What could be used to deflect the ball and change its direction? ⢠Can you point out and focus the child's attention to a particular failed connection point?
PROVOCATIONS WITH RAMPS
PROVOCATION: CREATING CONNECTIONS AND JUNCTIONS
Learning to connect ramps is a process, which evolves over time. Let your children experiment, struggle, and find solutions on their own as they look to extend their systems by connecting ramps. Support their process with provocations like the one found below: Provocation Type: Visual Reference Material
The following provocation supports a constructivist approach to teaching and learning. It offers the educator ideas for engaging children with ramps. Using provocations as a catalyst for learning offers children entry points for play and exploration. We wrote this provocation with our Discovery Ramps in mind; however, it can be applied to any ramp system, whether it’s cove molding, PVC pipes, or more! Discovery Ramps were developed to support children and adults as they play and hone engineering behaviors and cross-cutting skills. The word ‘discovery’ says it all! Through hands-on experiences with this product, children will naturally discover the fundamentals of ramp play. When used on their own or in the block area, children will apply what they know about construction and loose parts as they create roads, bridges, elevated structures, and complex courses.
© 2016 Kodo Kids
Providing and using references such as books and images fosters literacy and critical thinking skills. Collect several images of roads, canals, water flumes, and ball tracks for inspiration, giving children opportunities to use make the cognitive leap between a real world situation and their own representation using ramps. Some examples of imagery to use include intersections, paved road meeting dirt road, aqueducts, raised highways, railways, etc. Open-Ended Questions to Provoke Exploration with Connections: • How can you encourage children to make connections of different types? Ramps to tubes to blocks to other loose parts? • Are the ramps all in a straight line? Challenge children by suggesting a turn. • Does the ball overshoot a turn? What could be used to deflect the ball and change its direction? • Can you point out and focus the child’s attention to a particular failed connection point?
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PRODUCTS THAT SUPPORT RAMPS PROVOCATIONS DISCOVERY RAMPS
DEFLECTOR KIT
Discovery Ramps intrigue children to use creative thinking and problem solving skills to construct systems of pathways. During play with ramps, children plan, design, construct, test, and evaluate their work. Children will gain an understanding of force and motion as they tinker and experiment with physics-based concepts such as gravity, mass, and slope.
This four-piece set adds a unique challenge to ramp play. Deflectors redirect balls so that children can explore angles and deflection. Launch and rebound balls, support ramps, and build structures with these intriguing pieces! Kodo’s Deflector Kit demonstrates the very important concepts of the angle of incidence and deflection of an object in a playful manner.
TUBE KIT
OUTDOOR RAMPS
Tubes! There are never enough in the early childhood classroom. The Tube Kit provokes play and exploration indoors or out. This kit includes several lengths of rigid white PVC and clear PVC tube, along with a flat wood storage base for them to live in when not in use. These loose parts are a perfect addition to ramp play, your block and construction area, or the sensory table.
Constructive creativity is limitless when children play with these versatile outdoor ramps. Made for water, balls or gravel, the ramp and stand set is a great way for children to interact with natural materials in any setting! Outdoor ramps include your choice of elevating stands, including two types of wood stands or our classic, manipulatable Sandbags.
SWISS CHEESE TOWERS Children’s play with ramps can be very complex. Not only do children like to build long and winding ramp paths, they like to build tall ones as well. Swiss Cheese Towers are a tool for adding height, dimension, and multiple pathways to children’s play with ramps. Anytime a means of elevation is added to work with ramps children get to tinker with design. Their play becomes more advanced as both creative and critical thinking skills are flexed.
© 2016 Kodo Kids
To view all of Kodo’s ramp products and accessories, visit kodokids.com/engineering/ramps. For more teacher resources and provocation ideas, check out kodokids.org!
www.kodokids.com
www.kodokids.org
844.563.6543
