Being Imaginative and Expressive
EYFSEAD-R-D002
Inventing and recounting narratives, singing nursery rhymes and songs, and performing songs, rhymes, poems and stories with others, including moving in time with music.
National Curriculum context
Being Imaginative and Expressive is Early Learning Goal 17 within the Expressive Arts and Design Specific Area. At the end of Reception, children are expected to invent, adapt and recount narratives and stories with peers and their teacher. They should sing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs. They should perform songs, rhymes, poems and stories with others, and when appropriate try to move in time with music. This ELG spans narrative imagination, vocal performance and physical response to music — three interrelated expressive capacities that share a common foundation in children's drive to communicate meaning through action, voice and story. The emphasis on 'trying to move in time with music' acknowledges that keeping in time is genuinely challenging for many five-year-olds and that the intentional attempt matters more than accuracy at this stage. This domain is the direct precursor of Music at KS1 (singing, pulse, performance) and of Drama and English at KS1 (storytelling, narrative composition, performance poetry).
3
Concepts
1
Clusters
1
Prerequisites
3
With difficulty levels
Lesson Clusters
Practice: Storytelling and Narrative Invention, Song, Rhyme and Musical Performance, Moving to Music
practicePrerequisites
Concepts from other domains that pupils should know before this domain.
Concepts (3)
Storytelling and Narrative Invention
skill AI FacilitatedEAD-R-C004
The ability to create, adapt and recount narratives — stories with at least a beginning, a middle and an end, involving characters, a setting and a problem or event. At EYFS, children move from simple sequential recount ('and then... and then...') to more structured narrative that has shape and intentionality. Narrative invention is one of the most powerful vehicles for language development, imaginative thinking and cultural learning. Children who have a rich repertoire of stories they know well and the confidence to invent new ones enter KS1 with strong foundations for composition, comprehension and drama.
Teaching guidance
Build a strong shared repertoire of known stories through regular read-alouds and storytelling using Pie Corbett's Talk for Writing approach: oral retelling, story mapping, and story innovation. Use small world play, story spoons, puppets and story sacks to scaffold oral narrative. Set regular narrative tasks: retell a known story, change one element, invent a new story based on a starting image or object. Model narrative structure explicitly: 'Every story has a beginning — who is in it and where are they? A middle — what is the problem? And an end — how does it get sorted out?' Provide opportunities for collaborative storytelling between pairs and small groups.
Common misconceptions
Children often produce lists of events ('and then... and then...') rather than narratives with structure and causality. The shift from additive to causal connectives ('because', 'so', 'which meant that') is a key developmental step requiring explicit teaching. Some children believe they cannot invent stories because they 'don't know enough'; scaffolding with a character, a setting and a simple problem removes this barrier.
Difficulty levels
Beginning to tell simple stories through talk and play, with events linked by 'and then'.
Example task
Ask the child to tell you a story using the small-world toys.
Model response: 'The dinosaur is walking and then he found a egg and then the egg hatched and then there was a baby dinosaur.' — a sequence of events connected by 'and then'.
Sometimes creating stories with a beginning, a middle and an end, including a problem or event that gives the story shape.
Example task
Tell me a story about an animal that has an adventure.
Model response: 'Once there was a rabbit who lived in a burrow. One day she went exploring and got lost in the big forest. She was scared. Then she met a friendly owl who showed her the way home. She was so happy to be home and she never went that far again.' — clear beginning, problem, resolution and ending.
Inventing and adapting narratives with characters, settings, problems and resolutions, performing and retelling them to others with expression and detail.
Example task
Make up a story to perform to the class. Include characters with feelings and a problem that gets solved.
Model response: The child tells a story with distinct characters who have names and personalities, a setting described with detail, a problem that creates tension, and a satisfying resolution. They use different voices for characters, expression in their delivery, and story language. The audience is engaged and responds.
Delivery rationale
EYFS concept for 4-5 year olds — AI can deliver structured activities via voice/touch but adult facilitates physical tasks and monitors engagement.
Song, Rhyme and Musical Performance
skill AI FacilitatedEAD-R-C005
The ability to sing a repertoire of nursery rhymes and songs with reasonable accuracy of pitch, rhythm and words, and to perform these — and poems and stories — to others. At EYFS, children build a core shared repertoire through frequent repetition and gradually develop the confidence and vocal control to perform individually and in groups. Singing nursery rhymes and songs is not merely a musical activity: it is central to phonological awareness (hearing and producing rhyme, rhythm, syllable patterns), language development (new vocabulary, sentence patterns) and cultural knowledge. Performance — even to a small, supportive audience — develops confidence, turn-taking and the awareness that voices can communicate to others.
Teaching guidance
Sing daily, with purpose: use songs as transitions, as circle time routines, as warm-ups, as content teaching. Build the class repertoire gradually, returning to the same songs many times before adding new ones. Teach songs slowly, phrase by phrase, with movement and actions to support memory. Create low-stakes performance opportunities regularly: class performances, buddy class visits, parent sharing sessions. Value group singing before solo performance; never compel solo performance. Use clapping, percussion instruments and movement to reinforce the rhythmic structure of songs and rhymes.
Common misconceptions
Adults sometimes underestimate the educational power of nursery rhymes and songs, treating them as mere entertainment. Research is clear that phonological awareness developed through rhyme and song is one of the strongest early predictors of reading success. Children who have a rich aural repertoire of rhymes and songs enter phonics instruction with significant advantages.
Difficulty levels
Beginning to join in with familiar songs and rhymes, knowing some of the words and attempting to match the melody.
Example task
Sing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' with the group. Does the child join in?
Model response: The child sings along, knowing most of the words. Their pitch approximately follows the melody though not always accurately. They enjoy participating.
Sometimes singing a range of songs and rhymes with reasonable accuracy of words, rhythm and pitch, and beginning to perform to a small audience.
Example task
Sing your favourite nursery rhyme. Try to sing in tune.
Model response: The child sings 'Humpty Dumpty' with all the words correct, keeping a steady rhythm, and the melody is recognisable. They perform with confidence to a small group.
Singing in a group or alone, increasingly matching pitch and following the melody, performing songs, rhymes, poems and stories with expression.
Example task
Perform a song or poem to the class. Use your voice expressively.
Model response: The child sings or recites with clear words, reasonable pitch accuracy, and expressive use of dynamics (loud for exciting parts, quiet for scary parts). They make eye contact with the audience and use gestures. The performance has been rehearsed and shows preparation.
Delivery rationale
EYFS concept for 4-5 year olds — AI can deliver structured activities via voice/touch but adult facilitates physical tasks and monitors engagement.
Moving to Music
skill AI FacilitatedEAD-R-C006
Responding to music through physical movement and, increasingly, attempting to synchronise movement with a steady musical pulse. At EYFS, this encompasses a spectrum from free expressive movement in response to the mood or character of music, to structured attempts to clap, step or move in time with a steady beat. The ability to internalise a pulse and coordinate physical movement to it — beat competency — is a foundational musical skill that develops through practice and supports all subsequent music learning. Moving to music also supports physical development, spatial awareness and the experience of music as something felt in the body rather than only heard.
Teaching guidance
Provide regular structured movement to music activities: marching, clapping games, action songs, musical statues. Use music with a very clear and consistent pulse at a tempo suitable for young children (70-90 bpm). Model beat synchronisation physically and explicitly: step on every beat, clap on every beat, emphasising the regularity. Accept and celebrate attempts to move in time even when synchronisation is approximate. Vary the stimulus — use different musical styles, different tempos, different moods — and discuss how children's movements change in response. Use body percussion (clapping, patting knees, stamping) as a bridge between listening and moving.
Common misconceptions
Many five-year-olds cannot consistently move in time with an external pulse — this is developmentally normal and not an indicator of musical aptitude. Adults should avoid labelling children as 'unmusical' based on beat synchronisation at this age. The ability to keep a steady pulse develops through practice and most children achieve it by the end of KS1 with sufficient opportunity.
Difficulty levels
Beginning to move in response to music, showing awareness that music makes them want to move, though movement may not relate to the musical features.
Example task
Play different types of music. Observe whether the child moves in response.
Model response: The child bounces, sways or runs when music plays. They move more energetically to fast music and slow down when the music is calm, showing basic responsiveness to tempo.
Sometimes matching movement to the character of the music — slow and gentle for lullabies, fast and bouncy for energetic music — and beginning to move in time with the pulse.
Example task
Play a march and a lullaby. 'Move your body to match the music.'
Model response: For the march, the child stamps their feet and swings their arms like marching. For the lullaby, they sway gently and rock. They are beginning to step in time with the beat of the march.
Responding to what they hear with relevant movement, attempting to move rhythmically with the music and showing awareness of the pulse.
Example task
Dance to this music, trying to move in time with the beat. When the music changes, change your movement.
Model response: The child moves in approximate time with the music's pulse, stepping or clapping on the beat. When the music changes from fast to slow, they adjust their movement to match. When a new section starts with a different character, they change their movement style — from skipping to swaying, for example.
Delivery rationale
EYFS concept for 4-5 year olds — AI can deliver structured activities via voice/touch but adult facilitates physical tasks and monitors engagement.