Young Children - March 2008 - (Page 11) Beyond early childhood teacher educator, to explain how young children respond to music and its numerous mathematical constructs. The authors explore the relationships between mathematics and musical elements, such as steady beat, rhythm, melody, tempo, dynamics, timbre, and style. Included are ideas teachers can use to support the musical and mathematical development of young children. Brian T. Kissel, a researcher who examines early writing acquisition, is the author of “Apples on Train Tracks: Observing Young Children Reenvision Their Writing.” He introduces a group of preschoolers whose skills allow them to integrate new and earlier experiences in their writing. Kissel spent two years observing and learning from the children in Ronda’s pre-K class, where writing is a daily activity. He uses examples of the children’s work to explain the process of reenvisioning and offers ideas teachers can use to scaffold young children’s writing. “Mathematics and Poetry: The Right Connection,” by David J. Whitin, an elementary education professor, and Michelle Piwko, a teacher of second- and third-graders, describes a mathematics and language arts project that integrates geometry and poetry. The children in Michelle’s class, with support from their families, listed attributes and examples of geometric shapes and then created poems modeled on the writing of Margaret Wise Brown. Examples of the children’s research and final products demonstrate the success of this integrated curriculum project. In “Weaving the Tapestry: A First Grade Teacher Integrates Teaching and Learning,” teacher educator Bonnie Hurless and retired teacher Susan B. Gittings define integrated curriculum and detail how a first grade teacher implements early learning standards through an integrated curriculum approach. The approach incorporates writing in every activity, along with books, family involvement opportunities, children’s research, and documentation of children’s progress. The authors liken the approach to weaving tapestries that tell the stories of children’s learning. — Derry Koralek, Editor Young Children • March 2008 11
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