Get it straight
Chris Athey
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
Everything connects as one child works out his fascination with lines, observed by the Pen Green Centre team in dialogue with Chris Athey Jack started at nursery when he was three years old. His family worker, Michelle, noted that he spent hours with the train set using trajectory, line and connection schemas.
Jack started at nursery when he was three years old. His family worker, Michelle, noted that he spent hours with the train set using trajectory, line and connection schemas.
Michelle outlined Jack's schemas as:
* Trajectories: making linear move- ments in space (vertical, horizontal or oblique)
* Lines: Each line has a starting and end point
* Lines are connected when one entity is joined to another
* Connections between lines form intersections
* Intersections result from co-ordinations of vertical, horizontal and oblique lines.
Jack's line and connection schema manifested itself during his first month in nursery when he:
* Painted vertical or horizontal lines
* Lined up vehicles so they were all connected
* Arranged lollipop sticks into pat- terns after using them as a functional tool to chop clay into pieces
* Used vertical and horizontal pulleys
* Hammered nails in pieces of wood
* Walked along beams on the large climbing equipment
* Played percussion instruments
* Used maple blocks and hollow blocks to construct vertical, horizon- tal and oblique structures.
Home context
At home, Jack's parents supported his current cognitive concerns. They had recognised his interest in how lines were connected.
His mother, Sue, told us that Jack was fascinated by scaffolding that had been erected around their house. He noticed the vertical, horizontal and oblique configurations that resulted from the co-ordination of lines. He could see how they connected and intersected to form three-dimensional, grid-like structures around his home. He focused first on the intersections at the bottom of the house and then drew attention to higher ones until he reached the top.
Sue also noticed that when they went out, Jack would point out lines and intersections in his locality. He frequently talked about the cross on the church.
On the way to nursery they walked over the railway bridge and Jack was interested in the track and liked to watch the trajectories of engines and haulage carriages. He made several three-dimensional models from drinking straws and a model of a flute by connecting small pieces of straw at right angles along a full length straw.
Sue said that Jack seemed to 'light up' and become more alive when he was sharing his knowledge of lines, connections and intersections.
Developing interests
Jack's experimentation with lines developed into an interest with heights and what was above and below. He asked specific questions reflecting his schematic concerns, for example, 'Where does water go when it goes down the drains?' This showed a co-ordination of the schemas 'going-through' and a vertical trajectory schema from above to below. He was trying to establish an 'end point' for water, which goes down the drain.
On the way to nursery, he noticed similarities and differences between his and his mother's shadow. He observed that his shadow remained on the footpath and that hers stretched on to the road. He found it funny when a car ran over her shadow. Jack's good understanding of long and short meant that he could be playful with the concepts. His interest in shadows persisted. He tried out different positions and ways of standing and closely observed the effects of each variation on his shadow.
Jack regularly created horizontal, vertical and oblique three-dimensional structures. He subdivided paper into sections by drawing lines from top to bottom and side to side. He made swords at the woodwork bench and constructed his church cross from art straws. He was interested in creating intersections by co-ordinating and connecting vertical and horizontal lines.
Combining lines
Jack's intentions were ambitious. He persisted for long periods to create what he had in mind. When setting out to construct a model of an umbrella, he employed prior knowledge. He folded the card to create a shape that had an even area on both sides, using his knowledge of symmetry. This was to be the canopy of the umbrella.
Jack then gathered a selection of straws and lollipop sticks. He selected specific straws for the handle and bent and twisted the ends to enable them to fit inside one another. But he became dissatisfied with that form of connection because it lacked strength. He made the connections stronger by wrapping masking tape around them.
Jack used scissors to make a hole in the canopy where he intended to attach one end of the handle. He forced the line of straws through the hole and connected it with masking tape. Reflecting on his work, he decided the handle needed modifying, so he connected two lollipop sticks to the end of the straws. Once he had secured the sticks, he bent them into a curve for the handle. At that time in the nursery Jack had started to write J for Jack.
When Jack held his umbrella up he expressed dissatisfaction with the floppy canopy. He chose some lollipop sticks and placed them on the canopy. He taped the sticks at an equal distance apart, creating a core and radial pattern as in a real umbrella.
Jack held his umbrella in the air, smiled and called out in triumph to a member of staff. He was clearly very proud of his achievement.
What Jack is learning
Jack has experimented with many important mathematical concepts
* Height
* Length
* Division of space
* Symmetry
* Shape
* Co-ordinates
* Mapping
* Angles
By Angela Prodger, head of nursery, and Michelle McGinn, family worker, at Pen Green Centre for Under Fives and Families in Corby, Northants
Further reading
* Pen Green Centre, 'Take cover', Nursery World, 19 February 2004
* Pen Green Centre, 'Move it', Nursery World, 15 April 2004