construction – Journey into Early Childhood

Vocabulary during Block Play

Expanding Children’s Vocabulary

during Block/Construction Play:

State standards require children to explain, describe, define, ask, compare and contrast, respond, and so on.

To accomplish these skills, children need an expanded expressive vocabulary to both describe and tell the use of many familiar objects and to incorporate new, less familiar or technical words in everyday conversations.

Block/Construction Building, Designing and Play offers excellent opportunities for introducing, reinforcing and expanding upon vocabulary while children are engaged in fun, hands-on experiences. While the teacher is interacting with the students during block play expanded vocabulary can be introduced and reinforced through questioning, scaffolding, and “I wonder” or “I notice” statements.

Examples of Vocabulary to Introduce/Reinforce during Block Play:

Tension Stable Wobble Solid Stability

Hard Smooth Heavy Firm Incremental

Massive Equal Steady Fasten Negotiate

Measure Several Less Level Cooperate

More Area Length Numerous

Taller Wider Three-dimensional

Horizontal Diagonal Symmetry

Edge Connect Balance

Structure Disassemble Gravity

Vertical Architecture Surface

Tremble Asymmetrical Perpendicular

Parallel Attributes Construction

Intentionally Designed Construction Center: Items to Add to Block Center Based for Specific Objectives

Intentionally Designed Block/Construction Center:

Block play can be used to challenge, scaffold, and

*extend children’s learning through the intentional***

placement of additional accessories.

An intentionally designed block center encourages students to construct meaning of their world, to encounter problems and discover multiple solutions, to interact and share with others, to extend their creativity and to reflect on their discoveries. -D. Honegger

Examples to intentionally design the block/construction center to incorporate academic standards: (this is just a sample…)

Life science:

artificial plants, plastic animals, felt and/or material, and accessories to build habitats for the animals

Provocations and FARMS STEAM Challenges

: Intentionally Designed Block Play for Geography journeyintoearlychildhood.com

Geography Provocations in Construction Play journeyintoearlychildhood.com

Geography: maps, road signs or the materials to make road signs, shower curtain laid out with grids, small wooden buildings or even individual cleaned out milk cartons to become buildings, Familiar signs, such as “One Way,” “School Crossing,” “Bus Stop”, “STOP”, tongue depressors for making fences, door and dresser knobs, small vehicles

: Intentionally Designed Block Play with Natural Elements journeyintoearlychildhood.com

Earth and environment: natural materials such as acorns, shells, rocks, pinecones, wood cookies, stumps, and twigs. Stumps are great for encouraging vertical building.

Provocations and FARMS Bundle STEAM and Dramatic Play (contains additional pieces including Farmer’s Market documents besides the provocations linked above)

: Intentionally Designed Block Play Incorporating Visual Arts journeyintoearlychildhood.com

Visual Arts: clipboard with markers, colored pencils to add designs to the structures and/or to make a “blueprint” or map of the structure.

Geometry: 3D shapes (which rolls the best on a ramp- a cube, a sphere, a cone, a cylinder, etc.), tin cans, flat pieces such as a ceiling fan blade, long sticks (discuss parallel, perpendicular, diagonal, horizontal and vertical lines), tile or linoleum samples, PCV pipes. canning jar lids

: Intentionally Designed Block Center Physical Science journeyintoearlychildhood.com

Physical science: ramps, balance scales, pulleys, mirrors and pipes, buckets, magnets

Engineering: long flat pieces such as ceiling fan blades or pieces of plywood for building bridges, wooden spools, tin cans, hard cardboard toilet paper tubes, small cubes, knobs, candlestick holders

Provocations and STEAM Challenges: BRIDGES

: Intentionally Designed Block Play Wide Range of Cognitive Skills journeyintoearlychildhood.com

Wide Range of Cognitive and Developmental Skills: hard hats, food containers, dollhouse people, steering wheel and any other materials that will encourage dramatic play within blocks to move students building, design, and play to a more complex level

Four and five-year-old children are very capable and independent. If manila and colored construction paper, a few crayons, scissors, masking tape, and string are always available in or near the block corner, the children will begin to make their own signs and draw trees, people, and other things they need, thereby using their imagination in a constructive, purposeful way.

Note: The above lists are simply suggestions. Obviously, no teacher will ever put out all these accessories at once. However, the larger your supply of odds and ends, the better you will be able to help the children in the block corner when they begin to need accessories for specific purposes.

intentionally designed block play

Stages in Block Play- Moving Our Students to Complex Play

Stages of Block Building:

All children progress through specific stages as they use blocks in play, building, and designing. Knowledge of these stages helps teachers provide the materials and questioning that will nudge children forward in their abilities and lead them to more complex play.

Stage 1: Carrying blocks: Blocks are carried around but not used for construction. (Generally, very young children or very inexperienced builders.)

Stage 2: Building Begins: Children mostly make rows, either horizontal (on the floor) or vertical (stacked). There is much repetition in this early building pattern, which is basic functional play with blocks. (approximately around age 2-3 years)

Stage 3: Bridging: children create a bridge (or portal) by using two blocks to support a third. (approximately three years of age)

Stage 4: Enclosures: Children place blocks in such a way that they enclose a space. Bridging and enclosures are among the earliest technical problems children solve when playing with blocks, and they occur soon after a child begins to use blocks regularly. These spaces are often called cages in a zoo or pet store. In this stage, children will want to add additional accessories such as figures for dramatic play or gems for food. (approximately four years of age)

Stage 5: Complex Structures: With age, children become steadily more imaginative in their block building. They use more blocks and create more elaborate designs, incorporating patterns and balance into their constructions. Children may incorporate several different block accessories as their play becomes more involved. (approximately 4 or 5 years of age)

Castle with river. Cars are driving into the castle to visit the king and queen.

Strip Mall. Cars are driving to specific stores. The lighter colored blocks on top are the signs for each store.

Stage 6: Complex Structures with Elaborate Dramatic Play: Naming of structures for dramatic play begins and engagement in elaborate dramatic play scenarios occur. Before this stage, children may have named their structures, but not necessarily based on the function of the building.

This stage of block building corresponds to the “realistic” stage in art development. Children use blocks to represent things they know, like cities, cars, airplanes, and houses.

Stages of Block Building

Resources:

Wardle, Francis. (2002) Introduction to Early Childhood Education: A Multidimensional Approach to Child-Centered Care and Learning. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

The Block Center. The Institute for Childhood Education, L.L.C. www.WeEducateTeachers.com

Pictures are of block structures created by K and Pre-K children in Union Public Schools.

Block/Construction Center: What Are Children Learning

Building and Designing with Blocks what we are Learning

(document of the above pictures)

Intentionally Designed Environments: Pictures of Classrooms

WOW! Teachers in the Union Public Schools in Tulsa, OK are incredible. I recently had the opportunity to visit some of their classrooms. They so graciously allowed me to take pictures to share with you the intentionality of their classroom design.

The environment in which children spend their day at school needs to support developmentally appropriate practices that allow children to freely move, to explore with hands-on opportunities, to engage in dramatic play experiences, to build social/emotional skills, and to develop their symbolic thinking and cognitive flexibility among others.

Learning theories from constructivism to social learning
to experiential learning underscore the importance of
active and inquiry-based learning, knowledge construction
through interaction with the environment, social contexts
and meaningful experiences.

-“Most Influential Theories of Learning,” Unesco Education

Intentional Design for hands-on exploration while encouraging symbolic thinking, problem solving, and cognitive flexibility.

Intentionally Designed Art Centers that encourage the process of art instead of the product, and free exploration of creative ideas instead of template art.

Intentional Design of the Classroom Aesthetics so that the students can live and breathe in a beautiful space. Use of natural colors as we use in our homes for a calming effect.

Intentional Design of Student Contributions, the classroom belongs to the students. It should be a reflection of the students instead of the teachers passions or “cutesy/pinteresty” type themes.