Thanks for the question, Nancy. We wrote Young Investigators to help teachers of children not yet proficient with reading and writing (toddlers through about 1st grade) to learn how to do project work. The best way to learn how to do projects is through a training session on project approach where techniques can be modeled and tried as teachers are doing a project so they can ask questions and reflect with others about the process. However, not everyone can do that so we included in the back of YI The Teachers Project Planning Journal. You can use this as a training guide. It provides step-by-step guidance through doing a first project and becomes a journal for that first project. For veteran project teachers it becomes a journal and documentation collection space where photos, children's work, and teacher reflections are stored. Directors often make copies of the journal and place them in 3-ring binders along with some page protectors and pocket folders. These notebooks function as a "workbook", a journal, and a documentation file. On the corner of most pages of the journal you will see a bit of the project flowchart which keys you into the section of the book where this part of project work is discussed in detail. Many directors have told me that they have had great success using YI as a book study, reading and following the journal as they work through their first project. A good pace is to do this over a 2 1/2 month period. A good time to start this would be in October with most projects culminating before December holidays, late January or early March.

I am also completing a Book Study Guide for YI which will be posted on the Teachers College Press website soon. (The journal can also currently be downloaded at no charge from the first page of the Teachers College Press website - tcpress.com)

Actually I see and share more project work from multi-age groups, except for toddlers. Todller classrooms are usually more segregated by age level.

In YI, the camera project is a multi-age group of the same age range you describe. In project work, children bring to the project their own developmental and skill level and make contributions appropriate for them. Children are often working on different aspects of the project at the same time. For example, a child might be able to paint a large play structure that the class is building such as a play barn. This kind of painting requires large muscle skills. However, that same child may have difficulty doing smaller representation painting at a table. A four- or five-year-old can usually form and answer questions. A young three may not be able to contribute questions but can still listen to the experts answer other children's questions and observe demonstrations in the field.

Some ways to make projects meaningful for all your children is to utilize center time (child selected time) for much of the project work and letting children choose to do project activities during that time. The richer the classroom with artifacts and materials the more the children can explore the topic at their own level. Some children can touch, feel, and talk about them. Some can make observational drawings or find them in books. Some children will want to make labels and signs.

Yes, don't hesitate to group children for project work. You may have a group of children who will be doing observational drawings on site with clipboards while another group may be interacting with an expert. Grouping is also easier when webbing or making a list of questions. You can combine webs and questions later. Very young threes can share a book about the topic with you and spontaneously ask questions or point to what interests them; while more experienced investigators can sit in a group and listen to and expand on one another's questions.

It is wise to keep any groupings flexible. If a child is interested in working on the barn today, he may choose to play with blocks instead the next day. Someone else can step into the barn construction. It helps if you end each day reviewing what was accomplished on the project that day. The next day remind the children of the project work available and let them choose where they want to work before the center time. Doing this every day keeps the project moving forward. Younger children will often jump in after watching older more experienced investigators. About kindergarten age, the children like to take responsibility and ownership for certain aspects of the project. More permanent task groupings are helpful. For example, there may be a "menu committee." If you look at the camera project I think you will see how Lora manages her classroom. Good luck and thanks for doing project work.

Thanks for the question, Maryanne.

Yes, a book study is a wonderful way to either first learn how to do a project or to revisit your own project work and reflect as group on your goals and strategies. I just finished a book study with a group at the Des Moines Science Center using YI and we had wonderful projects happening in a variety of settings. I made some changes in my book study guide from that experience in Iowa and Teachers College Press will be posting the new guide on their website shortly.

Until then here are a few guidelines.
1. Decide the purpose of the book study. Are you wanting participants to implement project work as they read the book or to just discuss the book? This will determine how often you meet and your agenda for the sessions.

2. Decide when to meet. In an implementation book study we pace the meetings by where we are in the project process and how much is read varies. If reading the book in advance of implementation, a regularly schedule meeting time works well. This is determined by center and individual schedules. Every two or three weeks provides an opportunity for everyone to get the chapters read but still keeps the focus moving forward.

3. Take turns leading the discussion. Participants can sign up for the chapter they will to lead. Sometimes the leader will share personal reflections. The leader always has a list of possible discussion questions.

4. Compare and contrast. Sometimes the best way to understand guiding project work is to see how it varies from other curriculum approaches. For example, how is project work similar or different from what you already do in your thematic teaching? How is webbing for a project different from other webbing experiences?

5. Encourage the group to try out techniques introduced in the chapters. For example, try observational drawing or webbing, then share the experience with the group. There are many teaching strategies in project work that apply to other curriculum approaches and you don't have to wait until you do a project to use them.

6. Always have snacks.

I am very interested in what tips others have for successful book study groups or what you would want to see in the book study guide for YI.

See Judy's comments below under the "theme versus project" discussion. I think you may find this a useful jumping off point for your current themes with toddlers.

We have found that projects with toddlers often spend a great deal of time in Phase I: Exploring. This provides the toddlers opportunity to gain information about a topic/object. This beginning might be similar to the current curriculum themes you are doing. If the theme topic is a broad one (i.e. "winter" or “pets”) you will likely observe that some/all of the toddlers gravitate towards some narrower aspect of the topic. Then you can expand a more focused exploration of this aspect of the original theme.

As you observe and interpret the children's actions you will identify the questions they have about the more specific topic. Investigating and finding answers to their questions is Phase II. The toddler teacher’s role is to provide experiences that enable them to make their own discoveries, not give them the answer. Indentifying the children's questions and helping them investigate to find answers - will likely be what the children find most interesting!

Instead of reporting on what the children found most interesting during your culminating week you might re-frame this to "what the children learned about _____." Phase III: Sharing what we learned entails showing others (usually their parents with this very young age group) a photo display or a class book about their investigation will be equally exciting and engaging for them and a great way to revisit and reinforce their learning experiences.

Have fun sharing projects with toddlers!

The 2nd edition of YI has a new chapter on the Project Approach with toddlers. When we wrote the first edition of YI we didn't know much about projects and toddlers. We know a lot more now. Toddlers are naturally curious. I am still amazed at the depth of thinking that we are seeing with toddlers. We have had many requests for help with toddler projects. Toddler projects, of course, look quite a bit different than projects for older children. Toddlers are usually not able to ask specific questions; however, they can certainly show you what interests them and what aspects of the topic spark their curiosity. The chapter in the book describes a project by Sallie Sawin on the Fire Hydrant. The key to project work with toddlers, I believe is to keep in touch with the children's interest and not be afraid to challenge them by bringing in and creating meaningful artifacts for and with them. You can see that in Sallie's work. You can see the importance of revisiting experiences with toddlers and matching the toddler's pace.

There is also a toddler project flowchart which is different from the project flowchart for preschoolers and above. If you look at YI on Amazon, don't be dismayed by the table of contents which doesn't show the toddler chapter. They have the new cover but the old table of contents on their website. If anyone else has some ideas about toddler projects, please add your comments!

Your points are very well taken. It does sometimes feel like we are blowing into the wind. We do try to reach administrators but often administrators aren't the ones likely to turn out for training. The key, of course, is to share with decision makers the value of project work. What we can do is be meticulous about showing the value of project work. That means doing a good job of documenting achievement of those standards and achievement of curriculum goals that administrators and parents care about. Projects have to be authentic and result in new skills and knowledge for children. In an outcomes driven world, we probably need to go overboard showing the authentic learning outcomes of project work! Recognizing the variations of project work - what I call siblings of the project approach - is helpful. For example Project Based Learning or Problem Based Learning (PBL) is very similar to project approach. Place Based Learning, Inquiry Learning and Service Learning also have a strong connection. These are more familiar to those at upper grade levels including high schools and college.

I do try to write more for administrator venues. "Projects That Power Young Minds, Educational Leadership, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, September, 2004, pages 58-62 is an article for administrators. I have personally noticed that counter to the push for test scores there is a growing awareness of many that test scores are not enough. I am asked more to do training for principals and other administrators. You might share some of the articles and websites on 21st Century Teaching and Learning or edutopia.org. Edutopia.org has a great video on project work. These advocate project work for thinking and collaboration skills needed in the future. You might check them out, print the articles and share. We need to all be advocates.

Bravo, Dee!
Congratulations on the masters and also on connecting with your district initiative. This is exactly the kind of initiative that I have spoken about in other postings. We in early childhood have been explicit about the need for developmentally appropriate practices for young children. In some places we have carved out an oasis for pre-k, k and sometimes early primary age children where hands-on/minds-on, student directed and intellectually challenging experiences are valued. In some ways, by focusing on protecting our age levels, we have neglected to advocate for the continuum of intellectual experiences for all ages of children. We all need to do more of what you are doing.

Your 2021 team is the kind of group that is looking at the future and what our students need to be prepared for that future. The references that I listed in some of the other postings will be helpful, especially edutopia.org. You might also take a look at the 2009 revision of Developmentally Appropriate Practices. The Guidelines, which begin on page 16, are applicable to all learners and a great discussion starter. They are on this website http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSDAP.pdf and can be downloaded. Another idea is to focus on what is coming from the neuroscience field.

Thank you Reginald for your thoughtful question. I have pondered how best to summarize my thoughts because I could write a book on this topic.

First my observations match yours. There are some members (certainly not all) of some cultural groups and some socioeconomic groups that find it difficult to accept a constructivist approach such as the project approach. Second, I think this is related to a strong desire that their children achieve academically, especially if there have been challenges to academic achievement. Third, they need to know for sure that children are learning what they need to know.

I personally am thoroughly convinced that scripted direct instruction limits the knowledge and thinking skills of children. However, direct, intentional teaching is appropriate and is effective. It is not, however, sufficient for all learning experiences. Children need opportunities for initiating and decision making, for higher level thinking such as hypothesizing, and for development of intellectual dispositions.

My advice then is to approach such discussions as not either/or but and/both approach. Use projects to practice academic skills and to show children the value of learning them. Do much writing, reading and number work in the project and document, document, and document.

You might also like to look at the Movie Theater Project (Kathy Steinheimer)documentation in Windows on Learning. It is a wonderful example of the kind of project I am suggesting.

I think it is important to resist the temptation to see process and product as conflicting goals. It seems to me that there are three major goal categories: Process, Product, and Content, and unless all three are of top quality, not much benefit will come from being engaged in the others. Project work provides an ideal context for children to be engaged in very developmentally appropriate processes (e.g. posing questions, seeking answers, conducting investigations, etc.) developmentally appropriate products (e.g. observational drawing, making models, dramatic and role play, etc. etc,) and both the processes and products addressing worthwhile content, e.g. significant events and objects around them worth knowing about and worth investigating and understanding. This last of the three criteria involves complex processes of topic selection, and the quality of what is learned and achieved seems so often to be related to the topic of the project. I think Reggio Emilia gives us some stunning examples of how to address all three aspects of children's work.

Hi Michelle,
You might try looking in Power of Projects, edited by Helm and Beneke (Teachers College Press, 2002). I know it has a chapter on using the Project Approach with children who have special needs. I do not know that it specifically addresses autism, but might give you some ideas!
Hope this helps!

Thanks for the great question Linda.
These are the things I've observed. They may or may not be helpful to you.

1. Topics that are most likely to maintain interest are those that children have a high interest in to begin with. If you bring in a snake, children are right there in your lap trying to see it. If you bring in an apple, you are going to have to drum up business!! There are so many topics that we think we need to "cover" in preschool and kindergarten that are based on tradition and are not that interesting to young children. Many are better taught as units.

2. Topics that are part of the real grown-up world seem more likely to maintain interest. I've noticed that children aren't that interested in studying toys. The making of a teddy bear is much less interesting than what cooks do in a restaurant. But it has to be their restaurant, one they go to. It has to be their world but they want to know about the grown-up authentic behind the scenes part of it. They are serious about their learning.

3. Avoid what I call covert topics - sometimes we choose topics because we have ulterior motives. I've seen many projects on recycling but not many GREAT projects on recycling. I think the teacher has a predetermined idea of where things are going and she is pushing that viewpoint. Children pick that up. In contrast I've seen GREAT projects on garbage trucks. In the process, children learned a lot about recycling. The difference is that the garbage trucks were important to them so these projects became their investigations.

4. Narrower topics go deeper and seem to keep the interest longer. Some projects are so broad that the children lose their focus. If you can narrow down the topic, they can relate to it. Rather than pets, dogs are a better topic. Rather than living things, a specific plant or animal is better. When it is too broad, you spend a lot of time talking about variations and don't get into the how-to which is of so much more interest to young children. In a project on pets, they study many different kinds of pets, different kinds of pets becomes ho-hum. Some people have dogs, some people have birds, etc. That is just not as interesting as how to cut a dog's toenails or how they take a dog's temperature.

5. Artifacts, artifacts, artifacts. Our children are concrete sensory learners. In training I often use the 25 item rule. If you can't think of 25 real authentic items that you can have in your classroom for children to touch, manipulate, draw, etc. it is probably not a good topic.

6. Taking the time to build background knowledge pays off for long term interest. The younger the child and the more diverse the group, the longer we need to spend building vocabulary and background knowledge BEFORE we come to questions for investigation. We sometimes kill a project by jumping too soon to questions when only half the class understands the topic enough for meaningful questions. Then we get the "how many" questions (how many windows, how many doors) rather than "How do they get those hoses up on top of the ladder?" kinds of questions.

7. Contact with adults. I've seen this happen so often. A project just doesn't seem to be going anywhere; then an expert comes in and demonstrates or the class visits a field site and off it goes. The really great projects often have several visitors involved, each bringing a new perspective. If a topic is chosen that is located within walking distance, there can be many visits with each visit becoming deeper and more focused.

Having said all of that, you are right, surprises are part of project work. I like to use the analogy of a journey. It is more like unfolding a road map than printing out step by step directions from Yahoo. Here is the map, here is your journey. You have many different roads you can go down. At each intersection you and the children decide which turn to take. Sometimes the choice is clear and the result great. Sometimes you just get there and that is ok too. Therein lies the adventure!

Yes, Debra, I agree with you about the need to support and strengthen children's in-born dispositions to be curious and to try to find things out and to apply their developing skills to interesting studies. I recommend strongly the book by Marsha Nussbaum, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Chicago that is called "Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities" (2010 Princeton University Press). She emphasizes the participation in a democracy depends on critical thinking. As she says: "democracies will not survive without alert and active citizens. Instead of listening, then, the child should always be doing: figuring things out, thinking about them, raising questions..." etc. The sad thing, it seems to me, is that children are born that way and we must not damage these dispositions with premature academic instruction and excessive testing.

Hi Debra

Thanks for your comment and so nice to hear you are still very interested in project work.
Thanks also for giving me an opportunity to speak out on this issue. You hit the nail on the head when you said now more than ever we need project work. I think there are many factors that discourage teachers from doing project work with children today. The emphasis on preparing children for tests has resulted in focusing on finite skills and knowledge which are easily tested. Many programs are doing extensive drill and practice on letters, letter sounds and sight words in prekindergarten and kindergarten.

Teaching in some schools has become asking children single answer questions and expecting correct answers, doing work sheets where children are required to trace and color, and an emphasis on following directions.

Some prekindergarten and kindergarten classrooms have become very passive environments for children with tight, rigid schedules. There is no time for children to have and express independent thoughts, to explore what they or the class find interesting, to work hard to solve a problem or to learn to collaborate. As you point out this is not what children will need in the work world. Nor does this approach result in great gains in achievement in the long run as proponents insist. There are some short-term test gains which impress teachers, directors and parents in kindergarten, first or second grade. But these same administrators come to me when their children are not doing so well in third grade or fourth grade or when reading comprehension, problem solving, and commitment to task can be seriously tested. I am often asked to find out what is wrong with their third grade teaching. I don't think it is the third grade teacher. It is the neglect of the capacity to do higher level thinking over the years.

We must pay attention to children's intellectual development and dispositions early in life. We must build, as Dewey says, the "capacity to learn". We must provide children with experiences that stimulate the brain and produce a flexible and effective brain with extensive networks of background knowledge. Children must see reading and other academic skills as useful and interesting and a way to satisfy their curiosity. Then they will want to do it all the time, even in their spare time. Then their own intellectual skills, their curiosity, their complex concepts about the world, and their rich vocabulary provide a foundation and fuels a brain focused on learning.

Ironically I find that educators of older children who do have a handle on the needs of the future are becoming more and more interested in project work and student initiated learning. It is a major component of schools focused on 21st century teaching and learning. We see it in high schools, magnet schools, universities and colleges at the same time that we are seeing it pushed out of early childhood classrooms. Check out edutopia.org where project-based learning is listed as a core strategy and to see a great video on project work across different ages.

First, let me say that it is not a matter of thematic teaching versus project approach so much as it is two ways of teaching which both have benefits for young children. In Chapter One of Young Investigators we discuss extensively the difference between projects and themes. You can download this chapter for free at this NAEYC site at the top of the discussion group.

The biggest difference between projects and themes is the degree of child initiatiion and child decisionmaking in the process. Children's interests and ideas become the driving force for the direction of the investigation in project work. A list of differences between these two approaches occurs in a chart on page 4 in Chapter One. You might find this helpful.

One of the biggest differences and a challenge to integrating project work into a program with required themes is the length of time required for project work. The average length of a project with preschoolers on one topic is 4 to 6 weeks with some somewhat shorter and a few a lot longer. We cannot predetermine or even in many cases predict how long a project might take so a predetermined list of what is to be studied and when it is to be studied does not work well for the project approach.

Another essential factor of project work is that it is based on high interest of children. The children determine in many ways the aspect of the topic to be studied and what they want to know about the topic. A project may progress from a study of an ice cream store to an investigation of cows and dairies.

Having said that, units themes and projects on different topics can co-exist in a classroom even at the same time. Some topics which we want children to learn about, such as fire safety, are not good for project work and are best taught by units or direct teaching. A thematic unit on autumn may be occurring with many good hands-on experiences at the same time children are involved in an investigation of a turtle. The Project Approach is an approach to curriculum, and was never intended to be the whole curriculum.

The simplest way to incorporate project work in your environment is to examine the themes that you are required to teach. Which of these might have the potential to lead to a project. For example, a theme on farm animals might be used to build background knowledge on different animals. One of these animals (e.g. sheep, cow) could become an investigation. Or one of the requirements for caring for these animals (e.g. veterinary care) may be very interesting to children and become a project. As the interest emerges you can then focus on that area, building vocabulary and background information and eventually move into phase one when the children web what they know and then develop questions they would like to investigate. In this way a theme and traditional field trip in one kindergarten led to a project on the combine harvester. This article in Early Childhood Research and Practice does a good job of describing how this occurred http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v3n1/wilson.html. I would recommend you look for project topics within your thematic requirements, then focus on that topic and listen, watch, and listen some more until you find that spark of interest. Fan that interest and listen some more until you get an idea of what really excites them.
You can probably reduce the amount of time you spend on the other themes to make that happen.

Can anyone who is using projects and themes describe how they do this?

During the past five years of our project work a few of the most rewarding toddler Project topics have been:
The Holes in Our World
My Shoes-Your Shoes
Our Babies
The Digger
The Fire Hydrant
The Garbage Truck
Slopes and Ramps

Elements which led to the success of these project topics:
* A topic that is near – very near – and dear to the child’s experience. Physically near so the child is able to return to the object/experience repeatedly. Emotionally near as in it is important to the child: my shoes-your shoes, my baby sister, my slide, ….

* A topic that is “small” in scope. Small as in being about a discreet and specific object, though clearly small is size when it came to “the digger”. Objects that are easily watched, touched, and experienced regularly in the course of the toddler day/life, for example, the garbage truck that picks up the trash twice a week just over the fence from the toddler play yard, learning to take off, and later to put on shoes – one’s own and others, is a daily experience; noticing holes and seeing what fits in them, etc.

* A topic which can be investigated through the learning skills used by toddlers (repetition, physical engagement, vocabulary development, etc.).

Some of the challenges we have experienced when doing Projects with toddlers include:
* Identifying the ways in which toddlers do tell us what they know about a topic and what questions they have. At first toddler teachers were disappointed that the toddlers were not able to sit down and make a web about a topic. Then the teachers took on the challenge of finding non-verbal ways the toddlers tell us what they know about a topic and what questions they may have. For example, observing their pretend play patterns and noticing the gaps in their information in this play and noticing which daily occurrences they observe most intently and/or are most excited about and noticing which classroom objects are always off the shelf, etc.

* Becoming comfortable with spending lots of time in Phase I. Recognizing that because of their young age, toddlers have relatively limited scope of life experience from which to develop a topic for a project inquiry. It is this reason that toddler teachers spend a great deal of the Project in Phase I: Exploring/Messing About with a topic in order for the children to gain a shared experience and familiarity with a topic. Observing the toddlers’ explorations and play as new artifacts are added to the classroom informs the teachers in identifying the children’s questions.

* Becoming comfortable with projecting an adult interpretations of the child’s interests and questions. At first some teachers hesitated to presume they knew what a toddler was thinking (“How can I know what s/he is really thinking about ___?”). The teacher’s role is to observe the children’s actions and utterances to identify the children’s interests and possible questions/wonderings about an object, a place, a topic. The teacher uses her/his knowledge of child development and knowledge of the individual children to interpret their actions into thoughts and questions/wonderings. The teacher then tests her/his interpretation by providing artifacts and experiences which s/he thinks meet the children’s interests, questions, and developmental learning needs. And, as we know, if we are wrong, the toddlers tells us with their feet – they go elsewhere if they are not truly interested.

* Preparing our expert visitors to make a presentation that matches the toddler questions and ability to take in new information. Many visitors are truly experts in their field and have a great deal of information about their topic that they enjoy sharing. Prepare the visitor by letting her/him know the specific item/object that the toddlers are interested in and that the toddlers will better understand what she has to share if they can actively engage with a prop or object. Let the visitor know that the children may not ask many direct verbal questions themselves, but that the teachers will serve as “interpreters” of the children’s questions as they observe the children’s reactions and responses to the visit. The most successful visits have been when the expert brings something for the children to touch and hold – for example, parking a back-hoe or garbage truck in the driveway so the children can look at it up close and watch a simple demonstration of the moving parts. Bringing shoes that are used for special activities (horse back riding, soccer cleats, slippers) that can stay in the classroom for the children to use after the visit extends the experience and explorations after the visit.

* Often, because the topic is “near and dear” to the toddlers, an expert visitor is someone that is already known to the children, for example, the garbage truck driver that toots the horn for the children each visit to pick-up the trash, an Assistant Teacher that plays on the college soccer team, a teacher’s husband who works on the fire department, etc. Inviting an “expert” who is already familiar to the children eliminates the “stranger anxiety” or shyness that some toddler may exhibit with a new person. And having some one who is already familiar with the toddlers makes it easier for them to understand the age appropriate suggestions you will have for their presentation.

Have fun trying projects with toddlers! I am sure you will find it a rewarding teaching experience! Be sure to check-out the revised edition of Young Investigators for more insights into implementing projects with toddlers.

Dear Meredith-
I commend you for doing project work and for teaching others about its value. It sounds like you are doing some really good things and I think that you are exactly right to document and tie in the standards, so people can see how standards can be met through active, engaged learning.
I’ve been a teacher for several years, 6 of which have been in a bilingual classroom, and I feel that project work can be used very effectively with second language learners. Project work ties in naturally with many of the strategies we use for second language learners such as graphic organizers and demonstration, modeling and role play. As you mentioned, children’s language, both that of native and non-native English speakers, always seems to grow so quickly during project work in the classroom, that I found it easy to tie in language objectives and vocabulary.
Below, are a few ways that you can get participation earlier in the school year from second language learners:

1) Accept dictation of children's observational drawing in a child’s native language. This can be done even if you don’t know what they are saying. If they draw a picture during a field site visit, write down what the child says their picture is about (phonetically) and ask a parent or community member who speaks the language to translate it for you later. Taking dictation in the child’s primary language communicates many things to them about language, (i.e. print has meaning, their thoughts are valued, what they are saying can be written down, etc.) It also allows you to see what they are thinking about project topics, even if they can't tell you in English yet.
2) Always draw a picture of what the children are saying when you web. If they say wheels about the fire truck, then draw a wheel on the web. That helps the child connect the oral language they are hearing in English to an object. (This works well in any language. When I taught in a dual language kindergarten, I had English speakers looking at our Spanish web about trucks in order to spell the words correctly in Spanish during journal writing.) You can accept contributions in any language while webbing, by having the second language learner draw their own contribution on the web, and then you can add the written word in English. If this is too long for group time, you could have them draw what they wanted to add to the web in centers and then share it in group time later.
3) Accept non-verbal questions from children. When you are trying to get questions, bring in a picture (non-fiction books about the topic work well) or an artifact and say to the second language learner, “Can you point to or show me what you want them to talk about on our field site visit?” In that way, you are still seeing what the child is interested in, and can follow their lead, even if they can’t tell you yet.
Hope this gives you some ideas! It sounds like you are doing great things and YES YES YES this is a wonderful strategy for ELLs. For more ideas, you might want to check out my chapter, “Supporting Second Language Learners” in the Power of Projects book, edited by Helm and Beneke or my article about the combine project in my dual language classroom http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v3n1/index.html.
Best of luck!
Rebecca