The Other Ark by Lynley Dodd (Puffin, 5.99), author of the popular Hairy Maclary stories, provides a wonderful starting point for a project.
It tells of Noah's dilemma when he is faced with a jam-packed ark and a queue of animals still waiting to board. His friend Sam Jam Balu comes to the rescue with the other ark, but is he ready for hip-hopping hippos, burrowing flumps and candy-striped camels with comical humps?
Approach
The Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage (page 11) emphasises the importance of providing children with a balance of adult-led and child-initiated learning opportunities. This project, therefore:
* identifies adult-led activities, to introduce or develop children's understanding of the topic through stimulating, meaningful experiences which offer challenge
* suggests ways to enhance areas of core provision, to consolidate children's learning about the theme. It is the practitioners' role to make daily observations of children's learning which inform individual child profiles and future planning. Children should be encouraged to use the resources to support their own learning. This means that the possible learning outcomes will be wide-ranging and varied
* advocates that settings should be organised and resourced using a 'workshop' approach so that children can access resources autonomously and independently.
Introduction
Practitioners might wish to introduce the children first to the traditional version of the Noah's Ark story before introducing The Other Ark. Various versions of the story are available (see box), or simply tell the story in your own words.
Introduce the word 'pair' and other key vocabulary such as ark, flood, torrents, pairs, rows and gangplank. Then reinforce children's understanding of the story and new vocabulary by:
* re-enacting the story using a small-world ark set (see box)
* encouraging the children to arrange the animals in rows of pairs
* talking about the animals' appearance, relative size, their distinctive features such as trunks and long necks, and which animals the children like or dislike.
Child-initiated learning
Outdoors
Additional resources and adult support
* Provide children with some large packing cases, cardboard boxes, planks, crates and a box of toy animals.
* Play with them initially, reminding them of the story of Noah's ark and suggesting they make their own ark from the resources available.
* Leave them to play and then return in role, for example, as an animal needing to get on to the ark to escape the floods. Observe play and point out the need to place resources in safer positions if necessary.
* Be prepared to supply further resources requested by the children.
Play possibilities
* Making an ark using available resources and re-enacting the story of Noah.
* Using the resources for their own creative constructions, unconnected to the story, and developing imaginative scenarios involving these constructions.
Possible learning outcomes
Re-tells narratives in the correct sequence, drawing on the language patterns of stories
Sustains interest for a length of time on a pre-decided construction or arrangement
Joins construction pieces together to build and balance
Water area
Additional resources and adult support
* Provide a variety of clean recycled materials, such as plastic food containers, yoghurt pots and small boxes, along with a selection of small-world animals and people.
* Join the children at play, reminding them of the ark story and suggesting that they create arks from the materials available.
* Leave them to experiment and return later to learn of their successes and failures. Encourage them to think about why certain materials are more appropriate - for example, because they float and are of a suitable size to accommodate several small-world animals.
Play possibilities
* Making arks from the materials available and re-enacting the ark story
* Exploring how different materials react in water
* Discovering whether materials float or sink
Possible learning outcomes
Talks through activities, reflecting and modifying what they are doing
Uses appropriate shapes to make representational models
Talks about what is seen and what is happening.
Adult-led activity
The Other Ark
Extend explorations by sharing the alternative version of the story in The Other Ark by Lynley Dodd.
Key learning intentions
To maintain attention, concentrate and sit quietly when appropriate
To explore and experiment with sounds, words and texts
Adult:child ratio 1:4
Resources
The Other Ark by Lynley Dodd (Puffin, 5.99); a picture of a traditional Noah's Ark and animals.
Activity content
* Look at the picture of Noah's Ark and identify the animals.
* Tell the traditional story to the children, using the picture for reference, and then explain that the book you are going to read tells of another ark with some very different animals.
* Read the story to the children, pausing to discuss the picture on each page and repeating the names of the animals together.
Extending learning
Key vocabulary
Concentrate on explaining the meaning of words in a specific category with each reading. For example:
* Names of animals, such as 'hip-hopping hippos' and 'flying flapdoodles'
* Movement words, such as 'teeming' and 'skittering'
* Unusual words and expressions, such as 'a doddle' and 'shipshape'
Questions to ask
* Why did Noah need to use his second-best ark?
* Who helped him to fill it?
* Which creature names are used in the names 'alligatiger and 'kangarooster'?
Extension ideas
* Invite children to make up new words by combining the names of two animals. Use 'alligatiger' as an example and provide model animals to stimulate ideas.
* Introduce the word 'rhyme' and focus on rhyming words in the story. Make up some rhymes of your own involving fantasy animals.
* In the mark-making area, display the picture of the ark and make available The Other Ark and other Noah's Ark storybooks. Cut some sheets of paper into ark shapes and fasten them together with staples to form small booklets, and provide brightly coloured felt-tip pens. Act as scribe, if necessary, if the children want to retell the story in the booklets or invent their own version.
Child-initiated learning
Creative area
Additional resources and adult support
* Leave a wide selection of animal pictures cut from wildlife magazines and colour supplements in a shallow tray in the collage area. Provide also a good supply of brightly-coloured collage materials, such as tissue, cellophane, artificial feathers, ribbon and coloured foil, cut into manageable pieces if necessary.
* Visit the area with a copy of The Other Ark and look through the animal pictures with the children.
* Suggest transforming the animal pictures into fantasy creatures by glueing on some of the available materials.
* Leave behind the book for reference and visit occasionally to supply additional materials chosen by the children.
Play possibilities
* Creating pictures of fantasy creatures linked to the focused story, using magazine pictures and available resources to represent features such as feathers and humps.
* Using the resources for another purpose, focusing on the use of colour and texture, perhaps stimulated by the suggestions of others working in the same area.
* Manipulating materials to create a desired effect.
Possible learning outcomes
Uses one object to represent another, especially when objects have characteristics in common
Chooses particular colours for a purpose and experimenting to create different textures
Engages in activities requiring hand-eye co-ordination
Adult-led activity
Fantasy creatures
Encourage the children to create a frieze of favourite creatures from The Other Ark.
Key learning intentions
To explore colour, texture, shape, form and space in two or three dimensions
To handle tools, objects, construction and malleable materials safely and with increasing control
Adult:child ratio 1:4
Resources
* The Other Ark * yellow and blue frieze paper * white card * brightly coloured paper * tissue * cellophane and foil * ribbon * wool and string * sequins * glitter * paint * PVA glue
Activity content
* Reread The Other Ark and suggest making a frieze about it.
* Invite the children to choose their favourite fantasy animal from the book and cut out a large outline to represent this.
* Show the children the selection of collage materials and decide as a group which items to use. Begin by painting the outline in a chosen colour and follow this by adding items such as sequins, scrunched-up tissue and wool.
* Back a display board in yellow and blue to represent the landscape depicted in the book and attach the finished creature to this.
* Think of a name for the creature and display this on a label alongside.
* Continue to work with different groups of children so that the finished frieze depicts four fantasy creatures.
Extended learning
Key vocabulary
The names of the fantasy creatures in the book; frieze.
Questions to ask
* Which creature do you like best?
* Are there any creatures that you dislike?
* What colour will your creature be?
* What have you chosen to glue on to your creature?
Extension ideas
* Encourage the children to invent movements for the creatures in the book, prompted by words such as 'skittering', 'burrowing', 'dithering' and 'quarrelsome'.
* Play some appropriate music, such as movements from 'The Carnival of Animals' by Saint-Saens, and invite the children to invent dances for the fantasy creatures.
Child-initiated learning
Dressing-up
Additional resources and adult support
* Supply the children with a copy of The Other Ark and a box of colourful fabric lengths, such as chiffon, net and sari materials. Invite them to drape themselves in their choice of fabric to become imaginary creatures.
* Introduce headdresses and artificial feather boas and join the children as they explore them, encouraging them to pretend to be different creatures from the book or their imaginations.
* Allow lots of time for free play.
Play possibilities
* Looking at The Other Ark and imitating the creatures from it using the resources
* Inventing entirely new creatures, or characters, inspired by the available resources
* Playing with others, inventing imaginary scenarios together
Possible learning outcomes
Dresses and undresses independently
Uses available resources to support role play
Plays alongside others who are engaged in the same theme
Sand area
Additional resources and adult support
* Leave a selection of kitchen roll tubes, cut into different lengths, along with sticky tape and brightly coloured strips of fabric and cellophane on a table near the sand tray.
* Visit the area with a copy of The Other Ark and draw the children's attention to the pictures of trees and plants. What shape and colour are the leaves? Do they look like the plants and trees the children see around them? What is different about them?
* Suggest using the resources to create trees to stick into sand to form a landscape for small-world animals.
* Leave the children to play, returning occasionally to provide further supplies of resources and help with joining techniques if necessary.
Play possibilities
* Making trees and plants as props for small-world play
* Using resources to create different constructions of their own choice to play with in the sand
Possible learning outcomes
Works as part of a group, sharing resources and taking turns
Talks through activities, reflecting on and modifying what they are doing
Constructs with a purpose in mind, using a variety of resources
Areas of learning
Personal, social and emotional development
Communication, language and literacy
Mathematical development
Knowledge & understanding of the world
Physical development
Creative development
Reader offer
* We have five copies of The Other Ark by Lynley Dodd (Puffin, 5.99) to give away to Nursery World readers. Send your name and address on the back of a postcard or envelope, marked 'The Other Ark', to the address on page 3. Winners will be the first five names drawn on 9 February.
Resources to support the theme
* Noah's Ark written by Heinz Janisch and illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger (North South Books, 9.99)
* Noah's Ark by Jane Ray (Orchard Books, Pounds x.xx) Noah's Ark by Lucy Cousins (Walker Books, Pounds x.xx)
* The Ark by Matthew Reinhart (Simon & Schuster, Pounds x.xx)
* Wooden Noah's Ark, ark and pairs of animals (19.95, Articles of Faith, tel: 0161 763 6232)
* Playmobil Noah's Ark, with ark, small-world people and animals (49.95, Hope)
* Noah's ark floor puzzle, 24 pieces (Eduzone, 12.95)
