Designing Literacy and Numeracy Curricula Assessment

Scenario

You are part of a teaching team in an early childhood setting working with three-to-four-year-old children. Recently, you have been reading and discussing the following books with the children, who have shown a strong interest in Australian animals:

• Somewhere in Australia by Marcello Pennacchio

• Wombat Stew by Marcia K. Vaughan

• An ABC of Australian Animals by Bronwyn Bancroft

In response to this interest, the teaching team has decided to initiate a project investigation on Australian animals to support and extend children’s literacy and numeracy development.

Mind Map

Using insights from:

• The chosen children’s literature

• Your excursion to a local venue (e.g., Melbourne Museum) where children can encounter Australian land, sea, and air animals

• Your own research

Create a mind map that highlights potential learning opportunities across curriculum areas to support children’s:

• Knowledge development

• Critical thinking skills (with reflective components)

• Disposition for inquiry and exploration

• Literacy, numeracy, and overall wellbeing

Your mind map must clearly show connections between Australian animals and opportunities for integrated learning.

Learning Experience

Design a three-week integrated literacy and numeracy curriculum, including the following curriculum areas:

Curriculum Areas

• Art

• Drama and Puppetry

• Movement and Music

• Language

• Mathematics

• Science

• Engineering

• Humanities and Social Sciences

• Integrated Curriculum (e.g., STEM or STEAM)

Requirements

For each curriculum area, you must:

1. Design one original learning experience that supports literacy and numeracy development for 3–4-year-old children.

2. Clearly describe:

   • What the children will do

   • What the educators will do

3. Make use of:

   • Indoor learning environments

   • Outdoor learning environments

   • Local community spaces (incursions and excursions)

4. Identify relevant:

   • Resources and materials

   • Digital technologies/media

5. Clearly link every learning experience to:

   • EYLF Outcomes

   • Stages of the planning cycle (Observe → Plan → Implement → Evaluate → Reflect)

6. Outline effective pedagogical practices and strategies that promote:

   • Literacy-focused critical thinking

   • Numeracy-focused critical thinking

Minute Puppet Show

Create a puppet show as a group using:

• The children’s literature

• Excursion insights

• Curriculum experiences from Phase 2

The puppet show must:

• Be suitable for 3–4-year-old children

• Be around 5 minutes in length

• Support literacy and numeracy development

• Include only:

  • The story

  • The full script

Ensure the story includes Australian animals and reflects the learning provocations explored throughout the project.

Brief summary of assessment requirements

You are part of an early-childhood teaching team (children aged 3–4) who will run a three-week integrated project on Australian animals to develop children’s literacy and numeracy. The assessment has three phases:

1. Mind map : use children’s literature, an excursion (e.g., Melbourne Museum) and research to create a mind map showing learning opportunities across curriculum areas (knowledge, critical thinking, inquiry disposition, literacy, numeracy, wellbeing). Show connections between animals and integrated learning opportunities (land / sea / air).

2. Three-week learning program : design one original learning experience for each curriculum area (Art; Drama & Puppetry; Movement & Music; Language; Mathematics; Science; Engineering; HASS; Integrated STEM/STEAM). For each experience specify: what children do, what educators do, indoor/outdoor/incursion use, resources & digital/media, links to EYLF outcomes, and the planning cycle stages (Observe → Plan → Implement → Evaluate → Reflect). Emphasise pedagogical strategies that promote literacy- and numeracy-focused critical thinking.

3. 5-minute puppet show (script + story) : a group puppet show (story + full script only) that uses the literature, excursion insights and designed experiences; suitable for 3–4-year-olds and supports literacy & numeracy.

Assessment length / weight & due date (as provided): 2,800 words, 30% weighting, due Sunday 11:59 PM (AEST).

Key pointers to cover in the assessment

• Clear title and learning focus (Australian animals; 3–4 year olds).

• Explicit links to the three books and to the chosen excursion.

• Mind map: categories (land/sea/air), curriculum connections, learning goals (knowledge, inquiry, dispositions).

• For each curriculum area: objective, materials/resources, step-by-step activity for children, educator role, indoor/outdoor/incursion plan, EYLF outcome links, planning cycle steps, and assessment/evaluation criteria.

• Evidence of pedagogical approaches (play-based learning, scaffolded questioning, modelling, shared reading, assisted counting, use of multimodal texts).

• Differentiation/adjustments for diverse learners and wellbeing considerations.

• Clear, age-appropriate learning outcomes showing literacy and numeracy development (oral language, vocabulary, book handling, number sense, measurement, patterning).

• Puppet show: story synopsis and full script only (no staging plan or extensive production notes unless requested).

• Reflection and evaluation: how learning was assessed and next steps for children.

How the Academic Mentor approached and guided the student 

Step 1 : Clarify the brief & set learning intentions

Mentor action: Read the assessment brief with the student; confirmed word count, due date, weighting and assessment criteria. Co-created specific learning intentions linked to EYLF (e.g., Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity : confidence to speak about animals; Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators : vocabulary, story sequencing; Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners : counting, measuring, making predictions).
Student task: Summarise brief and note deliverables (mind map, 9 learning experiences, puppet script).

Step 2 : Select literature, excursion and focus animals

Mentor action: Advised on how to extract provocations from the three books and choose an appropriate local venue (Melbourne Museum) that offers encounters with land/sea/air themes. Suggested a shortlist of 6–8 target animals spanning land/sea/air for integrated links.
Student task: Finalise chosen animals and produce a short annotated list linking each animal to possible literacy/numeracy provocations (e.g., wombat : sequencing story events; kangaroo : hopping patterns for counting).

Step 3 : Create the mind map (Phase 1)

Mentor action: Modeled a structure for the mind map: central node “Australian Animals” → three branches (land/sea/air) → curriculum-area spokes with quick activity ideas and learning outcomes. Emphasised showing explicit connections (e.g., “penguin → measurement: comparing heights” under Mathematics).
Student task: Drafted the mind map (digital or hand-drawn) and labelled opportunities for knowledge, inquiry, dispositions, literacy & numeracy. Mentor reviewed and suggested tightening language and strengthening links to EYLF outcomes.

Step 4 : Design learning experiences (Phase 2) : week planning

Mentor action: Provided a template for each learning experience to ensure consistency: Title; Learning objective; Required materials & tech; Indoor/Outdoor/Incursion; What children do; What educators do (scaffolding prompts); EYLF outcome links; Planning cycle steps; Assessment evidence (what to collect). Showed examples for two areas (Language and Mathematics) to set expectations. Advised on differentiation and inclusive strategies.
Student task: Wrote one original learning experience per curriculum area using the template. Mentor gave formative feedback, suggested adding simple rubrics/checklist items (e.g., “child uses 3 new animal words”, “child counts to 5 using counters”).

Step 5 : Align experiences to planning cycle & EYLF

Mentor action: Reviewed each activity and annotated which part of planning cycle it maps to (Observe: baseline language/number skills; Plan: activity design; Implement: teaching moves; Evaluate: child artefacts, observation notes; Reflect: next steps). Ensured explicit EYLF outcome statements and age-appropriate indicators.
Student task: Inserted planning cycle steps and EYLF links into each activity.

Step 6: Develop the puppet show (Phase 3)

Mentor action: Suggested a short narrative arc suitable for 3–4-year-olds (simple problem, a sequence of events, repetition for participation, counting or simple measurement included). Guided on length (approx. 5 minutes), vocabulary level, and ways to embed numeracy (e.g., counting animal friends) and literacy (predictable repeated phrases).
Student task: Drafted the story and full script. Mentor edited for clarity, pacing and age-appropriate language.

Step 7: Compile assessment document and add reflections/evidence

Mentor action: Advised on structure of the 2,800-word document (introduction, mind map summary, nine learning experiences, puppet script, reflections, conclusion). Reviewed draft for coherence, APA/Harvard referencing of sources, and assessment criteria alignment. Recommended examples of observation notes to include as evidence and suggested 2–3 photographic or artefact prompts (if allowed).
Student task: Finalised the document, added short sample observation notes, and completed the reflection section showing how children met learning intentions.

Step 8 : Final evaluation & submission checklist

Mentor action: Ran through a submission checklist (word count, references, inclusion of mind map, EYLF links, planning cycle evidence, puppet script only). Helped polish language and formatting.
Student task: Made final edits and prepared the file for submission by the due date.

How the outcome was achieved 

• Planning and alignment: The mentor ensured every activity was tightly linked to EYLF outcomes and the planning cycle; explicit learning intentions were stated for literacy and numeracy.

• Integrated design: The mind map provided the scaffolding for curriculum-wide integrations (e.g., a single animal provocation used across Art, Maths, and Drama).

• Age-appropriate pedagogy: Activities used play-based approaches, modelling, shared reading, counting manipulatives, and multimodal resources appropriate for 3–4-year-olds.

• Assessment & evidence: Short observation notes, simple checklists and child artefacts were specified as evidence to show learning progression.

• Puppet show: A 5-minute script embedded repetitive language and a counting element to demonstrate both literacy and numeracy learning in an engaging way.

• Reflection: Each activity included evaluation points and next steps, showing how educators would adapt future planning.

Learning objectives covered

Across the three phases the assessment addressed these learning objectives:

1. Knowledge development: children expand factual knowledge about Australian animals (habitats, features).

2. Literacy development: increased vocabulary, story sequencing, listening comprehension, emergent writing/mark-making and narrative skills.

3. Numeracy development: number recognition, counting, comparing sizes, patterning and measurement concepts.

4. Critical thinking & inquiry: children predict, compare, classify, ask questions and test simple hypotheses (e.g., which animal can jump farthest?).

5. Disposition for exploration: curiosity, persistence and collaborative play are encouraged through open-ended provocations.

6. Wellbeing & social learning: group activities support turn-taking, confidence and emotional engagement.

7. Professional practice : educator planning aligned with EYLF outcomes, use of observation to inform teaching, and reflective cycles for continuous improvement.

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