Dinosaur Adventure

The Foundation Stage team led by Miss Derbyshire wrote an exciting Learning to Learn adventure with a dinosaur theme. The main aims of the adventure were to develop speaking and listening skills and provide lots of purposeful writing opportunities.

At the start of the Dinosaur Adventure the children met Professor Potts, a dinosaur expert, who had received a letter stating that dinosaurs may have been spotted on a remote island. Everyone then embarked on a journey with the Professor over 5 weeks experiencing a range of adventures on the way. Highlights included ‘Set Sail Day’ with the children using the passports which they had made to check in for their cruise on Shelton Cruise Lines before going through security and subsequently setting sail on the ship for a rough and stormy voyage! Everyone then set up camp together on the remote island and went on expeditions to explore the area and search for dinosaurs.

All children worked with Tan Draig, our creative practitioner, to make huge dinosaurs – the brontosaurus in Class 2 was the largest structure ever made with the children. After the adventure, the brontosaurus was turned into a class reading area and the children named their dinosaur ‘Readosaurus’! In Class 3 children worked together to make a large Triceratops which was strong enough for the children to sit on! Again, this dinosaur subsequently became the class reading area. Children also made a volcano and small individual dinosaurs. The adventure was enhanced with lots of art and craft activities!

The adventure provided lots of writing opportunities including: making lists for the journey, labelling maps and pictures, writing in our passports and working together to create a report for a newspaper.

Children were immersed in their adventure which had a very positive impact upon speech and communication skills.

Many pupils took up the challenge of researching dinosaurs at home and making some very imaginative and creative dinosaur egg carriers.

All of this work culminated when Reception and Nursery pupils took the Y1 & Y2 pupils on a tour of their classroom to share their work with them. Parents subsequently attended our Gallery Day when their children took them on a tour of the classrooms, including Nursery, to showcase their work and achievements. Much positive written feedback was received.