A tactile and fine motor experience elicits many descriptions about the experience.
NAEYC
Areas of Development: Language Development
2.D.03- Children in Ms. Huinker's class have varied opportunities to develop competence in verbal and nonverbal communication by responding to questions...communicating thoughts and experiences; and describing things and events.
Ms. Blong, an associate, has a conversation with a group of children playing with "gak". The children respond to her questions about how the gak feels and different things they can do with the gak (stretching, pulling, rolling, etc.). The children are eager to share their observations with Ms. Blong.
Curriculum Content Areas for Cognitive Development: Science
2.G.02-In Ms. Huinker's class,children are provided varied opportunities and materials to learn key concepts and principles of science such as: structure and property of matter...and behavior of materials...
Ms. Blong talks with children while they play with "gak". They notice that the gak tends to level itself or "melt" in their hands. The children also explore the gak as they stretch it, roll it, and hold it up high and let it stretch down towards the table.
Designing Enriched Learning Environments
3.A.04- Ms. Huinker organizes space and selects materials...to stimulate exploration, experimentation, discovery, and conceptual learning.
"Gak" is an engaging substance for children and teachers alike. The unusual tactile experience motives the children to explore the different sensations they find when manipulating it as well as exploring the nature of the substance and what they can do with it.
IELS
7.2-Play and Senses
Children engage in play to learn.
Children in Ms. Huinker's class use sights...and...textures to discriminate between, explore, and experience activities and materials.
A group of children in Ms. Huinker's class are playing with "gak". The classroom associate, Ms. Blong asks the children to describe how it feels and they say words like "icky", "good" and "sticky". As she plays with it, one girl says that hers looks like a princess castle.
8.1-Curiosity and Initiative
Children express curiosity, interest, and initiative in exploring the environment, engaging in experiences, and learning new skills.
The children in Ms. Huinker's class explore and experience activities...with eagerness, flexibility, imagination, independence, and inventiveness.
Ms. Blong talks with a group of children playing with "gak". She asks them to describe the way it feels. Some children stretch the gak and pull it while others let it "melt" in their hands. The children engage in a conversation with Ms. Blong as they play, talking about their impressions of the experience.
10.1-Language Understanding and Use
Children understand and use communication and language for a variety of purposes.
A group of children in Ms. Huinker's class initiates, listens, and responds appropriately in conversations with peers and caregivers...and...speaks in sentences of increasing length and grammatical complexity.
The children playing with "gak" in Ms. Huinker's class are eager to share their impressions of the experience. They take turns responding to Ms. Blong's questions and offer their own ideas. One girl shares that her gak looks like a princess castle. When Ms. Blong acknowledges this statement the girl then elaborates. She further relates it to another popular movie that she had recently seen.
IQPPS
Areas of Development: Language Development
2.15- Children in Ms. Huinker's class have varied opportunities to develop competence in verbal and nonverbal communication by responding to questions...communicating thoughts and experiences; and describing things and events.
Ms. Blong, an associate, has a conversation with a group of children playing with "gak". The children respond to her questions about how the gak feels and different things they can do with the gak (stretching, pulling, rolling, etc.). The children are eager to share their observations with Ms. Blong.
Curriculum Content Areas for Cognitive Development: Science
2.27-In Ms. Huinker's class,children are provided varied opportunities and materials to learn key concepts and principles of science such as: structure and property of matter...and behavior of materials...
Ms. Blong talks with children while they play with "gak". They notice that the gak tends to level itself or "melt" in their hands. The children also explore the gak as they stretch it, roll it, and hold it up high and let it stretch down towards the table.
Designing Enriched Learning Environments
3.1- Ms. Huinker organizes space and selects materials...to stimulate exploration, experimentation, discovery, and conceptual learning.
"Gak" is an engaging substance for children and teachers alike. The unusual tactile experience motives the children to explore the different sensations they find when manipulating it as well as exploring the nature of the substance and what they can do with it.
HSPS
1304.21(a)(4)(ii) – Ms. Huinker ensures opportunities for creative self-expression through activities such as art…and dialogue.
A group of children in Ms. Huinker's class are playing with "gak". The classroom associate, Ms. Blong asks the children to describe how it feels and they say words like "icky", "good" and "sticky". As she plays with it, one girl says that hers looks like a princess castle.
1304.21(a)(4)(iii) - Ms. Blong promotes interaction and language use among children and between children and adults by asking them to describe the gak.
Ms. Blong talks with a group of children playing with "gak". She asks them to describe the way it feels. Some children stretch the gak and pull it while others let it "melt" in their hands. The children engage in a conversation with Ms. Blong as they play, talking about their impressions of the experience.
HSCOF
Language Development
Listening and Understanding
- Demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.
Speaking and Communicating
- Develops increasing abilities to understand and use language to communicate information, experiences, ideas, feelings, opinions, needs, questions, and for other varied purposes
- Progresses in abilities to initiate and respond appropriately in conversation and discussions with peers and adults.
- Uses an increasingly complex and varied spoken vocabulary
Science
Scientific Skills and Methods
- Begins to use senses and a variety of tools and simple measuring devices to gather information, investigate materials and observe processes and relationships.
- Develops increased ability to observe and discuss common properties, differences and comparisons among objects and materials.
- Begins to describe predictions, explanations and generalizations based on past experiences.
Scientific Knowledge
- Expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe and discuss the natural world, materials, living things and natural processes.
- Shows increased awareness and beginning understanding of changes in materials and cause-effect relationships.
Approaches to Learning
Initiative and Curiosity
- Approaches tasks and activities with increased flexibility, imagination and inventiveness.