ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the four areas of learning and development in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) guidance, Development Matters: Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World (UW) and Expressive Arts and Design (EAD). The Specific Areas have some more challenging aspects of Sustained Shared Thinking (SST). Traditionally, the Piagetian view of mathematical learning is that children have to be a certain age before they can understand mathematical concepts such as, conservation of mass. Expressive Arts and Design is what used to be Creative Development in the 2008 EYFS. Sustained Shared Thinking supports Expressive Arts and Design by helping practitioners to understand children's thinking and their creativity in thought. Literacy in Development Matters is subdivided into reading and writing. There are many early literacy projects, but one of the most enduring is probably the Raising Achievement in Early Literacy (REAL) project, led and championed by Professor Cathy Nutbrown.
