This experience should be differentiated depending on the individual child/group level. With younger children, using predominantly visual instructions may be necessary. With older children a combination of visual and written text may be used.
This learning experience plan relates to:
- emergent literacy
- language and emergent literacy learner (36-60 months)
- learning focus: concepts of print
- teaching practice: reading with children.
Collect information
What information has been gathered as evidence to inform this experience?
Links to VEYLDF
Outcome 5: communication
- Children begin to understand how symbols and patterns work
Children begin to be aware of the relationships between oral, written and visual texts.
Victorian curriculum levels F-2
- Language VCELA145
- Explore the different contribution of words and images to meaning in stories and informative texts.
Learning intentions
- For children to respond to one-step instructions.
- To build children’s awareness of content-specific vocabulary (sprouting, soil, recycling, biodegradable, instructions).
Assessment of learning
This is demonstrated when children:
- respond to/follow one-step instructions
- demonstrate understanding and/or use content-specific vocabulary during experience.
Resources
- Egg shells (cleaned) with cut-up egg cartons or biodegradable pots
- Soil/potting mix
- Spray bottles with water
- Equipment to handle soil – dessert spoons, gloves
- Chia seeds (or other seeds – bean sprouts work well as they grow quickly).
Note: if any egg allergies are present at the service, biodegradable peat pots (e.g. Jiffy's Peat Pots) will work just as well instead of egg shells.
Group size
Whole group if appropriate, then small groups of two-three children.
Differentiation
Differentiation should be based on prior assessment of the child/children’s communication skills. Examples of differentiation:
- Using a varied range of content-specific vocabulary.
- Providing children with fine motor support where needed.
Experience process
- Clearly introduce the learning experience:
- ‘’We are going to use these instructions to make our own Chia Seed Sprouts.’’
- ’It is important that we follow the instructions so that our sprouts will grow.’’
- If the children would like to paint the egg cups, this process can be done before introducing the instructions for potting.
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Draw children’s attention to the poster outlining the instructions:
- Ask questions such as ‘’what do you think we need to do first?’’ and ‘’what do we need to do second?’’
- Point out that the pictures show the order of instructions as well as the words.
- To consolidate and assess understanding, follow up the learning experience with written instructions for children to take home. Children may also like to take the plants home once they have sprouted, so make some extra egg sprouts if you would like to continue the activity into planting the soil with the breakdown of the egg/biopots.
Going further
This experience could be extended by:
- children creating their own instructions of the experience
- children watching and recording sprout growth
- children making home-made bio pots.
Reflect and review
Reflective questions for educators may include:
- What learning has occurred? How do you know?
- What have you realised about the child’s interests, knowledge, and capabilities?
- In discussion with colleagues, what would you plan next to consolidate or extend children’s learning?
Additional resources for this learning experience
- Measuring Angels by Lesley Ely and Polly Dunbar
- My Green Day: 10 Green Things I Can Do Today by Melanie Walsh
- The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle.
Related learning experience plans
Links to sections
Literacy teaching toolkit experience plans
Example learning experience plans for educators.
Literacy teaching toolkit videos
Watch educators demonstrate teaching practices.
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