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Play to Learn

Foundation Phase 

 

Play to Learn - Equips and encourages learners aged 3-7 to be physically active. 

Resource: Play to Learn
Purpose: Equips and encourages learners aged 3-7 to be physically active.

Overview of content:

 

Three stories- Megan and the Baby Dragon, Planet Play, The Beach Party

Audio CDs of stories being told

 

Hierarchy of Gross Motor Skills - 36 Skill Cards - Differentiated for as they develop, as they progress, as they become more skilful. Development of locomotor (travelling) skills, body management skills and manipulative skills. Information and guidance including teaching points with visuals for each skill and helpful solutions for some high frequency errors.

 

16 Activity Cards – Differentiated for as they develop, as they progress, as they become more skilful - offering wide context and themes to put skills into action in a fun and exciting way

 

Play to learn CD Rom with wider information and electronic version of skills cards and activity cards.

 

Significant Transferable Features:

 

CD recordings of stories 

Principles link to any book

Hierarchy of Gross Motor Skills

 

Where resource currently meets requirements of new curriculum :

 

Considers developmental needs of learners (e.g. as they develop, as they progress, as they become more skilful) from a stage not age perspective.

 

Holistic in nature.

 

Build in links to themes to consider cross curricular opportunities and wider skills for development (there are numerous) (e.g. themes from the story books or themes from the activity cards)

 

Opportunities for learners to explore and understand problems and tasks (e.g. opportunities for learner led and practitioner led activities).

 

Confidence and Motivation
PupilsTeachers / practitioners
Helping children to develop their enthusiasm for movement gives them confidence to carry on being physically active.Gives teachers the scaffolding and confidence that they can have  the tools to teach this AoLE, and motivates them to do so
Competence
PupilsTeachers / practitioners

Physical development of motor skills – such as running, jumping, catching and kicking – as well as smaller, fine manipulative skills such as block building leading to handwriting.

Learning key movement skills foster a lifelong enjoyment and engagement in sport and physical activity

 

Offers subject and methodological experience and exciting classroom skills.

information and guidance of each skill including how to correct typical technical mistakes

Knowledge and Understanding
PupilsTeachers / practitioners

Learners know the correct technique of the skills and understand how they can put them into games and activities, developing turn taking and working with others.

Develops independence.

One of the barriers for teachers is knowing how to correct errors and offer solutions. Examples are incorporated into the cards Information and guidance of each skill including how to correct typical technical mistakes
Opportunities
PupilsTeachers / practitioners
Multiple opportunities to use the stories, practise skills, undertake activities and play games alone, with others, with practitioners.

Multiple opportunities to both lead and facilitate learning using the stories, skills, activities and games.

Opportunities to utilise Assessment for Learning approaches. 

Links to other AoLE

 

Links, primarily in the form of stories and activities, could be made to all other AoLE:

Expressive Arts – Creative movement activity cards are included in the resource; role play of the stories; range of music to accompany actions and activities. Multiple opportunities to link to senses and imagination.

Health and Wellbeing - If children enjoy being active, are confident in their ability and learn key movement skills this will foster a lifelong enjoyment of sport and physical activity and therefore better health and wellbeing. Decision making and relationships also considered.

Humanities – Megan and the Baby Dragon - elements of caring for others and respecting others’ differences, inspiring curiosity in the world.

Languages, Literacy and communication – Books are bilingual, children can read, be read to and hear the stories; opportunities to discuss and plan. Descriptive language used in the stories to develop meaningful vocabulary. All resources are bilingual.

Mathematics and numeracy - on many pages (e.g. Planet Play 12/13) numerous opportunities for counting, shape identification and positional language.

Science and Technology – being curious of natural world, exploring different settings of stories space / beach.

Considerations and suggestions moving forwards:

 

In any training set up areas related to stories with opportunity for discussion how other stories could be utilised in same way (drawing upon hierarchy of skills).

 

Any training should utilise pedagogy of teachers leading and therefore developing their knowledge of and confidence with the resource and their competence of how to use it.

 

Focus on hierarchy as the basis and starting point, use of books and activities to layer and apply. Have cards as a repository rather than the driver. 

 

Skills ladder – model range of skills available to practice formally and informally.  

 

Skills Calendar – guides planning - this can be used to focus on a specific few skills over the duration of a month, incorporating them into a variety of games, activities, stories, books and songs.

 

Incorporation / links to SMILES and STEP from outset. 

 

CDs and CD ROM are now difficult for many to use so resources need to be shared via different platform (it is apparent that this is possible due to the successful sharing of resources on the Sport Wales website during the COVID 19 lockdown). 

Free access to Sport Wales education resources