Understanding the World

Understanding the World looks at People Cultures and Communities, the Natural World and the Past and Present .

Past and Present :

• Talk about past and present family events by looking at old photos 
• Talk about your childhood and highlight how some things have changed over time
• Play games parents or grandparents played as children or explore parents childhood toys
• Spot old and modern buildings while out and about 

People , Culture and Communities:

• Talk about different jobs and occupations through role play and stories 
• Look at, talk about and celebrate different traditions and festivals 
• Share stories about life in other countries 

The Natural World:

• Compare objects, places and living things by discussing similarities and differences
• Talk about the local area and changes through out the year 
• Plant seeds and look after them, observing how the plants grow and change
• Care for or observe animals 
• Talk about changes and why some things occur 
• Visit different environments
• Play mats and small world equipment 
• Baking to explore, cooking, melting and freezing 
•  Make a weather diary. Why not present your own weather forecast.

Technology:

• Play with tools that work in different ways, e.g. egg whisk, torch, other household implements,  construction kits 
• Use apps on iPad such as the camera or voice recorder
• Play with programmable or remote controlled toys
• Press buttons to operate household appliances e.g. DVD players (under adult supervision)
• Use technology in the community e.g. push button at crossing, open automatic door, press certain buttons on the self service till

Home Learning Spring Term: 

• Looking for signs of spring.
• Observed different types of weather.
• As some baby animals are born during the spring,  looked at the life cycle of some animals.  
• Draw the life cycle of a frog, butterfly or a chicken.
• Investigate where our food comes from.
• Plant some vegetables and watch how they grow. 

Activities: working scientifically, geographical awareness, historical awareness, families and community

Activities for scientific exploration and investigation:

• • Play ‘what’s in the box’ feely game – make a hole in a cardboard box – put in an object (key, ball, cotton wool, spoon, straw)– use words to describe how the object feels before saying what it is…hard, smooth, round, soft, bendy, bumpy, etc.
• • Play ‘guess the smell’ game – select food/objects/materials with a smell (chocolate, coffee, lemon, fabric softener, cheese, mint) use a blind fold and guess the smell.
• • Plant a sunflower seed – talk about sun, soil, water to help it to grow. Care for seed, and plant in big pot or garden when it grows. Talk about the plant parts – stem, leaves, roots, flower head, petals, etc.
• • Make a mini beast house in the garden/yard – place empty plant /yoghurt pot/cardboard, old fabric in a pile in a corner and leave for a few days. Carefully move part of the pile and take a look – what is living in the mini-beast house? Search on google to find out more about the creature/s. Take a photograph or draw a picture to show your teacher.
• • Play what is it made of ?’ game around your house or on your daily walk. How many things can you spot made of plastic, metal, wood, glass, cardboard, fabric. Make a list.
• • On a sunny day play ‘don’t stand on my shadow’ with a family member – run around moving your shadow – try to stop your partner from standing on it – if they do it’s their turn to have a go. Using whole body or hands make shadow puppets…..what can you make?

• • On your daily walk or from different windows in your house what can you see? Make a list of all the physical features such as grass, field, hedge, hill, mountain, sea, river, woods, etc. Make a list of all the human features – buildings including houses, shops, church, mosque, school; road, motorway, fences/gates, traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, bridge, railway lines, street signs, etc.
• • Draw a map of your street, or the journey you make on your daily walk….include all the things you see.
• • Draw the layout of your house - what rooms do you have upstairs and down stairs? Draw your kitchen /bedroom /lounge – what furniture do you have? Where is the door and the window?
• • Look at your story books to see if you can find different places – seaside, countryside, town, city, woods, farm, zoo, park. How many different places did you find?
• • Play ‘what do you find at the seaside’ game – take turns with family members to name something you would see at the seaside – how many did you find? Play this for other places – your street, the city, under the sea, the jungle, on the farm, etc.
• • Make a weather chart – make a simple chart and draw a weather symbol for the different weather in a day /week – sunny, cloudy, windy, raining, thunder. Make up your own symbols and make up symbols for cold, warm, hot.

• • Draw a picture/timeline to show the things you do during the day – morning, afternoon, evening – include mealtimes, school work, play, games, daily exercise, calls to family members, and other activities.
• • Play a time word game – what did I do yesterday? What am I doing today? What am I going to do tomorrow? E.g. ‘yesterday I rang my Nana, today I am playing in garden and tomorrow I am going to make cakes.
• • With a family member draw a family tree – include parents, grandparent/great grandparents aunts/uncles and cousins – extend the tree as far as you can.
• • Think of some questions you can ask a family member – parent/grandparent/aunt or uncle – about when they were a child - favourite food /toy/game/place they visited /holiday/jobs at home, etc. Face time or call a family member and interview them /ask questions with the help of a family member.
• • Make a time capsule and put it in the garden /local community – include a drawing and some items that relate to the time they have been at home during lockdown.

• • Find out about the jobs of family members/people the children know, including people in the community, at school, etc. Talk about
• • Make a box of things that are special to them – ask other family members to do the same and talk about why they are special.
• • Make a book / draw pictures of the special things they have done whilst they have been at home during COVID19 lockdown.
• • Talk about the special things that they and other people have been doing to help each other during the COVID 19 lockdown – clapping for NHS / drawing and displaying rainbows in windows/ adding pictures and models to community fairy gardens, sending messages to their grandparents, teachers and friends, etc. Talk about people they might have seen on the news – e.g. Captain Tom Moore, and other people in their local community.
• • Talk about the celebrations and events that have happened in the family, community or wider world during lockdown – birthdays, VE day, births, etc. how did they celebrate these/ why are they special?