Following on from the children’s idea in our STEM floorbook to learn animal names, an area was set up to provide the children with opportunities to explore and learn animal names. There was zoo maps, question and answer books, the promethean board displayed videos about animals and how to look after them. The children gathered their own resources to build on the safari map.

To continue with the children’s interests we created our own zoo maps using some ideas from zoo maps around the world we had displayed on the table. The children started by drawing the outline of their zoo and paths by drawing lines, squiggles and waves. Some extended their zoo by drawing grass and water areas. To add the animals to their drawing, the children learned how to navigate the different functions of the app. Following the steps press ‘T’ on the page , ‘Smiley face’ on the keyboard and then ‘bear’ icon for all the animal emojis to be displayed. The more the action was repeated, the more the children were able to do this independently. We spoke about the zoos we’ve visited before and our favourite animals.