Long Term Planning In Reception

[Guest]

Just started a job at half term and there is no planning so i am working on a long term plan at the moment. the children did ourselves as a topic in the first half term. for the rest of the year i would like to do - autumn - people who help us and christmas, spring - nursery rhymes, animals and growing and for the summer term minibeasts and seaside/water. Do you think this ok. Again thank you all for your help ger

[catma]

Themes are all fairly usual and will give you something to forward plan for resourcing. However I do believe you have to be flexible about this and don't write them into tablets of stone - you need to keep analyzing your assessment knowledge about the cohort and the aspects of curriculum that may need further development/consolidation or even introduction. For example, working with one practitioner she wanted to use "ourselves" as her theme. When we looked at where her children were in terms of assessments it was apparent that areas of designing and maiking were very weak as were aspects of creative development. In other words, "ourselves" wasn't going to be a very useful theme even though it was on the long term plan!! She totally changed it and because she was then planning what the children actually needed the content was easier to plan.

 

I think it's important to remember that we use a theme as a context for learning rather than do a theme as content of learning!!

 

Hope that helps,

Cx

Edited November 18, 2007 by catma

[Susan]

Be flexible in your approach as Catma suggests and adapt what you do as you get to see the children develop more.

 

I always like planning from stories and you can be so varied with that approach, developing it as it takes off or not as the case maybe.

 

With those themes in mind, develop the one that is most relevant to now and do the others as the time gets nearer and you wont feel too bogged down.

 

Good luck. Flexible and responsive are the keys.

[Susan]

just noticed this is in SEN so am going to move it to planning!