Teach Early Years - Issue 14.2

LISA LODGE IS AN EARLY YEARS CONSULTANT Current affairs can inspire learning in all areas of your setting, say Lisa Lodge and Katie Naughton … Share the news in nursery W hat springs to mind when you think about current affairs? 10pm news broadcasts, shocking headlines, politics, world problems? How can this possibly be suitable for children, especially the youngest in school? In today’s digital world, the news travels fast – it’s accessible to everyone, including young children. They’re inevitably exposed to what’s happening around the globe, whether via overhearing adult conversations, encountering snippets from TV and radio, or through conversations with peers in the playground. Accessing fragmented details like this may lead to children receiving inaccurate or inappropriate information, often beyond their understanding, which can promote a range of emotional responses. Information from the news can unnerve, worry or scare children. As teachers, we can practise techniques to acknowledge and deal with current affairs appropriately – this doesn’t need to be off-limits in the early years. WHERE DO WE START? We’re often unaware of just how much early years pupils know about the news. An important first step of productive real-world learning is teaching children to ask questions about information they’ve encountered – whether it concerns or interests them. Providing opportunities for children to do this in a safe environment with trusted adults strengthens teacher-pupil relations. In an effort to promote transparency, this practice shows children that, even from a young age, they can ask anything, they will be listened to, and their questions will be answered. As teachers, we can prioritise honesty while weighing up the level of detail to share, considering children’s age and developmental stage. Providing reassurance is key, but shying away from important, real-world conversations can be damaging. Open and measured discussions can provide clarity and relief and prevent young children bottling up worries about what’s happening in the world. Instead of waiting for children to divulge snippets of news they’ve heard, we can actively introduce current affairs into the classroom. Thinking about the needs and interests of your group, select stories that will inspire and facilitate learning opportunities. News can be anything happening in the world now, whether local or global. Whatever your focus, stories allow early years children to find out more about themselves, invigorate existing interests, or spark new ones. Imagine the impact a story about a shipwreck discovery could have on a child who loves boats, or a child who constantly talks about animals finding out about endangered wildlife in the news! You’ve found a news story you want to share. Now what? Try teaching with images from the news. Acting as stimuli for speaking and listening practice, pictures encourage children to talk about what they can see, what they like or dislike, and what they think is happening. A child can identify something they relate to. This creates further opportunities to practise sharing knowledge or experiences with others, and allows us as adults to discover more about them. Inspired by news- based visuals, children can develop 46 Teachearlyyears.com