Brick by brick

Activity 1

A-L Home builders

Encourage children to explore a range of construction equipment to create doll's houses from different materials.

Planned learning intention

To build and construct with a wide range of objects, selecting appropriate resources, and adapting their work where necessary Adult:child ratio 1:8

Resources

Different construction equipment such as Lego, Duplo, Slot and Build, Stickle Bricks, wooden, hollow and waffle blocks, foam, wooden and plastic bricks the stories of 'The Three Little Pigs' and Toby's Doll's House by Ragnhild Scamell (Levinson Books, 8.99) 3four families of 'small world' people

Preparation

* Set out the choices of construction equipment in storage boxes on a large carpet space.

* Sit 'small world' families in four groups.

Step by step

* Read the story of 'The Three Little Pigs' to the children and re-read Toby's Doll's House (see Doll's House, Part 2, Nursery World, 15 February, p18-19). Remind the children about the previous doll's house building activities. Talk about the materials used by the pigs to build their houses. Which was the most successful? Can the children suggest why?

* Suggest that there might be things other than scrap materials in the nursery that they could use to make doll's houses. Look at the different boxes of construction equipment on the carpet. What is the equipment made of?

* Help the children to choose a friend to form a pair and ask each pair to choose one of the sets of equipment.

* Ask each pair to choose a 'small world' family and to build a house for them with the chosen equipment.

* Encourage the children to talk about their ideas and, if they make suggestions, support them appropriately so that they are able to try them out.

* Encourage the children to swap equipment and try another set.

* When the houses are finished, talk about how successful each set of equipment has been. Did they manage to make doors that would open? How do they open? Were they able to make a roof and windows with the equipment?

Stepping stones

* Children with little experience will be happier working alone with an adult to guide them. It will be more appropriate to try making a house with a chosen set of construction equipment and to support up to four children than to use several sets of equipment and expect children to work together. When the children have completed their models, they will enjoy showing others in the group and receiving acknowledgement for their achievement. Praise all children for their efforts, no matter what the end product.

* Children with some experience will enjoy the challenge of working together to build a house but will still need adult guidance. Initially, they will appreciate being able to make a choice from just two sets of equipment. If their interest holds, then encourage them to try each of the four sets and consider which they liked using best, rather than which was best for the purpose of the task. They will still be at the stage of judging subjectively how an experience affected them. Effective questioning will encourage the children to give reasons for their choices and make suggestions during the building.

* Children with more experience will probably work well together in pairs, supporting, sharing and taking turns. At the end of the activity they should be able to make comparisons about the most effective equipment for the task and give reasons to back up their suggestions. They should be able to recall the previous house-building activities and explain which materials they thought produced the most successful doll's house.

Extension ideas

* Consider how to make furniture for the different houses. Can the children make any from the same construction equipment as they used to build the doll's house? Encourage them to make furniture and accessories from recycled materials to extend what they manage to make from construction equipment.

* Display the finished doll's houses with labels alongside saying what they were made from and who made them.

* Make a doll's house for three plastic bears and re-enact the story of 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears'.

* Create a village of doll's houses for 'small world' people to encourage the children to make up their own stories.

* Show the older children how to make accessories for the doll's houses, such as pictures made from magazine cuttings or mirrors made from foil glued to card. Attach these to the walls with sticky tape.

C-I Busy builders

Encourage the children to play freely with all of the construction equipment used in the adult-led activity to develop their ability to construct with a purpose in mind and to extend their imaginary ideas.

Resources

The same range of construction equipment as used above

Play suggestions

* Allow the children to choose from a range of construction equipment in storage boxes on a large carpet space. Ensure that no other activities are planned for this area, so that children are not interrupted.

* Include 'small world' people to encourage them to build doll's houses.

* Have a table alongside, with the stories of 'The Three Little Pigs' and Toby's Doll's House displayed beside children's models made in the adult-led activity to stimulate their ideas.

* Allocate sufficient time for children to complete their self-selected task.

* Have paper and writing materials nearby for children to use as they wish.

* Provide a table for models to be displayed and name cards for children to stand alongside them.

* Visit the activity regularly to show that you value the children's achievements and to give them the opportunity to talk to you about what they are doing.

* If some children are reluctant to join in, sit on the floor and create a model of your own. However, do not be tempted to direct the children in their attempts or to imply that any particular method is best.

* Have a box of small recycled scraps of material to use as accessories.

* If the children are very young, include a box of ready-made doll's house furniture for them to use.

Possible learning outcomes

* Displays high levels of involvement in an activity.

* Works as part of a group, sharing equipment.

* Shows pride in their own achievements.

* Talks about ideas and explains reasons for actions.

* Recognises their own name.

* Shows an awareness of similarities and differences in shapes.

* Chooses suitable components to make a particular model.

* Uses developing mathematical ideas to solve practical problems.

* Discovers some of the properties of materials.

* Joins construction pieces together to build and balance.

* Handles construction materials with increasing control.

* Uses one object to represent another.

* Remembers a previous action by adults and then does it spontaneously when the adult is not there.

* Plays alongside other children engaged on the same theme.