We're Going on a... Dinosaur Hunt?! Reception Gets Creative!

But they aren’t just reading the book – they are living it. And this week, they reached an exciting part of their learning journey: the Innovation stage.

What is “Innovation”?

After spending lots of time learning the original Bear Hunt story completely by heart using hand actions, big outdoor role-play, and drawing out “story maps,” the children have internalised the rhythm of the words.

Now, it’s time to play! In the Innovation stage, we ask the children a magical question: What if we change the story?

We become co-authors. Instead of going on a bear hunt, the children get to decide what we are hunting for or where we are hunting for them. Could it be a dinosaur? A sparkly unicorn? A stomping alien? Are they going to look in the volcano? In a magical candyland? Once they decide on a new character or new setting, they work together to change their story maps, making new marks and drawings to represent their brilliant new ideas.

Even before they can write full sentences, they are learning how to structure a narrative, swap out characters and settings, and confidently tell their very own tales.

What is ‘Talk for Writing’?

The incredible work happening in Reception right now is part of our school-wide approach called Talk for Writing. Developed by educational expert Pie Corbett, we use this framework all the way from the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) up through Primary.

The core philosophy is simple: you can’t write a sentence until you can say it, and you can’t say it until you hear it.

Instead of jumping straight to a blank piece of paper, children learn to speak the language of a story first. Across the school, the approach moves through three distinct phases:

1. Imitation (Learn it): Learning a model text completely by heart using hand actions and drawn story maps.

2. Innovation (Change it): Adapting the learned story (just like our Reception classes are doing now by swapping the bear or setting for something new!) so they can practice the structure with their own ideas in a safe, familiar way.

3. Invention (Write it): Using the tools, vocabulary, and structures they’ve internalised to write or “mark-make” their own completely original piece.

By getting up, moving, and talking, we are building a lifelong love of words.

Try it at home! Tonight, ask your Reception child what they are hunting for in class today. Have them show you the actions they use for the long wavy grass or the thick oozy mud — you might just find yourself going on a dinosaur hunt right in your living room!