Prepared for An Evening of Sharing at the
Midwest Association for the Education of Young Children
April 11, 2003
Catalog #226; 2003; $10.00
Table of Contents
Foreword: Literacy and Project Work
Judy Harris Helm
Section 1: Literacy and Project Work
- The Dispositions to Write and Read
Lilian G. Katz - Strategies to Incorporate Literacy in Project Work in the Pre-Kindergarten
Classroom
Sallee Beneke - Strategies to Incorporate Literacy into Kindergarten Project Work
Mary Ann Gottlieb - Strategies to Incorporate Literacy in Project Work in Primary Grades
Dot Schuler - Strategies to Support Literacy Development in Second-Language Learners
through Project Work
Rebecca A. Wilson - Look! See How They Are Learning
Judy Harris Helm
Section 2: Project Implementation
- The Project Approach in Action
Sylvia C. Chard - Why Does the Snow Get Dirty? My First Experience with the Project
Approach
Thomas Myler - Deepening Project Investigations
Nancy B. Hertzog & Marjorie M. Klein - Meeting Individual Educational Plans Using the Project Approach
Stacie DeVries
Section 3: Project Summaries
- The Veterinarian Project
Teacher: Susan Andrews - Exploring Butterflies
Teacher: Scott Brouette - The Egg Project
Teacher: Debbie De Anda - The Stringed Instrument Project
Teachers: Stacie DeVries & Karen Blend - Dinosaur Models
Teachers: Nancy Donahue & Joan Kerman - The Bird Project
Teacher: Candy Ganzel - Our Snake Project
Teachers: Ruth Harkema & Deb Lanenga - The Clothing Project: Where Do We Get Our Clothes From?
Teachers: Marsha Gwen Harmon & Julie Schutte - Who Measures What in Our Neighborhood?
Teachers: Nancy Hertzog & Marjorie Klein - Fashions, Beauty, and Barber Shop
Teachers: Sherice Hetrick-Ortman & Shirley Bruce - The Truck Project
Teacher: Jean Lang - What Happens at McDonald's?
Teachers: Pam Morbitzer, Lisa Lee, & Barb Gallick - The Worm Project
Teacher: Nancy Plate - Second-Graders Study Their Community
Teacher: Dot Schuler - The Construction Project
Teachers: Pam Scranton, Lora Taylor, & Terra Shelton - The Clubhouse
Teachers: Nicole Smith & Elizabeth Raymond - Memorials and Sculptures
Teachers: Jean O'Mara-Thieman, Heather Goocher, & Kendrya' Johnson - The Salt Truck Project
Teachers: Rebecca A. Wilson, Sylvia Frausto, & Jan Buysse - The Greenhouse Project
Teachers: Marilyn Worsley, Kathie Zecca, & Mary Ann Vollmer
Foreword: Literacy and Project Work
Judy Harris Helm, Editor
Introduction
The focus of this project catalog, the fourth in a series of project catalogs, is on the ways that project work can help children move toward literacy. Helping children learn to read is one of the most important tasks that early childhood teachers (pre-kindergarten through third grade) face in our country. Today, unlike in the past or in other societies, we want and expect all of our children to learn to read well. Citizens in many communities have justifiable concerns about literacy. Learning to read has become a struggle for some of our children. Many citizens, like many teachers and administrators, have concerns about reading failure and how it leads to alienation from school and, eventually, dropping out of school. The development of reading skills in the early childhood years (pre-kindergarten through third grade) is important:
Academic success, as defined by high school graduation, can be predicted with reasonable accuracy by knowing someone's reading skill at the end of grade 3…. A person who is not at least a modestly skilled reader by the end of third grade is quite unlikely to graduate from high school. (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998, p. 21)
Large numbers of school-age children, including children from all social classes, have significant difficulties in learning to read. Failure to learn to read adequately for continued school success is much more likely among poor children, among nonwhite children, and among non-native speakers of English (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). According to the National Report Card 2000, although the national average scale score has remained relatively stable for reading achievement, significant changes have occurred at the lower end of the performance distribution (Donahue, Finnegan, Lutkus, Allen, & Campbell, 2000). Scores at the 10th percentile in 2000 were significantly lower than in 1992. Thirty-seven percent of fourth-graders failed to score at even the basic level (able to understand the overall meaning of what they read, to make relatively obvious connections between the text and their own experiences, and to extend the ideas in the text by making simple inferences). The National Assessment Governing Board has set a goal that all students be able to perform at the proficient level of reading, or beyond the basic level.
The question, then, is "What is the most effective way to move children toward literacy?" A variety of achievements are needed for successful reading. According to the National Research Council (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998), when children begin to learn to read, they need reading instruction that focuses on using reading to obtain meaning from print, awareness of sounds and groups of letters, and an understanding of the writing system, particularly letters and sequences in words. They also need frequent opportunities to read and write. Then to make adequate progress in reading and writing, children need to develop a working understanding of how sounds are represented alphabetically and many opportunities to use reading for meaning so that they can monitor their understanding and repair misunderstandings. The challenge to the teacher is to move young children toward the literacy goal by being sure that each and every child receives these experiences and instruction, yet do it in such a way that interest and motivation to master the skill are preserved. Being able to break the code, to get meaning from print, is probably not enough.
An expanded definition of literacy goes beyond skills to include people's willingness to use literacy, the connections between reading and writing, the dynamic process of constructing meaning (including the role of cultural schemata), and the importance of printed text. Social context is a particularly important concept for teachers to consider, both in terms of understanding literacy and understanding how typical school literacy lessons might need to be adjusted to be more beneficial for students of diverse backgrounds. (Au, 1993, p. 33)
Another part of the challenge of literacy instruction comes from the integral relationship between reading and culture. There is clearly a cultural component to the process of learning to read. According to Jerome Bruner (1996), learning and thinking are always situated in a cultural setting and always dependent upon the utilization of cultural resources. It is important to teach literacy in such a way that it affirms the cultural identities of students of diverse backgrounds.
The Project Approach
As can be seen in the projects in this catalog, growth in literacy skills does occur in project work. The real contribution of project work to literacy may be in the motivation of children to read and write and the understanding that they develop of the tremendous value of reading and writing skills. When children are involved in an in-depth investigation of a topic of extreme interest to them, they want to record their thoughts; to learn the words; and to read the signs, brochures, and other literacy artifacts associated with the topic. This motivation is especially evident when the project topic is relevant to the culture of the child. An in-depth study of something in the child's neighborhood or immediate environment (such as the local grocery store) is most likely to be culturally relevant to not only the child but also the child's family.
The introduction of projects into the early childhood classroom by no means replaces shared reading and writing experiences in the pre-kindergarten years and more formal instruction in the primary years. However, project work provides a context for application and practice of literacy skills in addition to a powerful motivation to master literacy during these important early years.
Projects do not make up the entire early childhood curriculum. Projects are only one kind of learning experience that children need. Teachers who use the Project Approach often also teach single concepts (individually and in groups), and they utilize units, themes, and directed inquiry. Teachers doing projects also provide direct instruction regarding academic skills such as how to count or write a letter. Teachers and children assemble books, photographs, and other materials related to the project. Experiences are planned and documented with writing. Children make webs of what they know and want to know. Children think of questions, which they write down so they can remember to ask experts and field site hosts. Answers are written and displayed. Books are made of project experiences, and thank-you notes are written. Project information and artifacts bring to life the learning centers in the classroom. Themes, units, learning centers, and direct instruction all have important places in the early childhood curriculum and in literacy instruction. However, we believe that there are unique experiences that occur when children ask their own questions, conduct their own investigations, and make decisions about their activities. Projects provide contexts in which children's curiosity can be expressed purposefully, and which enable them to experience the joy of self-motivated learning.
Project Catalog Contents
In Section 1: Literacy and Project Work, six articles connect project work with literacy. Well-developed projects engage children's minds and emotions and become adventures that teachers and children embark upon together. Lilian Katz in her article "The Dispositions to Write and Read" presents the importance of engagement of children's minds and emotions on long-term literacy goals. In the three articles that follow, teachers Sallee Beneke, Mary Ann Gottlieb, and Dot Schuler share how they maximize literacy experiences at each age level-pre-kindergarten through primary grades. In her article, Rebecca Wilson shows how project work can be especially meaningful for second-language learners. The last article in this section, "Look! See How They Are Learning" (Judy Helm), provides ideas for documentation and sharing of children's literacy work.
In Section 2, articles focus on implementation issues of project work. Tom Myler shares his experience doing a first project and the challenges he faced. An article on leading discussions and questioning strategies provides ideas for teachers to advance their skill in facilitating project work (Nancy Hertzog and Marjorie Klein). Stacie DeVries shares how children's IEP goals were achieved in project work in "Meeting Individual Educational Plans Using the Project Approach."
In Section 3, teachers share their project work through project summaries. The project summaries were prepared to accompany project displays at An Evening of Sharing, Midwest Association for the Education of Young Children Conference, April 11, 2003, in Peoria, Illinois. These projects represent project work in diverse settings: private preschools, lab schools, early childhood programs for children at risk, child care centers, elementary schools, Head Start, and church preschools. Children involved in these projects come from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds: African American, Hispanic, Latino, Chinese, Asian American, and European American. Several of these classrooms have children from many nations. The classrooms where this project work occurred were located in inner cities, in rural small towns, and on college campuses. The economic levels of the children and families in these programs vary from children and families facing the challenges of living in poverty to children and families who are very affluent. The educational backgrounds of parents range from no high school education to graduate-level education and professions such as surgeons, lawyers, and professors.
Conclusion
As with all project catalogs, it is hoped that this catalog will both support and inspire teachers to do project work with children. In addition, the authors in this fourth edition hope to empower and inspire teachers to maximize the literacy opportunities that occur naturally in project work so that children might experience the value of literacy in their lives.
References
Au, K. H. (1993). Literacy instruction in multicultural settings. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace.
Bruner, J. (1996). The culture of education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (ERIC Document No. ED401263)
Donahue, P. L., Finnegan, R. J., Lutkus, A. D., Allen, N. L., & Campbell, J. R. (2000). The nation's report card: Fourth-grade reading 2000 (Report No. NCES 2001-499). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. (ERIC Document No. ED447473 )
Snow, C. E., Burns, M. S., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1998). Preventing
reading difficulties in young children. Washington, DC: National Academy
Press. (ERIC Document No. ED41646
The Dispositions to Write and Read
Lilian G. Katz
Introduction
The goal of becoming literate is acknowledged and accepted by all in the United States and around the world. Yet the strategies by which to achieve this goal and the age at which it should be reached are both matters of constant dispute. As disagreements continue about the best age to begin the process of becoming literate and about the right methods to employ, some important issues are overlooked. In particular, issues of motivation and dispositions frequently get lost in the fray. Good project work addresses both of these issues, as can be seen in the summaries of projects included in this catalog.
Motivation and Engagement
There are many ways to approach the topic of motivation (Greeno, Collins, & Resnick, 1996). Much recent research has adopted the term engagement, which refers to "active, goal-directed, flexible, constructive, persistent, focused interactions with the social and physical environments" (Furrer & Skinner, 2003, p. 149). The concept of engagement becomes clearer by contrasting it with what Furrer and Skinner refer to as patterns of disaffection in which individuals are "alienated, apathetic, rebellious, frightened, or burned out" (p. 149). Projects in which children investigate topics of interest or concern to them typically engender high levels of engagement, as is clear in the projects described in the pages that follow.
The use of early preliteracy skills, particularly in the form of writing or dictating to others with the intention to have messages written, are clear in the Stringed Instrument Project, when the child dictated the sign "It's about guitars, cellos, and bass," and in the McDonald's Project, when children painted a sign for the McDonald's restaurant. In these as well as each of the other projects, children take an active role as they use writing with a purpose that is quite clear to them.
It is interesting to note parents' awareness of the children's engagement and motivation. The parents of the children in Harkema and Lanenga's project on snakes noted "their children's excitement, depth of focus, increased love of learning, [and] eagerness to do research"-indications of high levels of engagement.
Skills and the Disposition to Apply Them
Writing and reading both consist of a wide variety of skills. However, the overall goal of literacy is not limited simply to the acquisition of skills alone; it includes the acquisition of the disposition to be a writer and reader. There are at least two reasons to emphasize the distinctions between the acquisition of skills and the dispositions to use them. The first is that both writing and reading improve with use-not only in the form of exercises, practice, and drills-but in the purposeful application of these skills. These purposes are evident to the children themselves. The more the skills are used, the more proficient the children become, and the more likely they are to acquire strong dispositions to become writers and readers.
The second reason why the distinction between having skills and having
the disposition to use them is important is because it reminds us of the
risk of introducing the skills in ways that could damage the dispositions
to use them. Not all children are ready at the same age to learn to write
and read. Judgment about individual children's readiness to acquire these
complex literacy skills in ways that will not endanger their dispositions
to use them, but on the contrary will support them, are part of the complexity
of teaching young children.
As can be seen in the description of the projects reported here, project
work provides opportunities for individual children to take on different
kinds of responsibilities in the work undertaken; those ready to write
can do so; they can help others not quite at the same place in skillfulness.
The children can also use books to find ideas and information related
to their projects. The 4-year-olds in the Egg Project used many books
to deepen their understanding of birds and eggs. Books also enabled the
5- and 6-year-olds in the Bird Project to discover that the bird that
flew over them on their outings was a hawk and not an eagle. Even the
2-year-olds "used factual books" as part of their investigation
of butterflies-a nice early beginning of the disposition to be readers!
The emphasis here is on their "use" of books rather than on
instruction or drill in discrete bits of information about sounds and
letters.
An Active versus Passive Role of the Children
Finally, another contribution of good project work is that it is the part of the early childhood curriculum in which children take an active rather than passive-receptive role in the learning experiences provided for them. The importance of the active role is one reason why it seems best to begin children's literacy development by encouraging them to write before worrying about teaching them to read.
The 4-year-olds in the Salt Truck Project made lists of those invited
to see their work, and they wrote the invitations. The 5-year-olds in
the Greenhouse Project dictated the material to be included in their book
about the life cycle of plants. The 5- and 6-year-olds who developed the
Fashions, Beauty, and Barber Shop were "inspired to write about the
shop in their journals." The second-graders who studied their community
represented their new knowledge in a wide variety of ways. In a study
of worms, a mixed-age group applied their dispositions to measure, count,
as well as write about worms. In another school setting, 4-year-olds studied
where their clothes came from and as part of the project filled out clothing
orders for the newly established department store in their classroom.
These activities are all examples of the active roles young children are
motivated to take in the course of good projects. In these ways, children
can strengthen their developing dispositions to be writers and readers
for the rest of their lives.
References
Furrer, C., & Skinner, E. (2003). Sense of relatedness as a factor in children's academic engagement and performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(1), 148-162.
Greeno, J. G., Collins, A. M., & Resnick, L. B. (1996). Cognition and learning. In D. C. Berliner & R. C. Calfee (Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology (pp. 15-46). New York: Simon & Schuster.
The Project Approach in Action
Sylvia C. Chard
Introduction
Projects, like good stories, have a beginning, a middle, and an end. This temporal structure helps the teacher to organize the progression of activities according to the development of the children’s interests and personal involvement with the topic of study.
During the preliminary planning stage, the teacher selects the topic of study (based on the children’s interests, the curriculum, the availability of local resources, etc.). The teacher also brainstorms her own experience, knowledge, and ideas and represents them in a topic web. This web will be added to throughout the project and used for recording the progress of the project.
Phase 1: Beginning the Project
The teacher holds discussions with the children to find out what experiences they have had with the topic and what they already know about it. The children represent their experiences and show their understanding of the concepts involved in explaining them. The teacher helps the children develop questions that their investigation will answer. A letter about the study is sent home to parents. The teacher encourages the parents to talk with their children about the topic and to share any relevant special expertise.
Phase 2: Developing the Project
Opportunities for the children to do fieldwork and speak to experts are arranged. The teacher provides resources to help the children with their investigations; real objects, books, and other research materials are gathered. The teacher suggests ways for children to carry out a variety of investigations. Each child is involved in representing what he or she is learning, and each child can work at his or her own level in terms of basic skills, constructions, drawing, music, and dramatic play. The teacher enables the children to be aware of all the different work being done through class or group discussion and display. The topic web designed earlier provides a shorthand means of documenting the progress of the project.
Phase 3: Concluding the Project
The teacher arranges a culminating event through which the children share with others what they have learned. The children can be helped to tell the story of their project by featuring its highlights for other classes, the principal, and the parents. The teacher helps the children to select material to share and, in so doing, involves them purposefully in reviewing and evaluating the whole project. The teacher also offers the children imaginative ways of personalizing their new knowledge through art, stories, and drama. Finally, the teacher uses children’s ideas and interests to make a meaningful transition between the project being concluded and the topic of study in the next project.
This summary explains some of the common features of projects, but each project is also unique. The teacher, the children, the topic, and the location of the school all contribute to the distinctiveness of each project.
