In the EYFS framework, Understanding the World is made up of three aspects:

• Past and Present 
• People, Culture and Communities 
• The Natural World 

Understanding the World (UW) involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology, and the environment.

Understanding the World is one of the four specific areas of learning in the EYFS framework. Each specific area is divided into Early Learning Goals (End of Reception):

Past and Present: Talk about the lives of the people around them and their roles in society;
Know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class; Understand the past through settings, characters and events encountered in books read in class and storytelling.

People Culture and Communities:Describe their immediate environment using knowledge from observation, discussion, stories, non-fiction texts and maps;Know some similarities and differences between different religious and cultural communities in this country, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class;Explain some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries, drawing on knowledge from stories, non-fiction texts and – when appropriate –maps.

The Natural World: Explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants; Know some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class; Understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons and changing states of matter.