Re-Engage Children With Floorbooks
Claire WardenFloorbooks are a part of the Talking and Thinking Floorbook Approach®, as developed by Claire Warden, and discussed in Claire's book "Talking and Thinking Floorbooks" (3rd Edn., 2015). Floorbooks are a child-led approach to documentation and planning which give children a place to write down or draw their thoughts about a topic, or for an adult to accurately record children’s voices. The Talking and Thinking Floorbook Approach can be adopted by any educator working with 0 to 11 year-olds.
A common problem for educators is trying to re-engage children who have lost interest either in a specific topic or, occasionally, in many topics. Floorbooks are often cited as a useful tool for re-engaging children, but why? Here are 5 reasons why Floorbooks can be used as a useful re-engagement tool.
1. Learning is entirely based on child interests
Lesson plans can be created from themes in which children show an interest. By following up on Possible Lines of Development (PLODs) and really listening to what children are saying, a practitioner can ensure that any learning is of real interest to children. Instead of getting children to learn through abstract examples that they may not understand or that they have no interest in, we can teach complex subjects, such as flight or engineering applications, through everyday interests like birds and boxes. Both adults and children are much more engaged when learning about something in which they are genuinely interested, and we should be trying to include such interests in every day learning. Not only will this engage them, but it can greatly boost their confidence with oral and writing skills, as well as their creativity.
2. They cater for all learning styles
Everybody has a dominant learning style, whether it is visual, auditory or kinaesthetic and Floorbooks allow us to appeal to all kinds of learners. Visual learners will benefit from being able to write down their thoughts or by creating small and personal diagrams in the Floorbook. Auditory learners will benefit from group discussions around a Talkaround Mat and will be able to create links in their learning through such discussions. Talking Tubs encourage children to pass around objects and really get a feel for a variety of objects related to the wider topic, appealing to kinaesthetic learners.
The voice of the child is always evidenced in the Floorbook through writing or recordings alongside photos and drawings which show active engagement. If the evidence highlights that a particular child hasn’t been engaging much, then the practitioner can adjust their style to re-engage with a particular child.
3. Multiple ongoing themes
A Floorbook is not limited to one topic - a good Floorbook should flow like a river encompassing the learning interests of children. For example, one Floorbook which we completed at Auchlone Nature Kindergarten started life looking at medieval knights. From knights, discussion began about the types of clothing they would wear and how it differs from clothing today. After identifying a real interest from the children, we were able to create a learning experience about clothing, which alerted us to a further interest around colours and dyes. While investigating dyes, we included mathematics activities about litres and mixtures. Without using the Floorbooks approach we may never have followed the children’s interests and the learning may have stopped at medieval knights.
A child may not be interested in the current topic, but the Floorbook Approach will allow you to follow different lines of inquiry at the same time with different groups of children. A Floorbook about birds may have two different activities going at the same time - one group may be investigating eggs and lifecycles, whereas another group may choose to investigate nests, habitats and structures. By really listening to children and giving them the freedom and the confidence to lead their own learning we can keep them engaged.
4. Empowered learners
The child-led nature of Floorbooks means that children become proactive learners very quickly. It quickly becomes apparent at Auchlone Nature Kindergarten how confident children can become as a result of engaging with the approach on the daily basis.
We should view children as young authors and illustrators - a Floorbook simply gives them a canvas to express their ideas and imagination. A key part of the Floorbook is that we allow children a sense of ownership over it. All the children sign or mark the inner cover in some way, reinforcing the idea that they are taking ownership of their own learning. They are able to take pride in their learning through the Floorbook that they have helped to create, and revisiting their Floorbook in the future will help to develop new links in their learning. Letting children take direct control of their learning through following up on PLODs and asking open-ended questions will not only improve confidence but will also inspire children.
5. They are informative and fun
Play is such a key part of every child’s upbringing and education. In discussing all the ways that children are engaged by Floorbooks, it can be easy to forget that they work so well because children genuinely enjoy creating them. The entire Floorbook Approach appeals to a child's expressive side. We don't force a Floorbook upon any child, but instead provide it as an optional way to express themselves. Many children struggle under heavily structured and formalised learning. An informal approach, even if it isn't adopted every day, can make learning seem like less of a lesson and more like a fun activity.
My biggest piece of advice to anyone looking to use the Floorbooks Approach to engage children is this: be enthusiastic, be passionate, be committed to child-led learning, and be supportive to boost child confidence levels. By really understanding and believing in the ethos behind the approach you will be able to re-engage with children.
You can join our Floorbooks Facebook Group, learn more about using Floorbooks in your setting with our online learning or read Claire's book "Talking and Thinking Floorbooks".