Key learning intention
Communication, language and literacy.
Resources
*Different types of shoes *old suitcase or holdall *pictures of adults, children and pets cut out of magazines
Step by step
* Gather a wide range of shoes - for example, a child's slipper, a sparkly shoe, a ballet shoe, an adult's welly, a workman's boot, an old worn-out trainer and so on.
* Place some pictures of adults, children and pets in each shoe. Make sure the people in the pictures are wearing interesting clothes and are taking part in activities children will recognise.
* Place these in an old suitcase or holdall.
* Gather the children in a circle and place the suitcase or holdall and its contents in the centre.
* Tell the children the story about 'The old woman who lived in a shoe'.
* Open the suitcase and select a shoe. Act surprised when you take the pictures out and talk to the children about the different people and their pets inside the shoe. Give a detailed description of each.
* When you have done this several times, allow the children, one at a time, to select a shoe from the suitcase and talk to the rest of the children about who lives in their shoe. Encourage them to describe their hair colour, their clothes, what they like to do and so on.