Updates on our project work will be posted under News-Project Work tab.
Visit Illinois Project in Practice website to find more information and case studies on Project Approach.
A project is a careful study of a topic of interest to children. Topics are chosen based on teachers’ observations of children's play and language and are often connected to something the children have already had experiences with. Projects involve hands-on investigation, finding the answers to questions, reading about a topic, visiting sites or places, talking to other people who know about the topic and representing learning through a variety of mediums. Throughout the project work, the children's learning is documented by teachers and children through the use of written anecdotes, transcripts of conversations, photographs and videotaping. The documented information is used as evidence of the children's understandings and growth, as a catalyst for future investigations and as a tool for developing children’s self-reflection and planning skills. Projects can last a long time (months) or just a couple of weeks, depending on the children's interest and the potential of the topic itself.
What are children learning when they engage in project work?
Social emotional skills: collaboration; sharing ideas; listening; taking turns; persisting when challenged; creating alternative solutions; expressing ideas and feelings through a variety of mediums; taking turns; making decisions and choices; developing confidence in abilities and interests; accepting responsibility; positive associations with learning; sharing ideas; developing empathy, curiosity, initiative; being able to identify and label feelings; developing ability to interpret facial expressions, gestures and tone of voice; how to identify their learning strengths and strategies; developing community awareness; developing an awareness of the customs of others cultures and how all people are alike and different; developing an awareness of home, school and neighborhood communities; developing independence and the ability to care for oneself in developmentally appropriate ways; developing community awareness.
Cognitive skills: how to expand on ideas and elaborate on play; how to reflect on work and revise ideas; developing symbolic play and the ability to use representational objects; developing the ability to match identical objects; colors, sounds and textures; problem-solving
Language/Literacy: writing and drawing as a method of representing ideas, using books and pictures as reference; storytelling; being able to match sensory experiences to descriptive terms, such as sour/sweet, warm/cold, rough/smooth, hard/soft; retelling sequence of events from a story; developing print awareness
Creative art: developing musical appreciation and understanding of rhythm, beat, pitch and tone; acquiring techniques and skills for using a variety of art materials; learning about the properties of various art materials and tools; developing the ability to express their ideas through a variety of mediums, such as art, storytelling, music and creative movement
Science: sorting and classifying; predicting; hypothesizing; theorizing; developing questioning ability; developing methods of gathering information; observation and documentation
Math: concepts of shape, size, weight, position, symmetry, balance, direction and number; tools and strategies for measurement; positional/quantitative concepts, such as big/little, tall/short, more/less, full/empty, up/down, over/under, beginning/middle/end, forward/backward, next to, front/back, etc.; developing mathematical concepts and skills, such as one-to-one; correspondence, counting, sequencing and identification of shapes.
Motor Skills: how to challenge their bodies; how to plan their actions; developing fine-motor skills through purposeful manipulation and problem-solving with small objects; developing balance, strength, dexterity, flexibility and spatial awareness through physical movement.
Visit Illinois Project in Practice website to find more information and case studies on Project Approach.
A project is a careful study of a topic of interest to children. Topics are chosen based on teachers’ observations of children's play and language and are often connected to something the children have already had experiences with. Projects involve hands-on investigation, finding the answers to questions, reading about a topic, visiting sites or places, talking to other people who know about the topic and representing learning through a variety of mediums. Throughout the project work, the children's learning is documented by teachers and children through the use of written anecdotes, transcripts of conversations, photographs and videotaping. The documented information is used as evidence of the children's understandings and growth, as a catalyst for future investigations and as a tool for developing children’s self-reflection and planning skills. Projects can last a long time (months) or just a couple of weeks, depending on the children's interest and the potential of the topic itself.
What are children learning when they engage in project work?
Social emotional skills: collaboration; sharing ideas; listening; taking turns; persisting when challenged; creating alternative solutions; expressing ideas and feelings through a variety of mediums; taking turns; making decisions and choices; developing confidence in abilities and interests; accepting responsibility; positive associations with learning; sharing ideas; developing empathy, curiosity, initiative; being able to identify and label feelings; developing ability to interpret facial expressions, gestures and tone of voice; how to identify their learning strengths and strategies; developing community awareness; developing an awareness of the customs of others cultures and how all people are alike and different; developing an awareness of home, school and neighborhood communities; developing independence and the ability to care for oneself in developmentally appropriate ways; developing community awareness.
Cognitive skills: how to expand on ideas and elaborate on play; how to reflect on work and revise ideas; developing symbolic play and the ability to use representational objects; developing the ability to match identical objects; colors, sounds and textures; problem-solving
Language/Literacy: writing and drawing as a method of representing ideas, using books and pictures as reference; storytelling; being able to match sensory experiences to descriptive terms, such as sour/sweet, warm/cold, rough/smooth, hard/soft; retelling sequence of events from a story; developing print awareness
Creative art: developing musical appreciation and understanding of rhythm, beat, pitch and tone; acquiring techniques and skills for using a variety of art materials; learning about the properties of various art materials and tools; developing the ability to express their ideas through a variety of mediums, such as art, storytelling, music and creative movement
Science: sorting and classifying; predicting; hypothesizing; theorizing; developing questioning ability; developing methods of gathering information; observation and documentation
Math: concepts of shape, size, weight, position, symmetry, balance, direction and number; tools and strategies for measurement; positional/quantitative concepts, such as big/little, tall/short, more/less, full/empty, up/down, over/under, beginning/middle/end, forward/backward, next to, front/back, etc.; developing mathematical concepts and skills, such as one-to-one; correspondence, counting, sequencing and identification of shapes.
Motor Skills: how to challenge their bodies; how to plan their actions; developing fine-motor skills through purposeful manipulation and problem-solving with small objects; developing balance, strength, dexterity, flexibility and spatial awareness through physical movement.
