PEFaL Children’s Programme Development

Session: Module 2 Week 4 Focus: Hidden Stories: Exploring feelings through books Parents / Children: Joint

Session Exploring stories

4.1
[Parents can join in from the beginning of the session, during the Big Group Activity]
General Developing and reinforcing storytelling skills
Objectives Practicing skills that make reading more of a personal experience
Practicing skills that make reading more of a family experience

Development Targets Resources

2.25 p.m. Food, toilets, change • Preparation for session • Food
• Sanitary facilities
20 • T-shirt put on
minutes

2.45 p.m. Transition Activity/Activities1:

15 Energiser: Rainstorm Oracy: • Open space

minutes • Use of voices to create
• The children sit down in a circle. different sounds
• The tutor chooses one person to act as the
conductor of the storm. Motor:
• The conductor stands in the centre of the • Physical movement
circle, facing the first person. • Body awareness
• The conductor starts rubbing his / her • Development of rhythmical
hands together, copied by the first person. sound patterns

1
Focus on energiser.
 • Then the conductor turns slowly round on • Co-ordination
the spot, to each person in turn, until they
are all performing the action that sounds PSD / Social:
like gentle, and increasingly heavy rainfall. • Predicting sequence of
• The conductor then repeats the whole events
process with a new action – snapping • Turn taking
fingers, hands clapping thighs, stamping • Leadership and group skills
feet – which makes the sound of the
crescendo of the storm.
• The conductor decreases the volume of the
storm by going through the above steps in
reverse until the last person rubbing hands
is silent.

3.00 p.m. Circle Time • Cooling down activity • Cushions or other

• Introductory discussion seating
5 minutes • Recalling what was done
during the previous session
• Instruction giving

3.05 p.m. Big Group Activity2:

40 Storytelling activity Oracy:

minutes • Listening • Cushions or other
• The tutor starts off the activity by giving • Talking about ideas suitable seating.
each child a piece of round stiff cardboard. • Talking about feelings • Whiteboard and
• The tutor tells the children that they are • Answering questions markers
going to create a face together. • Talking about past / present/ • Large round pieces
2
Step-by-step development
• The tutor models how an “Upside Down future of cardboard (1 per
Face” is created. • Joining in the story child)
• To make this activity more of a literacy • Empathising and • Smaller cardboard
activity, the tutor can give the children extrapolating circles (I per child)
written instructions that they have to follow • Predicting sequence of • Strips of stiff
in order to create the face. events cardboard cut into
• The children draw the face; they cut out the • Retrieve and convey rectangles (1 per
eyes and don’t draw the nose. messages child)
• The nose is made out of another piece of • Butterfly pins (1 per
stiff round cardboard that the tutor gives out Motor: child)
to the children. • Manipulating materials • Scissors
• The tutor also gives the children a long • Drawing, cutting, piercing, • Drawing and
rectangular strip of stiff cardboard and a assembling colouring materials
butterfly pin. • Big book
• The children pierce the circular cardboard • Other copies of
with the pin, pass it through the face and Reading: smaller books
then through one end of the long strip of • Following instructions
cardboard and attach them all together. • Recognising previous words
• In this way the children can spin the face learnt
around
Writing:
• The tutor asks the children what they think • None associated with this
of the “Upside Down Face” and directs the activity
discussion towards the theme of loneliness
with the children, focusing on situations in PSD / Developmental:
which children often feel lonely and • Listening and sharing
encouraging children to come up with • Developing of self
solutions on what they can do to help • Developing discussion skills
themselves. • Turn taking
• Children should be encouraged to talk about • Developing communication
situations when they met someone who was skills
lonely and what they did to help. • Developing empathy and
• After this short discussion, the tutor awareness of other feelings
introduces the book and tells the children he • Predicting sequence of
/she needs their help to see what this little events
girl decided to do when she was alone; the • Talking about experiences
tutor can tell the children that since they • Developing group skills
have already explored the book with their • Observing adults
parents they should be able to help the tutor • Interacting with adults as well
read the book. as other children
• The children sit near the tutor who models a
session of storytelling to the parents.
• Parents should not only take the role of
observers but should also participate in the
storytelling experience by sitting next to their
child and joining in.
• The tutor starts the session by discussing
the girl on the cover: “What is her name?”,
“Where does she live?”, “What kind of family
does she have?”
• This will help children identify themselves
more with the girl.
• Once the storytelling starts, the tutor can
stop at certain points to discuss the pictures
and ask the children to express their own
feelings about the story.
• The children can also use the “Upside Down
Face” instead of talking.
 • The tutor can elicit points for discussion by
asking questions about the story (“What
would you have done instead of the girl?”,
“What would you have thought about?”).
• The children can also show other children
what they would have done by miming the
actions.
• The tutor should try to make the storytelling
session as enjoyable as possible through
the use of discussion and drama and
miming.
• At the end of the storytelling session, the
children and parents should have time to
express their opinion about the story: “What
did / didn’t you like?”

3.45 p.m. Small Group Activity:

20 Reading Time Oracy: • Small books of

minutes
• Families are divided into small groups.
• Parents and their children practice
reading and storytelling together.
• This is the ideal time for the tutor to go
round and give tips and support to
families.
• Families can either read alone or to
other families.
• The books used can be varied; families
• Practicing listening skills “When I am
• Practicing sharing skills Lonely” / “Meta
• Practicing communication Nkun Wahdi”
skills with other adults and • Other books brought
children by the family
Reading:
• Practicing book handling
skills – exploring title, author
and other parts of the book,
can read from the small version of the
big book or they can even read from the
book they brought with them.
• Practicing reading skills –
opening book right way up,
turn pages and look at the left
of a double page, picture-
word matching.
asking for a story, watching
adults read with interest, join
in shared reading, read
simple sentences, recall and
retell story, understanding
vocabulary, reading simple
words, recognizing and
pointing out words
recognized, attempting to
spell and read challenging
words, predict sequence of
events, choosing to explore
books alone or with another
person.

Writing:
• None associated with this
activity

PSD / Developmental:
• Listening and sharing
• Developing of self through
interactive communication
• Developing of self through
 practice in basic skills
• Developing interest in books
as source of fun and learning
• Developing discussion skills
• Developing communication
skills and turn taking
• Developing empathy and
dealing with other feelings
• Predicting sequence of
events
• Talking about experiences
• Developing group skills
• Observing adults
• Interacting with adults as well
as other children

4.05 p.m. Closure:

10 Distributing the home link-up activity

minutes • Concluding activity • Cushions or other
• Each family has around 3 sheets of • Review of things learnt during seating
paper entitled Our Family Album of the session • Handouts
Feelings. • Establishing the session’s • Activity instructions
• Each handout has space for writing and home link-up activity
for drawing.
• On each handout, the child has to draw
a portrait of different members of the
family in the space provided
(Photographs can be used as well).
 • Then, with the help of the parents, the
child asks his / her family members what
is their strongest like or dislike, fear or
moment of calm, when they feel happy
or sad.
• The child writes a short piece of
information (according to ability) about
what each member of the family said.
• When filling in the handouts, parents
should help the children write down
using expressions they are familiar with
as well as those encountered in the book
during the reading session.
• Later, the child and his /her parents can
stick or thread the handouts together,
put them within a cover and decorate the
cover to create a “Family Album of
Feelings”.
• This album is to be included within the
portfolio when it is ready.

In Portfolio:

The instructions and the “Upside Down Face”, added information in the section “Books We Read Together”, the “Family Album”
when it is completed.