Teaching Portfolio
Gillian Rossi
Pre-Service Teacher, Primary Education
St.Francis Xavier University , 1st Year (2019)
Playground Structures
project approach
For this project I chose to work with a four year old girl (Robyn) who I had been babysitting for over a year. The theme of playground structures emerged from a continuous observations of Robyn's requests to go to the local park. Whenever I was over to babysit, she always wanted to go to the park. To confirm this idea, I had asked Robyn's older brother (7 years old) what Robyn's liked to play most and that is when he responded with park. After that, I decided to follow through with the theme of playground structures.
Phase 1: Planning & Questioning
Concept Web
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Phase 2: Investigating & Researching
Activities
1. Three Little Pigs
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Together we read the children's book "Three Little Pigs"​
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Discussed which material is strongest (straw, sticks or bricks)
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Discussed which material is weakest (straw, sticks or bricks)
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Talk about what materials parks may be constructed with
2. iPad App
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Played two apps, "Baby Playground-Build, Play & Have Fun in the Park" and "Playground Cleaning & Washing"
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Interactive apps that allowed Robyn to actively participate in cleaning, fixing and playing on the virtual park
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Transition from the homes structured in the book "Three Little Pigs" to playground structures
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3. Feature Identification (Colouring Page)
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Colouring page
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Image of a simple park structure and children playing at the park
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Robyn identified the child going sown the slide as herself
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Identification of the slide feature
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Discussion of other features at the park (swing, tunnels, etc.)
4. Feature Identification (Subsequent)
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Building off the previous activity, Robyn and I went to visit three different parks that all had different features
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Gross motor skills were practiced on the different structures
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Some structures were familiar, others were not
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5. Obstacle Course
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Gross motor skills: jumping, running, skipping, climbing
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Robyn worked with other children to build an indoor obstacle course
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Used fitness equipment: hoola hoops, tunnel, ladder, BOSU balls, cones, and steps
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Collaborative play
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6. Surface Exploration
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Collected different surfaces form three different parks: wood chips, rocks, and sand and also rubber (not collected)
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Sensory exploration of touch
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Observed how Robyn would play on the different features (example: it was easier for Robyn to run on the flat rubber surface than the rocks)
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Phase 3: Concluding & Culminating
Culminating Activity
I put together a presentation board that showcased everything that was done through this project.
"There are trees at the park"
"I climb up the ladder"
"That is me going down the slide"
"I go to the park with mommy"
To conclude our experience together, Robyn and I went on an outing to local parks that combined everything she enjoyed about the different activities. She seemed to enjoy running on the rubber surface more than wood chips, rocks or sand and also preferred to be at larger parks with more children. She also was intrigued by features she had never seen before. We went to parks that combined all these things.
