Play and Learn
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About Erasmus+
Erasmus+ is the EU's programme to support education, training, youth
and sport in Europe. Its budget of €14.7 billion will provide
opportunities for over 4 million Europeans to study, train gain
experience, and volunteers abroad.
Opportunities
Set to last until 2020, Erasmus+ doesn't just have opportunities for
students. Merging seven prior programmes, it has opportunities for a
wide variety of individuals and organisations.
Aims
The aim of Erasmus+ is to contribute to the Europe 2020 strategy for
growth, jobs, social equity and inclusion, as well as the aims of ET2020,
the EU's strategic framework for education and training.
Erasmus+ also aims to promote the sustainable development of its
partners in the field of higher education, and contribute to achieving the
objectives of the EU Youth Strategy.
Outcomes
The outcomes of Erasmus+ are available in reports and compendia of
statistics, as well as through the Erasmus+ Projects Platform, which
includes most of the initiatives funded by the programme, as well as a
selection of good practices and success stories.
Who can take part?
Erasmus+ is open to many individuals and organisations, although
eligibility varies from one action to another and from one country to
another.
Individuals can take part in many of the opportunities funded by
Erasmus+, although most will have to do so through an organisation
taking part in the programme. The eligibility of individuals and
organisations depends on the country in which they are based.
Play and Learn
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Project introduction
In 2014 teachers from Iceland, England, Turkey and Sweden started a
two year Erasmus+ project called Play and learn. The purpose was to
improve the children’s learning environment and make it easier for them
to learn about their language such as letters, writing and reading by
using different methods. The aim was to teach the children through
nature by using outdoor teaching methods and connect these ideas to
each countries curriculum. Tasks were provided that help children to
read into their environment. During these two years each school
provided six tasks, three each year. This booklet features all the tasks
that were carried out in the project.
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Year 1
In the first year each school provided three tasks. These tasks were
aimed at studying different methods and materials and how different
learning environment can help children to learn language, letters, writing
and reading. Also sharing ideas of how we can teach the
children through nature by using outdoor teaching methods.
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What is natural and what is man made?
The aims for the project are:
To show initiative.
To encourage friendship between children.
To recognize different materials in nature.
To learn the difference between things that are natural and the
things that are man made.
To practice concepts/words like plastic, glass, iron, leaf etc.
1. The group goes on a field trip and finds a good place to work at.
2. The teacher asks the children to find three objects that are natural
and one object that is man made.
3. The children work in pairs to find the four objects.
4. When the children have found their objects they go back to school.
There the teacher places a tablecloth on the floor and each pair puts their
objects on the cloth and inform what they have found, which objects are
natural and which are made by man.
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Mathematics and language
training with sticks!
The children went to the woods. There they found many sticks.
At home there were discussions about the sticks:
How many are there? What do they look like? What size are they?
Which stick is the longest? Witch stick is the shortest?
Which is the thickest and the thinnest stick?
The children found it a bit difficult to separate these adjectives.
Then the children tried to put the sticks in order from the shortest to the
longest.
Curriculum goals:
Develop the childrens ability to listen, reflect and express their own
views and try to understand the perspectives of others.
Develop their use of spoken language, vocabulary and concepts, as
well as the ability to play with words, relate something, express
their thoughts, put their arguments and questions forward in
communications with others.
Develop their ability to use mathematics to investigate, reflect over
and test different solutions to problems raised by themselves and
others.
Develop their ability to distinguish, express, examine and use
mathematical concepts and their interrelationships.
Develop their mathematical skill in putting forward and following
reasoning.
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Psychomotor and mathematical
training with used paper
The teacher and the children talked about saving paper and recycling.
The children went to the paper bins and collected some used paper.
How is it possible to reuse paper?
Is the weight the same or different when the paper is dry or wet?
The children tore the paper to pieces.
The paper was soaked in water and let wait for a day.
It was measured to see whether it is heavier when it is wet or dry.
The children created unique products by using their thoughts, feelings and
dreams.
They helped each other and coloured their products.
Curriculum goals:
Develop the childrens speaking, vocabulary and concepts by
communicating with each other.
Develop their eye and hand coordination ability.
Develop their relationships with others.
Develop ability of creating unique, aesthetic products.
Develop their mathematical skills by comparing weight of objects.
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Natural materials scavenger hunt
The children were set an Easter break homework. They had to go on an A-
Z scavenger hunt to find as many natural or recycled objects as they
could.
The youngest children had to find a certain number of objects from 1 to
12. There was lots of discussion and a whole range of ways the work was
presented – 250+ pieces of homework were created!
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Planting seeds
The children planted seeds in the garden. They watered them, took care of
them and watched them grow.
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What can you find in nature?
In this task the children are working with psychomotor, motor skills,
health, imagination, the history, language, etc.
Each child gets a bag or a box to put in the things that they find. In the end
of the task the children sit down and show and tell each other what they
found. Then each child shows the others which thing is the most beautiful
and why.
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Patternmaking in nature
In the daily fruit brake there was a discussion about patterns and the
children made patterns with the fruits.
After that the children were instructed to collect three items of the same
kind. Together they made patterns with the items they had collected.
Goals:
Develop understanding of shapes, space and location.
Carry out instructions.
Practice cooperation, social skills, taking turns and listen to each
other.
Challenge the curiosity of the children and their growing
understanding of language, communication and mathematics.
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Shapes in the environment
Everybody went out on a shape hunt.
They learned that 2D and 3D shapes are everywhere around us, both natu-
ral and man-made.
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Group cards in nature
The aim is for the children to:
Promote friendship and communication skills.
Know the variety of nature that they can use in their play.
Train their attention.
Learn to work together.
Learn how to use conscepts like branch, leaf, flower, etc.
Materials:
Cloths, one for each child or one big for all
Plastic containers
Camera
Preparing:
The teacher explains the task to the children by telling them that they are
going to play group cards in the nature. Things from the nature that the
children have found are hidden under the plastic container (two of each)
and the children work together two and two and match the things together.
Processing:
The children talk about the material that they used in the game.
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Psychomotor, cognitive
training with newspapers
Firstly, students brought newspapers from their homes.
Then there was a discussion about what could be done with these
newspapers.
Everyone brainstormed and all the answers were written down.
Finally it was decided to make a basket from these newspapers.
The children were asked to roll the newspapers. Each child made 5 rolls.
The rolls were collected and knitted together.
Firstly the base was made and then the sides.
When the basket was completed the group talked about what to use the
basket for. It was decided to keep toys in it.
Curriculum goals:
Develop ability of focusing on object, case and event.
Develop ability of concentrating, asking questions, guessing the
questions’ answers and telling opinions.
Develop ability of comparing the condition between reality and
guess.
Develop hand-eye coordination.
Develop ability of creating and using the goods other than their
original functions.
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Cognitive, mathematic and concept
language training
The children collected stones and sticks from the school’s environment
and brought to class. Besides, cotton was added to the work.
There was a discussion about what could be made of this material.
Is their length different?
Is their thickness the same?
Which is the most hard, light or soft?
Which one can be pulled to pieces?
First of all the children had difficulty in comprehending these questions.
They tried to separate thin sticks and then they ordered them as thin and
thick.
They categorized cotton as soft, stones as hard and sticks as long- short.
They used sticks and stones for numbers. They noticed that they could
write from 1-10 and make additions by using these items.
Finally, they ordered the sticks regularly and they discerned long, thick,
hard, light and soft objects.
Curriculum goals:
Comprehend objects and pay attention to object, event and
situation.
Develop ability of beginning, going on and asking questions about
the subject.
Count objects from 1 to 10 and compare their length, shortness,
colour, shape, thinness, thickness, softness and hardness.
Develop ability of making patterns from things.
Develop ability of analysing and explaining visual materials.
Develop ability of commenting and expressing concepts that they
have listened to and watched in a different way.
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Recycled sound
The children enjoyed learning about aboriginal art and music.
They used a range of recyclable materials to create didgeridoos.
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Year 2
In the second year each school made 3 tasks. These tasks were aimed at
improving the learning environment and make it easier for the
children to learn language, letters, writing and reading by using different
methods.
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Implicating and song method
Each letter was taught by implicating it with a song that includes the
letter.
In this example the letter 'M' is taught:
First the children listened to a song: “Mini mini bir kuş konmuştu”. The
letter 'M' is often repeated in the song, and the children also know and
sing this song while it is being listened to.
Then the teacher asks the children to find an object or a toy that starts
with the letter 'M'.
The children bring them and they are very happy and excited. After that
they always tell and find things that start with 'M'.
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Letter on paper
The aim of this task is to work with letters in the environment .
Location; a place nearby where you can find all kinds of small objects in
the nature (leaves, stones, cones, branches, etc.)
Season; spring, summer, autumn, winter
Description;
The children collect all kinds of small objects in nature.
They put their objects on a card and form the first letter in their
name.
The teacher asks the children to get objects that has the letter 'S'
and form its letter on the card.
The children bring enough objects on their card to form their name.
This task is for 4-6 year olds.
For younger children the task needs to be simplified.
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Working with letters
Discussion about letters.
“What are letters?”
The children answered: “When you write something, you use letters”.
“There are letters in my name.”
And when asked what it’s called when letters stand together, they
answered “it is called the alphabet”. How about when you combine
several letters with each other? “It’s called words!”.
Where can you find letters in this room?
The children pointed on the wall where you can see the days of the week
(written with letters; Monday, Tuesday, etc).
What letters can you name?
The children began to say some of the letters they have in their own
names and then other letters they knew.
Single letters were put out on the floor to see if the children recognized
the first letter in their name.
Next mission for them was to locate a word somewhere in the room which
began with the same first letter as their name.
Training to recognize their whole name
Various names were put out on the floor and each kid had to find his own
name.
Then the kids were given a peace of paper with the entire alphabet. The
task was to color the letters they have in their name.
According to the curriculum, goals and guidelines:
Develop their curiosity and enjoyment, as well as their ability to
play and learn.
Develop their self-autonomy and confidence in their own ability.
Develop an interest in the written language and an understanding of
symbols, and their communicative functions.
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Learning of the letter 'A'
Before the children come to the classroom, toys and other things that
starts with 'A' are brought in there. After they come in they listen to mu-
sic, dance to the music and show the toys and things starting with 'A' as
they sing a song.
One song that focuses on 'A' is:
say me a Word starts with 'A'
AAAaaa aslan ( lion)
say me a Word starts with 'A'
AAAaaa arı ( bee)
say me a Word starts with 'A'
AAAaaa ayı ( bear)
They are very happy with that. They don’t want to sit down but rather to
dance and sing. After the dancing and singing the teacher asks them to
draw what they hear. They draw the letter 'A' and the words in the song.
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The alphabet in our environment
Age: 4-6 year old
Location; a place nearby where you can find all kinds of small objects in
nature (leaves, stones, cones, branches, etc.)
Season; spring, summer, autumn, winter
The teacher brings a cloth with the alphabet written on it.
Description;
The teacher talks about the alphabet on the cloth and what each
character says.
The teacher asks the children to find an object that starts with the
letter 'L' .
The teacher asks the children what is the name of the objects that
they bring.
Then the children put the objects on the right spot on the cloth,
according to which letter it’s name starts with.
The teacher can also ask the children to bring a leaf and then asks what
letter a leaf has.
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The Alphabet
Presentation:
Draw a ring around the selected letter. Use colour specified for each letter.
Objective:
To recognize letters of the alphabet both capital letters (large) and
lowercase (small). Exercise pencil grip.
Reflection:
The children understood the task quickly and thought it was fun to
perform.
Curriculum goals:
Read and write.
Alphabet and alphabetical order.
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Writing dance
The aim of this is to develop gross motor control. Children form big
shapes and movements with their whole bodies and it gets them ready for
writing.
Here are some video examples:
Raining:
https://youtu.be/RRv0KU9bJ8w
Stone rolling down a hill:
https://youtu.be/PV26s1eHPAE
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Go and get the food
Presentation:
The animals (to the left) are supposed to follow the dotted path to the food
at the right. The children were given pencils instead of crayons to get the
right grip.
Purpose:
The purpose of this task is to train the right grip at the pencil, to learn to
write from left to right, and to practice the 'S' - and 'O' - shapes.
Reflection:
Nobody thought it was difficult (still many of them had difficulties to
follow the dots, the children couldn’t do it in one movement, they stopped
and started all over again). One reflection was “If you do it too fast, it is
difficult to have the time to think”. Another reflection was that the
monkey was the hardest task to follow. But everyone thought it was a fun
task!
Curriculum goals:
Develop an interest in the written language and an understanding of
symbols, and their communicative functions
Develop an interest in pictures, texts and different media, as well as
the ability to make use of, interpret and talk about them.
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Teaching children to sing the same song in
Erasmus+ partners languages
The children learned the song “Head, shoulders, knees and toes” in all
four of the Erasmus+ partners languages.
English https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLNlfmv1q8U
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes
Eyes and ears and mouth and nose
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes
Swedish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzJdKdSA1s8
Huvud, axlar, knän och tår, knän och tår
Huvud, axlar, knän och tår, knän och tår
Ögon, öron, kinden klappen får
Huvud, axlar, knän och tår, knän och tår
Icelandic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEoGQH1zzFg
Höfuð, herðar, hné og tær, hné og tær
Höfuð, herðar, hné og tær, hné og tær
Augu, eyru, munnur og nef
Höfuð, herðar, hné og tær, hné og tær
Turkish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS5Y0CJyPvg
Baş omuz diz ve ayak parmakları
Baş omuz diz ve ayak parmakları
Ve gözler, kulaklar, ve ağız, ve burun
Baş omuz diz ve ayak parmakları
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iPad apps
Here is a list of useful iPad apps to develop early literacy/numeracy skills:
Play and Learn
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Writing the letter 'E'
The purpose is to develop children’s ability of drawing and satisfy their
interest in holding pencil by playing.
The small white board is in the middle of the class and the teacher writes
an 'E' and shows it to the children.
They are very excited about it. They want to do it too and they do it.
After that they try to do it with their toys. They do this very easily. Also
they draw things that starts with an 'E' on the board. For example: They
draw 'elma' which is apple.
The teacher asks them to draw something that is on our body and starts
with an 'E'. They draw their hands on a paper because hand in Turkish is
'el'.
They are so happy that they can combine their knowledge with their body,
game and art.
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Using art to develop early literacy
and numeracy skills
There are many ways do this project:
Writing letters and numbers on the playground with big chalks or a
pot of water and a brush - then it will disappear as it heats up from
the sun.
Put shaving foam in a tray and fill it with frozen paint ice cubes. As
the paint melts ask the children to write different letter/numbers/
words with their fingers in the coloured foam. This one is very
messy but fun. Don’t forget the aprons.
Put two different colours of paint in a plastic sealable food bag.
Place the food bag flat on the table and use the bottom end of a
paintbrush to draw numbers/letter/words in the paint. Children can
then just mix the paint up and start again with a new letter/number/
word.
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Project conclusion
These tasks have increased the variety of teaching methods in the
schools. The children were very happy to participate in these tasks and
have certainly learned a lot. Children are able to adopt to every teaching
method that the teachers provide if the material and place (indoor/
outdoor) is exiting and different. Most of the things that the children
learn indoors they can also learn outdoors. It is very important for the
children to know how to read into their environment, not just the letters
but everything else that comes to mind. Today everybody needs to think
about the environment/nature and take good care of it and it is necessary
for every adult to teach the children to treat the nature with care.
Hopefully this booklet will help teachers to variate their teaching
methods for all children in the future so that children can both play and
learn at the same time.
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