5, 6 & 7 year olds have innate curiosity and are fascinated by finding out about the world around them and things that interest them such as dinosaurs, dragons or drums. Planning a curriculum based loosely around interests makes sense because firstly children are already interested in the chosen focus and are therefore already ‘hooked’ into whatever learning will emerge when with more able others they bring their knowledge to new aspects of learning; secondly this approach provides the potential for an emergent curriculum which may be much more diverse than we could ever imagine. Hence an interest in Superheroes may provide a stimulus for considering how humans conquered the mystery of flight (history) which could lead to a study of the exploration of aerial views from space (geography) and – might just lead children to consider the nature and use of different materials (science). Whatever age group involved – its preferable (and more successful) to build from what children already know!
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