Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/building-literacy-curriculum-using-the-project-approach/5012958/
Think about a time when you were especially interested in something - planning a special outing, developing a hobby. Remember how absorbed you were in the process? Children, too, become absorbed in what they are doing when something has high personal interest to them. The project approach is a wonderful way to help children become more absorbed in learning. It is an especially useful tool for literacy curriculum.The Project Approach
The project approach focuses on topics, places, people, events, phenomena, animals, and objects that are of particular interest to children. Children learn about these things through projects. Projects are in-depth investigations that can last from two weeks to one year (Allison, 1997a; Hartman & Eckerty, 1995; Katz & Chard, 1989). The average time frame for a project is four weeks. Projects:
- are driven by what children want to know.
- center on direct contact with environments.
- result in something children make that represents what they learn.
Projects and Very Young Children
Projects seem to be more developmentally appropriate for children four years old or older due to the in-depth nature of project work. Very young children appear to be interested in pieces of project work that offer immediate success - mixing paint, ...