Curiosity kits

Curiosity kits are an innovative and successful method for supporting children’s and young people's oracy and literacy development and their wider learning.

Curiosity kits are intriguing collections of printed materials, artefacts and extension activities on topics of interest. They inspire huge amounts of purposeful discussion, reading, writing and research. They are an invaluable aid to subject teaching and cross-curricular learning, and have a proven track record in changing children’s attitudes to reading.

Above all curiosity kits are fun.

They have been used with great effect from the foundation stage to key stage three.

Anne offers training on ways to make and use curiosity kits to foster skills and enjoyment in all areas of learning and the curriculum.

Delegates on recent curiosity kit courses have included literacy coordinators, teachers, teaching assistants, library staff, Bookstart workers, early years practitioners and museum and heritage staff.

Anne’s curiosity kit training can be adapted for a range of in-service training situations.

Expected learning outcomes include:

  • greater understanding of curiosity kits and their benefits
  • ideas for appropriate topics and contents for kits
  • strategies for exploiting curiosity kits to develop children’s learning
  • ways to use the kits to deliver on oracy, literacy, ICT and other curriculum objectives
  • cross-curricular opportunities
  • ideas for family learning

This training is backed up with useful handouts.

What people say about Anne’s curiosity kit training

Links really well to our topic approach to planning. Can't wait to start to build up some resources for the children to use.

Good to brainstorm with others and gain ideas/information to share. Feel able to create a variety of kits now, on numerous subjects.

Good insight into curiosity kits. Good ideas for continuous provision.

Excellent ideas and information to enable me to set curiosity kits up in my year group.

The chance to discuss ideas with people in other services and in school extremely useful for future developments.

Very informative, will take ideas back to school to share with other staff members.

Useful to think of extension ideas and about what the kits could include. Will go away and plan to use curiosity kit for my current topic.