There are many different approaches to project planning. The two approaches I have experienced are; term by term with specific curriculum areas to
be covered in the project. For example in Term 2 we are focusing on the 'Arts' curriculum which will drive your project.
· The second approach I have been involved in is a year long project and curriculum areas are integrated at discretion of teacher, but the expectation is that by the end of the year all curriculum areas have been covered.
This year, 2013/2014, we are following a year long project
approach. Our umbrella topic for Year 1 is ‘The City’ which is a great concrete topic for this age level, also applicable as we live in the city!
While we don’t follow a direct ‘model’ of inquiry, there is
naturally a general order to how things flow. In the initial stage of the
inquiry we are gathering the children’s ideas about the topic of 'the city'.
There are many ways we set up provocations; sometimes through direct questioning, questions
to think about for show and tell i.e. bring in a photo of something you see in
the city, looking at books, and pictures. This stage is the perhaps the
trickiest stage because there are so many possibilities with the direction the
project can go in. Careful consideration of the children’s ideas, theories,
hypotheses and opinions give pathways forward. The children's ideas are gathered through the recording of their conversations, photographs and graphic representations of their thinking.
We reflect upon the children's ideas and think about the educational value of what we are doing; Why are we doing
this? And what do we want the children to
learn? We are also looking for concepts as opposed to specific knowledge
objectives. A concept might be 'diversity' vs a specific knowledge objective ' identify physical elements in a city'. We brainstorm possible concepts and use this as a 'road map’ to help guide us in our decision making and planning.
