DIGITAL POSTER

Kristin CollinsECE 51011/23/09

IntroductionThe following pictures were taken throughout center

time in my School Readiness preschool classroom at the Putnam Elementary School. My class consists of 16 students with ages that range from 3 to 5 years old. The students in this digital portfolio all have different learning styles and backgrounds and one is an English Language Learner. All of the activities that were done in the pictures you are about to see, are from a constructivist point-of-view. Every learning center has hands-on, age-appropriate activities that allow children to construct their own ideas and also allows for natural learning, experimentation, and manipulation processes to take place.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Sorting By the Number Of Letters In A Word

-Description-Standards

-Implications

Patterning with Parts of A Home

-Description-Standards

-Implications

Exploring Pumpkin Seeds-Description-Standards

-Implications

Recording Pumpkin Seed Observations

-Description-Standards

-Implications

Counting and Feeding-Description-Standards

-Implications

Conclusion/ Reflection

Sorting By The Number of Letters In A Word

Kyle (Age 4) chose to go to Writing Center during our classroom center time. Out on the table were the children’s writing journals, pencils, markers, crayons and word cards with pictures so that the children could see the word in its context. I came over to see what Kyle was doing and noticed he was counting how many letters were in each word.

Table of Contents

Description When I noticed that Kyle was counting each word card and the amount of

letters in each word, I decided that this would be a great “teachable moment” to show him more about counting and sorting. I then asked Kyle to pick a word card and count the letters in the word. He chose the word ‘rock’ and counted, “1,2,3,4” as he pointed one -to-one correspondence. I then asked him to pick up a new word card and to count the letters. He chose the word backpack and counted, “1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8” one-to-one correspondence. He continued to pick words until he noticed that the word ‘flag’ he had picked and the word ‘rock’ both had 4 letters in them, after he counted. With my help he decided that he would make groups that would contain words with four letters. As he picked up the word pig he counted, “1,2,3” one-to-one correspondence and noticed he would need a new group and placed the word card at a different spot on the table. He grouped words containing 3, 4, 5 and 7 or more words together. I told Kyle that I was very interested in the way that he had sorted his words into piles and asked him if he could tell me more about how he had sorted them? He said, “these words have 4 letters, these have 5 letters, and this one has 7letters and this one has eight letters. But these only have 3 letters,” he said as he pointed to the cards. He finally decided he was done counting and moved on to another center to play and I recorded his method.

Table of Contents

Standard Numerical and Proportional Reasoning- 2.1: Understand that a variety of numerical representations can be used to

describe quantitative relationships.

This activity aligns to this standard because Kyle was able to use numerical representation through counting letters and then sorting them into like piles to show quantitative relationships and grouping of numbers.

Table of Contents

ImplicationsIn order for Kyle to have the cognitive ability to work on this activity he

needed prior knowledge of numbers, how to count one-to-one correspondence, and that numbers relate to quantities and amounts. It was so natural the way that Kyle was counting the letters to see how many each word contained. I thought that it was a really great way to show Kyle that we can put each different amount of letters in a word into groups and it would be another way to sort. Not only did it show Kyle a different attribute of sorting but it also showed him number value. By counting out the number of letters in a word, he was able to visually see what 3 letters looked like or 4 letters, etc…

In order to keep Kyle on task, I would set up an environment that would lend itself to sorting by different attributes. I would think of Kyle’s interests and use that to show him a new way of sorting so that he had a large repertoire of attributes he could sort by. Although, this center was set up for writing, Kyle used his mathematical thinking skills to create this counting activity for himself. I am glad that I took full advantage of this “teachable moment.”

Table of Contents

Patterning With Parts of A Home

We were working on patterning in my classroom one week and also talking about our homes, where we live. The kids came up with different parts of a house and so my staff and I thought that it would be neat to have the children do patterning with roofs, windows, and doors. Jillian (Age 4) chose to come to math center and create her own “very long” pattern.

Table of Contents

DescriptionOn her own, Jillian chose to come to math center to create a pattern

using roofs, windows, and door drawings on paper. Jillian sat down and started right away by gluing pieces of paper down. I stopped her and asked what kind of pattern she planned on making with the doors, windows, and roofs? I told Jillian that in order for what she is making to be a pattern it must repeat on and on like door, window, door, window, etc... So she glued on a door, then a window, then a roof. She continued doing this ABC pattern of door, window, roof. When she got to the end of her paper she said, “I can’t glue anymore, but I want to do more.” After figuring out that she wanted to attach another piece of paper on, she continued to do her ABC pattern. When she was done, I asked her if she could tell me her pattern. She then pointed as she read off, “ door, window, roof, door, window, roof, etc…” When Jillian was done, I recorded my observation of her pattern and kept her work for parent/teacher conferences.

Table of Contents

Standard Algebraic Reasoning: Patterning and Functions-1.1 Understand and describe patterns and functional relationships.

The activity that Jillian did directly relates to this standard because not only was she able to create a simple ABC pattern but she was also able to verbally tell me (describe) the pattern she had made after she was done. I look for children to be able to tell me the pattern that they made either after making it, or stating prior to making a pattern what kind of pattern they will create.

Table of Contents

ImplicationsJillian learned, by doing this patterning activity, that patterns need to

repeat themselves. At first, she needed to be reminded of this. Once she remembered how to create a pattern she was able to do it with ease. She also learned how to pattern by another attribute (parts of a home) and not just by color, number, size, etc… I found that Jillian was ready to continue with a more complex pattern, but she was done doing patterns for that day and wanted to play in a different center.

The next time that Jillian sat down to pattern, I might start her off on a more complex pattern such as an ABB or ABCD pattern. I felt that since Jillian was able to do an ABC pattern and verbalize it, I would be comfortable in teaching her the next step to patterning. I would also be looking for Jillian to use patterning in other contexts of the classroom, such as at block center. I would like to hear Jillian say something like, “I am going to make a pattern …” or “Look! I made a pattern, ABABABAB” so that she were creating them all on her own and verbalizing what pattern she had created.

Table of Contents

Exploring Pumpkin Seeds

I cut open a large pumpkin for the children to explore at our science center around Halloween time. I thought my students would enjoy using their observation skills and discover all that the pumpkin had to offer through their sense of smell, touch, sight, and hearing. Alana decided to check out the cut pumpkin by sticking her hands inside and pulling out the seeds and goop.

Table of Contents

DescriptionAfter reading the Big Book called Pumpkins , a pumpkin was set in a large tub, at science center, so that the children could explore it and not get seeds and good everywhere. I also put out scoops (measuring cups), spoons, plates to collect the seeds and magnifying glasses to look at the pumpkin seeds and the pumpkin in further depth. Alana stuck her hand in the pumpkin and said, “eeewww it is cold and stinky, yuck!” Right away I told her that she was using her senses and that scientists always use their senses to explore materials. I prompted her by asking more questions to get her to use more descriptive words about the pumpkin. I asked questions like, “Why do you think the pumpkin is cold? You said the pumpkin was stinky, how else does it smell? What are some other words you could use besides cold? How else does it feel?” I asked her to feel the outside of the pumpkin. She said it felt bumpy. I also asked her to look at the outside of the pumpkin, what did she see? She mentioned that the pumpkin was big and orange and that one part of it was all dirty. This led into a great discussion about where pumpkins grow and I was able to show Alana how pumpkins grow on the ground by reverting back to the Big Book about pumpkins that we picture walked at whole group time. When we were done exploring we planted the pumpkin seeds to see if a pumpkin plant would grow.

Table of Contents

StandardsInquiry- How is scientific knowledge created and communicated? Scientific Inquiry

Structure and Function- How are organisms structured to ensure efficiency and survival?

Life cycle of plants

This activity aligns with the above CT State Science Frameworks because the children used their senses to explore the pumpkin to gain further knowledge about it. I was able to ask questions to get them to think and inquire further about how it looks, feels and smells.

At whole group I read my students the book, Pumpkins where they learned prior knowledge about how a pumpkin grows from seed to flower to plant and then carved into a Jack-O-Lantern for Halloween. We then planted the pumpkin seeds, that came from the pumpkin they explored, in a plastic bag with dirt and hung it in the window. The children got to watch how the plant got roots, a stem, and now leaves.

Table of Contents

ImplicationsThe children got to learn a lot about using their senses as they explored

the large pumpkin at the science table. The children used the science process of Observing. I was able to tell them that they were going to be scientists, and in order to do so, they must use their sense of sight, smell, touch, and hearing. The famous theorist Jean Piaget believed that children learn best through hands-on activities where they are able to explore and manipulate objects. I felt that this would be an age-appropriate science activity that would do just that. It would allow for scientific exploration as well as being a hands-on learning experience.

I would add to this experience by having the children look inside different types of pumpkins to see if there would be the same type of seeds inside. I think that looking at different types of gourds, green pumpkins, tiny pumpkins, and sugar pumpkins would be a great way to get children to make predictions as well as exploring different sizes, colors, and shapes of pumpkins.

Table of Contents

Recording Pumpkin Observations

Jillian (Age 4) and Tegan (Age 4) recorded their observations of the pumpkin activity and planting a pumpkin seed, in their science journals. Tegan’s pumpkin seed started to grow into 3 plants with a stem and 3 leaves. Tegan decided to record what she saw in her plastic bag down in her journal. Jillian did a thorough observation of the actual pumpkin and noticed all of its characteristics and drew them and I wrote her words down in her journal.

Table of Contents

Description After exploring a large pumpkin at the science table during center time, Jillian decided to draw what

she saw in her science journal. She noticed that the pumpkin was “large, round, bumpy, orange, smelly, yucky, slimy, and had a lot of seeds in it with orange stringy stuff.” As she drew her picture of what she saw on the pumpkin she started to color a portion of it brown. I asked her why she decided to use brown to color her pumpkin? She pointed to a section of the real pumpkin that was covered in dirt and said, “there is dirt there so I colored it brown.” She used her senses to manipulate and explore everything the pumpkin had to offer and then recorded exactly what she had seen, in her science journal.

Tegan did the same type of early exploration that Jillian did in the above example except Tegan chose to continue to write in her science journal as she noticed changing effects in the pumpkin seeds she had planted in a plastic baggie from the large pumpkin she had first explored. She noticed that she had 3 plants growing in her plastic baggie and each plant had 2 large leaves and one tiny leaf at the top of each stem. She stated that she thought that next it would get a yellow flower, just like from the Big Book we had read called Pumpkins. She also noticed that the inside of the bag was covered in little drops of water. It was a great moment to teach Tegan about condensation and how it keeps the soil from becoming dried out. She drew her plastic bag, the dirt, the stems and leaves along with the condensation and ziploc top of the baggie. She also felt the leaves and said that they were soft and she smelled them as well and said that it smelled like grass. I also asked Tegan what she thought that the plant might need in order to stay healthy? She suggested we keep watering it, and always have it near the window so that the sun reaches it. She thought we might put it in a larger container so it could grow bigger.

Table of Contents

StandardInquiry- How is scientific knowledge created and communicated?-Scientific Inquiry

Structure and Function- How are organisms structured to ensure efficiency and survival?

-Life Cycles of Plants

These activities align with the standards because both girls are inquiring and noticing changes and effects of the pumpkin. Jillian is noticing how the pumpkin looks, feels and smells and recording her observations. Tegan is noticing how the pumpkin is growing and the different parts of the plant. She is also inquiring about what will happen to the plant next as well as how to grow in more efficiently.

Table of Contents

ImplicationsNot only did Jillian and Tegan use their five senses to explore the pumpkin and

the pumpkin plant but they also used their observation and recording skills to notice changes and effects of touching and growing pumpkin seeds.

As the teacher, I made sure to keep asking them questions that would get them to think deeper about the pumpkin and how it looked, felt, smelled, and what they could hear from the plant. I wanted the girls to use the science process skills of Observing. I feel that it is very important for children to write down exactly what they notice when drawing in their science journals. In class we discussed how critical it is for children to learn to record every detail in a science activity just like a real scientist would.

I think that one way to make this a better activity would be to have the science center right near the window with the pumpkin plants growing in them. This way students might be more apt to write in their journals every day because they could just look at their plant in the window instead of having to take it to a table with them. I think it is less convenient for them to not be able to observe, draw and record in one spot. Another idea would be to have the children measure their plants in a non-standard way. This might include comparing their plant to the heights of other plants in the room.

Table of Contents

Counting and Feeding

Hailey (Age 3) was doing a small motor activity at math center, when I decided to add number cards with dots (just like we discussed in class) to have her count how many bones she would feed the doggie and turn this fine motor activity into a math activity.

Table of Contents

DescriptionAt math center, Hailey chose to do the fine motor activity where you feed animals food. In this case, she was feeding a dog bones where she would have to use tweezers to pick up the bones and put them into the dogs mouth. Since we were working on counting this week, I decided to add number cards to have the children count how many bones, etc…they would feed the animals. I also decided to add dots next to the numbers so that the children could have a visual aid to point and count and understand the amount they were to feed the animals. Hailey pointed as she counted, “one, two I will give him two bones. Mmmmm. Yum yum!” She added as she put the bones into the dogs mouth. I knew that Hailey would be able to count the numbers 1-5 using the dots next to them, so we tried that next. Hailey was able to point and count one-to-one correspondence as she then said the number of bones she was going to feed the dog. “one, two, three he needs three bones.” Hailey continued until she did numbers one through five and then moved over to feeding the bunny rabbit some carrots.

Table of Contents

Standard

Numerical and Proportional Reasoning-Quantitative relationships can be expressed numerically in multiple ways in order to make connections and simplify calculations using a variety of strategies, tools and technologies.

2.1-Understand that a variety of numerical representations can be used to describe quantitative relationships.

The counting and feeding activity relates to this standard because Hailey was able to understand that using the dots to count was representing a numerical value and showing her the amount of bones that she needed to feed the doggie.

Table of Contents

ImplicationsI felt that it was very important to take an activity like this fine motor

activity and turning it into something more extended, like this quantity activity. Although Hailey didn’t think of using the number cards herself, I felt that as the teacher it was a valuable way to get Hailey to use a higher order of thinking. This was a simple activity that allowed for me, the teacher, to help her understand that there was a number amount that she was to feed the animals. By adding the dots next to the number, she was able to physically count the dots to represent the amount that she was supposed to feed the dog instead of just putting the bones into the dog’s mouth. In class we did an activity of drawing dots to represent number amounts (on paper) and how important this was to get children to learn to count one-to-one correspondence and to understand how much they were counting.

Next time I did this activity I would see if Hailey could count higher than five. If she can count up to five I would need to give her a little nudge to get her to count one-to-one correspondence up to seven or eight or even ten.

Table of Contents

Conclusion/Reflection

In conclusion, I feel that the activities I provided my students allowed them to use a higher order of thinking and to use not only their observation skills but also their science process skills, and number/quantity skills. I feel that any activity can help children learn if the teacher asks open-ended questions, gets them thinking logically, and is age-appropriate to their learning styles.

I learned that there is always a way to extend an activity to make it more memorable. I think that I should have added many different types of pumpkins so the children could explore seeds further. The children could grow different types of pumpkins and explore how each plant looks, similarities and differences. They could record their observations in their science journals and might notice how each plant looks different. I think that a lot of activities lend themselves to natural learning/teachable moments that teachers don’t plan for.

Table of Contents