Sione has attended kindergarten since he was three-years-old and is part of the Kōwhai whānau group at his kindergarten. Sione lives with his mother, father, and three older stepsiblings. His father is a truck driver and Sione has had an enduring interest in all kinds of vehicles and how they work.

Over the last four months, kaiako at Sione’s kindergarten have been utilising Kōwhiti Whakapae to strengthen their understanding and practices relating to Forms and Functions of Literacy. After spending some time embedding the ‘cultural literacy forms and functions’ lay the groundwork practice, they have decided to shift their focus to ‘social literacy forms and functions’. 

After reading the information on Kōwhiti Whakapae, kaiako have reviewed their current practices and talked with kindergarten whānau about the ways literacy is used in daily life. They have organised weekly visits from their local mobile library and regularly borrow reference books relating to children’s interests. They also identified some suitable online reference sources that can be used to deepen children’s investigations.

In addition, they have added a range of social literacy forms throughout the centre, including mini traffic signs, recipe cards, maps, greeting cards alongside the writing and drawing resources already available. Kaiako have noticed the addition of mini traffic signs had resulted in a marked increase in vehicle-related play amongst a number of children. In particular, they notice Sione has shown a strong interest in the reference books on vehicles (particularly cars and trains) and has been exploring the meaning and use of the mini road signs in his play.

The following learning notes document kaiako planning and assessment relating to Sione’s vehicle investigations over a period of three months. As you read, you can see links to Te Whāriki and the Forms and Functions of Literacy sub-area of Kōwhiti Whakapae: Oral language & literacy.