Beyond the Journal Young Children on the Web March 2006 1
TEACHING PRESCHOOLERS ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT is hard. Many complex concepts are involved: the interactions among everything on the planetair, land, water, and all living things; the systems that determine weather and climate, food supply, energy resources, and the quality of life for every plant and animal; systems operating on a planetary scale or in geologic time; the organisms living in a single water drop. Chemistry, geology, physics, and biology all intersect in discussions on the environment. This article shares the experiences of one teacher in helping preschoolers learn about the environment. The article is based on my lifelong concerns for the environment, on my own experi- ence helping children learn to take care of a goldfish in a preschool classroom, and on a composite of many different effortsmy own and other teachershelping children learn about the environment. It is also based on three of my own beliefs: 1. Most young children are eager to learn about the environment. 2. A teacher who lives an environmentally friendly life can be effective in teaching young children about the environment. 3. The emergent curriculum approach (Rinaldi 1992; Jones & Nimmo 1994), including documentation, is well suited for encouraging children to develop environmentally aware behavior. These beliefs are reflected in this article through enthu- siastic children, a teacher respectful of environmental concerns, and the success of the emergent curriculum in arousing and building on childrens interests. Social constructivist theory The theoretical base for the use of an emergent curricu- lum is social constructivist theory. Briefly, we can infer from the theory that learning occurs when children are engaged in collaborative activity about something that deeply interests them and that the teachers role is to collaborate with the children in their exploration so her knowledge can scaffold their understanding. Learning and development emerge from the dynamic interaction of social and individual factors (John-Steiner, Panofsky, & One Teacher, 20 Preschoolers, and a Goldfish Environmental Awareness, Emergent Curriculum, and Documentation Ann Lewin-Benham Ann Lewin-Benham, AB, was founder/director of the Model Early Learning Center (MELC) and Capital Childrens Museum in Washington, D.C. Her recent book, Possible Schools: The Reggio Approach to Urban Education, tells MELCs story. Ann writes and lectures on early education. Return to the main menu of this issue of Beyond the Jour- nal for a listing of curriculum activities and suggested books plus a compilation of further resources on environmental educa- tion for adults and children. Illustrations Marti Betz Innovative Practice Beyond the Journal Young Children on the Web March 2006 2 Projects are based on teachers thoughtful listening to chil- drens conversations to deter- mine their deep interests and on subsequent focused talk with the children about these interests. Smith 1994, 6). Today numerous psychologists and social theorists have confirmed the idea, first proposed by Lev Vygotsky, that learning is a social process (Feuerstein, Klein, & Tannenbaum 1991; John-Steiner, Panofsky, & Smith 1994; Resnick & Hall 1998; Bronfenbrenner 2004). Social constructivist theory is robustly practiced in the schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy. In these schools projects emerge through teacher collaboration with small groups of children. The projects are based on teachers thoughtful listening to childrens conversations to determine their deep interests and on subsequent focused talk with the children about these inter- ests. The Reggio structure also involves a carefully designed classroom that functions as a third teacher, and as such frees the teacher to engage in projects. Literature describing these schools and certain Web sites will acquaint those unfamiliar with the Reggio Emilia approach (see Jones & Nimmo 1994; Edwards, Gandini, & Forman 1998; Lewin-Benham 2006; visit the Web sites of NAREA and Reggio Children). Ms. Putnam, 20 children, and a goldfish Ms. Putnam, a preschool teacher, wanted to arouse childrens concern for the environment and to inspire them to think and act in ecologi- cally sound ways. An evolving chain of experiences about the environment emerged from the introduction of a goldfish to her class. In September Ms. Putnam made five commitments. During the coming year she would: bring into the classroom things re- lated to the environment. listen closely to childrens conversa- tions and observe their activities and explorations around the items, then use the childrens interests as the basis for projects. use related vocabulary often and read aloud books on the environment twice weekly. keep parents informed so they could reinforce the topic at home. Rather than sets of lesson plans and objectives, emergent curriculum is a process that roughly follows these steps: 1. Select a topic that reflects interests expressed by children in their conversations or that you as their teacher suspect may be of high interest. Ms. Putnam brought a goldfish to school with the idea that the childrens care of the fish might interest them in explor- ing environment-related subjects. 2. Brainstorm, alone or with colleagues, the many ways the experience could develop to ensure that the topic has rich generative (Perkins 1992, 9295) potential. As it evolves, the project may or may not follow what you brainstormed. 3. Use something concretefrom the children, their families, or the teacherto pique initial interest and to maintain it. The concrete thing may be childrens own words as recorded by the teacher. Ms. Putnam used childrens questions about the goldfish as the starter for many pursuits. Throughout the year she recorded, saved, and studied the childrens conversations and kept using their words to arouse further interest. 4. Tape or take notes of the childrens words as they react. Study their words to determine what really grabs their attention. You may let a day or more pass to heighten the childrens anticipation and to allow yourself time to study their words. 5. Continue to bring the childrens own words back to them: On Monday you said the fishs water was really dirty. J oey said, Its full of poop. Would you like to help me clean the fishbowl? 6. Brainstorm what might happen before any new activity. Knowing she wanted to build environmental awareness, Ms. Putnam had a container available to save the dirty water. When the children asked why she was saving it, she asked, What do you think we could do with this water? Again she recorded and studied the childrens answers, and brought back those that she had selected for their potential to spark environmental awareness. 7. Use childrens words, some particular things they have made, or photo(s) taken during the process as the stimulus for the next steps. 8. Document the experience as each step happens. Record the story of the emerging project as it emerges, using childrens words, photos of them, their drawings or other work, and a photojournalistic-type retelling. (See Documentation.) Emergent Curriculum Innovative Practice Beyond the Journal Young Children on the Web March 2006 3 follow an emergent curriculum approachteaching through small group projects, documenting the projects, and revisiting the documentation. Where do subjects for in-depth projects come from? Miss Putnam knew that the information she needed for projects to emerge would come from a variety of sources: actively conversing with the children, listening to their conversations with each other to determine what they already knew and what else they wanted to know, and studying her notes on these conversations. Having de- cided to bring a goldfish to the classroombecause she believed it would be of great interest to the childrenshe brainstormed concepts that might emerge over time. Her list included the following areas: the ecosystem a goldfish requires energy sources for living things clean and unclean water waste disposal relationships between living things and the environment The goldfish arrives On the day Ms. Putnam brought the goldfish to school, Joey, the most active four-year-old in the class, spotted it immediately: Ms. Putnam, what have we got? She knew his enthusiasm would spread. During group time she asked Joey to describe what he had seen: Its orange, and its swimming, and . . . jumping up and pointing, its THERE! Carefully, Ms. Putnam carried the bowl to the full class meeting. Immediately, an animated conversation ensued. Ms. Putnam made notes on the childrens comments and, over the next few days, took photos of them observing the fish. After analyzing this information she determined which children were most interested in the goldfish. She created a documentation panel with the heading Joey Discovered a New Fish and two photos of children observing the fish, and she hung the panel in the classroom. Later she discussed the panel with the small group of children whom she had observed were most interested. Revisiting the panel with the children revealed more of their ideas because it sparked another conversation. As the children and teacher discussed the panel, ques- tions tumbled out: Where did the goldfish come from? The stream near the school? Where did you get the bowl? Can we feed the fish from our lunchboxes? How does it poop? Can I hold it? Will it have babies? Can I take it home? Will it get old and die? What do you do with a dead fish? Like most children, the four-year-olds in Ms. Putnams class are interested in everything around them. Even by age 4 they have had many experiences, and know more than adults may realize. They are naturally empathetic, know instinctively if living things feel sad or are hurt, and express their concern with words and hugs. Ms. Putnam felt certain she could focus their empathy on the environ- ment, helping them to acquire a sense of what the environ- ment is, an awareness of all living things needs, and some knowledge of how those needs relate to the environment (Gardner 1991). From the childrens comments, she added this one to the documentation panel: How can we get this poop out of the water? She also added a photo of the fishbowl with its dirty water. That evening Ms. Putnam matched the concepts she had originally brainstormed with the childrens questions (see Relationship between the Teachers Ideas and the Childrens Interests). The comparison convinced her to use the childrens own questions to begin exploring environmental issues with them. She added two of their most fertile questions to the panel: How can we clean the water? and What will we do with the dirty water? Planning for learning In educating children about anything, a teacher needs to determine what they already know and find the intersec- tions between her perceptions and their interests. Teach- ers use this information to decide what to do next (Vecchi Innovative Practice Beyond the Journal Young Children on the Web March 2006 4 Documentation is the process of recording childrens thoughts and actions on a topic to maintain their focus and expand their interest. It works like this: 1. As an experience begins, create a large panel out of sturdy cardstock or illustration board. Write a question, repeat a childs comment, or make up a title as a headline for the panel. Include a photo, a drawing, or an object to show what sparked the project. 2. Continue to add information to the panel as the experience continues. Information can be key words from the teacher or children, a childs drawing, or a photo or series of photos of the children, even an object. The information should reflect a pivotal moment which led to next steps. Ms. Putnam added a photo of the full class at the first group meeting with the fishbowl in the center, one childs comment, and one question each from two other children. As the project continued, she added drawings of childrens ideas for how to clean the fish bowlone a theory, the other the process the class eventually adopted. Documentation 3. Whenever a panel is hung or words or photos are added, and before continuing the experience, gather the children who were involved, and read the panel to them (or have them readretellto you) what has happened thus far. This is called revisiting. Ms. Putnam and the small group revisited the panel at least once a day. 4. Add whatever photos and comments or questions bring the experience to a conclusion. In this case, Ms. Putnam added a series of photoscleaning the fishbowl, discovering Big Eyes dead, everyone crying, and the fishs grave. At the end she added two childrens questions which stimulated new projects: What are we going to do with the dirty water? and What will happen to the dead fish? A finished documentation panel should convey what started the experience, how it developed and why, and its outcome or the open-ended questions it sparked. As children revisit panels, they begin to retell the experience to themselves, to one another, and to their parents or classroom visitors. Revisiting helps the experience move forward, keeps the children focused, and deepens their understanding of their experiences. Documentation gives parents and visitors a window into life in the classroom and builds both appreciation for and trust in the school. A finished documentation panel should convey what started the experience, how it developed and why, and its outcome or the open- ended questions it sparked. Innovative Practice Beyond the Journal Young Children on the Web March 2006 5 1994). Through analyzing her own brainstorming list and comparing it to the interests children expressed, Ms. Putnam hypothesized that an environmental curriculum in her classroom, sparked by the childrens interest in the goldfish, could cover these topics: ecosystem; land, water, and air; food and energy; pollution. The curriculum would emerge as childrens investigations and activities led to the evolution of old interests and the development of new ideas. How she prepared the classroom environment and documented the childrens experiences would be critical. Ms. Putnam asked herself if she could also: Care for an animal in addition to the plants already maintained in the classroom? Model environmentally conscious behaviors for the children consistently? For example, could she make sure to turn out lights whenever the class left the classroom or sunshine provided adequate light and each time tell the children her actions were taken to save energy? teach the children to conserve by running only a trickle of water then turning it off while soaping hands or brushing teeth? set up a system to segregate leftover food, paper, glass, and plas- tic, and with the children analyze which leftovers could be reused and how? During meals, Ms. Putnam began to play a game with the children, Com- post Collection, in which they discussed what leftovers would make good com- post. This sparked the childrens curi- osity about what to do when the com- post container was full, and led to a project to develop a compost pile in a remote corner of the play yard. Reach beyond the classroom to en- gage in environmentally friendly efforts? For example, she toured the school with the children to detect how to save resources asked parents to send to school examples of commu- nity environmental activities. One family sent an article about the installation of energy-saving light bulbs in the local public libraries. Ms. Putnam read every item to the whole class, and discussed it in depth with those chil- dren who were most interested. Often the children had their own theories, which Ms. Putnam recorded, studied, and later discussed with them. On subsequent days she had them draw pictures or represent their ideas in other materials, like paper, cardboard, clay, wire, or blocks. invited parents to help on field trips. One involved a visit to the citys waste recycling plant, another to a nearby stream to look for effects of pollution. Using observations and conversations to facilitate learning For several days after introducing the goldfish, Ms. Putnam left a tape recorder next to the fishbowl to capture the childrens comments. As the children observed the fish, she took photos and added two to the panel. All the children visited the fishbowl at least once a day, most two or three times; five children were regulars, sometimes checking on the fish several times a day and naming it Big Eyes. Childrens comments on tape ranged from how fish are born to fish weddings, death, play, and fighting. Most often the children wondered how fish get food, what happens when they poop in the water, and how to clean the water. After observing and revisiting the panel with the chil- dren and while excitement was still high, Ms. Putnam revisited the panel again with the five most interested children and asked, What else would you like to know about the fish? Questions poured out. Ms. Putnam then asked another question: How can we find out? These two questions are powerful and universally applicable. The first taps the wealth of experiences even very young children have already accumulated. The second stretches them to make connections from one particular bit of information to their other ideas, which adults cannot intuit (Lewin-Benham 2006, p. 51). From this discussion Ms. Putnam realized the children knew these things: the fish should be fed just once daily, it pooped a lot, and its water was already dirty. This both- ered them, and they wanted to do something about it. Ms. Putnam asked the five children, Can you draw pictures showing how we could clean the bowl? She added two of the childrens drawings to the panel. Two days later, Can we hold him? What does he like to eat? Where did he come from? Innovative Practice Beyond the Journal Young Children on the Web March 2006 6 found an ideal spot to bury Big Eyesunder the pussy willow, their favorite with its soft, silky-haired blooms. Ms. Putnam added a photo of Big Eyess grave to the documen- tation panel. She saw the echoes of this powerful experi- ence in many of the projects that emerged later that year. Emerging projects The experience with Big Eyes sparked a new project on the environ- ment with these themes: What happens when dirty water is poured on the earth? What is earth? What would happen to Big Eyes in the earth? Ms. Putnam docu- mented the earth project on a second panel. A small group went with her to the pet store to buy a new fish in response to Joeys suggestion (the subject of a third panel). The children were full of ques- tions about how stores find fish. This led to a project on ecosystems that support different fish. By years end the childrens evolving interests led to: Questioning whats in water and how evaporation works. Reading the fish food label, which prompted a big project on food sources. Carefully watching the ceaseless swimming of the new fish, which led to a project on energy. Discussing how pollutants get into air and water. Studying the labels on cleansers, which resulted in a search for environmentally friendly cleaning products and replacing commercial cleansers with homemade solutions of baking soda, vinegar, and water, natural products that the children learned would not pollute. When the children learned how dangerous plastic can be to wild animals, they organized a Plastic Patrol and involved their families in a clean-up day. When they learned that fish poop makes good fertilizer, they went on a hunt for other waste to recycle, and visited their towns recy- cling center. Each project involved only a small group, generally different for each project. Ms. Putnam documented every project on its own panel. Usually the entire class toured each panel, led in small groups by the children involved. With one group, Ms. Putnam wrote to parents discussing how to use the classrooms environmentally friendly practices at home. The whole class read the letter; several children added words and drawings, and everyone carried a copy home. It was possible for Ms. Putnam to teach to a small group for two reasons. First, there were two adults in the class- she gathered the five children again, revisited the panel, and asked them to use their drawings to describe to one another how to clean the bowl. Their ideas ranged from fantasyusing a magic vacuum that unrolled from a long tubeto realityfinding ways to clean the bowl without hurting Big Eyes, since cleaning utensils might be rough and cleansers could poison him. Danielle, one of the chil- dren, had been to a pet store where she gleaned this infor- mation, which she then shared with the others during one of their many small group discussions. Ms. Putnam suggested that the group discuss which method would be best and then make one drawing to represent it. Several more days passed as the children debated among themselves, sometimes arguing fiercely, often joined by Ms. Putnam. They finally agreed on how to clean the bowl: Catch Big Eyes in a fish net (Danielle had seen this in the pet store also), put him quickly into a pitcher of clean water, empty the old water, carefully scour the bowl, then pour in Big Eyes, clean water and all. The group collaborated on making one drawing of this process, which Ms. Putnam added to the panel. Big Eyes dies! Because the class had not allowed the changing water to stand overnight so the chlorine could evaporate, Big Eyes did not survive the change. Ms. Putnam had not told the children this vital knowledge, some- thing she knew but, in the ex- citement, had forgotten to share with them. The chil- dren were distraught. Ms. Putnam blamed herself. The children saw how sad she was. Hey! I know, Joey exclaimed. Lets go to the pet store and buy a new fish! Teacher and children criedall still sad about Big Eyes, Donnie and Charles in distress at Ms. Putnams sadness, Danielle and Darrell not to be left out, Ms. Putnam upset at her omission and deeply moved by the childrens compassion. What are we gonna do with Big Eyes? asked Joey. Crying ceased as the children began a conversa- tion that became animated. Many ideas later, they toured the yard and When the children learned how dangerous plastic can be to wild animals, they orga- nized a Plastic Patrol and involved their families in a clean-up day. Innovative Practice Beyond the Journal Young Children on the Web March 2006 7 room. Second, the classroom environment was richly prepared. In practice this means . . . [the teachers] trust the environment as much as they trust one another, and create a three-member team from two teachers and an environment. Their painstaking organization results in environment-guided activity that is as valuable as teacher- guided activity (Lewin-Benham 2006, 1415). A year in review At the end of the year Ms. Putnam reviewed her teach- ing and the childrens learning. Projects on a wide range of areas covered 10 different panels. She had learned to be more thoughtful about when to add her own knowledge to the childrens explorations. This is the essence of emer- gent curriculum: the learning that results for children and teacher from the teachers knowledge and skills through collaboration with the children. Because the teacher scaffolds the childrens ability, it makes it possible for her knowledge to merge with, expand, or alter their knowl- edge. What the children learned was evident in their favorite books, like Cactus Hotel, about a saguaros life cycle and relationship to other desert plants and animals; daily vocabulary, which now included words like envi- ronment, relationship, impact, pollutant, and earth-friendly; drawings, which showed increasingly thoughtful ideas about the environment; interest in food content, concern about clean air and water, and knowledge of the plants and animals that lived near the school; comments, like Joeys after burying Big Eyes: You see, were all connected to everything, fish to insects, insects to earth, earth to goldfish, what we eat to earth. Its all connected. Conclusion Ms. Putnams experience illustrates how to raise pre- school childrens environmental awareness. Her approach was grounded in the social constructivist theory that we learn through relationships with others who mediate our interactions with things around us. Her approach was influ- enced by Reggio Emilia school practices, especially belief in childrens ability; attentive listening to childrens ideas; collaborative small-group projects including the teacher; the use of a well-designed environment as a third teacher; extensive use of various materials as vehicles for children to express and reformulate ideas; and documentation. Teachers wanting to raise childrens environmental awareness can use a fish, a plant, an insect, a book, an environmentally focused local event, or many other things. Wherever they start, teachers should allow plenty of time for conversation and should use the childrens own reactions, comments, and questions as the basis for what they do next. The interconnectedness of everything on our planet dovetails with a teaching approach based on collaboration and a theory of learning based on relationships. In this case the childrens interest in the life and death of a gold- fish enabled the teacher to arouse their concern for the well-being of the environment and to help the children think and act in ecologically sound ways. References Bronfenbrenner, U. 2004. Making human beings human. London: Sage. Edwards, C., L. Gandini, G. Forman, eds. 1998. The hundred lan- guages of children: The Reggio Emilia approachAdvanced reflec- tions. 2nd ed. Greenwich, CT: Ablex. Feuerstein, R., P. Klein, A. Tannenbaum. 1991. Mediated learning experience (MLE): Theoretical, psychosocial and learning implica- tions. London: Freund. Gardner, H. 1991. The uschooled mind. New York: Basic Books. John-Steiner, V., C.P. Panofsky, & L.W. Smith. 1994. Sociocultural approaches to language and literacy. New York: Cambridge Univer- sity Press. Jones, E., & J. Nimmo. 1994. Emergent curriculum. Washington, DC: NAEYC. Lewin-Benham, A. 2006. Possible schools: The Reggio approach to urban education. 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