Guest Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 hi all, i have just found out that i have to teach reception for my final year of teaching practice. i have never taught reception before and i dont know where to start. college told me to look at foundation stage file but i dont understand this at all. what are the stepping stones are these the objectives and how do i start to plan, how long are the lessons is it all play or do i teach from national literacy and numeracy strategy. help!!!! student teach in need of help!!!! i hope someone can put my mind at rest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 Just thought I'd say hello and welcome you to the forum. No need to panic-there are lots of people on the site who will be able to help and give you some useful ideas. The stepping stones start when the children are 3 and continue through their early years until the end of reception. They are literally what they say they are-stepping stones along the way to the goals at the end. They are coloured for different ages and abilities-so you would assume that a child of three starts on the cream, progresses to blue and so forth until they reach the grey. Obviously this all depends on the child's abilities and experiences. It would be hoped that they reach the goals before they leave reception but this will not always be the case and some children may go beyond. They may progress well in some areas but not in others, so for example we have a very bright little boy in pre-school who is well on the way with many of the stepping stones and in some cases he is already on the goals, but he has problems with holding a pencil and scissors. And others are where they should be for their age on most of them. You really need to read it through a couple of times to get to grips with it. As I am not a reception teacher I will leave the rest of the advice to those more experienced in this area. Good luck with your teaching practice. Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_379 Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 hi.... Reception isn't as bad as it may first seem. You will need to contact your school and find ou the way in which they work... they should be able to show you the planning or examples of the planning.... can you visit the school before your practise to observe and talk to the teacher you will be working with? One thing the reception class should be balanced with 50% adult initiated activities and 50% child initiated activities. Just remember to enjoy the experience and not to make the children sit still for too long... their concentration span is thier age plus or minus 1 minute. Lorna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_73 Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 Clk7 welcome to the forum, You will soon feel at home and there's lots of helpful advice here. When is your practice? As Lorna said, get in there and find out as much as you can. If you are looking at the summer term, the children will be well established so you wont have to worry about setttling in routines. Observe the teacher in action as much as you are able, and you will find its not as daunting as you think. You will proabaly follow the school's timetable anyway, and get familiar with the class by working with groups to begin with. Copies of the planning used in that school will soon become familiar to you. Your taecher should be understanding enough to know that you are still learning and will not expect you to know it all (as a student mentor, I hate it when students do think they know it all!!!). Be prepared to make mistakes, and learn from them when you do. Have a good luck around the site, and get back to us when you have more details. Mundia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_79 Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 HI Cllk7 I can only echo Mundia's welcome and the words of wisdom from the others. Don't despair Reception is the best but it is hard work. Literacy and numeracy straregy objectives are within the Foundation Stage Curriculum in respective areas, Literacy objs are hidden but Maths and NNS match directly. NNS will give you extension but you do need to know what the school does and how you will be expected to fit in. Find out and get back to us, we're here to help!! Susan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 hi all, thanks for all the help. i go into school in a few weeks, but i am going to visit the school soon, ill be in contact probably in need of some more help but thanks the information you have given is excellent, i feel much better now about the experience ahead of me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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