Engaging Children's Minds: The Project Approach

Now in its third edition, this book shows teachers how to incorporate the Project Approach into early childhood and elementary curricula, engaging children intellectually and heightening their capacities for thinking, hypothesizing, reasoning, and expressing their natural curiosity.

Why has the Project Approach proven to be so successful for engaging young children intellectually and supporting their capacities to think, predict, hypothesize, reason, and express their natural curiosity? Simply put, because project work provides meaningful contexts in which children can readily apply and perceive the usefulness of their growing academic skills. This book provides a brief history and overview of the Project Approach and a thorough explanation of how to better use this method proficiently in a wide range of educational contexts.

This book is intended for teachers, early childhood practitioners, caregivers, and student teachers. Readers will learn how to apply this approach to engage children's interest and facilitate their intellectual development. The book's chapters articulate the processes and benefits of the Project Approach, identify and detail the three phases of project work, and provide specific suggestions for implementing each phase. The importance of documenting children's work to record the story of their investigation and findings is also discussed.

Lilian G. Katz, PhD, is professor emerita and member of staff of the Clearinghouse on Early Education & Parenting.

Sylvia C. Chard, PhD, is professor emeritus of elementary education at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.

Yvonne Kogan, MEd, is the early childhood and elementary head principal, and co-owner of Eton School in Mexico City.