Phase 1: Aspect 1 - Environmental sounds

Choose to go for a walk outdoors or in. Prior to activity ask an adult to complete the walk checking for hazards/risks. Ensure you have a higher ratio of adults to children.

Remind the children about things that good listeners do (e.g. keep quiet, have ears and eyes ready).

Invite the children to show you how good they are at listening and talk about why listening is important.

Encourage the children to listen attentively to the sounds around them.

Talk about the different sounds they can hear.

Use cupped ears or headbands to wear as they go on the listening walk.

After the walk make a list of all the sounds they can remember

The list can be in words or pictures and can be prompted by replaying sounds recorded on the walk

Encourage children to explore the outdoor area and discover how different sounds are made by tapping or stroking with their beaters e.g. a wooden door, a wire fence, a metal slide etc.

Record the sounds and take photographs.

Ask each child to demonstrate their favourite sound for the rest of the group, let others join in and copy.

Ask the children to take up position ready to make their favourite sound.

An adult or child acts as conductor and raises a beater high in the air to signal the children play loudly and lowers it to play softly.

Turn a box on its side with the opening facing away from the children.

One by one place between four and six familiar noisy items into the box, pausing to name them and demonstrate the sound each one makes.

Sing to the tune of ‘Old MacDonald’ but using your own name or one of the children’s: Mrs … has a box ee i ee i o, and in that box she has a …

Stop. Gesture and ask the children to listen.

Choose an item and make a noise. Children take turns to guess what is making the sound. Continue the song imitating the sound using your voice. ‘with a zzz zzz here and a zzz zzz there…

Set up a suitable area with a model farmyard so that the children can sit around it with a selection of farmyard animals.

Describe one of the animals, but do not tell the children its name, e.g. This animal has horns, four legs and a tail.’

Ask the children to say which animal it is.

Ask them to make a noise the animal might make

When they are familiar with the game let individual children take the part of the adult and describe the animal for others to name.

This activity can be repeated with other sets of objects such as zoo animals, transport, musical instruments.

You will need: Two sets of identical instruments.

Organise an area so that the children sit facing a screen. Ensure there one set of instruments behind the screen and room for an adult or child.

Give the children the opportunity to play one set of instruments to introduce the sounds each instrument makes and name them all.

Ask one child to hide behind the screen and choose one instrument from the identical set to play.

The rest of the group have to identify which instrument has been played.

Develop the activity by playing a simple rhythm or adding a song to accompany the instrument while the hidden instrument is played. This time the children have to concentrate very carefully, discriminating between their own singing and the instrument being played.

You will need: A selection of instruments. Symbols or resources to represent loud and quiet. 

Two children sit opposite each other with identical instruments. Ask them to copy each other making loud sounds and quiet sounds.

It may be necessary to demonstrate with two adults copying each

other first. Then try with an adult and one child.

Use cards or puppets as cues to represent loud or quiet (e.g picture of a megaphone or a finger on the lips or a puppet of a lion and a mouse).

You will need: A selection of instruments.

‘Grandmother’ has a selection of instruments and the children decide what movement goes with which sound (e.g. shakers for running on  tip-toe, triangle for fairy steps, drum for giant strides).

First an adult will need to model being Grandmother. Then a child takes the role.

Grandmother stands with her back to the others and plays an instrument. The other children move towards Grandmother in the manner of the instrument while it is playing. They stop when it stops. The first person to reach Grandmother takes over the role and the game starts again.

You will need: Two sets of identical instruments.

Show pairs of sound makers (e.g. maracas, triangles) to a small group of children. Place one set of sound makers in a feely bag.

The children take turns to select a sound maker from the feely bag. Once all the children have selected a sound maker, remind them to listen carefully. Play a matching sound maker. The child with that sound maker stands up and plays it.

Adapt the activity by playing the sound maker behind a screen so the children have to identify it by the sound alone.

You will need: Appropriate story books. Selection of percussion instruments.

As you read a story encourage the children to play their instruments in different ways (e.g. make this instrument sound like… a fairy fluttering, an elephant stomping or a cat pouncing).

Invite the children to make their own suggestions for different characters (e.g. How might Jack’s feet sound as ne tip-toes by the sleeping giant? And what about when he runs fast to escape down the beanstalk?).

As the children become familiar with the pattern of the story, each child could be responsible for a different sound

You will need: Selection of instruments. Teddy or similar.

Explain to the children that last night when they were all tucked up in bed, teddy has been hiding the instruments all around the nursery.

Ask the children to look for the instruments.

As each instrument is discovered the finder stands by teddy and plays the instrument, the others run to join the finder.

Continue in this way until all the instruments have been found to make an orchestra.

You will need: Selection of instruments. A selection of animal puppets or toys.

Encourage the children to play with the instruments and the animals.

Discuss matching sounds to the animals.

Give a choice of two instruments to represent a child’s chosen animal and ask the children to choose which sound is the better fit.

After practising this activity so the children understand what to do. Make an interest table, with a selection of instruments and posters of animals for the children to explore and match. The posters and instruments can be changed regularly.instrumental music for others. The others are asked to say what they liked about the music.

The performers may say why they chose to perform the way they did. (It was very noisy because it was like an angry giant).

You will need: Selection of instruments. 

Take a song or rhyme the children know well and invent new words to suit the purpose and the children’s interests. Use percussion instruments to accompany the new lyrics.

For example sing Twinkle twinkle little star, then using shakers sing to the  same tune:

Shake your shaker in the air, shake them, shake them everywhere.

Shake them high, shake them low,

Shake them everywhere you go.

Shake your shaker in the air, shake them, shake them everywhere

Singing songs and action rhymes is a vital part of Phase One activities and should be an everyday event. 

Children need to develop a wide repertoire of songs and rhymes. 

Be sure to include multi-sensory experiences such as action songs in which the children have to add claps, knee pats and foot stamps or move in a particular way. 

Add body percussion sounds to nursery rhymes, performing the sounds in time to the beat. 

Change the body sound with each musical phrase or sentence. Encourage the children to be attentive and to know when to add sounds, when to move, and when to be still.

Ask children to stand in a circle. The first child starts by making a sound using a part of the body e.g. clap, jump, click, stamp etc. 

The next child copies the first sound and then adds in another sound. 

The next child must repeat the first two sounds and then add in a third sound. After the third sound the whole group should copy the sequence, before the game starts again with a different child and another sound. 

Visual prompts or initial adult models could be used to give ideas of different sounds that could be made.

Rehearse the rhyme with the actions (rotating hand over hand as in the song ‘Wind the bobbin up’).

Ro ... ly ... po ... ly ... ever ... so ... slowly

Ro ... ly ... poly faster.

(Increase the speed of the action as you increase the speed of the rhyme.)

Now add in new verses, such as:

Stamp ... your ... feet ... ever ... so ... slowly

Stamp ... your feet faster.

Ask the children to suggest sounds and movements to be incorporated into the song. - Say hello ever so quietly - Say HELLO LOUDER!

Invite a small group of children to sit in a circle. 

The adult begins by producing a body percussion sound which is then ‘passed’ to the child sitting next to them such as clap, clap, clap. 

The sound is to be passed around the circle until it returns to the adult. 

Ask: Do you think that the sound stayed the same all the way round? What changed? Did it get faster or slower? 

Make the activity more difficult by introducing a simple sequence of sounds for the children to pass on (e.g. clap, stamp, clap).

This game needs two adults to lead it.

Tell a simple story about a noisy neighbour and invite the children to join in. Begin with: Early one morning, the children were all fast sleep – (ask the children to close their eyes and pretend to sleep) – when all of a sudden they heard a sound from the house next door.

At this point the second adult makes a sound from behind the screen. The story teller continues: Wake up children. What’s that noise?

The children take it in turns to identify the sound and then the whole group are encouraged to join in with: Noisy neighbour, please be quiet. We are trying to sleep.

Repeat the simple story line with another sound (e.g. snoring, brushing teeth, munching cornflakes, yawning, stamping feet, washing).

Encourage the children to add their own ideas to the story about the noisy neighbour.

Follow ‘Noisy neighbour 1’ instructions. Ask the children to suggest a suitable ending to the story. Discuss noises they like, noises that make them excited and noises that make them feel cross or sad. Ask when it is a good time to be noisy, and when it is best to be quiet or speak softly (e.g. when we need to listen). List the suggestions.

Ask Is this a time to be noisy or quiet? as you present scenarios such as when children are: at the swimming pool; in the library; at a party; with someone who is asleep; in the park; at a friend’s house when the friend is poorly; playing hide and seek.

It is important that adults engage with children in their freely chosen activities and introduce vocabulary that helps them to discriminate and contrast sounds, for example: 

slow, fast; quiet, loud; long, short;

type of sound (click, stamp, etc.);

type of movement (rock, march, skip, etc.).

Start with simple opposites that are obviously different (e.g. loud, quiet).

Listen to what the children have to say about the sounds they hear and then build on and expand their contributions and ideas.

Tell the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Use different instruments for the Piper to play, with children moving in different ways in response.

 The child at the front decides on the movement and the rest of the group move in the same way. 

They follow the leader around the indoor or outdoor space, marching, skipping and hopping – vary the pace and describe the action: Fast, faster, slow, slower.

Introduce and model new words by acting them out (e.g. briskly, rapidly, lazily, sluggishly, energetically) for the children to copy and explore by acting them out in different ways.).

Regularly include rhyming books as part of the daily book sharing session.

Read these books with plenty of intonation and expression so that the children tune into the rhythm of the language and the rhyming words. 

Encourage the children to join in with repetitive phrases such as ‘Run, run as fast as fast as you can, You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread man.’ 

Wherever possible make the activity multisensory to intensify learning and enjoyment.

Make sure that singing and rhyming activities are part of the daily routine in a small-group time and that extracts are repeated incidentally as events occur (e.g. It’s raining, it’s pouring as the children get ready to go outdoors in wet weather).

Play with rhyming words throughout the course of the day and have fun with them.

Sing or chant nursery rhymes and encourage the children to move in an appropriate way (e.g. rock gently to the beat of ‘See Saw Marjorie Daw,’ march to the beat of ‘Tom, Tom the Piper’s Son’ and the ‘The Grand Old Duke of York, skip to the beat of ‘Here we go round the Mulberry Bush’).

Support a group of children to compile a book of their favourite rhymes and songs.

They could represent the rhymes in any way they choose. The book can be used to make choices about which rhyme to say during singing time, or used for making independent choices in the book corner. Children may choose to act as teacher selecting rhymes for others to perform, individually or as a group.

Have a bag of objects which represent rhymes and invite the children to choose their favourite.

You will need: Bowl, wooden spoon, selection of rhyming objects.

Ask a small group of children to sit in a circle so they can see a selection of rhyming objects placed on the floor

Use a bowl and spoon as props to act out the song.

Invite the children, in turn to choose an object to put in the soup and place in the bowl.

After each turn, stir the soup and sing the following song to the tune of ‘Pop, goes the Weasel’ to recite the growing list of things that end up in the soup.

I’m making lots of silly soup, I’m making soup that’s silly, I’m going to cook it in the fridge, To make it nice and chilly. In goes…a fox…a box…some socks…

You will need: Set of rhyming pictures, Drawstring bag.

Give each child in a small group a set of three pictures of objects with rhyming names.

Hide in a bag a set of pictures or objects matching the pictures you have given to the children.

The children take turns to draw out of the bag one object or picture at a time.

Invite the children to call out when they see an object or picture that rhymes with theirs and to collect it from the child who has drawn it out of the bag.

After each rhyming set is completed chant together and list the rhyming names. As you name objects give emphasis to the rhyming pattern

You will need: Nursery rhyme books.

Include a selection of songs within the daily singing session, which involve children in experimenting with their voices. Simple nursery rhymes, such as ‘Hickory,Dickory Dock’ provide an opportunity for children to join in with ’wheeeee’ as the mouse falls down. Use this to find related words that rhyme: dock, clock, tick-tock.

Substitute alternative rhyming sounds to maintain children’s interest and

enjoyment.

You will need: Puppets or soft toys

Make up silly rhyming names for a pair of puppets (e.g. Fizzy, Wizzy Lizzy and Hob Tob Bob). Introduce the puppets to a small group and invite them to join in story telling, leaving gaps for the children to fill in rhyming words, for example;

Are you poorly Lizzy? 

Oh dear.

Fizzy, Wizzy, Lizzy is feeling sick and…. Dizzy.

Bob is very excited. Today he is going to be a builder.

Hob Tob Bob has got a new…job.

Throughout the course of daily activities, encourage the children to think about and play with rhyming words.

The adult begins with the prompt,I know a word that rhymes with cat, you need to put one on your head and the word is…hat.

This can be used for all sorts of situations and also with some children’s names: I know a girl who is holding a dolly, she is in the book corner and her name is…Molly.

As children become familiar with rhyme, they will supply the missing word themselves.

With a small group of children sitting in a circle, start the game by saying, ‘I spy someone whose name begins with… and give the sound of the first letter, for example ‘s’ for Satish.

Ask, ‘Who can it be?’ Satish stands up, everyone says his name and he carries on the game saying, I spy someone whose name begins with…, and so on.

If any children call out the name before the child with that name, still let the child whose name it is take the next turn.

If the children find separating out the first sound too hard in the early stages, the adult can continue to be the caller until they get the hang of it.

Make sure that word play with initial sounds is commonplace.

Include lots of simple tongue twisters to ensure that children enjoy experimenting with words that are alliterative.

Use opportunities as they occur incidentally to make up tongue twisters by using children’s names, or objects that are of particular personal interest to them (e.g. David’s dangerous dinosaur, Millie’s marvellous magic mittens).

You will need: Selection of creative materials. Construction materials, glue, paint, malleable materials etc

Talk to the children about the names you have made up and help them to imagine what the strange creatures might look like.

Provide creative or construction materials for the children to make their own alien.

Comment as the children go about shaping the aliens and use the aliens’ strange names. Invite the children to display their aliens along with the aliens, names.

Make the pattern clearer by emphasising the initial sound of an alien’s name. Draw the children’s attention to the way you start each word with the shape of your lips, teeth and tongue.

You will need: Sand tray or similar. Selection of objects e.g bee, bug, beetle, butterfly – snake, spider, snail, slug - fly, frog, fish, flee etc

As the children uncover the treasure, say the word and listen for the initial sound.

Collect the objects into the tray with objects with the same initial sound.

Each time another object is added recite the contents of that set: Wow! You’ve found a car. Now we have a cup, a cow, a candle and a car.

You will need: 4 chairs. 4 sets of objects, each set containing objects with names that start with the same sound e.g. sock, spoon, snake – panda, penny, penguin – bear, ball, brick – cat, cup, car. Music player.

To begin with the children sit in a circle or facing you.

Name each of the objects in the four sets, giving emphasis to the initial sounds.

Explain that there will now be music to dance around to and when the music stops the children are to listen.

You show them an object and they should go to the corner where they think it belongs.

You will need: A range of items beginning with the same sound. A large pan or cauldron. Wooden spoon.

Provide the children with a selection of items with names that begin with the same sound.

Show them how you can make some ‘silly soup’ by putting ‘ingredients’ (e.g. a banana, bumblebee and bug) into a pan in the role play area.

Allow the children to play and concoct their own recipes. Plat alongside them without influencing their choices. Comment and congratulate the children on their silly recipes. Recite each child’s list of chosen ingredients. Make the pattern clear

by emphasising the initial sound. By observing mouth movements draw the children’s

attention to the way we start each word and form sounds.

You will need: A toy robot (Metal Mike). A bag of pictures of objects (e.g. cat, dog, mug, sock) 

Show the children the objects, and before placing in the bag sound out and blend the phonemes in their names. Ask each child in turn to take out a picture or an object from the bag and hold it up.

Tell the group that Metal Mike is a computer and so he talks with a robot voice.

Ask the children to name the object as Metal Mike would and demonstrate it in a robotic voice (e.g. c-a-t).

Feed the object or picture into Metal Mike and encourage the group first to listen to you and then join in as you say the word exaggerating the  sound of each phoneme, followed by blending the phonemes to make the word.

You will need: A suitable book, or a told story. 

After making a sound with your voice, talk about the features of the sound with the children – was it a long sound, a loud sound, did it change from high to low, etc.?

Introduce vocabulary gradually with examples and visual cues (e.g. symbols and pictures) to help the children who have difficulty understanding.

Introduce new vocabulary to the children to help them describe the sound (e.g. to talk about high and low pitch).Call out a child’s name and make up a fun sentence starting with the name (e.g.Ben has a big, bouncy ball, Kulvinder keeps kippers in the kitchen, Tim has ten tickly toes, Fiona found a fine, fat frog).

Ask the children to think up similar sentences for their own names to share with others