Reception Understanding the World Curriculum
Children will be taught...
EYFS Development Matters Statements Three and Four Year Olds
- Use all their senses in hands-on exploration of natural materials.
- Explore collections of materials with similar and/or different properties.
- Talk about what they see, using a wide vocabulary.
- Begin to make sense of their own life-story and family’s history.
- Show interest in different occupations.
- Explore how things work.
- Plant seeds and care for growing plants.
- Understand the key features of the life cycle of a plant and an animal.
- Begin to understand the need to respect and care for the natural environment and all living things.
- Explore and talk about different forces they can feel.
- Talk about the differences between materials and changes they notice.
- Continue developing positive attitudes about the differences between people.
- Know that there are different countries in the world and talk about the differences they have experienced or seen in photos.
EYFS Development Matters Statements Children in Reception
- Talk about members of their immediate family and community.
- Name and describe people who are familiar to them.
- Comment on images of familiar situations in the past.
- Compare and contrast characters from stories, including figures from the past.
- Draw information from a simple map.
- Understand that some places are special to members of their community.
- Recognise that people have different beliefs and celebrate special times in different ways.
- Recognise some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries.
- Explore the natural world around them.
- Describe what they see, hear and feel whilst outside.
- Recognise some environments that are different to the one in which they live.
- Understand the effect of changing seasons on the natural world around them.
Early Learning Goals
Past and Present
- Talk about the lives of the people around them and their roles in society.
- Know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class.
- Understand the past through settings, characters and events encountered in books read in class and storytelling.
People, Culture and Communities
- Describe their immediate environment using knowledge from observation, discussion, stories, non-fiction texts and maps.
- Know some similarities and differences between different religious and cultural communities in this country, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class.
- Explain some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries, drawing on knowledge from stories, non-fiction texts and (when appropriate) maps.
The Natural World
- Explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants.
- Know some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class.
- Understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons and changing states of matter.