The children in your class are content and engaged in their play. They are happily building with blocks and creating a roadway that has captured their interest most of the week. Or perhaps, they continuously use their outdoor time playing with sand. Whatever the activity is, what you are looking for as the practitioner is what the children are captivated by and where they are CAPABLE of going further with their play! It is these moments of play that hold endless possibilities for learning.
This is where scaffolding enters the picture. It is a framework to describe an adults’ supportive role in children’s learning. Scaffolding is a bridge to new skill levels using three key ingredients: modeling the skill, giving clues and asking questions while the child is trying out a new skill, and then as the child approaches mastery, withdrawing the support.
To provoke additional layers of learning, ask some of these powerful “scaffolding” inspired questions:
1.What are you thinking?
2.What else is possible here?
2.What do you need in order to learn more about _____?
3.What does that remind you of?
5.What happens when we add or do this __________?
6.Who would you like to share this with?
Encourage drawing, documentation, writing, or photographing of the play to make the learning visible. This can also be a tool to help the child revisit their learning process and the ability to return to this topic with or without the practitioner!
