Stage 1 - Curiosity
In their free play time the children initiated a construction they named: Diamond World.
It was important for the children to create signage to label their construction. At first some assistance was required writing the signs and labels for Diamond World, but soon enough they had mastered it.
The children used a variety of 'diamond' and 'gem' inspired stones which they continued to add daily, as their interests and play were extended.
Stage 2 - Sharing Ideas
“Where do rocks come from?”
As the Wombat's skills and confidence grew a number of children began to investigate the gems and stones through the use of magnifying glasses and additional images. There was much discussion about the different types of 'rocks' and 'minerals', prompting questions for investigation such as:
-“Where do rocks come from?”
- “What are the different types of rocks?”
We began investigating these questions online and in books. We also expressed and shared our current knowledge of rocks.
Stage 3 - Research and investigation
The children and their families began bringing in different types of rock which they found from their homes and within the community.
The children expressed their knowledge of where rocks came from by creating a mind map where the children wrote their thoughts and ideas with assistance from the educators.
The children often look at our newly created 'Rock Wall' viewing the different images of rocks and texts, often pointing out their interests and input. We were able to further investigate these questions by using technology to look at a 'Rock Cycle' story.
The children were able to reflect on the rock cycle by creating their own interpretations and drawings. The drawings were very detailed, even looking at one another’s, noticing the differences and adding additional details to their own. The children began negotiating and experimenting in different ways in which they could balance and build the rocks into a rock tower.
Stage 4 - Conclusions
As the children’s knowledge of rock continued to grow, they began using more specific and descriptive language in their play. The children successfully adapted their conceptual knowledge of rocks to recreate the different stages of the rock cycle using blocks and rocks as the layers of sediment being squished into magma.
We are continuing to expand the children’s vocabulary to describe the different characteristics, stages of the cycle and types of rocks by engaging the children with art, books, stories, images, technology, research and investigation into - Rocks.
