#KinderChat Archives 6.1.14 - Documenting Learning Using Photographs

Technology and social media sites have enhanced the way in which teachers can connect and collaborate with others. Kinderchat is an example of that! Their goal is to be able to connect early childhood educators, professionals, parents, and policy makers and create a space in which collaboration, learning, discussion, and a sense of community are valued. Each Monday night, at 9:00 PM (EST), Kinderchat meets on twitter and addresses specific topics related to the Early Childhood field( for a list of upcoming topics click here).

While looking through the archives, I chose to browse through the chat on documenting children's learning through photographs. As technology becomes more advanced, documenting children's learning in photos makes it easier for teachers to create a classroom site where parents can log in and view what their child learned that day, what activities they were most interested in, and how the week has gone so far. One of the contributors mentioned how she "was surprised at how few teachers used photos" as a way of documenting learning. Other collaborators posted images of how they have photographically documented in their classroom; for example, the user @teachermeg took pictures of children's artwork, took photos of the children working on said artwork, typed up phrases children said during their work and took a photo of that. She then put the images together to create a collage that displayed the entire process from beginning to end. For her, incorporating the story of the artwork as well as the artwork itself was important. She also mentions that while this type of documenting may work for some others may find it too overwhelming so as "long as you are documenting...it's all good." The conversation also shifted into talking about the different types of resources available online for teachers who DO choose to document learning through photos. such as EverNote and 2Simple. These are sites that have certain free capabilities and can help with classroom organization.

What I found most interesting is that several people mentioned that documenting is a way for us to advocate for our students. The more and more I dwell on that I find this to be true. If we have documentation of a child's progress or lack of progress in certain areas this can be a useful tool in advocating for assistive technologies that may help that child or for funding for other materials that may be lacking in the classroom. 

Regardless of the means that we use, it is important to know that documentation is key for assessment, to help with being a reflective practitioner and as a way to see a child's progress. 

Literacy Centers

As teachers, when planning lessons or activities, we must always keep in mind ways in which we can extend learning and ways in which we can incorporate literacy. Literacy Centers are a great way to do both! In chapter ten of her book, Make Way for Literacy, Owocki talks about the importance of having literacy centers in the classroom and how teachers can implement them into different subject areas while giving children open ended choices.  She provides samples of how learning centers that are already present in most classrooms can be turned into literacy centers. 

Library Center - children are engaged in reading a book but are also

 getting the phonemic awareness as the book is also being read to them on the CD.

Most early childhood classes already contain centers such as art, dramatic play, music and library/reading. Owocki goes on to say that these centers can all benefit a child's literacy by using certain strategies or by adding materials that promote literacy. In her samples of these centers she writes how it is important to keep background knowledge in mind; what have the children done in previous guided activities that will extend the learning through each of these centers? It's also important to have the right kinds of materials and to be aware of what role the children will play and what role, if any, the teacher will play. 

In order to make any learning center work as a literacy center as well, we as teachers must also understand that literacy is not simply just writing or reading. Children can engage in literacy through different ways. The dramatic play area allows children to be engaged with books either in a shared reading format where as the teacher reads children  can act out the story or by allowing them to create their own alternate endings or interpret the story by the images that they see; this is as much a reading of a book as if a child were to sit down and just read it. An art center can also serve as a literacy center. Children become aware of their surroundings and create images/products according to what they see, hear or feel. Environmental print is a big part of literacy and is often times expressed through the art center.

Children learn literacy through different ways and by providing literacy related materials in each classroom center we are further extending their learning and encouraging their literacy skills. 

Dramatic Play & Written Stories

When reading children's stories, as educators and parents, we must keep in mind that the way that a child sees that story is one part their own imagination and one part how we present the story. Presenting the story in a shared reading experience is very important as it allows children to connect with the story as well as engage in dramatic play. A shared reading experience is when both story teller and audience are actively involved in reading the story together. This could mean that stories that have rhyming words or repeating phrases can be used as entry points for students to engage with the book. For example, Sadie and the Snowman by Allen Morgan is a great example of a book that can be used for shared reading. The story revolves around Sadie making a snowman and decorating it with different types of foods for the face. Every day the snowman melts but she's able to rebuild it again and put on new foods for his face, and the same animals come and take the food away. This story uses repetition as well as predictability to engage young children. As teachers we can use this predictability and repetition to further engage them by having objects from the story present in the classroom (like foods or snowy weather clothes) and pausing at times in which the story repeats itself so that the children can say the words all together. Those who can't read will feel confident in their early literacy skills and those who are starting to learn to read will be able to also follow along, not only with the repetitive sections but the rest of the story!

Dramatic play of a story should not only be available for the time that the story is read. Teachers can create various opportunities for students to engage with that particular story in a dramatic play setting. After a shared reading, students will most likely still be interested in the story, therefore, teachers provide the same kinds of materials to be available to all. Several child sized copies of the book can be made available for students in the dramatic play area so that children can use the objects from the story to re-tell the story to their peers. Students may also choose to "read" a different story from that same book, using the dramatic play area materials, and by looking at the images that they see. By allowing them to freely interact with the book we are providing them with opportunities to further develop their literacy skills. 

Along with developing their reading literacy skills, children will also be developing their writing literacy skills. In their article Let me tell you a secret: Kindergartners can write, Amanda R. VanNess, Timothy J. Murnen and Cynthia D. Bertelsen, talk about how even before children have formally been taught writing skills that they are able to express themselves or their stories through written works. The author talks about how when children in kindergarten are told that they can write, they are amazed and immediately embrace the fact that they are able to put shapes, lines, scribbles, etc. on paper and are able to convey what they are feeling. This early literacy skill can also be used with story telling. Teachers and parents can incorporate writing about a story or creating an alternate ending of that story into children's lives. Children start to incorporate elements of story telling into their own writing like creating a beginning, a middle, and an ending as well as incorporating their own experiences into their stories. The author uses the example of a young girl, Alaysia, who uses both elements she's seen in stories as well as her own made up words to tell a story about her tooth falling out. Encouraging children to take part in writing their own stories allows them to engage in literacy in a written way! As educators and parents we must provide our students with the opportunities to engage in shared reading experiences that allow them to take those stories one step further into their literacy journey.