Assignment Type: Continuous Assessment – QQI Level 6 (6N1935 Early Childhood Literacy and Numeracy)
Early learning doesn’t begin with pencils or sums. It starts the moment a small child points to a picture and someone answers back. That shared glance, that word repeated softly, is the first spark of literacy. The same happens with number when a toddler lines up blocks and counts them in a wobbly voice. In truth, every ECCE day is built on moments like that — the quiet noticing, the chat at snack time, the shared laugh when someone mixes up the story ending.
The 6N1935 module looks at how those moments grow into solid skills. In Irish early-years settings, guided by Aistear and Síolta, play sits right at the centre. Each theme – Well-being, Identity and Belonging, Communicating, and Exploring and Thinking – gives shape to what happens in the room. Aistear shows that learning to talk and count is part of learning to belong. To be fair, it isn’t tidy work. Some days the paint tray ends up full of counting cubes. Still, that’s the kind of mess that helps children build real understanding.
This module asks the learner to link theory with the ordinary life of a preschool room – the chatter, the spills, the sorting boxes, the quick notes on post-its after circle time. Each task below touches a small corner of that picture, showing how ideas become practice.
The tasks for this section are as follows:
In an Irish ECCE room, literacy and numeracy grow through play that feels effortless to the child. Words and numbers hide in the games they already love. When a child claps the rhythm of their name or pairs socks in the home corner, they’re already linking sound, pattern, and quantity.
Aistear’s Communicating and Exploring and Thinking themes sit quietly behind these moments. Síolta reminds staff that meaningful talk, small group play, and careful observation are the real tools of teaching. The principle of emergent learning says children build skills naturally when adults listen more than lecture.
In practice, an educator might sit beside a child tracing letters in sand or counting toy cars before tidy-up. The goal isn’t perfection but comfort – to keep literacy and numeracy part of everyday play, not a separate lesson. All the same, those gentle routines become the firm base of later learning.
Theory only makes sense when seen in the faces of real children. Vygotsky’s idea of the Zone of Proximal Development fits neatly when an adult kneels down to guide a hesitant counter, nudging just far enough for success. Piaget saw that understanding comes from doing – pouring, stacking, comparing. A child measuring cups of water in the sand tray lives that out.
Bruner spoke of moving from action to image to symbol. In practice, it’s the journey from holding three apples, to drawing them, to recognising the numeral “3”. Montessori’s prepared environment – orderly, calm, reachable – lets children repeat and master tasks until confidence shows.
Emergent models blend these ideas. Language blooms in pretend cafés and counting grows while lining up bikes outside. To be fair, theory names it, but the practice makes it real. What matters most is the gentle support that keeps curiosity alive.
Literacy plan – “Brown Bear Story Circle”
Intention: build listening, sequencing, and new words.
Materials: picture book, small puppets, colour cards.
Children gather on a rug; each holds a puppet. The story is read with pauses for colour-matching and guessing what comes next. Some clap syllables; others echo short phrases. Visual cues help those learning English or using Makaton signs. Assessment happens quietly – who joins in, who watches closely, who remembers the order.
Numeracy plan – “Counting Trail in the Yard”
Intention: recognise numbers 1-5 and connect them to movement.
Materials: chalk numbers, hoops, cones.
Children hunt for numbers around the yard, jumping that many times in each hoop. Some count aloud, some whisper. Peers remind each other gently. The practitioner notes confidence and one-to-one matching.
Neither plan is grand, yet both carry Aistear’s themes of Communicating and Exploring and Thinking. In practice, the laughter and tiny victories mean far more than a tidy worksheet.
Skill grows when it travels. A child who names shapes at table time might later spot a triangle roof outside. Practitioners weave literacy and numeracy into all corners – snack, play, tidy-up, outdoor walks. The pretend shop invites writing lists and counting coins; the garden offers patterning with petals or measuring puddles after rain.
Partnership with parents keeps learning alive beyond the gate. Notes on story sacks or quick chats at pick-up often spark home talk. One parent might send a photo of a child “reading” to a teddy, another counting buttons for fun. In practice, that loop between home and setting strengthens confidence. Still, it takes gentle reminders and patience to keep everyone involved.
When the same counting rhyme follows the child from the ECCE room to the kitchen table, the skill truly sticks.
Good resources feel ordinary – soft books with strong pictures, story sacks full of textures, baskets of everyday bits for sorting. Children learn best when they can hold, smell, and move what they’re thinking about. Beads, ten-frames, or handfuls of shells all invite early number sense.
Digital tools can help too if used sparingly – a simple Irish phonics app, or a counting game where sound and touch meet. The key is balance and guidance. Under Irish policy, screens stay short and shared, not solo.
UDL reminds practitioners to offer many routes into the same idea. A child might trace sand letters while another uses Makaton signs to retell the rhyme. Inclusion grows when resources fit the learner rather than the other way around. To be fair, a shelf of plain wooden blocks can teach as much as any modern kit – if the adult nearby listens and joins in.
The room itself teaches quietly. Shelves at a child’s eye-level invite independence; a small mark-making table near the window draws children to trace, scribble, and notice pattern. In one corner sits a maths tray with shells, pebbles, and small cups — nothing fancy, yet full of pattern and quantity. The environment acts as the “third teacher”, shaping how children think before a word is even said.
When materials stay consistent, little minds begin to form order — sorting by colour, then by size, then by use. That’s the start of abstract reasoning. A child may line up spoons and realise one always matches another — early one-to-one thinking. Displays change often, but always show children’s work, labelled in their own words. To be fair, the magic comes from how everything feels reachable and real. A cluttered shelf can hide ideas; a calm, open space lets them breathe. Even the outdoor patch, with its sticks and buckets, builds classification and seriation far better than any worksheet could.
Observation is the heartbeat of good practice. In a real setting, notes often sit on sticky papers stuck near the sink, later typed into templates. Anecdotal notes, quick sketches, and learning stories capture those small wins — a child clapping syllables right or counting six teddies without help. Photographs, always taken with parental consent, freeze the moment when confidence shows.
Some educators use checklists linked to Aistear themes; others keep work samples in folders. None are perfect, but together they tell a story. In practice, the most valuable records come from what’s seen, not what’s staged. GDPR and safeguarding rules guide storage; parents sign forms and can read entries at any time. It wasn’t easy at first to juggle all that paperwork, yet over time it became a habit — a rhythm of watching, noting, reflecting, then planning the next small step. That’s how progress stays real and personal.
Teamwork makes literacy and numeracy richer. Each practitioner brings something slightly different. One might have a gift for storytelling, another for turning everyday bits into counting games. Together, they cover gaps that one alone might miss.
Language support often needs steady modelling — adults speaking clearly, expanding on children’s words, or pausing long enough for answers. Some use Makaton or simple bilingual cues for comfort. Colleagues swap questioning stems to spark thinking: What do you notice? How many more? Peer observation, done kindly, helps refine tone and timing.
Continuous Professional Development (CPD) sessions keep ideas fresh. In practice, sharing even one new trick after a workshop can lift the whole team. To be fair, confidence builds slowly; many learn by watching each other manage those wobbly group times when attention drifts. Still, that mix of shared skill and gentle humour keeps the room grounded and responsive.
Professional growth never really ends. After a few months in practice, most educators notice patterns — the areas that flow easily and those that always take longer. Some keep a Personal Development Plan (PDP) tucked in a folder, marking goals like improving observation notes or deepening knowledge of emergent numeracy.
Gibbs’ reflective cycle or simple “what went well / what next” sheets help turn reflection into action. CPD courses, reading groups, or short QQI refreshers fill gaps, while informal chats over tea often teach just as much. Supporting others happens naturally when experience is shared without judgment. A new staff member might shadow a more seasoned colleague during circle time, picking up tone and pace by ear rather than notes. All the same, reflection only works when honesty sits beside kindness — both to oneself and to peers.
Professional conduct holds everything together. Respectful communication with families sets the tone — short updates at the door, careful listening when worries arise, and follow-up notes when needed. Confidentiality stays firm; records stay locked, gossip stays out.
Safeguarding remains constant: concerns get logged, not whispered. Inclusive language matters — swapping he/she for names, using calm, neutral phrasing when behaviour challenges appear. When tempers flare, the adult breathes first. De-escalation means lowering voice, not raising it. Documentation, though tiring, keeps everyone safe. In practice, professionalism is less about rules on a poster and more about the daily grace of patience. To be fair, it can test nerves, yet every calm response teaches children how respect feels like in action.
Deadlines sneak up fast, and this one’s no different. Still, help is close at hand. Those who need a gentle push can always get assignment done through trusted academic support teams who understand QQI standards inside out. Experienced assignment writers in Ireland know how to shape real-sounding work that meets module needs without losing authenticity. Whether it’s polishing a reflection, checking structure, or linking Aistear to daily practice, support makes a difference. For longer projects, professional dissertation writing services can lift the pressure off busy learners. And if essays pile up at the same time, practical essay help services step in to keep everything on track. It’s not about shortcuts — it’s about steady guidance, the same kind of support educators give to the children they teach.
Aoife Kelly is a skilled academic writer and subject expert at IrelandAssignmentHelper.ie, contributing since 2015. She holds a Master’s degree in Health and Social Care Management from Dublin City University and brings over a decade of experience in healthcare and social sciences. Aoife specializes in supporting students across a range of disciplines, including Healthcare, Childcare, Nursing, Psychology, and Elder Care. Her practical understanding of these fields, combined with strong academic writing expertise, helps students craft well-researched essays, reports, case studies, and dissertations that meet Irish academic standards.
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