I

Approaches to Learning

A

Curiosity and Interest

Child approaches the world with curiosity and develops knowledge about specific topics.

6-year-olds – See this age across all domains Early elementary

What educators might observe

• Locates an informational text in the classroom to find out about topics they are interested in
• Asks questions of experts (e.g., during a field trip to the waste treatment plant, child asks questions about how the pipes are connected)

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Include time in the daily schedule during which children may follow their own ideas to make, build, and compose their own works
• Allow students access to a variety of materials to pursue their interests:
  • Blocks and ramps
  • Writing and drawing materials
  • Books
  • Legos
  • Clay
  • Math manipulatives
• Visit the library with children and show them how to look for books related to their topics of interest

B

Initiative

Child pursues their own goals.

6-year-olds – See this age across all domains Early elementary

What educators might observe

• Thinks of ideas for stories they want to write about
• Volunteers to help with classroom chores
• Talks to an educator about how to solve a social problem (e.g., talks about homeless people they see on the way to school and asks how we might offer shelter to them)

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Include a writing area in the learning environment that has multiple and varied tools, materials, and resources (e.g., different types of paper and blank books with a few lines on each page for children to draw and write their own stories)
• Engage children in conversation about their own goals
• Discuss problems and plan solutions; ask for the child(ren)’s ideas for plans of action and document these in writing or drawing

C

Persistence and Attentiveness

Child focuses on tasks and perseveres in accomplishing them.

6-year-olds – See this age across all domains Early elementary

What educators might observe

• Sustains interest in a chapter book the educator is reading the class over the course of several weeks
• Reflects on their work and makes changes based on feedback from peers or educators

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Provide large, uninterrupted time blocks for work on projects
• Ask children to share work in progress, reflect on their process, and plan aloud their next steps; other children can offer suggestions for next steps
• Create areas in the classroom for “works in progress”

D

Creativity and Inventiveness

Child uses their imagination to create and invent.

6-year-olds – See this age across all domains Early elementary

What educators might observe

• Uses their knowledge of science or social studies in creating (e.g., finds a beetle and makes a home for it with leaves and sticks)
• Collaborates with peers to create a project over time (e.g., works together in a small group to paint the backdrop for a play)
• Uses a familiar story as the basis to tell a new version (e.g., learns several Anansi stories and then makes up their own story about a tricky spider)

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Include “choice time” in the daily schedule during which the child has access to a variety of materials and may follow their own idea for a project
• Provide familiar tools such as scissors, rulers, tape, and glue for work
• Document and facilitate children in recording their work with photographs, drawings, and writing; reflect on the process of creating
• Introduce the formal vocabularies of music, dance, and visual arts