It all started with a child saying “I
want to make a sand castle, Big as me”. The children were piling the sand
making sand castles. They were building them individually and trying to make it
a competition. For this activity on this day I asked the children about what
kind of sand castles they would like to make.
For provocation I took the ideas the
children and I discussed about the sand castles and printed off some pictures
of other sand castles and some pictures of real castles to provoke inspiration
for the children to work towards. I used the pictures of the castles so we
could have a discussion about history and how people used to live in castles
and had horses in them. Learning about the past is important for children’s
social studies development so they can learn how different the past was to how
it is now and then children can begin to think about the future. (MOE). I also
bought some containers of different sizes and shape to use as moulds for sand
castles. I also suggested that the children work together to make their sand
castles because they might be able to make them higher and bigger if they all
work together. I also suggested the children work together because part of
social sciences is creating relationships with others (MOE). The children then
began making some very cool sand castles and we took pictures of the sand
castles. The children he quickly learned how to pile the sand from the buckets
softly were teaching their friends how to do it softly which was great
relationship creating.
This included technology in the sense
that technology is something that helps you or makes your life easier. UNESCO
(n.d.) states technology is something that extends on the capabilities of
humans. The buckets and spades were the technology that helped the children. Also
the pictures were technology because having the pictures visually there for the
children to look at was extending upon any description of a castle I could tell
the children.
I work with children who are under three
so I used the teaching techniques positioning people, suggesting and facilitating. (MacNaughton & Williams, 2009)
I positioned myself so that the children could all fit around the sand castle
without me in the way but I was still close enough to be available and fully
engaged but still leave the experimenting up to the children. I used suggesting
when the children were using dry sand to try and make the sand castle I
suggested “what happens if you get some water from the water play and put it in
the sand”. Also when the children were losing
interest in the castle building I suggested taking pictures to look at them
next time. I facilitated for the children by providing the resources and water
play for the children to discover and master the skill of sand castle building
as well as learning history through the discussion about the castles and
facilitating opportunities to create relationship bonds with their classmates.
References
MacNaughton, G., & Williams, G. (2009).Techniques for teaching young children:
Choices in theory and practice (3rd ed.). Frenchs Forrest, Australia:
Pearson Prentice Hall.
Ministry of
Education.(2007). The New Zealand
curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
UNESCO (n.d.). What is technology?
Retrieved from: http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/file_download.php/e4a401dc5db3bafdb675cdab775cd305Technology+Guide+Unit+1.pdf
Kia Ora Vicki!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading how you picked up children’s interest in sand castles and used various teaching techniques and the use of technology to further enhance their interest. You used digital technology to print off pictures where children were able to grasp ideas on what actual castles looked like. With visuals you were able to involve children in the discussion and this gave children further ideas on how create their own sand castles. Your planned provocation obviously gave children “provocation” to work on their projects which I believe is essential.
Play with sand and water involves sensory experiences that appeal to young children. While sand and water play can delight the senses, it also can challenge children's minds and promote all areas of development. In situations where children’s technological activity is arising from spontaneous play activities the teacher’s role is to ask open-ended questions that encourage children to talk about their plans and to listen attentively through a technology lens to what the children are saying. It was good to see that as a facilitator you provided children to work on their projects and before that you provided them with pictures so that they could differentiate between the different types of castles.
The sandpit offers children a wide range of opportunities to work through interest-based technological problem-solving and to develop technological knowledge and skill. Children’s interest in this activity was to build tall sandcastles and with the use of technology you guided their interests further. To further extend their interests in relation to sand and technology you could possibly Guide children to think about people and technology by talking about how they move sand and water (bulldozers, waterwheels, paddle boats) and provide similar props for play. To further extend the use of technology at the sandpit in your centre, what other forms of technology can you use and how would you use it with the children?
Bula Vicki!
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome planned provocation you initiated within your centre Vicki. Basing your planned provocation on the children’s interest was a definite aspect that shone through this entry right from the beginning, tino pai. I really thought it was neat taking the idea for your planned provocation based on the question you asked “what kind of sand castles they would like to make” as castles alike houses look similar but are different and have different names eg. villa, masion, bach = houses, castles are the same eg. rectangular keep, shell keep, mote and bailey = castles.
Using images of other sand castles and real castles to provoke inspiration as well as discussion I felt was a great method in engaging children within in this activity as visuals really do provoke inspiration and having a tangible medium to look is way more exciting in oppose to if you just engaging in conversation. I absolutely loved how this planned provocation allowed you to engage in conversation about the ‘past’ as there are so many avenues this could go down eg. castles- the many rooms within a castle and what they were used for, why castles were built, who lived in them etc.
Definitely encouraging to collaborate with each other is an aspect within social sciences as children then begin to discuss and bounce off each other’s ideas as each child has something different to offer.
Do you, full heartedly believe in the statement you made sourced from UNESCO that’ technology’ is “something that extends on the capabilities of humans”? I only ask because I feel technology then becomes ‘huge’ as its technically nearly everything we uses daily eg. pens, rulers, knife folk.
Great teaching strategies Vicki, positioning is definitely important especially with sustaining conversation within a group of children.
Great idea for extending this planned provocation! It will be cool if you also gathered natural materials to work with too. I’ve enjoyed reading you entry, KA PAI!