4.16: How It's All Connected
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The snail vignette illustrates how teachers can help children make connections and thereby make meaning. This exploration allowed children to investigate and learn about creatures from the outdoor environment in the classroom. In doing so, the children were able to make meaning about snails’ natural habitats while encountering opportunities to engage in integrated learning in every domain.
Young children’s experiences at home and in their communities are a powerful source of connections. Teachers nurture children’s appetites for learning and making meaning by building upon the knowledge children bring to the preschool setting. For example, children may come to preschool with knowledge of many family stories. Their teachers may have observed that the children used the stories in the dramatic play area. However, the children did not seem to be aware that their stories could be written down and then read by someone else. In such a case, teachers can partner with families to create a story dictation study. In planning the snail exploration, the teachers and family members may ask:
Teachers can explore these questions and see where the exploration leads. [1]
[1] California Preschool Curriculum Framework, Volume 1 by the California Department of Education is used with permission (pg. 23-24)