4.6 Problem solving and innovating

1.2
listen and respond to others, both verbally and non-verbally (e.g., using the arts, using signs, using gestures and body language), for a variety of purposes (e.g., to exchange ideas, express feelings, offer opinions) and in a variety of contexts (e.g., after read-alouds and shared reading or writing experiences; while solving a class math problem; in imaginary or exploratory play; in the learning areas; while engaged in games and outdoor play; while making scientific observations of plants and animals outdoors)

Saying
"I figured out another way to make this go together."
"I want to build a tower, but it keeps falling down."
"There are five here and five here, but they are different sizes."
"I know because I counted them."
"This is the letter 'G' like in my name, but this one looks different (noticing a different font in a book). I wonder how you make this one?"

Doing
A child works, over a period of time, to make her structure balance. An educator observes and documents the child's strategies of using trial and error until she finds a new angle at which to place the materials. The educator makes a video to record the child's gestures and facial expressions and views the video with the child at a later time (an example of assessment for learning) to gain further insights into the child's thinking.

Video title: "Numeracy Through the Day" – see the clip "Co-constructing learning".

Representing
In order to explain the rules of a game to others, a child makes a drawing of how the game works. With the help of an educator, he adds arrows and labels to clarify his explanation, and then takes a photograph of the drawing and projects it onto a large screen to show a group of children.

Responding
An educator observes and waits to intervene until the child looks up and pauses. Then the educator names what he thinks he observed the child doing for clarification and as a way to begin to co-construct an understanding of the learning.
"If we project it on the screen, I wonder if some other children can help you think through the problem and offer their perspectives."
"How can we keep the house area from getting so messy all the time?"
"Here are some pictures of other towers. What do you notice about them?"
"How can we find out?"

Challenging
"What is it about the towers in the pictures that help them to stay standing? How can you do the same thing with your tower?"

Extending
The educators invite the children to think of a new rule that would make their game fairer for everyone. They document the children's ideas of fair, relate them to their previous discussions, and also make visible the connections that the children are making.

1.4
sustain interactions in different contexts (e.g., with materials, with other children, with adults)

Saying
"We could put these two pieces together."
"Oh, they don't fit."
"What about this one?"
"That one works."
"If we do it this way, it works better."

Doing
Two children have been working with translucent pebbles at the light table. When a die is added to the table, the children make up a game and explain the game to the educator.

Video title: "Numeracy Through the Day" – see the clips "Children learning from and with each other" and "Reflections on making numeracy visible and intentional based on observations".

Two children are playing with a train set. An educator observes them replacing some parts of the track with different parts, building on different levels, taking turns moving the train on the tracks, and changing the connections for the tracks. All of this is done using non-verbal communication.

Representing
A child creates a card showing "assembly-line cooking" directions for other children to follow to assemble their snack for the day. An educator and the child discuss how the card supports the cooking process. They notice and name both the literacy behaviours and the mathematics behaviours. For example:
"I saw you using letters to check how to form the letter."
"You used a mathematics word – 'measure'."
"You counted how many."

Responding
The educator documents the children's interactions with each other as they problem solve with the materials. He notices and names for them how their collaborative efforts, their perseverance, and their willingness to try new ways of solving the problem helped them to find the best solution.

Challenging
The children invite the educator to join their game. As they are playing, she wonders how she can challenge the children to think of ways in which they can refine their game. She introduces the idea of using a tally (a math convention used to record information) as a way to keep score. The strategy also reinforces and enhances their development of counting skills and number sense.

Extending
After viewing their video documentation of a child working over a period of time to build a stable structure, using a variety of materials, the educators show the video to the child and ask her to share her thinking, her theories, and her observations about what she did and what happened as a result.

1.5
use language (verbal and non-verbal communication) in various contexts to connect new experiences with what they already know (e.g., contribute ideas during shared or interactive writing; contribute to conversations in learning areas; respond to educator prompts)

See the Professional Learning Conversation following the chart.

Saying
"I made a sandcastle like this at the beach."
"I built a snowman with my sister like the one in the story."
"I noticed that if I hold the tube up higher the water moves faster."
"Yesterday we talked about how eating food gives us energy. I brought a B-I-G snack today so I'll have lots of energy to play!"
"Before, I could only make it this long before it broke. Now I turned it the other way, like this, and look how long it is."

Doing
(In response to a prompt from an educator):
A child changes the height of the tube after several attempts to make the water move faster. The educators observe the child's non-verbal communication and actions as evidence of learning.

Representing
A child adds a letter to a familiar word during small-group interactive writing, saying, "I know that one. That starts like my name."

Responding
"What do you notice when we add …?"
"That is just like …"
"You made a connection."
"I wonder if there is another way that hasn't been thought of yet."

Challenging
An educator works with a child on an interactive writing piece. From previous observations, the educator knows what letters the child knows and uses prompts such as, "That starts like …" to help the child connect what he already knows to a new context.

Extending
After making kites and observing how they fly, a small group of children decide to explore other objects that use air to keep them aloft. The educators facilitate the children's explorations by providing materials they can use to create parachutes. After testing out their early designs, one child observes, "I think that the parachute uses air to stay up just like the kite did! I am going to make my parachute bigger, like the kite, because that will help it fall even slower."

Video title: "Observation and Documentation" – see the clip "Reflections on documenting learning and making learning visible".

1.6
use language (verbal and non-verbal communication) to communicate their thinking, to reflect, and to solve problems

Saying
"I think we should try it like this."
 "After we looked at the picture, we decided to put the big blocks on the bottom, and then it was stable."
"I used the picture, and then I knew the word."
"I think I will get the shovel I used at the sand table because it will be better for digging up worms than this is."

Doing
A child decides to find all the children in the class who have the letter "S" in their name. He uses the name wall and tells another child his plan. This encourages more children to join the investigation.

Representing
During a class sharing time, a small group of children share their solution for joining their structures in the blocks area.

Responding
The educators decide to think about when and why they ask questions or use prompts. They ask themselves, "What is the impact of the timing and amount of educator talk?" This influences them to listen differently. Based on their professional judgement, their observations, and signals from the children, they choose to respond with prompts such as:
"I wonder how you knew that."
"Were you thinking about …?"
"How did you use the picture to figure out that word?"

Challenging
"How did you figure that out?"
"What do you think would happen if …?"
"What sound would we expect to hear at the beginning if the word is …?"

Extending
"I wonder if there is another way you could solve that challenge using a different piece of equipment."

1.7 use specialized vocabulary for a variety of purposes (e.g., terms for things they are building or equipment they are using)

Saying
(In the outdoors):
"We used the magnifier to observate the bug we found in the dirt."
 "When we tilted the ramp up, we noticed it made the car go faster and farther."

Doing
A small group of children share with the principal things they have observed about the worms in their worm farm. They discuss how they problem solved ways to keep track of how many worms there were, and how they have been caring for them. They share other observations they have made, using words such as "tally", "counting strategy", "moisture", "casting", "gizzard", "recycling", "living thing", and "segments".

Video title: "Numeracy Through the Day" – see the clip "Mathematics in Inquiry – Responding to Children's Ideas".

Representing
A child uses materials in the visual arts area to make a replica of the bug she has been observing and labels the parts using a non-fiction text to help with words such as "wings", "antennae", and "thorax".

Responding
The educators reorganize the visual arts area. They remove most of the materials in order to have a more "controlled palette", and they add a variety of shiny papers and recycled objects to support the children's growing understanding of the properties of different materials. As the children apply their understanding of the properties of the materials in their designs and creations, they develop relevant vocabulary, saying things like:
"I used the shiny material because it is smooth and the ball rolled more easier on it."
"These sponges have the same shape as the bricks on my house, so I used them to paint a brick pattern on the birdhouse I built."

Challenging
"I heard you say you put a roof on your house. I observed the 'angle' you used on the roof." (The educator points to the angle while using the word.)

Extending
The educators plan ways to support children's development of vocabulary. One strategy is to model new vocabulary in the context of the children's play both inside and outside the classroom.

Video title: "Literacy Through the Day" – see the clip "Strategies to support oral language development".

1.8
ask questions for a variety of purposes (e.g., for direction, for assistance, to innovate on an idea, to obtain information, for clarification, for help in understanding something, out of curiosity about something, to make meaning of a new situation) and in different contexts (e.g., during discussions and conversations with peers and adults; before, during, and after read-aloud and shared reading experiences; while exploring the schoolyard or local park; in small groups, in learning areas)

Saying
"I wonder what would happen if we …."
"Can we find some more pictures of towers?"
"What should we try next?"
"Do you think if we moved it this way it will look different?"
"Why is this getting longer?"
"Does this start like your name?"
"I think this is the enemy of the ants."
"Is this the word 'predator'?" (after saying the word in chunks). "Yes, I was right. It is the enemy because that is what 'predator' means and that is the word 'predator'."

Doing
Some of the children notice that some plants in the class garden seem to be dying. They wonder why some are dying and others are not. They take photographs, make a list of questions, and then post the photographs and the questions on the Kindergarten Twitter page to see if someone can help.

Representing
The children are invited to write on sticky notes any questions they have about the empty bird's nest a child has brought to class. Some children decide to try and create their own nests, trying to think from the bird's perspective about what elements should be included in the nest.

Responding
The educators model different types of questions and use think-alouds to make explicit for the children the purpose for each type of question.

Challenging
The educators post pictures of items that were once considered "innovative" (e.g., a typewriter, a slate and chalk, an old-fashioned telephone, a pocket watch) but that are likely to be unfamiliar to the children. They invite the children to look at the pictures and to record questions that would help them figure out what the "innovations" are and what they were used for. They think with the children about how humans adapt to make things better.

Extending
"I wonder if we can find a faster way to figure out how many people are away each day."
"How can we use technology so children don't feel sad that they miss out on what we are learning?"
(Note: Educators will use their professional judgement in using this example, given the variety of circumstances that may cause a child to be absent and the differences in the access to technology various families may have.)

1.9
describe personal experiences, using vocabulary and details appropriate to the situation

1.10
retell experiences, events, and familiar stories in proper sequence (e.g., orally; in new and creative ways; using drama, visual arts, non-verbal communication, and representations; in a conversation)

Saying
"My mom and I figured out how to fix the fence. We had to find a different kind of nail."
"My friends and I played Red Rover after supper last night. But we had to make up some new rules so that the little kids could play, too."
"We had to change the angle and the size of the ramp so the ball wouldn't fall off."
"I helped my friend use an app on his tablet to make his picture look the way a bird would see it."

Doing
A small group of children use materials in the classroom to modify a ramp to keep the ball from falling off before the end. They explain (many children use gestures to illustrate) to the next group of children why they made the changes and how the changes improved their explorations.
A group of children retell a familiar story using natural materials.

See "Kindergarten Matters: Re-imagining Literacy and Mathematics Throughout the Day" – the clip "Re-thinking Literacy Structures".

Representing
At the sand table, the children retell the story of "The Gingerbread Man", based on a book that has been intentionally placed at the sand table by the educators as a prop to enhance their retelling of the events they remember from the story.

Responding
During a whole-class discussion, the educators model the sequence for retelling. The educators think together with the children about the idea that audience and purpose are important when preparing for a retelling. They also think together about why we retell stories and events, both in school and outside school.

Challenging
The educators take digital photographs of the children putting on their winter outdoor clothing. They invite the children to arrange the pictures in proper sequence. They record their observations of the children's sequencing.

Extending
During a visit to their Grade 3 reading buddies' classroom, the Kindergarten children describe their favourite part of the Kindergarten classroom. They discuss how they could innovate on the design (the children are encouraged to negotiate adaptations to their learning environments) so that the two classrooms have similarities but are appropriate to the age and learning styles of the children in both classes.

See "The Third Teacher: Designing the Learning Environment for Mathematics and Literacy, K–8", Capacity Building Series (July 2012).

4.1
use a variety of strategies to solve problems, including problems arising in social situations (e.g., trial and error, checking and guessing, cross checking – looking ahead and back to find material to add or remove)

Saying
"We put our structure on the shelf so we could work on it tomorrow and not have to tidy up."
"We could use a long block to reach back and get the car." (The car had rolled to the back of the shelf, and they couldn't reach it.)

Doing
Using different sizes of blocks, a group of children are trying to measure around another child who is lying on the carpet. They are trying to see how many blocks they will need to make an outline around the child. They take some blocks off the shelf but discover that "These won't go all the way around. We are going to need more."

Representing
A small group of children decide to show how many ways they can sort a group of shells. They then begin to arrange sets of shells with similar attributes into patterns, naming how the pattern is being extended. After each change, they reread the pattern and say, "Next comes …".

Responding
The educators observe the small group of children measuring with the blocks. They spend the first few minutes observing and documenting what they see and hear so they have more insight into what the children are thinking (to support assessment for learning).

Challenging
After observing for a few seconds and seeing the children using trial-and-error strategies, guessing, and checking, the educators notice and name it back to the children: "We saw you trying different sizes of blocks. What happened? (to support assessment for learning)." 

Extending
An educator sits with the children briefly when he observes them moving their sets of shells into different arrangements. The educator photographs the patterns and plans to share the photos with the children to ask about their thinking as they created the patterns (to support assessment for learning).

6.1
demonstrate an understanding of the effects of healthy, active living on the mind and body (e.g., choose a balance of active and quiet activities throughout the day; remember to have a snack; drink water when thirsty)

See the Professional Learning Conversation following the chart.

Saying
"I'm thirsty from all that running. I really need a big drink of water."
"I am going to the quiet space to do a puzzle."
"I ride my bike. It's a fun and healthy thing to do. And it's good for the environment."
"I like being active outside. On the weekend I helped my uncle sweep his driveway, and I felt hot when I did that, so I went and sat in the shade."

Doing
Children choose a physical activity such as climbing or playing with a ball during outdoor playtime. After outdoor playtime, some children choose to spend quiet time with a book or listening to an audio book before returning to their work in the learning areas.
A child takes the initiative to make a sign for snack table "to show what is healthy for snack."

Representing
A child approaches the teacher to let her know what he needs: "My stomach is rumbling. I might need a snack."
Several children make a book illustrating that they have learned behaviours that contribute to healthy growth and development. The book includes pages that show children being physically active at home and at school, getting a good night's sleep, making the healthiest possible food choices, and being safe in their daily lives. The children share their work with the educators, who provoke a discussion about the importance of feeling good about yourself and recognizing the things that make you unique as another part of being healthy. When their book is complete, the children add it to the class library for others to read.

Responding
An educator observes children's efforts to make the healthiest choices possible during daily routines and acknowledges the children's actions:
"I noticed you're trying more and different fruits and vegetables. Why? Which ones do you like best?"
"When you go for a walk, what do you do to be sure that you will be safe?" (e.g., wear sunscreen and a hat and sunglasses if it is sunny; let someone know where you are going).
The educators introduce the class to Canada's Food Guide.

Challenging
"How does eating healthy foods help your body and mind?"
"In addition to eating healthy foods, what are some other things that help your whole body to be healthy?"

Extending
After the children set up a store in the dramatic play area, the educators observe the kinds of items they have chosen to sell and ask them to talk about their choices.
(In the gym or playground): "Before we start to move, what are some things we need to check to be sure everyone can participate safely?"

6.2
investigate the benefits of nutritious foods (e.g., nutritious snacks, healthy meals, foods from various cultures) and explore ways of ensuring healthy eating (e.g., choosing nutritious food for meals and snacks, avoiding foods to which they are allergic)

Saying
"My friend is allergic to peanuts. How can he be safe in our classroom when some kids bring nuts for snack?"
"I liked it when we got to try rice dishes from different countries. Some of them had healthy stuff like vegetables in them. And they tasted good, too!"

Doing
Some children set up a store in the dramatic play area. They stock the store with a wide variety of food items, but encourage their customers to buy fruits and vegetables when they shop.

Representing
Children make posters for the shelves of the store, telling customers about which items are healthy choices.

Responding
The educators discuss with the children what it means to be allergic. They explain why some children need to avoid particular foods and reinforce the point with statements such as,
"We have posted signs, so that everyone knows how to keep our classroom safe."

Challenging
"What are some healthy choices for snacks?"
"Why do we need to eat lots of fruits and vegetables?"
"Why is a piece of fruit a better snack than a doughnut?"

Extending
After tasting several rice dishes from a variety of countries, the children decide they would like to taste other dishes from different cultures.
The educators collect menus from a variety of ethnic restaurants in their community. They invite children to explore the menus with them, looking at which dishes would be healthy choices, while keeping in mind the food allergies in the classroom.

6.3
practise and discuss appropriate personal hygiene that promotes personal, family, and community health

Saying
"I washed my hands."
"I teached my little sister not to put toys in her mouth 'cause of the germs."
"I need a tissue."
"I am going to the dentist tomorrow to get my teeth cleaned and checked."

Doing
Children create a sequence of digital photographs showing the steps for washing hands and place the photographs by the sink or washing bin.

Representing
The educators learn from a child's family that the child has shared and demonstrated at the dinner table what she has learned in class about "sneeze in your sleeve".

Responding
Based on their observations, the educators acknowledge children's practices that demonstrate good personal hygiene:
"I noticed that you washed your hands after you were done playing in the sand. You did that yesterday, too, after you came back from the gym."

Challenging
"In what ways do we take care of all parts of our body? Why is it important to do these things?"

Extending
Some of the children share with the educators that, during a washroom break at the local community centre, they noticed that some people left without washing their hands. The educators encourage the children to discuss what they could do to help others understand the importance of hand washing. The children decide to write to the community centre and offer the class's digital photographs of the steps for washing hands for posting in the washrooms at the community centre.

6.4
discuss what action to take when they feel unsafe or uncomfortable, and when and how to seek assistance in unsafe situations (e.g., acting in response to inappropriate touching; seeking assistance from an adult they know and trust, from 911, or from playground monitors; identifying substances that are harmful to the body)

Saying
"When I saw a boy fall on the playground, I told the teacher."
"My mom's friend wanted to give me a hug when she met me. I didn't want to hug her, so I said, 'Nice to meet you. I'd rather not hug'."
"I told Bryna not to call me that name."
"When the dog that was all by itself growled at me, I went to my babysitter's house."

Doing
In the dramatic play area, a child calls 911, gives the operator her name and the address of the
house, then says that someone is sick.

Representing
A child draws pictures of the warning signs found on various household cleansers on large paper and explains to some other children what they mean.

Responding
The educators record children's safety-related ideas and questions and then invite a community police officer to visit the class to discuss safety and answer some of the children's questions.

Challenging
The educators ask the children to think of things they should avoid that could be harmful to their health (e.g., smoking, taking medicine that belongs to someone else). They record the children's suggestions.

Extending
An educator presents a variety of scenarios to the children for discussion, using questions that start, "What would you do if …?"

6.5
discuss and demonstrate in play what makes them happy and unhappy, and why

Saying
"I was happy when my experiment with the flashlights worked. I was glad my theory was right."
"I was sad when the class pet fish died. I wonder why he died."
"I was happy when we got to play outside because I was tired and the fresh air made me feel better."
"I was sad when some children got hurt and so the sliding hill got closed."

Doing
Using puppets, children express emotions through the dialogue they create for their puppet characters.

Representing
After the class pet fish dies, a child draws a picture of the fish. At home, the child tells her family, "It was sad that the fish died at school today. I made a picture of her to hang on the wall in the dramatic play area."

Responding
Showing empathy by acknowledging feelings can create a connection between children and team members. The educators acknowledge the feelings expressed by children by saying, "I see you are sad. It's hard when your mom has to leave and go to work."

Challenging
"How can people tell when we are feeling happy or sad?"

Extending
An educator discusses with the children what they can do when they are feeling sad (or angry, hurt, happy, etc.), and how they can respond when their peers show different kinds of feelings.
"How can we respond to people's emotions?"
"How can we recognize situations that require different responses?"

9.1
use reading behaviours to make sense of familiar and unfamiliar texts in print (e.g., use pictures; use knowledge of oral language structures, of a few high-frequency words, and/or of sound-symbol relationships)

Saying
"I knew it said 'spider', 'cause I used the picture."
"I know that says 'the'."
"I made my voice loud here because it gets dark (pointing at the bold print)."
"I changed the word on the sign. Now it says 'fragile'. I thought it was a 'J', but then I looked on the box and I saw how to write it."

Doing
During independent reading, a child points to the words, looks at the pictures, and rereads after several miscues when she realizes that what she has read doesn't make sense.

Representing
A group of children decide to make the dramatic play area into a bookstore.
A group of children decide to reorganize the books so that people can read everywhere not just in the books area.

Responding
The educators scaffold the children's application of reading strategies by thinking aloud and asking questions or making comments such as:
"What are some other strategies you can use to figure out words you don't know?"
"I noticed you tried several words before the sentence sounded right to you."

Challenging
"If you think the word is 'jump', what letter will we see at the beginning when we lift the sticky note?"

Extending
Assessment information reveals that a small group of children know a number of high-frequency words, have knowledge of letter and sound correspondence(s), and are able to read simple patterned text. The educators determine that this group of children would benefit from a guided reading lesson using a non-fiction text.

10.1
demonstrate an interest in writing (e.g., choose a variety of writing materials, such as adhesive notes, labels, envelopes, coloured paper, markers, crayons, pencils) and choose to write in a variety of contexts (e.g., draw or record ideas in learning areas)

10.2
demonstrate an awareness that text can convey ideas or messages (e.g., ask the educator to write out new words for them)

Saying
"Why do all the 'A's look different?"
"What does this say?"
"I wrote down all the parts of our marble run."
"I want to make a sign for my structure that says, 'Delicate. Please be careful'."
"I am going to write a note for my friend."
"I showed a rain storm in my picture because I made a lot of raindrops."

Doing
A group of children notice that the instructions for putting the new tables together are printed, in words and pictures, on a label on the underside of the tables. They refer to the instructions when helping to construct the tables.

Representing
When their marble run is ready for testing, the children decide that someone should write down what happens when each child's marble goes down the run.

Responding
"How do you know that all of these letters are 'A's?"
"How will labelling the different parts of the marble run help the other children who want to build one?"
"You wrote a note to your friend. Writers write for so many different reasons."

Challenging
The educators ask questions such as:
"What do you notice about the steps in the instructions? Why do you think the instructions are written this way?"
"Where else might we find instructions for doing something? How do you think they might look the same as – or different from – these instructions?"

Extending
After a class visit to a farmers' market, the children decide to use the vegetables they bought to make soup. In a guided writing time, the children work with an educator to write the steps they think they will need to follow to make soup. They check their steps against the actual process and edit their steps as necessary.

10.3
write simple messages (e.g., a grocery list on unlined paper, a greeting card made on a computer, labels for a block or sand construction), using a combination of pictures, symbols, knowledge of the correspondence between letters and sounds (phonics), and familiar words

Saying
"I used the word wall to help me write [the word]."
"I wrote 'CLOSED' on the bookstore so the customers would know we've gone home."
"We made a map so people would know where to drive on our roads. Now we are making signs for the streets with numbers, too, so people know the house numbers."

Doing
The educators observe a child working on a graphic illustration over a few days, adding details each time. The child then asks to take a photograph of his pictures for an app to make a movie with "those things that come out of the mouths" (referring to the speech bubbles in a comic book).

Representing
A child who is reluctant to write with paper and pencil creates a drawing of her family on the computer and labels all of the family members.
A child who is learning English writes labels for her picture in her home language.

Responding
To support children's use of written communication in many contexts, the educators post signs children have written in their home languages. The children's families who use written communication in their home language contribute to the signs. The parents who are unable to come into the school join via web conference.

Challenging
An educator is sitting beside a child who is writing a description of her inquiry about making a ball roll faster down the ramp. To support the child in hearing and recording sounds, the educator uses prompts such as:
"Stretch the word and listen to the sounds."
"What sound do you hear at the beginning (in the middle, at the end) of that word?"
"It starts like your name."

Extending
The educators talk with children about the purposes people have for writing and all the ways people use written communication. They make a list (identifying "making a list" as one of the purposes). Families begin to participate and contribute via blog and e-mail as examples of other purposes for writing.
A child has lost a favourite hat at school. After checking the Lost and Found box, she decides to make a poster to put up in the hallway to ask other children and staff to help her find it. She explains that people make signs for "lost cats" and thought the same thing might work for a hat.

10.4
use classroom resources to support their writing (e.g., a classroom word wall that is made up of children's names, words from simple patterned texts, and words used repeatedly in shared or interactive writing experiences; signs or charts in the classroom; picture dictionaries; alphabet cards; books)

Saying
"I know – I can use the name wall."
"That is the same as a word from the book."
"I know this is how you write it because I saw it on the card."

Doing
While playing with blocks, a group of children decide they need a secret password for their structure. To write the password, they use the word wall to help them figure out the letters for the words they want to write.

Representing
To reflect the various cultures in their class, the children begin to create a set of alphabet cards that are meaningful to them and their classmates.

Responding
The educators place photographs of the children beside their names on the name wall. In addition, they place class lists in several learning areas as a resource for children's writing.
The educators discuss with the children the fact that writers use many tools and resources to support their communication of ideas. They talk together with the children about words writers have to know because they use them all the time (high-frequency words). The educators negotiate and problem solve with the children about where the best place would be to post those kinds of words so that the children can locate them easily from all places in the classroom.

See additional examples at:

Video title: "Literacy Through the Day" – see the clip "Rethinking the learning environment to support literacy – Co-constructing the learning environment with the children".

Also see: "The Third Teacher: Designing the Learning Environment for Mathematics and Literacy, K–8", Capacity Building Series (July 2012).

Challenging
"What could you use to help you figure out how to write the word?"

Extending
The educators put words from the word wall on binder rings so they are portable and children can use them at various places in the room.
"How can you remind the other children about the new words we have learned when you are working with them in our room?"

10.5
experiment with a variety of simple writing forms for different purposes and in a variety of contexts

10.6
communicate ideas about personal experiences and/or familiar stories, and experiment with personal voice in their writing (e.g., make a story map of "The Three Little Pigs" and retell the story individually to a member of the educator team during a writing conference)

Saying
"I'll make the menu."
"I am writing an invitation to my party."
"I put these labels on my drawing of my structure."
"I made this 'ha, ha, ha' coming out of the mouth in my picture to show my papa laughing."

Doing
A child in the dramatic play area decides to create an appointment book for the "doctor's office". The child also writes appointment cards for the "patients".

Representing
A small group of children use the digital photographs of their neighbourhood walk to innovate on a familiar story. An educator helps them to put the images into a computer program where they can record their retelling. They send it to their families by e-mail and show the principal their non-fiction book. They plan to make a fiction text about their neighbourhood next.

Responding
The educators observe that children in the dramatic play area are making menus for the class café. One of the educators joins the play and prompts the children to think about other ways in which coffee shops use writing.

Challenging
An educator works in the writing centre with a small group of children who are designing a mailbox similar to one they have seen outside. A child shows the educator a page with some writing on it and says, "I think someone wrote me a note, but I don't know who." The educator challenges the child by saying, "I wonder how you could find out?"

Extending
A group of children are building structures out of commercial building blocks. Their classroom has a large variety of pieces, and they plan to purchase more. They do research using online catalogues and discover that the blocks are usually sold in sets that allow for building only a particular design. They decide to write to the company president to ask why the company doesn't sell the blocks in a format that allows children to build whatever they choose.

13.1
state problems and pose questions in different contexts and for different reasons (e.g., before, during, and after inquiries)

See the Professional Learning Conversation following the chart.

Saying
"My tower keeps falling down!"
"This bridge doesn't work."
"We are trying to figure out a new way to use the tiles."
"I am trying to build a machine that can go under the water."
"How come the letter 'W' starts with the sound 'D'?"

Doing
Two children are building a structure together, and they look for a way to stabilize it: "I wonder what would happen if we put the bigger blocks on the bottom?"
"I think we need something in the middle to keep it from falling down. What else can we use?"

Representing
With the help of an educator, some of the children record their questions about an investigation on sticky notes and post them for others to think about.

Responding
The educators introduce the inquiry process by asking the children questions that will lead to more questions throughout the inquiry. They listen to children's contributions with respect and support them in finding answers.
"How did you build your tower?"
"What do you want your bridge to do? What isn't working?"

Challenging
The educators pose questions that cause children to think logically and use language to represent their thinking:
"Who is going to use the bridge? What do they need the bridge to do for them? What do you know about bridges that will help you build one for the people who need it? How might your bridge need to be different from those in the pictures, to do what it needs to do?"
"Would you feel safe on that bridge? What are some safety things you need to think about?"
"How will you build the first row of your tower?"

See "Kindergarten Matters: Re-imagining Literacy and Mathematics Throughout the Day" – the clips "The Power of Wait Time".

Extending
As the children prepare to plant their seeds in plastic pots, an educator asks them if they can think of ways to plant them that is better for the environment and for the plants. The children brainstorm ideas and select a few to try the next day.
The educators place a set of letters out for children to explore, asking, "What do you notice about the letters?" This leads to numerous questions from the children. Among other things, they wonder, "What would happen if we didn't have letters?" (e.g., "If we didn't have letters, we couldn't talk").

13.2
make predictions and observations before and during investigations

Saying
"I think we need to put more blocks on the bottom. Then our tower won't fall over this time."
"I think the banana will change just like the apple did."
"I think my shadow will move when I move."

Doing
At the water table, several children test their boats, observing how many shells each can hold before it sinks.
Children rotate various shapes, moving them in space and predicting what will result when they put two shapes together.
The children try to make water move through a funnel and tube system at different speeds.
The children create a large spiral pattern.

Representing
As one child places shells in a boat, another keeps track of the number of shells using a simple tally.
The children decide to try to make spirals with different materials and in different quantities. They make predictions about how much space they will need.

Responding
The educators decide to listen more and wait before they ask questions or prompt children's thinking. As a result they learn more about the children's thinking (to support assessment for learning) and then use their observations to inform the timing and the kinds of prompts/questions they use.
 "What did you notice?"
"What do you think will happen?"
"What might we notice when we go back to the woods now that it is winter?"
"Yesterday was sunny. Now it's raining. What are some of the things you might see outside today that you didn't yesterday?"
The educators remove irrelevant materials, such as the sea creatures, from the water table to allow the children to focus on finding new ways to increase the speed of the water moving through a funnel and tube system.

Challenging
An educator talks with the children about their observations and thinking about how different elements in their design of the funnelling system are affecting the speed of the water.
"How does your hand look when you see it through a magnifying glass? What do you see that you didn't see without the glass?"
"What can you change in your design to make the boat hold more shells?"

Extending
"You've tried that size of funnel. I wonder what would happen if you tried it with sand in the sand table?"
The educators remove the shells and modelling clay from the water table and replace them with pieces of tinfoil and small washers. They invite the children to apply their learning from building their clay boats to help them build boats from tinfoil that will hold the most washers.

13.3
select and use materials to carry out their own explorations

Saying
"Here are some bungs we can use for wheels."
"Let's plant this seed in stones and see if it grows."

Doing
A small group of children choose materials that they think will prevent their ice cube from melting.

Representing
The children show, in words and pictures, the rate of growth of their bean plants.

Responding
"What are you investigating? What materials are you thinking of using? Why? What tools will you need?"

Challenging
"What can you do to your ice cube holder to make it better?"

Extending
After the children's ice-cube inquiry, the educators ask the children: "How can you use what we learned about preventing ice cubes from melting to design a way to keep hot chocolate hot?"

13.4
communicate results and findings from individual and group investigations (e.g., explain and/or show how they made their structure; state simple conclusions from an experiment; record ideas using pictures, numbers, and labels)

Saying
"We made a sign so that the cars would know where to go."
"We found out that the plant in the sun grew best."
"When we added water to the sand it made it stick together."

Doing
The children build a sand city. They explain what they are doing and which materials and tools are most useful and why.

Representing
Some children make sketches to show how they started their plants and what happened to the plants that didn't get any sunlight.

Responding
"How can you show that the plants in the sun grew faster than the plants in the shade?"
"What conclusion can you make from our plant experiments?"

Challenging
"Did things turn out the way you thought they would? Why? Were there any surprises?"
"What did you find out when you looked at the leaf just with your eye? What did you find out when you looked at it with the magnifying glass?"

Extending
The children tell the educators that when they first added water to the sand, it didn't stick together very well but when they added too much it was too wet. The educators introduce the concept of using "trial and error" in an inquiry and encourage the children to try again with some dry sand.

14.2
sort and classify groups of living and non-living things in their own way (e.g., using sorting tools such as hula hoops, sorting circles, paper plates, T-charts, Venn diagrams)

Saying
"These things are all round."
(To an educator who joins the group in the class "restaurant"): "I put all the fruit on this plate and all the meat on that plate."

Doing
The children put away materials in the blocks area, separating the wooden blocks from the foam blocks and then sorting each type by size and colour.

Representing
The children sort items and then use a T-chart to show how the items have been classified.

Responding
"Tell me how you sorted these things."
"Which things are the same in some way? Which ones are different?"
"What is the name for all the things in this group?"
"How does sorting [these things] in this way help us learn?"

Challenging
"What are some other ways that you could sort the same things?"
"Why do people need to sort things?"

Extending
An educator works with children who are creating menus for the class café. Keeping in mind their growing understanding of how and why we sort things, he encourages the children to think about how the items on their menus could be sorted. The educator prompts the children to think about sorting objects that have one common attribute but differ in other attributes – such as triangles of different sizes – and asks how this can help them decide how to list things on their menus.

14.3
recognize, explore, describe, and compare patterns in the natural and built environment (e.g., patterns in the design of buildings, in flowers, on animals' coats)

Saying
"The floor of our classroom has a pattern."
"Day, night; day, night; day, night – that's a pattern."
"The next leaf on the twig would be on this side because the pattern is: this side, that side; this side, that side."

Doing
In the sorting area, a child uses the transportation shapes to make a pattern: big truck, small truck, blue car; big truck, small truck, blue car.

Representing
On a walk in the neighbourhood, children use a marker and a photograph of the street to highlight the patterns they see – in bricks or shingles on a house, in slats in a fence, in a spider web, and in the rings on a tree stump.

Responding
"What patterns do you see …?"
"Is the pattern in the … like another pattern you have seen elsewhere? In what way?"
The educators share with the children that patterns are predictable and have an element of repetition.

Challenging
"I know this is a pattern because …"
"What comes next in the pattern? How do you know?"
"What do you notice when both sides of your buildings match?"
"Why do you think some things look the same on both sides (show symmetry) in nature and in buildings?

Extending
The educators review with the children what they know about growing and shrinking patterns. They then project images from nature to see if what they already know about growing and shrinking patterns applies in the natural world.

20.1
demonstrate an understanding of number relationships for numbers from 0 to 10, through investigation (e.g., show small quantities using fingers or manipulatives)

20.2
use, read, and represent whole numbers to 10 in a variety of meaningful contexts (e.g., use a hundreds chart to read whole numbers; use magnetic and sandpaper numerals to represent the number of objects in a set; put the house number on a house built in the blocks area; find and recognize numbers in the environment; write numerals on imaginary bills at the restaurant in the dramatic play area)

See the Professional Learning Conversation following the chart.

Saying
"There are five on each hand." [reasoning and proving; communicating]
"I wanted to put the same number of cubes on both sides so they would [be the] same."[reasoning (algebraic) and proving; reflecting; communicating]
"Two of these blocks make one of these." [reasoning (proportional) and proving, representing, communicating]
"The number on that house is 'one-two-three'. That is how we count: 'one, two, three'." [reasoning (enumerating) and proving; reflecting; communicating]

Doing
An educator works with a child to co-construct learning and explore the child's thinking about quantities and equivalent sides of the balance scale. The educator listens to and records the child's thinking in a video, the child's thinking to revisit at a later time. The educator hears evidence that the child is using algebraic thinking, connecting quantity and measurement, applying a process for selecting tools and materials, problem solving, and reasoning. Each time the educators view the video with the child (to support assessment for learning and assessment as learning), they discover more evidence of the child's mathematical thinking. The child is invited to share his thinking with the rest of the class.

Video title: "Numeracy Through the Day" – see the clip "Co-constructing learning".

Representing
Some children make menus for the class café. One child, after being out for dinner with her family, observes that the menus in the restaurant had prices on them, but their café menus do not. An educator asks the children:
"Why do menus have prices on them?"
"Where else might we see numbers at a restaurant?" [problem solving; connecting; representing]

Responding
"Are there other ways we can show five?"
"What else do we use numbers for?"
"Where else do you see numbers?"
"What other house numbers might look like this one?"

See "Kindergarten Matters: Re-imagining Literacy and Mathematics Throughout the Day" – the clip "Small-Group Learning About Numbers".

Challenging
The educators work with a small group of children with a hundreds chart. They ask the children, "What do you notice about the numbers?" They document what the children say (to support assessment for learning). They hear children talk about the numbers in ways they never expected. The children begin to notice a pattern:
"All of these have ones in them."
"Look, all of these have twos and so do these (pointing out rows and columns)."
Over time, more children take part in the discussions.
(Note: The hundreds chart started at 0 and went to 99.)

Extending
The educators wonder with the children how they can make sure that they don't sell more tickets for their bus than they have seats. The children determine that they could number the seats and then make the same number of tickets to sell. They ask some children to try out their system as a way to check their thinking.

20.3
compose pictures, designs, shapes, and patterns, using two-dimensional shapes; predict and explore reflective symmetry in two-dimensional shapes (e.g., visualize and predict what will happen when a square, a circle, or a rectangle is folded in half); and decompose two-dimensional shapes into smaller shapes and rearrange the pieces into other shapes, using various tools and materials (e.g., stickers, geoboards, pattern blocks, geometric puzzles, tangrams, a computer program)

20.4
build three-dimensional structures using a variety of materials and identify the three-dimensional figures their structure contains

Saying
"My house has four sides. See – I counted them. Even when you turn it around, it still has the same sides." [reasoning and proving; reflecting; communicating]
"I am trying to make it so the roof can open." [problem solving; communicating]
"I put these two triangles together and they make a square, but these two triangles don't. I think it is because they are a different size."
[reasoning; selecting tools and strategies; reflecting; communicating]

Doing
A child uses the geoboard to make the letters in his name. [selecting tools and strategies; connecting]
A small group of children use pattern blocks, stacking them together to make new shapes (e.g., using two squares to make a rectangle). [The educators document the children's talk and gestures (to support assessment for learning). When they analyse the pedagogical documentation they observe that the children have been using several mathematical processes, including reflecting, problem solving, and reasoning.]
A child uses the geoboard to make triangles of different sizes. "See, they have three sides just like we learned." [reasoning and proving; reflecting]

Representing
After reading aloud a story that is illustrated with tangram designs, an educator asks the children to make one of the designs in the story. The children place the tangram pieces on a design template and then re-create the design by placing the pieces in the same pattern beside the template. Some of the children then use the tangrams to create their own designs and then create design templates for other children to use. Some of the children innovate on the designs and create their own by tracing outside the shape and then challenging their friends. [problem solving; reasoning and proving; representing]
(Note: Having the outline around the perimeter of the design is more challenging for children than having each of the shapes outlined.)

Responding
The educators place some magnetic shapes on a cookie sheet for the children to use to compose and decompose pictures and designs. They ask:
"What shapes can you use to make something that looks like an ice cream cone?"

Challenging
To engage children's thinking about the mathematical processes, the educators ask:
"You used many different shapes to design your picture. How did you decide what shapes to use? What did you learn about using shapes to create a picture? What might you do differently if you were doing another picture?"

Extending
The educators ask themselves: "How do children compose and decompose shapes when they are building with blocks?" They observe and document (to support assessment for learning) as the children work in the blocks area. Later they share the documentation with the children. The children clarify, add to, and communicate their thinking. The educators project the image of the structure on the whiteboard and flip it to prompt children to engage in spatial reasoning.

20.5
investigate and describe how objects can be collected, grouped, and organized according to similarities and differences (e.g., attributes like size, colour)

20.6
use mathematical language (e.g., "always/sometimes/never"; "likely/unlikely") in informal discussions to describe probability in familiar, everyday situations (e.g., "Sometimes Kindergarten children like pizza more than hot dogs"; "It is likely that January will be a snowy month")

Saying
"I sorted my animals by size." [reasoning and proving; communicating]
 "In both stories, Goldilocks ate the porridge." [reasoning and proving; communicating]
"There are five people standing in the laces row and fifteen people standing in the Velcro row."
"More people like to eat rice than broccoli. I know because there are more names in this row. I counted them."
"There are only two people left on the graph that are four [years old]."
[The three preceding examples involve reasoning and proving, and communicating]
"My brother always meets me at the bus stop after school." [connecting; communicating]
"Maybe we will have spaghetti for dinner tonight." [connecting, communicating]

Doing
A small group of children sort books, based on the types of pictures on the front cover, and describe the reasons behind their sorting. [reasoning and proving; connecting; communicating]

Representing
Some children decide to conduct a survey on pet ownership among their classmates. They use pictures they find online to create a recording sheet with several columns. They then ask classmates to sign their name by the pet that they have. Midway through the survey, they have to add another column that says "No pets". In order to share their findings the children create a graph with separate columns showing the number of children who have cats, dogs, birds, hamsters, and fish. [The example demonstrates the mathematical processes of problem solving, communicating, selecting tools and strategies, reflecting, connecting, and representing.]

Responding
"How else might you have sorted the animals?"
"How many children are younger than four? How many children are older than four?"
"How many children are less than five years old?"

Challenging
"How else are the stories about Goldilocks the same? In what ways are they different?"
The educators want to provoke the children's thinking about probability. They put out a paper bag that is filled with coloured cubes and encourage the children to repeatedly take a cube from the bag. They help the children to keep track of the colours that they draw in a concrete graph. After everyone has had a few turns to draw a cube, the educators ask the children to predict what colour of cube will be drawn next, based on the results shown in the graph.

Extending
The educators model probability language such as "likely", "probable", and "certain" in discussing the following with the children:
"If you asked five more people whether they like to eat rice or broccoli better, what would you predict they would say?"
"If you drew five more cubes from the bag, what colour would you predict you would draw? Why would you say that?"
[The examples demonstrate the mathematical processes of problem solving, communicating, selecting tools and strategies, reflecting, connecting, and representing.]

22.1
communicate their ideas about something (e.g., a book, the meaning of a word, an event or an experience, a mathematical pattern, a motion or movement) through music, drama, dance, and/or the visual arts

Saying
"We saw a snake in our garden plot. It moved like this." (The child melts to the ground and inches across the floor on her tummy.)
"I saw this picture in a book, so I wanted to make a mini version (on a sticky note). See this part here where the circle is supposed to show a close-up of its bones?"
"My painting is a pattern just like on my shirt."
"That storybook is like a song because …"

Doing
While listening to a read-aloud story, a child matches the moods and feelings of the characters in the story through his facial expressions.

Representing
A group of children make drawings to represent their understanding of the beat and rhythm of a poem.
A child uses blocks and found materials to show an experience he has had with his family.

Responding
The educators model for the children how to use music to communicate their responses to a new poem:
"You said that part of the poem made you feel sad. Listen to the sound the drum makes when you beat it slowly. It makes a very sad sound."

Challenging
"The drum makes a sad sound. How can you move your body to show the feeling of sadness?"

Extending
"How can we show a sad feeling in a painting?"
Children use actions and gestures to communicate their ideas.

Video title: "Literacy Through the Day" – see the clip "Making Learning Visible – Observing, documenting, analysing and taking informed action. Coming together as a community of literacy learners".

23.1
use problem-solving skills and their imagination to create drama and dance (e.g., try out different voices for parts of a story or chant; find different ways to move to music, trying to connect the movement with the mood and speed of the music; create a sequence of movements)

Saying
"I can march to the music. Hup, two, three, four."
"I made up a dance. My feet hop and skip and my arms go from side to side like this."

Doing
A small group of children create a musical version of a favourite pattern book for the whole class to present at the school assembly.

Representing
Two children decide to work with different rhythm instruments. One plays a rhythm and the other echoes it. They continue to try to represent each other's rhythm patterns.

Responding
"Why did you decide to march to the music?"
"How did other children move to that piece of music? Why do you think they moved differently from you?"

Challenging
"How can you change your dance while using the same movements?"

Extending
"Tell me how you would change this song so that it would help a baby go to sleep."

23.2
use problem-solving skills and their imagination to create visual art forms (e.g., choose materials to make a three-dimensional structure stable; choose an alternative way to fasten their materials if the first way is unsuccessful)

Saying
"I found a way to stick these two together."
"Our sculpture keeps falling apart."
"I want to make the schoolyard look all bumpy."

Doing
The children construct a "school bus" from a large cardboard box. They create a stop sign and then try to figure out how to make it swing out from the side of the bus when the door is opened.

Representing
After listening to a piece of music, children use materials from the visual arts area to create art works to show how the music made them feel (e.g., sad, happy, scared).

Responding
"I wonder how you could make sure your sculpture doesn't collapse."
"I noticed that you are looking at the illustrations in the book we read this morning. How did the illustrator make the sidewalks look rough?"

Challenging
"How can you make the lights on your bus look as if they are flashing on and off?"

Extending
The educators discuss with the children the different techniques that children have used to portray feelings (e.g., sad, happy, scared) in their art works.

23.3
use problem-solving skills and their imagination to create music (e.g., experiment with different instruments to create a rhythm pattern to accompany a familiar song; contribute to making a variation on a familiar song with the class)

Saying
"We tried it this way, and it didn't work, so we tried again and this is what it sounds like."
"We changed this part so it sounds different."

Doing
A small group of children create a musical version of a favourite pattern book for the whole class to present at the school assembly.

Representing
Two children decide to work with different rhythm instruments. One plays a rhythm and the other echoes it. They continue to try to represent one another's rhythm patterns.

Responding
"How can you change your voice when we sing the song this time?"
"What rhythms can we make with our bodies?"

Challenging
"We should use your song to share at our next assembly. You said you would like to add some instruments. Which ones would you like to add?"

Extending
"Tell me how you would change this song so that it would help a baby go to sleep."

23.4
communicate their understanding of something (e.g., a familiar story, an experience, a song, a play) by representing their ideas and feelings through the arts

See the Professional Learning Conversation following the chart.

Saying
"I'm making a picture of the girl in the story we read. I sticked the hair on straight out because in the story the wind was blowing."
"I used the triangle to make the sound of the rain on our cabin roof."
"I know a scary part is coming because of the music."

Doing
After viewing a close-up photograph of a goldfish, a child makes a playdough sculpture of the class's pet fish, using a pickup stick to make repeated curved lines for its scales. Later, in response to a challenge in the gym, the child tells the educator, "This is how the goldfish in the picture swims in the water."

Representing
A child makes his thinking visible to the educator:
"The actor who wore green pants and a green shirt and green socks and green shoes was supposed to be a frog. That was a good costume for a frog."

Responding
"I notice that you are using your puppets to retell the story we read yesterday."
"How will you make your mask look scary?"
"How would you make happy music?"

Challenging
"How can you use colours to show how children in our class felt when … (e.g., we were dancing, the class fish died, we were tired)?"
A small group of children build a structure and then attach a visual representation at its base to respond to an educator who says, "I wonder what is below the building."

Extending
The educators work with a small group of children to explore how actors use their bodies and the volume and tone of their voices to help the audience understand the character they are playing. The children practise these techniques when rehearsing the play they have created.

24.1
identify practices that ensure their personal safety and the safety of others, and demonstrate an understanding of the importance of these practices

Saying
"That's not safe!"
"I need to wear my safety goggles when I work in the take-apart area."
"I'm going to get some paper towels to clean up the water we spilled so we don't slip and fall down."

Doing
A child "fixing" a car in the blocks area borrows a set of earphones (for "ear protectors") from the listening station.
A group of children who have made a snack for the class wash up the utensils and put them back in the storage basket.
A child reminds another child to walk, not run, on the way to the library.

Representing
A group of children design a sign to remind those working at the sand table to sweep up the sand on the floor so others do not slip on it.

Responding
"I noticed that you put the scissors back in the bin when you were finished using them."
"Why is it important to clean up water when it spills on the floor?"
"Why does the custodian wear ear protectors when he mows the school lawn?"

Challenging
An educator displays a variety of safety items and devices (e.g., various kinds of ear and eye protection, orange cones, child safety devices, pictures of familiar warning signs). The children are invited to discuss questions such as who would use the devices and why, where they might commonly see the signs, and what message(s) they convey.

Extending
The children decide to make a "safe city" in the sand. The educators support the children and negotiate with them to determine what materials they will need throughout the construction process.
The educators discuss with the class a safety problem they are having with the outdoor play equipment. Together, the children and the educators determine how to make the slide a safer place to play.

24.2
state problems and pose questions as part of the process of creating and designing

Saying
"I want to build a house that looks just like mine."
"I'm going to make something that can cook when you tell it what to cook."
"I'm going to make an invention."

Doing
Children think aloud, posing questions to address problems and make choices as they build their houses: "I wonder how I can make my door open like a real door." "I need to make windows for my house. What should I use?"

Representing
With help from the educators, the class draws up a list of questions that might be used to initiate a design challenge. The children categorize the questions as those that open up thinking (i.e., those that can lead to a rich investigation) or those that close thinking (i.e., those that are more likely to be answered with a simple "yes" or "no").

Responding
The educators think together with the children about a design process. They prompt discussion to get at the concepts that items are created for different purposes and that the design of an item reflects its purpose. They continue to ask questions that will lead to further questions throughout the process. They listen to the children's contributions with respect and support them in finding answers to questions such as:
"What does your house look like? What are some of its parts?"
"How do you cook rice? How will you make that happen in your rice cooker?"
"What is your invention going to do? How will your invention make something easier or better for someone else?"

Challenging
The educators and the children think together about the evolving design of toothbrushes. They watch videos of commercials for dental care products online. They notice how the design changes depending on who it is for.

Extending
The children begin to wonder about other everyday items, such as chairs. They begin to think about and design chairs for different people and for different purposes.

24.3
make predictions and observations as part of the process of creating and designing

See the Professional Learning Conversation following the chart.

Saying
"If we use this scoop on our crane, it will fill the dump truck faster than the smaller scoop."
"Here's my guess – I guess that the birds will like my birdhouse better than the others because mine has a bigger hole for them to get through."
"I think that my design will keep it from falling over. Let's test it out."

Doing
A small group of children test out their predictions in the sand before incorporating the scoop into the creation of their crane.
After researching birds that are common in their school community, some of the children change the design of their birdhouses.

Representing
The children record the number of big scoops and small scoops it takes to fill the pail. They compare their findings to their predictions. Some of the children decide to see if the results would be different using water instead of sand.

Responding
The educators model predictive questions that invite children to construct a hypothesis about the outcome of an investigation: "What will happen if …?"

Challenging
Once the children have made predictions, the educators challenge them to think of ways in which they can find out how accurate their predictions are. Children try out ideas to explore their predictions. The educators then ask the children to reflect both on the accuracy of their predictions, based on the results of their explorations, and on how making predictions helps their thinking and learning.

Extending
After discussing with the children the importance of thinking carefully about their predictions and making accurate observations, the educators arrange for the children to observe some of the Grade 6 students testing their paper airplanes to see which will fly the farthest. In order to measure growth in children's learning, the educators observe and note the children's predictions about which plane will fly the farthest and why, and what the children notice and say about the flights and the results of the tests.

24.4
select and use tools, equipment, and materials to construct things

Saying
"I can see through the plastic wrap. I can't see through the tinfoil. So the plastic wrap would be better for my windows than the tinfoil."
"I need a hole punch to make my book."
"I used these blocks to make a vehicle that can drive on frozen lakes so that people can get across the lake safely."

Doing
A small group of children design a pulley system at the sand table to move sand with a machine instead of shovelling it by hand. They test it out using different amounts of sand and different sizes of scoops. The educators support their process by observing closely and inserting some prompts when the children pause to think.

Representing
As part of the design plan, children record in pictures and words which tools, equipment, and materials they used.

Responding
"How will you decide which material is the best one to use for your windows?"
"What other tools might you need to use to finish your book?"
"I saw you change the design. What was your thinking?"

Challenging
"What materials will you need to change or add to adapt your design so it is safe for your baby brother?"

Extending
The educators decide to involve the Kindergarten class more authentically in the school's environmental education initiatives. After a class meeting to determine ways in which the children think they can be involved, the children decide to consider the impact on the environment when choosing tools, equipment, and materials for their designs. The educators support the children's decision by ensuring that recycled materials and energy-saving tools are available for use throughout the learning areas in the classroom, and that children understand what goes in the recycling bin and what goes in the garbage.
"I noticed you took some paper out of the recycling bin to sketch your design and again when you were making rugs for your house. Why did you do that?"
"Why did you choose to use the glue stick rather than the low-temperature glue gun to attach your windows?"

24.5
communicate and record results and findings either individually or in groups (e.g., explain and/or show how they made their structure; record ideas using pictures, words, numbers on labels, or in charts)

Saying
"When I pull the string, my toy moves."
"We made our tower wider at the bottom so that we could build it taller. Now it doesn't fall down."
"I tried this outside, and the wind made it spin. It worked."
"I tested all three of the spinning tops, and this one spun the longest every time."

Doing
A small group of children make several attempts to build a tower as tall as they are. Through trial and error, they discover that if they make the bottom of the tower wider they can build it taller. They record the finished product in pictures and label the pictures to show their solution.

Representing
After creating a device for keeping their spinners from falling off the table, a group of children communicate their strategy to children who have been using dice that keep sliding off the table and changing the number that is rolled.
The children playing the board game use the plan to keep their dice on the table and then improve on the device so the device can't be knocked off the table accidentally.

Responding
"Tell us how you solved the problem."
"Show us how your device works."

Challenging
"How might what you found out this time change how you solve the problem next time?"

Extending
After making a little greenhouse for their seedlings, the children decide that they would like to share their construction with their families as well as with the other children. One child reminds the others of a commercial that is currently running on television. The group decide to perform a commercial showing how they made their greenhouse and how it works because they think a demonstration will be more interesting than just talking about their process. They ask the educators to make a video of their commercial so that it can be shared outside the classroom.