Communicators

Communicators is another attribute of the learner profile. The IB defines communicators by: We express ourselves confidently and creatively in more than one language and in many ways. We collaborate effectively, listening carefully to the perspectives of other individuals and groups. 

An obvious connection for Early Years is the '100 Languages of Children', an expression used by Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the Reggio approach. It captures his image of the child and the capacity to express themselves in infinite ways. 

Communicators, like many of the learner profile attributes, link to so many other aspects of the PYP including communication skills (as part of the AtLs), symbolic exploration and expression, voice (as part of agency) and sharing wonderings, theories and discoveries (as part of inquiry). 

It has been interesting for me to reflect on examples of Kindergarten being communicators in the past few days, and as a result of some of the routines established since the start of the year. Communicating in different ways really is embedded in the classroom culture. 

Sound

This rain stick is used to communicate that it is time to tidy up. The children understand the meaning of the sound and often ask to use the instrument themselves to pass on the message to different groups. 

We use songs and poems to enjoy sounds and explore repetition, alliteration and rhyme. Many of the children are fascinated with generating pairs of rhyming words. 

One child this morning was playing with different sounds that could be made with different materials on the playground. Recently, children were exploring different sounds from materials at the nearby nature trail. 

Symbols

The children are becoming much more aware of and responsive to different symbols. The photo above is a child experimenting with different icons to play with colour, line and shape using a SmartBoard. Yesterday, as we were walking down the stairs, a child wondered, "How many stairs do we have in our school?" After going with a group to explore, this prompted another question: "How many rooms are in our school?" This led to me modelling the use of tally marks as symbols to make counting more efficient. 

Construction

The photo above was taken this morning at break-time (recess). In response to a read aloud picture book, a group of children said they were engineers and they were designing a structure. Many other children joined in the design and then played on the structure as an obstacle course. 

A group of children yesterday afternoon were excited to use parts of a marble chute. Some preferred to follow suggestions communicated in the examples given, and many chose to develop their own creative ideas, experimenting with how pieces connected. 

Inquiring into structures, a child had a working theory that structures did not move. After a quick discussion, the children were then challenged to design a structure that actually moved. Children were so excited to communicate their surprises, efforts, discoveries and learning, reflecting on what enabled their own structure to move. 

Written text

As part of the morning routine, there is a written message for pairs to make sense of. Although the text is short, it gives so many opportunities to explore the date, the connection between visuals and text, sounds and high frequency words and discussion about ideas in response to an open-ended question. Since this is routine, children are becoming more and more confident. 

Read alouds and opportunities to read picture books are routine in Kindergarten. Sometimes the texts are linked to units of inquiry or are chosen with a particular reading strategy in mind (such as making connections). The book above was read last week linked to our unit of inquiry under the transdisciplinary theme of 'How the world works'. 

We have short structured sessions that focus on phonemic awareness so children develop a deeper understanding of the connections between letters and sounds. Sounds are explored through drawing, games such as I-Spy, manipulatives, segmenting words into the number of sounds to write on whiteboards and blend sounds to be able to read words. Children are asked to use writing in authentic contexts such as writing titles of books they create and label their creations that go on display. The above photo is a structure created after exploring pipe cleaners. 

Numerals

Number sense is clearly a big idea to develop an understanding of. We are exploring different ways to represent number - with fingers, objects, ten frames, Numicon, Rekenreks, dots and digits. Children have chance to communicate their understanding of number by playing games such as bingo and using feely bags to touch Numicon. The learning environment has numbers displayed and used in different ways. The spiral staircase above used to have numerals 1-10, but we recently changed it to numerals from 0-20 in intervals of 2. Children are now always skip counting forwards and backwards on the stairs!

Drawing

Drawing as a form of communication most of the children in this Kindergarten class love and choose to do as part of their play. Recently, groups chose which part of the local area they would like to explore more. One group wanted to explore the Metro station. They spoke to one of the Metro workers at the station who gave the children Metro maps. They were fascinated by looking at these maps and following the different lines, numbers and colours. A few children decided to make their own maps in the classroom. Yesterday, we went to the newly opened playground at a nearby park to investigate structures. The children drew the parts of seesaws and slides that they thought would be needed to build these structures. The photo above shows one child's thinking about a seesaw. Of course, the stories and ideas that the drawings prompt are such interesting forms of communication, too. 

Speaking and Listening

So much of our communication in Kindergarten involves speaking and listening. Modelling and feedback on active listening and clear speaking has been key. Most of this class have English as an additional language, yet what they are able to express and understand is amazing. Body language, visuals and translanguaging all play a key part in this. The language of inquiry is intentionally modelled and used in reflection prompts to end each day. Academic language such as wonder, theory, structure, connections and pattern are not avoided. Open-ended and provocative questions are asked so that children have the opportunities to listen carefully to different perspectives and interpretations so that a culture of inquiry and a strong sense of community are built collaboratively. Role play and games are also other routine approaches to using oral language in context. As part of the morning routine, each child engages in conversation with the classroom assistant and me. This communication builds on our relationships and models how language connects people through ideas, experiences and emotions. Children have the opportunity to recount, ask questions, share feelings etc. 

Reflection Questions

How do your children engage as communicators? What are their preferred ways to communicate?

What are some of the ways children might shy away from or do not have regular opportunities to experience?