Sam called me over and informed me that he was building a bridge, but the bridge kept falling down. He went on to say, "My bridge is wiggly, and I think we need some stabilizers so it can stand up." I told Sam that I have a book with pictures of bridges made out of wooden blocks and asked him if he would like to look through it. Sam, Hadley, Isaiah, Teddy F, Josh, The children enthusiastically gathered around the table/block platform for block building lessons. I asked the children if they wanted to build a bridge like the one in the book. As part of the demonstration, I held up each different block and asked the children to name what they noticed about the shape and size. I described and demonstrated how the children might fit the various blocks together to form a bridge and other structures. After about a ten-minute demonstration, I invited the children to jump in and try bridge building. They all worked eagerly, copying what I had done, but also adding their own ideas. Hadley took it a step further and asked me where the clip boards were, as she wanted to draw her own diagram of the bridge that she and her friends helped create. 
Wow! First of all, "stabilizers"?!?!? Secondly, what a fantastic lesson in how we can teach kids! They are learning how to learn! They must feel like such "big kids," being given the opportunity to learn like big kids.
ReplyDeleteAn incredible reflection on the process of learning. You used this coaching session to teach these 4 year olds to use reference materials to guide their work. Most people don't realize such young children are capable of doing that. Not only did you see that potential, but you have also been cultivating their own skills in actually creating the reference materials. It has been interesting to see how their representations of their work have become more complex over time.
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