The stuff of legend

Dragons are the subject of countless ancient myths and legends but are still 'alive' today in many books, films and toys.

Adult-led activities

What is a dragon?

Use an opening activity to assess children's knowledge and understanding of dragons.

Key learning intentions

Use a widening range of words to express or elaborate ideas

Sustain attentive listening, responding to what they have heard by relevant comments, questions or actions

Be confident to speak in a familiar group

Adult:child ratio 1:4

Resources

Two or three information and story books about dragons (see box) ,a toy or puppet dragon ,small-world dragons (some can be bought emerging from an egg) ,a green cloth ,a crown ,a shield ,a toy knight ,a princess ,pen and paper

Preparation

* Cover a table with the green cloth and set out your resources attractively.

* Reflect on which four children to call over at a time for the activity.

Either decide on specific groups or let children gravitate naturally to the table.

Activity content

* Ask the children to describe what they see on the table.

* Draw their attention to the front covers of the books and ask what the books might be about.

* Read one of the storybooks with the children. The Kiss that Missed by David Melling is a good story for this activity because the dragon, although huge, isn't scary.

* Look at the pictures of the dragon with the children. Ask them to describe its features. Talk about its colour and shape, scales and claws, for example.

* Look at some of the other visual aids on the table with the children.

* Write down some of the children's language and responses to your questions.

* You could tell the children about the Komodo dragons of Indonesia, explaining that, though called dragons, they are giant lizards (see box).

Extending learning

Key vocabulary

Dragon, scale, claw, fierce, scary, friendly, fire, fire breathing, skin, tongue, big, huge, gigantic, bigger/smaller than

Questions to ask

What can you see on the cover of this book? What is this called? Have you seen pictures of dragons? When do you think they lived? Would you be able to see a dragon now? Why or why not? What do you think a dragon's skin would feel like? Would you like to meet a dragon? What would you do if you saw a dragon? Do you think dragons are bigger or smaller than you? Why do you think that?

Extension ideas

* Put out a toy castle complete with dragons for the knights to defeat.

* Share other dragon stories with the children. Stress again that dragons don't exist.

* Provide paints for the children to paint pictures of dragons. Include some paint mixed with sand for the children to use to create a rough skin texture on their dragon. Ask them to talk about and describe their pictures.

* Write adventure stories about the children's dragons and make them into a class book.

* Make a 'd' for dragon display in the setting. Include a selection of the children's paintings and stories. Some children may be willing to contribute toy dragons from home.

* Turn your role-play area into a castle. Add dressing-up clothes for knights, kings, queens and princesses. Decide whether you are going to allow swords to be part of the project. If so, agree rules on using the swords with the children. Add a dragon to the side of the castle or suspend one above it. Design and construct this dragon with the children using cardboard boxes or a chicken wire frame covered with papier mache.

Including them in the creative process will make the dragon seem much friendlier when it is in place!

To scale

Many dragons are depicted with triangular scales down their back making this project an ideal opportunity to investigate the properties of a triangle.

Key learning intentions

Show an interest in shape and space by playing with shapes and making arrangements with objects

Show an interest in numbers and counting

Adult:child ratio 1:1

Resources

Plastic triangles or triangles cut from green cardboard (make them all the same size) ,number cards 1 to 10 ,a storybook such as Wake up, Charlie Dragon by Brenda Smith, which has a good example of a dragon with triangular scales (see box).

Preparation

* Share the story with the children and point out the dragon's triangular scales.

* Place the triangles in a flat tray on the maths table.

Activity content

* Show the children the triangles and say, 'I've got a tray of dragon scales here! What shape are they?' and refer to the storybook.

* Talk about the number of sides a triangle has. Drag your finger along the sides as you count with the children. Invite them to do the same.

* Explain that a triangle has three corners, and count those as well.

(Remember that the concept of corners can be quite challenging for many children of this age).

* Make a row of up to ten triangles and ask the children to count them.

* Check if the children recognise any of the numerals and if they can order the numerals 1 to 5 or 1 to 10 above the row of triangles you have made.

* Explore the concept of tessellation with the children. Ask them if the triangles can be moved to fit together in any way. If this proves challenging, model how to do it.

* Let the children explore the triangles independently once the activity is finished. Leave them out on the maths table as a free choice activity the next day. You should see some great imaginative ideas emerging - some children will make 'dragon backs', for example, and you can count the number of scales they use. This is a good opportunity to assess children's use of mathematical language in play.

* Put out some other flat shapes for the children to investigate whether they tessellate or not.

Extending learning

Key vocabulary

Scale, triangle, side(s), corner(s), tessellation, tessellate, fit together, row

Key questions

What shape is this dragon's scale? How many sides/corners does it have? Shall we find out together? How many dragon scales are there in this row? Can you count them? What number is this? Can you put the numbers above the scales? Can you fit the dragon scales together so that there are no gaps between them? What have you made? (a larger triangle, for example) What do you notice about the scales now they are close together?

Child-initiated learning

Outdoors

Additional resources

Hobby horses ,dressing-up clothes for kings, queens, princes, princesses and knights ,armour (shields and visors) ,small-world castle with other characters and dragon(s) ,dragon kite(s) ,large dragon footprints (cut from plastic sheeting)

Possible learning experiences

* Maintaining balance and control when using hobby horses.

* Playing imaginatively in a role-play situation.

* Using language in fantasy play when dressing up and playing a specific role.

* Playing in an imaginative way with small-world equipment.

* Developing hand-eye co-ordination through flying a kite.

* Moving with control, co-ordination and imagination when following a dragon footprint trail in the setting's garden.

The practitioner role

* Try putting some of the small-world resources in the water or sand.

Challenge the children to create a moat around the castle.

* Encourage the children to think about how best to control a hobby horse with a shield and/or sword in one hand and using the other hand to guide their horse.

* Reinforce the agreed behaviour guidelines for using swords and lances.

* Model appropriate vocabulary such as armour, shield, sword, castle and knight.

* Enter into children's imaginative play. Ask questions about the dragon - is it friendly? Fierce?

* Support the children as they fly their kites. Ask the children what makes good kite flying weather and why.

* Use the dragon feet as a stimulus to develop children's imaginations; don't put a trail in the garden every day. Look out each day with the children to see whether a dragon has been there; if he has, go out to explore where he has been playing!

Malleable materials

Additional resources

Sewing thread, binca, large needles ,medieval or Elizabethan music

metal-coloured paints (available from school resource catalogues) ,collage materials such as foil, coloured cellophane, felt, and fake leather material ,junk modelling materials ,cardboard, scissors, string, PVA glue ,information books on castles

Possible learning experiences

* Improving dexterity while sewing.

* Developing creative skills by making 3D textured collage or junk model dragons.

* Exploring shape.

* Understanding that information can be retrieved from books.

The practitioner role

* Model a simple running stitch for children to copy as they sew.

* Encourage the children to talk about how the music makes them feel.

* Encourage children to use descriptive language when talking about their collage and junk-model dragons (and knights with shield).

* Refer to information books with the children to verify facts about what life was like for a knight a long time ago (see box).

Water area

Additional resources

,Small-world play dragons, lizards and leaves ,green food colouring ,interlocking triangles

Possible learning experiences

* Developing imaginative play with small-world resources.

* Understanding that lizards resemble dragons.

* Encouraging further investigation into the properties of a triangle or 'dragon scales' by making 3D structures with interlocking triangles.

The practitioner role

* Explore the meaning of new words such as 'camouflage' when children discover lizards hiding among the leaves in the water. Colour the water green for added effect.

* Keep emphasising to children that dragons do not exist.

* Talk about the properties of a triangle with the children.

Resources

Fiction

* Dragon in a Wagon by Lynley Dodd (Penguin Books, 4.99)

* Dragon Ride by Helen Cresswell (Penguin Books, 3.99)

* Fighting Dragons by Colin West (Walker Books, 3.99)

* Herb, the Vegetarian Dragon by Jules Bass (Barefoot Books, 4.99)

* The Knight, The Princess and the Dragon by Helen Craig (Walker Books, Pounds 4.99)

* Little Bear's Dragon and Other Stories by Jane Hissey (Random House, Pounds 5.99)

* The Winter Dragon by Caroline Pitcher (Frances Lincoln, 9.99)

* I'm Going on a Dragon Hunt by Maurice Jones (Penguin Books, 4.99)

* The Kiss that Missed by David Melling (Hodder and Stoughton, Pounds 5.99)

* Dragon Poems by John L Foster (Oxford University Press, 4.99) Non-fiction

* Dragon by Wayne Anderson (Random House, 4.99)

* Dragon Mobiles by Anne Wild (Tarquin Publications, 3.50)

* Look and Wonder: Dragons by Gerald Legg and Carolyn Scrace (Hodder and Stoughton, 6.99)

* Dragons of Galapagos by Bruce Whatley (Lothian Books, 9.99)

* Dragon Teeth and Parrot Beaks, Even Creatures Brush Their Teeth by Almute Grohmann (Quintessence Publishing, 13.00)

* Castle by Nicholas Harris (Chrysalis Books, 7.99)

* Knights by Rachel Wright (Watts Publishing Group, 5.99) Puppets

* Dragon puppets of various sizes can be ordered from www.puppetsbypost.com

Websites Useful websites about Komodo dragons include:

* www.heptune.com/komodo.html

* www.zoo.org/komodo/komo_flash.html (complete with sound effects!)

* www.honoluluzoo.org/komodo_dragon.htm