Nursery Rhyme Detectives
To deepen comprehension and inference skills through nursery rhyme exploration and questioning.
- Framework: EYFS
- Unit: EYFS Literacy
- Learning area: Literacy
- Level: EYFS 3-4
Objectives
- Asks questions about texts
- Makes simple inferences
- Reasons about character feelings
- Discusses 'why' in stories
Materials
- Nursery rhyme books
- Detective magnifying glasses (props)
- Inference question cards
- Drawing and writing materials
Instructions
Put on your detective persona: 'Today we're being Nursery Rhyme Detectives! Detectives ask questions and look for clues.' Give children magnifying glass props — the physical object changes their mode of engagement significantly.
Read a familiar rhyme, then begin questioning. For 'Jack and Jill': 'Why do you think Jack and Jill went up the hill? Was there a well up there? What's a well? Why would you get water from a well and not a tap?'
Push into inference: 'It says Jack fell down and tumbled after. How do you think Jack felt? What about Jill? What did they do next — the rhyme doesn't say! What do you think happened?'
Let children draw 'what happens next' — their inference made visible. Scribe their captions: 'After the rhyme, Elias thinks Jack and Jill went to see a nurse. He's drawn the nurse putting a bandage on.'
Compare rhymes — do the same detective work on two rhymes: 'In this rhyme, the character gets hurt. In this other rhyme, someone gets surprised. Which would you rather be?' Discussion develops deeper comprehension.
Extend into children creating their own 'detective questions' for nursery rhymes: 'What question would you like to ask Humpty Dumpty? If you could interview Little Miss Muffet, what would you ask?' This is early reader response work.