New NAEYC book chapter by Tools developers: “Fine Art of Scaffolding Kindergarten Learners”

NAEYC’s compelling new book

Tools developers Elena Bodrova, Barbara Wilder-Smith, and Deborah Leong have contributed a chapter to NAEYC’s brand-new book, Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Equitable and Joyful Learning in Kindergarten. The book, full of examples from real kindergarten classrooms, is divided into six sections, each tied to a key area of developmentally appropriate practice, such as creating a a caring, equitable community of learners, and documenting and assessing learning.

Scaffolding learning in kindergarten

The Tools chapter, “The Fine Art of Scaffolding Kindergarten Learners,” is featured in the part of the book about teaching strategies that promote every child’s learning and development. If you’re familiar with Tools, you know that scaffolding is a key element of the Tools program. Our teachers use scaffolding to skillfully support child engagement, motivation, and learning for every child throughout the Tools day. The scaffolding chapter in the book provides insights for kindergarten teachers on the Vygotskian approach to scaffolding and how to use it to meet each child where they are and provide them with the individualized support they need. 

“[Scaffolding] is the way teachers differentiate support for individual development within a community of learners…”
- Bodrova, Wilder-Smith, and Leong in “The Fine Art of Scaffolding Kindergarten Learners,” Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Equitable and Joyful Learning in Kindergarten

Embracing scaffolding in your classroom

We know that teachers may not always know which scaffolds to use. Tools authors emphasize that effective scaffolding requires us to home in on the skills within a child’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) to support the child in engaging in a task that they wouldn’t yet be able to do on their own. Curious to learn how to identify the skills on the edge of emergence in the children in your classroom? What do quality scaffolding interactions look like? Did you know that scaffolding can be provided not only by teachers but also by peers? How can children independently access and own their own scaffolds through strategic use of materials available to them in your classroom? How can you use scaffolding to best support students with disabilities or delays?

Ready to learn more?

To read about how to use effective scaffolds in your classroom, check out Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Equitable and Joyful Learning in Kindergarten and flip to “The Fine Art of Scaffolding Kindergarten Learners.” This exciting and practical new book is available now from NAEYC in both print and e-book formats and can also be ordered on Amazon. If you are interested in using this book collaboratively for planning or professional development, NAEYC has also posted a free chapter-by-chapter study guide.