Topic “40-60+m”  

- Paper and drawing materials

- Object that looks different at the front/back.

1. Ask you child to look at the item in front of them and draw a picture of it.

2. Now turn the object around and ask them to take a look at it from the back, and to draw it again.

3. Talk about the pictures using the words "front" and "back" in your descriptions. Ask your child to say which ones show the back of the figure and which ones the front.

- Front/back sorting game materials - click here to print

Pretend money in 1p coins

Objects to buy from a shop

Piggy bank, which you can open easily.

Soft toys

1. Start by making sure the child can count 10 coins accurately. Ask the child to post 5/6/ etc coins into a piggy bank.

2. Can the child choose one of your hands hidden behind your back with some coins in and count them correctly?

3. Can the child tell you to post coins? Will the child notice if you do it wrong?

4. Play games with giving soft toys pocket money e.g. teddy gets 3p and dolly gets 7p.

5. Play shopping games. Label objects and take turns to 'buy' from the shop. Children may want to play with items bought. This will help motivate them for the activity.

6. Take turns to be the shopkeeper and count the correct money has been given.

Draw pictures of 1p coins on a sheet of paper

2 Plastic pots

Up to 16 pens/coloured pencils

1. Put out 2 pots one in front of yourself and one in front of the child

2. Get child's attention and slowly count 3 pens into your pot. Say 'Your turn' to the child and, if necessary, help the child put 3 pens in his/her pot.

3. Reward with praise and/or a sticker.

4. Repeat the activity with different numbers of pens working up to 8 at the end.

Pile of Lego bricks

Peg board and pegs

Paper and pens

Lego bricks

Miniature plastic animals and play mobile people.

Two part story sequence pictures

Home made drawings

Play games in a small group lining up at the door or the window. Point out who is first. Change the order and ask 'Who is first now?'

At dinner time comment on what the child takes first. Say 'Look.......first you are eating..........'

Build Lego towers. Take a pile of Lego bricks and say 'What colour do you want first?'

Build a tower yourself and comment on your first colour.

Follow the same routine when choosing pens to do a colouring in picture.

Make a line of plastic animals or Playmobil People. Make sure they all point in the same direction and say 'Look.......... cat is first.' Can the child make a line and answer if you ask 'Who is first?'

Look at the time table for the school day and comment on what comes first.

Use 2 part sequencing stories and comment on what picture comes first. Ask the child to make a story and ask 'What is the first picture?'

Draw pictures of stick men walking in one direction -can the child draw a circle round the first man etc.

2 small containers

Sets of bricks, compare bears, pens, lego etc

Number lines 1 - 10 that you can write on.

1. Count say 4 items into a container and 4 into a similar container. Line them up, build them into towers , let the child discover that these are the same amount.

2. Tell the child "Put one more here." Go through the counting and comparing routine again and label the group with the extra item as "Look........one more here...this makes 5" etc.

3. Use two number lines. Match the number of items in each container with its position on the number lines. Say 'Look......here are 4 and here are 4.....they are the same. They are both 4."

Tell the child "Add one more to this container".

4. Compare the two containers with the two number lines. Say "Look............this is 4" and mark 4 on the number line, and "Look .......this is 5" and mark 5 on the other number line. Compare the number lines , point out that one number line has "more" than the other.

5. Go through this process with different numbers. You want the child to be able to associate the real objects with the more abstract concept of a number on the number line.

6. Extend the concept to everyday life e.g. does the child want one more spoon of yoghurt?, or one more colouring pen in his/her bag?

Materials as above

Miniature people

Groups of cars or trains

Books with pictures of lines of people or cars or trains e.g Richard Scarry's transport books.

Stickers

Blu Tack

Home made coloured dots (red and blue)

Miniature people

Groups of cars or trains

Books with pictures of lines of people or cars or trains e.g Richard Scarry's transport books.

Stickers

Blu Tack

Home made coloured dots (red and blue).

3 soft toys

plastic tea set

plastic food

two bowls and fruit to cut into fruit salad

Have a tea party.

Hand out the food. Point out which ones have more. Ask the child to give a piece of plastic food to one of the toys so that it has one more - say that it has got "one more".

Make fruit salad. Use two bowls. Cut up fruit for the two bowls and ask 'One more piece of banana here? Can the child tell you what to add to each bowl using 'one more'?

Access to areas for role-play e.g. a pretend cafe area, a pretend train or station.

Scrap paper for writing tickets or menus.

(1) In a train /station area can the child write for tickets e.g. '2 tickets please' or ' tickets to London'. The message can be posted or given to the station manager/train driver. The child may need a model to copy the phrase at first or you can write half the phrase for the child and allow the child to finish the writing on their own.

(2) In a pretend caf can the child order a meal e.g. write 'burger and chips please' and give this message to the 'waiter'.

(3) 2 children can work together - one child orders food and the other child is the waiter and writes the order down. You may need to provide models for the writing child to copy e.g. a number of food items written on a pretend menu. The child ordering can then copy his/her choice and hand it over.

(4) Children can be encouraged to make their own menus maybe using a picture of food items with the food name written by the child underneath. The 'customer' child can then point and ask for food items.

Letter tiles or letter cards, clear simple pictures

1. Stick the chosen picture into a book.

2. Draw short lines under the picture to stand for the letters of the picture.

3. Help the child select letter tiles or alphabet cards to put on the lines. Can you do some of the letters and the child finishes off the last letter?

4. Can the child copy the letter tiles to write about the picture?

5. As the child becomes familiar with the activity make 2 word descriptions of pictures etc

Photos of child engaged in clear actions e.g. going into dinner, playing outside, reading a book

1. Look at a photo with the child and encourage the child to talk about it. Write down 3 or 4 words about the photo using words the child is very familiar with.

2. Print out child's descriptive words in large type on computer.

3. Cut the printed words up. Can the child sequence the words to match the photo and stick the words under the photo.

4. Encourage the child to draw a picture of the photo and to copy the matching descriptive print.

5. Select a photo and encourage the child to talk about it. You start the writing to describe the photo e.g the first word. Can the child finish off the writing? It may help to draw dots for the child to write over to begin with.

Photo copies of some favourite pictures

Photo copies of the pictures' matching print

A black and white picture to colour.

Colouring pens

Letter tiles and alphabet cards

Play people, bricks, etc. as required

Can be done 1:1 or in a small group

Suggestions for stories:

1. dad, mum, baby, bike, bricks: dad: bye bye baby, bye, bye mum, etc., gets on bike, drives into bricks, falls off;

2. helicopter rescue: helicopter comes and rescues those on an island;

3. dog eats picnic when others aren't looking;

4. fire!: children spot a fire in a building - make a story about what they do next;

5. swim across crocodile infested river.

1. Show the child a story with the miniatures;

2. Get child to redo the story using the miniatures;

3. With the child make simple drawings for each key part of the story (the drawings do not need to be works of art);

4. Cut the pictures up and get the child to put them back in the right order;

5. Check if the story still works if you follow the sequence of pictures.

The stories can also be physically acted out.

For example:

1. getting materials required for an activity;

2. lining up;

3. making a drawing;

4. a simple game you play;

5. going to assembly;

6. turning on and listening to a tape recorder/CD/MP3 player;

7. Switching on a computer and doing something on it;

8. opening a pot of bubbles and blowing them;

9. making a sandwich;

10. (a little more complex): playground games such as 'had', 'hide and seek', 'football'

Materials as required.

1. Do the activity;

2. With the child make simple drawings for each key part of the activity (the drawings do not need to be works of art);

3. Cut the pictures up and get the child to put them back in the right order;

4. Try to follow the sequence of pictures to see if it works.

Familiar book

Photocopied pictures

Published sequencing cards (e.g. LDA cards)

Or worksheets with 3-4 picture sequences (Black Sheep have some ready made ones)

Photos of the child doing an everyday activity (i.e. a sequence of them)

Packet of counters

Board with six square boxes - in a horizontal grid

Lists of short phrases and sentences

e.g. from 'Sound Linkage' (P. Hatcher, available from www.amazon.co.uk ) p.21

help me (2)

she shouted (2)

I can't get down (4)

1. Place the counters and board on the table.

2. Ask the child to tell you a word (any word at all) then together add more examples of single words

3. Tell the child that you will now say two or more words in a row, which they will have to repeat and count the number of words.

4. Ask child to repeat what you say. They push a counter into a box as they say each word.

Model this as much as necessary - and give as much help as needed to begin with.

A suitable text

Optional - 'Magic finger' puppet or a small stick or ruler

Flat ice-lolly sticks - painted ice-lolly sticks (can be bought in supermarkets) - using a stick ensures that the spaces between the words are even.

Or:

If a child has smaller writing try using a smaller tool than an ice-lolly stick to place between words.

1. Look at the picture. Talk about what is happening. Ask some easy to answer questions.

2. Stick the picture in a book to take home and say 'Tell me what to write and you can show Mum'.

Stories that involve going shopping, e.g. The Shopping Basket by John Burningham.

Real food/plastic food/pictures of food.

A clear label for each piece of food.

Notebooks and pencils.

Pretend toy till and money if easily available but not essential (optional).

Hats/dressing up clothes and bags for shopping (optional).

1. Read stories about children who are going shopping.

2. Explain that when we put the hats/dressing up clothes on we will be pretending to be getting ready to go shopping/be the shop keeper.

3. Model what you want the child/children to do. Put a hat or other dressing up clothes on. Ask the child/children to help you to choose 2 of the foods you are going to buy from the shop.

4. Tell the children you are going to write a shopping list to help you to remember. As you write the objects down, say the name of the item then exaggerate the sounds within the words e.g.

r-i-ce, ch-ee-se.

5. Show the children your list and read it back to them.

6. Choose a child to be the shopkeeper. Go to the shop and 'buy' your 2 things. Pretend you have forgotten what to buy so you need to read your list to remind you.

7. Take off your hat/dressing up clothes. The child/children dress up and write down at least 2 of the things they want to buy from the shop in their notebook. They can copy from the labels.

8. Child/children go to the 'shop' and 'read' what they want from their notebook to the shopkeeper and then 'buy' it using plastic or pretend money.

2 white cards with the words 'I' and 'like' written on them and 1 piece of card with 'I like' written on it.

Whiteboard or individual books made with 2 sheets of A4 paper folded in half.

Pencils

Scissors/glue

Pictures of food that can be cut up e.g. from magazines.

It would help the child if you had made a little book in advance to show.

Selection of pictures of people carrying out different actions.

Cue card with the word "is" written on it.

Pen and paper (optional)

1. Explain that you are going to practice sentences remembering to use all the little words;

2. Explain that one of the words that the child needs to remember is the word "is";

3. Show the child the cue card and explain that it says "is";

4. Show the child one of the pictures and give a simple description e.g. "the boy is running";

5. Show the child another picture and encourage them to describe it;

6. Use the cue card to prompt them if they forget to use the word "is";

7. You could write the child's descriptions down, and use this to reflect back whether they had remembered the word "is".

Small notebook or exercise book, or a book you have made

Pens, pencils etc.

"is" cue card as previous activity

Pictures of a fridge, washing machine, cupboard, suitcase

Pictures of food, clothes.

Take it in turns to instruct each other to put e.g. 'socks in the washing machine', 'put the pasta in the cupboard'

A clothesline - either a picture or a real line and pegs

Pictures of clothes

A TV guide

Outline of a pizza base

Pictures of pizza toppings. Or - draw a base and draw the toppings onto it.

1. Take it in turns to instruct each other to put clothes on the line, e.g. 'Put the jumper on the clothesline.'

2. Go through the TV guide and find favourite shows. Say what you are watching on TV'. e.g. 'I'm watching cartoons on TV

3. Put toppings on the pizza base e.g. 'I'm putting chicken on my pizza'.

Action pictures

Place pictures

Pictures of furniture and objects

Pictures of people

Outline of a bus / train / classroom

Pictures of different vehicles

An interesting object to use as 'treasure'

everyday objects, shopping bag, table

One pupil sits at the 'shop'. Another is asked to go and buy an object.

pictures of everyday objects, post box

Take a picture of an object, say or sign what it is, and post it

pictures with paper clips attached, magnetic fishing rods, 'pond' e.g. a flat box

Eight picture cards, small piece of paper with a fish drawn on it

Picture cards or objects