The Plans...graphic metaphors

From the moment your child entered the world they became "readers" of the world around. Your child began to "read" images and connect those images with words spoken. From the moment he/she was born, your child began decoding facial expressions. This decoding process allowed your child to interpret your body language and its meaning in relationship to self and others.

We find this process of decoding soon transferred to their play, as children make a shift into the symbolic representations of objects such as a stick becomes a cane or a fishing pole. Or when children use images in their drawings in making their thinking visible to us. As children develop we find them shifting from drawing to using the inventive spelling of words, writing words and short sentences.

Within this whole cycle or process, children pass through multiple layers of languages -- writing, drawings, symbolic objects, mediums (e.g.,clay, wire, paper) gestures, movement, etc. Each layer strengthens the child's pathway to literacy and his/her understanding of the "written" word.

Too often adults want to hurry children ahead, moving them quickly to the written word by pouring words into the children without allowing them to process meaning through a symbolic hierarchy of thought. In this rush to push children to the written word, an important layer in the thought process known as "encoding" isn't allowed to percolate within the child long enough. One of the most known uses of encoding comes when children learn to write words. They are given a verbal word and then "taught" using prescribed lessons or methods on how to internalize or encode the sounds or knowing how to write the word.

What happens to the process if we slow it down and provide the child with a tool for ownership and the time to work in the encoding process? 

Research suggests that all learning methods that proceed by discovery and active construction must necessarily undergo error. Simply put, children must and need to make mistakes. Within a learning community, errors are points for dialogue and exchange of ideas. Errors set the stage for debate and disequilibrium that causes the child to think and often rethink their theories and ideas, even around words and symbols. This in turn pushes them into the realms of meta-cognition or critical thinking.

One of the purest and most important levels is through the use of symbols. For the child, the world is full of symbols.

Symbols and the children's use of them provide a level of communication that transcends cultural and language barriers. It allows for children to "mess" about with their use and to undergo a transformation of thinking as the child makes the symbol readable to others. Symbols provide rich contexts for the children to toss about and edit graphic metaphors for which they are the authors and owners.

This freedom to invent symbols provides a rich context for us to see the child's thinking as it unfolds. It can provide us a graphic record of his/her cognitive growth.

Working within the context and freedom in the invention of symbols, the child thinks about his thinking and how it is readable or understandable to the viewer. He learns how to make a symbol which makes sense to the child and to the viewer. Our Daily Plans is a tool in the process that brings all of this together for the child.

Let us look at some of the children's  work with symbols. Let look as they become authors in the invention of  "graphic metaphors" through the Plan.                                           

Click here to view their work.

Our Inquiry Journey Into Maps...

During the school year we have the affordance of time in allowing the children's interest to unfold over an extended period. Due to the short timing of the summer program I began to ponder on a hypothesis formulated or framed for a possible inquiry project -- an investigation into city/neighborhoods. This possible direction was formed around observations of children's work in this age.  

In the early stages of inquiry work, the teacher will frame planned "provocations." A provocation or experience is often tossed out that would provoke the children's thinking and learning. Once the provocation is tossed, the teacher observes and listens to the children's work as to where to move next in the inquiry.

In inquiry projects there are questions that are formulated and unpacked that the teacher would like to probe around the children's thoughts and knowledge. To begin our summer inquiry, the following questions came to the surface:

 What is a city?

 What are the elements that make a city a city? Such as houses, stores etc.

 How is a neighborhood different from a city?

 How can maps help us know how to get around in a city?

We will be adding to and rethinking this list as our inquiry begins to move forward.

Amazingly, a provocation from one of the children on our first day together formed the first steps in our inquiry project. 

That morning T., V. and I were talking about Hawaii. T. mentioned something about Aiea. He wondered where it was on the globe. We pulled the globe down and began to look. On the globe, O`ahu was too small for the boys to find Aiea.  I asked T. if he could draw the directions on how to get to Aiea. He paused for a moment, and I continued, "I wish I had directions on how to get to Aiea." He beamed and said, "I'll draw you directions." He then began. 

As he worked, the teacher began to scaffold his thinking. To help anchor his thoughts in drawing the map, we used MPI as a starting point. He drew the security gate where he said, "You have to pay $5 to get out." We talked about left and right turns, the highway names, how fast you need to travel, whether there were any red lights along the way, etc. He began to think and draw as he visualized the drive to Aiea.  Suddenly an awesome map began to form on paper.

M., seeing what was going on, came over and asked what was happening. I shared with him that T. was drawing us a map to Aiea. M. offered to join as he said, "I'll draw you a map to my house." He began drawing a map of how to get from MPI to his house. When the boys were finished, we talked about their maps and the different "marks" that they included on their maps.

Later during our reflection meeting M. and T.'s shared their maps. I heard several "WOW'S" and "I want to do that." I asked the children if they had ever seen the map of MPI, and they said no. I asked if they would like to look at the MPI map, and everyone said, "Yes!"  The ball had been tossed setting the stage for an inquiry project!

During the week we began to use the MPI campus map as a foundation for our map studies.

As a group we began to unpack the map using the key that identifies thirty-three places on campus! The legend and number codes were used as opportunities for learning. Using the legend, the children were asked to generate a list of places on campus that sounded interesting that they might want to go visit or find. Once they created their list, they began to locate those places on the map.

This small experience provided many learning possibilities. In learning about directions, they will be color-coding the various parts of campus using the legend as a guide. They will have to think about directionality. This experience will incorporate functional numerical work as they learn about our MPI community. This early work with maps provided the children with an entry into an investigation and inquiry work when they broaden their work around what is a city. 

As the week unfolded, children brought in maps from home. On Friday V. brought a couple of maps to share with us. One map was of directions from MPI to his house. While reading V's map, K. ran to his backpack to retrieve his map, which had directions to his house. We laid the two maps side-by-side to read. Suddenly one of the children said, "V.ʼs house is farther than Kescherʼs." I asked how did they know that V.ʼs was farther? One child said that there were lots of red lights thatʼs how they knew. However V. refuted this theory saying, "No thereʼs not many red lights to my house." Everyone continued looking intently. The children knew and they were right, but at the moment they werenʼt able to clearly articulate their thoughts. Wanting to see if this was the case, I took my fingers and measured K.ʼs route, then with my fingers I measured V.ʼs. I didnʼt say a word, but  this small gesture helped to put their thinking into words as suddenly several said, V.ʼs is longer (the route) than Kescherʼs.  See 

the line. 

Thinking about their new knowledge, I decided to use this later in our morning for when they were planning their walk on campus. For this planning phase, we would use a variety of colors of yarn (one for each place we were going)  in plotting our plan.  When the fist piece of yarn was placed to the first location we would be going, the children began making the connection about distances, saying, "Wow that's a long way away!" 

With each addition the wheels began to click. 

Once all the places were mapped out, the children began to study the map. I asked, "What is your plan?  Where are we going to go visit today?" There was a great discussion! "Go to the short places first." "No, go to the long places last." "No the pool last." Suddenly K. suggested,"Let's go to some short, some long and then the longest." This idea was quickly embraced by the group. 

D. was our secretary recording the numbers of the places that we would go first, second, third and fourth. 

The group looked over our plan and all agreed that this would work. 

During their work time, T. and I looked at the other big map. I suggested that he draw out the plan for the way we should walk. With great thought and intentionality, he developed the plan for our route. 

                                    

Our route mapped, we were now ready to go! 

    

With maps in hand, we were off to explore the MPI campus!  Our first stop was #15 the Administration Building. Next it was off to #8. We shared with them that # 8 was the presidentʼs office. V. beamed, "Barry OʼBamaʼs!" 

Off to one of their long places- --the tennis courts. They rechecked their maps before 

heading to our final long destination of the day.  After our final destination, we marked the historic event of our first journey in discovering our MPI campus! 

On Monday we will finish the last leg of our explorations. We have an appointment at 10:00am to visit and tour the Technology Center. The children peeked in its windows today and are excited at this possibility! We had to smile at the end of the day when the children were talking. Someone mentioned they couldnʼt wait to go out tomorrow and see the rest of the short and long places. Another child corrected them saying tomorrow was a no-school day. I could heard the groans and someone said, "No fair.  I want to go again." Another child, "Donʼt forget we need our maps!" 

Maps are clearly coming to life in the childrenʼs world!