Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/block-building-opportunities-for-learning/5010336/
Entering a second grade classroom, it is easy to determine what the children are learning. The schedule tells us when there will be math, reading, writer's workshop, science, social studies, and art. The charts around the room give evidence of and add detail to these categories; textbooks with their printed pages add further detail and content.But how do we orient ourselves in relation to knowledge and learning when we enter a classroom filled with materials and active young children? What is revealed when we look at a child painting a bold design in vivid colors; another squeezing and rolling clay; a small group building a house with unit blocks; a trio preparing a snack with a teacher; a child absorbed in matching geometric shapes next to one drawing lines going in all directions to represent rain falling from the sky; or the busy group packing picture books, food, and the baby as they start their trip on the train they have made with hollow blocks?
Where are the categories that name knowledge areas, the textbooks that inform and guide what we see in this busy, active group? In early childhood education, our textbooks are the materials we offer ...