a farm, a garage, or a train track. Notices detailed features of objects in their environment. Technology Seeks to acquire basic skills in turning on and operating some ICT equipment. Operates mechanical toys, e.g. turns the knob on a wind-up toy or pulls back on a friction car. Arts & Design Exploring and using media and materials in singing favourite songs. Creates sounds by banging, shaking, tapping or blowing. an interest in the way musical instruments sound. Experiments with blocks, colours and marks. Being imaginative Beginning to use representation to communicate, e.g. drawing a line and saying ‘That’s me.’ Beginning to make-believe by pretending.. A Unique Child: observing what a child is learning
Literacy Reading Continues a rhyming string. Hears and says the initial sound in words. Can segment the sounds in simple words and blend them together and knows which letters represent some of them. Links sounds to letters, naming and sounding the letters of the alphabet. Begins to read words and simple sentences. Uses vocabulary and forms of speech that are increasingly influenced by their experiences of books. Enjoys an increasing range of books. Knows that information can be retrieved from books and computers. Early Learning Goal Children read and understand simple sentences. They use phonic knowledge to decode regular words and read them aloud accurately. They also read some common irregular words. They demonstrate understanding when talking with others about what they have read. Writing Gives meaning to marks they make as they draw, write and paint. Begins to break the flow of speech into words. Continues a rhyming string. Hears and says the initial sound in words. Can segment the sounds in simple words and blend them together. Links sounds to letters, naming and sounding the letters of the alphabet. Uses some clearly identifiable letters to communicate meaning, representing some sounds correctly and in sequence. Writes own name and other things such as labels, captions. Attempts to short sentences in meaningful contexts. Early Learning Goal Children use their phonic knowledge to write words in ways which match their spoken sounds. They also write some irregular common words. They write simple sentences which can be read by themselves and others. Some words are spelt correctly and others are phonetically plausible.