Beyond community helpers: the project approach in the early childhood social studies curriculum.

Traditionally, early childhood educators address the gaping hole in their planning books under the "social studies" header by teaching a smattering of thematic units. When I began teaching my kindergarten and 1st-grade classes, my approach was no exception. My fellow teachers and I would sit down and plan out the year, starting with the theme "All About Me," moving on to "My Family," and eventually arriving at "Community Helpers." Although the progression of these topics seemed to follow what I understood to be logical child development theory, I was concerned that the children and I were not making as much sense out of what we were discussing as we could have. The songs, books, poems, games, centers, and art activities I planned to accompany these units were fun, and certainly not harmful; yet I sometimes asked myself, "What exactly are we learning here, and why?"

My whole style of teaching changed when I began to study the project approach. According to Lilian Katz (1994),

A project is an in-depth investigation of a topic worth learning more about. The investigation is usually undertaken by a small group of children within a class, sometimes by a whole class, and occasionally by an individual child. The key feature of a project is that it is a research effort deliberately focused on finding answers to questions about a topic posed either by the children, the teacher, or the teachers working with the children. The goal of a project is to learn more about the topic rather than to seek right answers to questions posed by the teacher.

After listening to Katz speak at a local professional meeting, reading Engaging Children's Minds by Lilian Katz and Sylvia Chard (2000), and seeing a project in action at a local elementary school, I gradually stopped being a teacher who relied heavily on pre-planned thematic units of study. I began to value children's interests and questions above what came next in the thematic teaching resource book on the shelf in our staff lounge.

My transformation in teaching style did not happen overnight, nor did I become a "projects purist"--using one way to teach everything when working with young children. But I soon found the difference between merely covering material laid out months in advance, and what Katz called "uncovering" rich, meaningful, and interesting topics with children's ideas as the driving force (personal communication, August 6, 2001).

Social Studies and the Project Approach

Most early childhood educators now know the importance of planning experiences for social studies, or any other content area, that are integrated, meaningful, and of high interest (Seefeldt, 2001). Many teaching methods use these criteria, but the project approach goes further. A project is unique because it does not simply introduce subject matter that integrates content area, it also provides a meaningful context for that subject and draws interest by connecting with children's background experiences. A project does all these things while providing an opportunity to attend to curriculum goals and standards, as well as addressing desirable dispositions (e.g., making sense of an experience, showing persistence in seeking solutions to problems, grasping the consequences of actions) as goals for learning (Helm & Katz, 2000).

The goal of social studies is to "promote civic competence"; for young children, this begins with finding their own voice (National Council for the Social Studies [NCSS], 2002). According to a position statement from NCSS called Social Studies for Early Childhood and Elementary School Children P reparing for the 21 s t Century (1988), "Children can also develop, within the context of social studies, positive attitudes toward knowledge and learning and develop a spirit of inquiry that will enhance their understanding of their world so that they will become rational, humane, participating, effective members of a democratic society." Children need opportunities to function as part of a community of learners if they are to gain the skills and dispositions that lead to civic competence, and grow into contributing members of society.

Katz and Chard (2000) point to "community ethos" as an important benefit of the project approach. They write: "Community ethos is created when all of the children are expected and encouraged to contribute to the life of the whole group, even though they may do so in different ways" (p. 9). In order to grow into positive, contributing members of a democratic society, children must learn to work together, appreciate and respect differences in others, and play a role in the common good.

Wood and Judikis (2002) identify "six essential elements" of a community: 1) common purpose or interest among the group, 2) assumption of mutual responsibility, 3) acknowledgment of interconnectedness, 4) mutual respect for individual differences, 5) mutual commitment to the well-being of each other, and 6) commitment by the members to the integrity or well-being of the group. While the phrase "classroom community" and "community of learners" are common slogans among teachers and teacher educators, do we really understand the concept of "community"? It may be beneficial for us to keep Wood and Judikis's definition in mind when striving to build community in our classrooms. Children best learn to work in a group, respect others, and work toward a common goal by experiencing these traits--and ultimately civic competence-as part of real events, much like those made available through the project approach.

Explorers' Express: A Post Office Project

My first teaching assignment was in a kindergarten/ 1st-grade multiage classroom at a suburban elementary school. By most standards, this was a fairly innovative school that embraced mixed-age grouping and followed a year-round calendar. The teaching staff was very dedicated to integrated thematic instruction. I knew this was not quite the same as the project approach, but it was fairly compatible with what I thought I could do. I also found that the school's philosophy and system for curriculum planning was, while somewhat shortsighted, flexible enough for me to embed project work in my own classroom.

According to the thematic instruction model, we (the teachers) were to devise a yearlong theme, and choose sub-themes or "components" within that theme to serve as guides for all our curriculum planning. Since our school calendar was divided into three trimesters, each had its own component. The primary (kindergarten and 1st-grade) team's sub-theme for the winter of 2000 was the ever-popular theme of "Community Helpers." Most early childhood teachers have used this concept in their classroom at some point in their teaching careers, to fill the social studies section of their lesson plan. This type of study often would involve a survey of all the different jobs or occupations people have in a local community. This is a fine idea, but often ends up being a very shallow endeavor in which a smattering of careers, from police officer to truck driver, are only superficially examined.

Our trimester began just this way. Children had an opportunity to share what their mothers and fathers did for a living. We had guest speakers, books, poems, songs, learning center activities, and all the necessary parts of a thematic study one could easily find in a teacher-store book. As we were making our way through the different community helpers, we came to the postal worker. I remembered the mail project I learned about three years ago when watching Lilian Katz speak and suddenly became excited. Here was a way out of the "community helpers" doldrums.

Projects begin in many different ways. Some of the best projects happen spontaneously; a teacher carefully observes children at work and play, and chooses a topic based on their questions and interests. Other times, teachers may plan a project based on curriculum goals and what they know to be an appropriate area of study. This project began the second way. I chose the topic based on what I thought would provide many opportunities for firsthand experiences and that would connect to something within most of the children's existing experiences. I decided it would be a much better use of our time if we were to look at one occupation or career in-depth, as opposed to lightly covering all the "community helpers" we could think of throughout the trimester. We had to study something the children were somewhat familiar with, which left out jobs like sailors (we lived in Indiana), soldiers, politicians, and the like. The postal worker was perfect. Also, this being my first full-fledged project, it helped to know that it had been done before by the preschool children Katz mentioned.

Getting Started

How was I to begin? I already had some books about postal workers that I had gathered for the community helpers theme. Beginning a project with a book seemed too familiar, however. I wanted to try another technique to grab the children's interests. It need not be glamorous, but should be interesting and familiar. On the first day of the project, we sat down for the morning meeting and I pulled out a box of envelopes I had "borrowed" from the school supply closet. I took one of the envelopes out and we talked about it.

Immediately, the children began talking about the mail and, more important, talking about their own mailboxes, mail carriers, and times when they had received or sent mail. Some of the children, as many children would in a similar circumstance, began playing with the envelope I had passed around and started taking it apart. I recognized that through their actions the children had asked their first questions: What is an envelope and how is it made? Questions are the main ingredient to any good project, and they are what distinguish project work from other types of instruction. I became very excited to see it actually working!

I then invited the children to explore the envelopes. They proceeded to take them apart and examine the rounded corners and the edges covered with dried glue. I gave the children a piece of plain white paper and challenged them to make their own envelopes. I wanted to see if they could discover the answer to their own questions. I was not sure how well their homemade envelopes would hold a letter, but I think this project got off to a good start and set the tone for a child-centered, question-driven investigation.

Delving Deeper

Our discussions about the mail continued as we read some informational books about postal workers and the post office. The children continued to share stories about times when they mailed a letter with their parents, or when they actually went to the post office. A class field trip to the local post office seemed the next logical step when the children began to ask questions pertaining to how the mail system works, such as, "Where do the letters go when we put them in the mailbox?" I called the post office and set up a class trip, which would turn out to be one of the highlights of our post office project.

We prepared for the trip by reviewing some guidelines concerning safety around the machinery they might see, and compiling some questions for the postal workers. The post office manager, Mrs. Smith, was our tour guide, and the children really did an exceptional job of listening carefully to her instructions as they were shown around the lobby and "behind the scenes" at the post office. They saw the postal materials that the clerks sold at the front desk. They were able to see a customer make a purchase, and watched the clerks weigh the package and make the transaction.

Next, we entered the back room of the post office. The children gasped as they looked around the huge area, and all the things that were going on. The first area Mrs. Smith showed the children was the mail-sorting machine. She explained that the envelopes were sorted by ZIP code, and asked the technician to show the children how it worked. The children were fascinated by it all--the machine, the computers, and especially when the sorter broke down and had to be serviced right before our eyes. I took several pictures to ensure that we had it well-documented. A parent who came along for the trip videotaped the event so we could revisit what we had experienced.

Mrs. Smith introduced us to several mail carriers who were getting ready to go out on their routes. She showed the children many of the different machines that they used to help them sort and deliver the mail more efficiently, different tools the mail carriers used (such as carts, bins, and bags), and the post office boxes. The trip culminated with a walk outside to look at the inside of a mail truck, and we had a conversation with a mail carrier getting ready to go on his route. Although the tour was mostly a passive one, which I would later learn how to avoid, I believed the group gained much from the experience.

Bringing It Together

When we returned to school, the children sat down to write in their individual journals and draw pictures of the experience. The next day, I asked our school secretary to call down to our classroom when the school's mail carrier arrived to deliver the day's mail. When she did, we dropped everything and went down to see and talk with her. This was a nice way to connect our previous trip to real life. We saw a carrier in action, and she became the expert who would be able to answer any questions that were remaining from the day before.

During choice time, the children began to show what they were learning about mail and the post office in different ways. Allie drew a picture on the dry erase board of the sorting machine from the post office trip. Another group of children built mail trucks with Legos. As they pursued these activities, the children demonstrated what part of the mail process interested them the most. After much discussion, we decided as a class to make our own post office right there in the classroom. The planning began. First, we would need a name. The children came up with several ideas, but finally voted for "Explorers' Express" (the "Explorer" is the school mascot). In order to plan for the creation of Explorers' Express, the group reflected on what they had learned from the visit to the real post office.

We talked about how the postal workers all had different jobs and had to work together in order to complete the big task of delivering the U.S. mail. We also would have to work together in order to make our mail system work. After reviewing what we had learned so far from our reading, the expert's insight, and the field trip, we broke the mail process down into four basic tasks: delivering and picking up mail, sorting mail, producing stamps and envelopes, and selling stamps and envelopes. Each child chose an operation that most interested him or her. Four interest groups were formed to produce stamps and envelopes, sell the items, deliver and pick up mail, and sort the mail for delivery.

As the stamp and envelope group produced stamps (some were mass-produced, and others were "special edition" stamps made individually), the mail clerks set up a makeshift post office using our puppet stand. Some of the children wrote messages on the front, describing the price of stamps, hours of operations, etc. One child brought in a toy cash register, and soon they were ready for customers. Meanwhile the mail carriers devised mail bags made of paper and staples (which they later would find ineffective for large packages) and sat down with me to divide the school into "mail routes." There were 30 classrooms in the school, so each of the six mail carriers had five classrooms on a route. Each carrier chose a color, and we painted the mailboxes on his or her route that color to help remind them which classrooms were theirs. The color code system also helped the sorting group.

When the mail came in (either picked up by the mail carriers or brought in by "customers"), the members of the sorting group put a dot on the back of the envelope with a marker. The marker color matched the color of the mailbox to which it would be delivered. The sorting group knew what color to put on the envelope because the sender had to put the classroom number in the address area on the front of the envelope. We had devised a chart to help the sorters do their job. For example, if the envelope said, "John Doe, Rm. 16" on the front, the sorters would look for the number 16 on the chart and mark the letter with the appropriate color. They then would put the letter in the corresponding mail carrier's bin to be delivered that afternoon.

Every part of this project was planned and carried out by the children and teacher together. On most occasions, a problem was posed by the teacher to the children, and then discussed--or vice versa. On no occasion was an action taken unilaterally. Some of the children took on extraordinary roles in the Explorers' Express. David, a child advanced beyond most in reading, writing, and math, became our unofficial "Postmaster General." He helped children count money, write signage, tell time, etc. He kept us in line and on time. Another child, Jason, became so engaged in the mail project, his mother joked with me that it was bordering on obsession. He had his mother buy him a planner, and he "scheduled meetings" with various members from various groups in the Explorers' Express. He would go home at night and devise new plans for the next day, write countless letters to friends, and make new stamp designs.

The mail carriers soon became school-wide celebrities. Older children waved at them as they went down the hall. Every classroom in the school participated in the project. Children were lined up outside of our room every morning from 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. The post office opened and closed on time every morning, without fail. Kindergartners who had never learned how to tell time before this project were learning now because they had a purpose. In three weeks, we processed over 1,000 pieces of mail. After those three weeks, we closed the Explorers' Express mail service and celebrated our accomplishments. We made a scrapbook together that documented the experience, which each child took home. The book told the story of an unforgettable classroom project that lasted for a total of nine weeks.

The Impact of the Project Approach on Children

What is the point of spending nine weeks talking about mail? In an atmosphere of rigorous standards and academic accountability, this question is sure to be asked. The real reason I spent so much time focused on one seemingly insignificant topic is simple. The primary purpose was not to teach children about the mail system, but rather how to be empirical, strive for accuracy, and work cooperatively. It was not really terribly important to me that the children in my classroom learn about the different parts of a post office. I did want them to learn, however, how to carefully observe people, places, things, and events. My goal was for the children to become active participants in a group that had a common goal and supported each other in their search for knowledge and truth. I hoped for them to become citizens of our classroom and school community. Those are the dispositions that in-depth projects help to foster and strengthen in children, and they are crucial.

When these goals are kept in mind, a project can be a transformational experience for children and teachers. A child's background, developmental level, behavior problems, or other traits and features that typically separate the haves from the have-nots are diminished by project work because the children are allowed to pursue their own interests and be challenged at their own levels. Children often transcend their problems or differences, and come to life in the joyous exploration of a topic that has meaning and is of interest to them.

My students have been transformed by projects in many ways--both individually and as a whole. Billy, a child with behavior and emotional problems, could not sit still for more than two minutes of circle time or last for five minutes on the playground without creating a disturbance. When I brought in a collection of bike parts for the children to explore during a project on bicycles, Billy took leave of his typically destructive and distracting behavior for the day. I watched him become engrossed in figuring out how the bike parts fit together and how they work, and I observed him testing his theories for 45 minutes. For a child who has difficulty sticking with one task for more than five minutes, this was a wonderful thing to behold.

The personality of Calbert, a socially awkward kindergartner who struggled academically, also emerged during the workings of a project. He was a member of the sorting group for the post office project, whose job it was to sort the incoming mail for the mail carriers to deliver around the school. The sorting group needed a location to sort the mail and, for whatever reason, chose the loft in our classroom as the "sorting room." One day Calbert had a great idea. He decided that since the loft was up high, and the mail needed to come back down, they should have a mail chute to send the mail down to the carriers' boxes for delivery. The group loved the idea, and they got busy working together to bring Calbert's idea to fruition. They first tried to slide the envelopes and packages down the steps, but had the difficulties one might expect. They used trial and error to test several different methods, and finally were able to use long cardboard pieces to create a tunnel that would guide the mail pieces down between the wall and the steps. This was all accomplished with Calbert leading the way; from that moment on he had a new sense of pride and confidence.

Another unique attribute of projects is the opportunity they provide for service learning. Projects that offer these experiences, according to NCSS's position statement on service learning, provide: 1) relevant opportunities to connect civic life with practical community problem solving; 2) an increased awareness of children's immediate surroundings and its unmet need s (as well as opportunities to learn strategies to meet those needs); and 3) enhancement of "democratic values and attitudes" (NCSS Citizenship Select Subcommittee, 2000). The Explorers' Express gave the children all these experiences, and our classroom community grew together because of it.

Conclusion

According to NCSS, the "primary goal of public education is to prepare students to be engaged and effective citizens." To reach that goal, the NCSS position statement titled Creating Effective Citizens explains that students should participate in activities that "expand civic knowledge, develop participation skills, and support the belief that, in a democracy, the actions of each person make a difference ... as they work to solve real problems" (NCSS Task Force on Revitalizing Citizenship Education, 2002).

When given the opportunity to become an active, participating member of a community of learners, a child learns to be an effective citizen. We need not lecture young children about the historical roots of our democratic republic, or go through the silly, artificial motions of participating in a mock election, in order to teach them about citizenship and democracy. What we must do is provide opportunities for children to be part of an endeavor that celebrates our ideals through cooperative group efforts, in which they strive to better themselves by developing the disposition to find things out and respect each other's individual differences and talents. That is where democracy begins for our children.

References

Helm, J. H., & Katz, L. (2000). Young investigators: The project approach in the early years. New York: Teachers College Press.

Katz, L. G. (1994). The project approach. Champaign, IL: Children's Research Center. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EDO-PS-94-6)

Katz, L. G., & Chard, S. C. (2000). Engaging children's minds: The project approach (2nd ed.). Stamford, CT: Ablex Publishing

National Council for the Social Studies Citizenship Select Subcommittee. (2000). Service learning: An essential component of citizenship education. Retrieved September 3, 2004, from http://socialstudies.org.

National Council for the Social Studies Task Force on Early Childhood/Elementary Social Studies. (1988). Social studies for early childhood and elementary school children preparing for the 21st century. Retrieved October 28, 2003, from http://socialstudies.org.

National Council for the Social Studies Task Force on Revitalizing Citizenship Education. (2002). Creating effective citizens. Retrieved October 28, 2003, from http://socialstudies.org.

Seefeldt, C. (2001). Social studies the preschool/primary child (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.

Wood, G. S., & Judikis, J. C. (2002). Conversations on community theory. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press.

Ted L. Maple is Director, Success by Six, Indianapolis, Indiana, and former Director, St. Mary's Child Center, Indianapolis, Indiana.