THE HOSPITAL PROJECT

by Margaret Brooks 

This project was undertaken in the fall of 1995 by children aged 3-5 years in the University of Alberta Child Study Center, a pre-k and kindergarten lab school setting.

Initial planning

When Paul came to school one day with his arm in a plaster cast and stories about his visit to the hospital, the other children's curiosity about this event provided us with an opportunity to begin a project about hospitals.

First we created a web around the topic of HOSPITALS.

We discovered the possibilities were vast and unless we wanted to spend all year studying hospitals we would need to focus in on one particular aspect. The most logical one for us was BONES. (We used the notion of a Zoom Web as discussed in Katz and Chards' book, Engaging Children's Minds.)

Phase 1

Recalling past experiences and formulating questions:

The children shared stories about their own hospital experiences. The experiences were not always happy but there was an interest followed by enthusiasm and lots of questions.

After some squeezing and poking of their own bones the children drew some pictures of what they thought the bones might look like inside their bodies. This and further discussion with the children revealed a wide range of understanding about the shape, composition and function of their bones.

(drawing of the arm bones, picture to follow)

We needed some real life examples they could explore. We discovered we had several parents who would be good resources; three doctors, a nurse, a radiologist and a pediatrician.

Teachers' concerns

• What do they already know ?
• What resources do we have?
• How can parents be involved?

Phase 2

It is difficult to use first hand resources for a study of human bones so we started by comparing the bones of fish, birds and animals. We brought in a fish to examine its bones and discovered many other interesting things in the process of dissection. For instance there was a small fish it had eaten still in its stomach and we found its eggs and heart. The bones of the weekend chicken meal were scrubbed clean and laid out for examination. The Zoology Department lent us bones from a cow, a snake, a bird and a fish. These were displayed and magnifying glasses provided to take a closer look.

(Andrew's pastel drawing of a coyote skull picture to follow)

Pastels and chalk on dark paper worked well for sketches. Thick white paint looked very bone-like when dry. Clay and plastercine were used for three dimensional representation. A meat packer provided us with pig bones that still had a lot of the ligaments and joints intact. With rubber gloves on we manipulated these and discovered how bones move. Meanwhile a parent had managed to borrow some real human bones, including a skull, for us to examine, and we had borrowed a couple of skeleton replicas, and charts from the library. We measured different bones in our body and graphed some, like the size of our skull. We tested to see if it was true that your forearm is the same length as your foot.

(Miriam's drawing of a skeleton picture to follow)

Field Trip

Preparation: A field trip to radiology and a casting room was arranged and previewed. A discussion of what we might see and a list of questions to ask the experts was compiled.

The tour: We arrived clutching our sketch pads and pencils. The children were led through the admission process for a broken bone. Forms were filled in, ID bracelets put on and a few children volunteered to be examined by the Doctor in the examination room. An X-ray was needed so we had a tour and demonstration in the radiology department. Many wonderfully detailed drawings were done of the equipment there and more questions asked. In the casting room a simple forearm cast was put on three brave volunteers and then cut off again and saved to take back to the centre.

The follow up: Back in the centre an area of the classroom was arranged to provide for socio/dramatic play. We were able to draw on our experiences to create an admissions desk with charts, files, appointment book and phone. (Cards with the words they might need for writing were displayed in several places.)

A waiting room was furnished with a sofa, posters, pamphlets and books about the hospital. The examination room had doctors' and nurses' uniforms and as much real equipment as we could lay our hands on, like stethoscopes, blood pressure machines, thermometers, scales and height charts. We arranged them on shelves for easy access. Meanwhile in the large block area we displayed the children's drawings of the X-ray machines and many reference books about hospitals to facilitate the creation of a radiology unit, a pharmacy or whatever they might need to build to role play hospitals.

(Creating X-ray machines with hollow blocks picture to follow)

The Management: There were several group discussions during the first week as to how all of these resources might best be used and what the roles of secretary, nurse, doctor, patient, and radiologist might look like. We drew upon the children's own experiences and the field trip as well as extending and enriching their understanding through reference books and adult modeling. At the end of some sessions children would share new ideas and information with the whole class. The socio/dramatic play that emerged was rich in content and complex and sophisticated in dynamics.

(The admission desk and waiting room picture to follow)

The Visiting Experts

We had two visiting experts. One was a parent whose profession was a nurse, the other a paramedic with his ambulance. They shared their areas of specialty and were interviewed by the children. They then featured in our make-believe hospital role play and added new dimensions and scripts to it. We then found fully equipped ambulances in the block room, driven by a paramedic. We had I.V.'s and heart monitors in our hospital wards and nurses who knew how to operate them.

Phase 3

A culminating event

With the hospital functioning smoothly and a class full of hospital experts, we felt it was time to invite small groups of parents in for a check up, an X-ray, a cast and a trip in an ambulance. The children were proud to be able to look after their 'sick' parents and the parents were amazed at the expertise and knowledge the children demonstrated about hospitals.

Personalizing new knowledge

Each day we saw new variations of the hospital scene emerge. The children's understanding of the process had become so clear that they were easily able to add a pharmacy or a maternity ward or a physiotherapist. Small books were being written with stories (real and imagined) about hospitals. In the painting and craft area pictures, collages and models were being created which let us know just how well constructed the children's knowledge of hospitals had become. After two months of in-depth study of bones we were ready to move on to a new project.

Resources

• Pediatric Radiology at the University Hospital
• Your local meat packer for bones and other animal parts. (Phone several days ahead to place order.)
• Wayne Roberts in the department of Zoology is a great resource.
• Your local Chiropractors and Osteopaths.

Books

• Allen, G . (1970) BONES New York:Franklin Watts, INC.
• Balestrino, P. (1985) THE SKELETON INSIDE YOU Toronto: Harper Trophy
• Berger, G. (1989) THE HUMAN BODY New York: Doubleday
• Miller, J. (1982) THE HUMAN BODY London: Jonathon Cape Ltd.
• Parker, S. (1989) THE SKELETON AND MOVEMENT London: Franklin Watts
• Reit, S. (1985) SOME BUSY HOSPITAL New York : Western Publishing Co.
• Rogers, F. (1985) GOING TO HOSPITAL New York: Putnam
• Watson, J.W. (1989) MY FRIEND THE DOCTOR New York : Crown

Charts, props and posters

• Eyewitness Poster about bones : Kites and Other Delights.
• Model skeleton : Kites and Other Delights
• Skeleton chart : Northwest Laboratories, Victoria.
• UofA library has several human body and skeleton models and charts if you have a card.

Go on to read an evaluation of the Hospital Project

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Last revised: October 17, 1996