Story time – Ah said stork – maths

In this clip we can observe how a practitioner lays firm foundations for early literacy and communication skills, with a group of 3-5 year olds, in an EY setting, during a story time session. Observe how the practitioner animates the story in such a way that the children remain fully engaged in the activity whilst she introduces concepts that involve critical thinking. This is an excellent example of high-quality, adult-child verbal interactions that supports and promotes the development of speech, language and communication.

Good for looking at:

• development of speech and language
• early literacy skills
• mathematical development
• quality child-adult interactions
• enjoyment of books and story time
• development of critical thinking skills

Notice

• What cues can you see that show what the children are interested in? (Look out for non-verbal and body language as well as spoken language)
• How the children are learning?
• Which areas of  development, engagement and characteristics of learning can you observe?
• In what ways does the adult support the children’s learning?
• How does the choice of picture book support the children’s mathematical learning?