Knowledge Aquisition

For younger children much of the knowledge that we wanted the children to have came through their play experiences. However, we had some specific knowledge that we wanted them to have so the following activities were planned for. Watch this short video as Andreea explains how they ensured that the children had all the knowledge they needed. Please see also Play Experiences as this is all interlinked.

Reading the Story

For younger children stories and characters are wonderful ways for them to engage with specific knowledge we want them to gain. Ada Twist Scientist was a wonderful book all about a girl who is a scientist. She introduced the children to the key skills that are recquired to be a scientist ( See below ). These skills were referred to all the time through the children's play.

research

The book corner was filled with books about science and discovery. The children loved looking and discussing what they were finding out about scientists in these books.

Outdoors

Scientists love being in the outdoors discovering and exploring nature and learning new things. The outdoors provided a rich environment for the children to use their scientist skills e.g. asking questions, observing, thinking about why things happen, using their senses etc. This was a great context for the project and allowed so much learning to happen very naturally.

Expert Knowledge

One of the the staff in the nursey had a previous career in science and was able to share her knowledge and bring it to life by bringing in her lab coat and microscope. It was eye opening for the children, who discovered about their teacher's interests and life outside the classroom. Inviting parents and key workers in also allowed the children to develop their knowledge of the wider world.

youtube

Youtube and BBC Teach is full of great factual videos to help support learning featuring real scientists or cartoon characters.

The children loved this as they got to see real scientists.

Here are few below that were used on this topic: