Reggio Emilia Examples in the Classroom (2024)

FAQs

What is an example of Reggio Emilia in the classroom? ›

Here are some examples of Reggio Emilia in the classroom: Digging and pouring in a sensory table. Experimenting with art and drawing on an easel, paper, or other materials. Discovering insects, leaves, and flowers, and sorting and collecting things they find in the playground.

In the Reggio Emilia philosophy, children are encouraged to wonder and think. Set up a few tables in the morning for students to choose a topic to explore further. These activity tables can be linked to what they are learning about in the classroom, as well as having a strong link to the Reggio way of learning.

Open-ended materials like loose parts, art supplies and construction sets are an important part of any play based learning environment. If you want to put a Reggio spin on these types of resources, focus on using natural materials like wooden blocks, shells, stones, leaves, and natural fabrics.

Reggio Emilia is an emergent curriculum built upon the interests of the children. This way of teaching requires teachers to observe and have discussions with children and their families to discover their abilities, needs, and skills and build them into classroom learning, activities, and play.

In a Reggio-inspired classroom, teachers encourage groups to work together using dialogue, comparisons, negotiations and respect. Basing the course of study on the children's interests creates a collaborative environment that can help foster growth.

In the Reggio Emilia philosophy, children are encouraged to wonder and think. Set up a few tables in the morning for students to choose a topic to explore further. These activity tables can be linked to what they are learning about in the classroom, as well as having a strong link to the Reggio way of learning.

Project-based: Teachers in Reggio Emilia seek underlying or overarching ideas in children's play and inquiry as a basis for projects. Teachers are always prepared to ask children challenging questions. They encourage children to ask questions, form hypotheses and do research.

In a Reggio-inspired classroom, teachers encourage groups to work together using dialogue, comparisons, negotiations and respect. They learn to express their ideas, listen to others, and work collectively toward common goals. Traditional preschools often focus more on individual tasks and activities.

A Reggio inspired classroom is a nontraditional learning environment where there are no assigned seats. Children have easy access to supplies and learning material, and are consistently inspired and encouraged to direct their own learning.

Art Inside the Reggio Emilia Classroom

Rather than leading children through product-oriented art activities, teachers offer students mediums like colored pencils, tape and glue, watercolor paints and brush, clay or collage artifacts, allowing them to experience the process of creating art.

What is a provocation in Reggio Emilia? ›

But What Are Provocations Exactly? For children a 'Reggio Inspired' provocation is an open ended activity that doesn't have a prescribed outcome, instead it is designed to stimulate ideas, initiative and imagination for and amongst children, whether they choose to explore their ideas alone or in groups.

In a Reggio Emilia classroom, the environment is carefully curated to provoke children's curiosity, stimulate their senses, and support their active engagement in learning. It is a place where children's voices are heard, their choices respected, and their natural curiosity cherished.

When creating a small world imaginative play scene, rather than adding all the elements from plastic play toys, try using reusables like cardboard tubes, popsicle sticks, cotton wool or natural materials like rocks, sticks, pinecones, bark and leaves.

“Learning and teaching should not stand on opposite banks and just watch the river flow by; instead, they should embark together on a journey down the water. Through an active, reciprocal exchange, teaching can strengthen learning and how to learn.” Malaguzzi, L.

In a traditional Reggio classroom, you would find an atelier (creative expression area), loose parts, a sensory/sand play area, building area, writing center, math/numbers center, and a meeting area (in the larger school setting, this is called a piazza).

In a Reggio Emilia-style elementary school, you will find instructors who use a child-guided curriculum which allows children to communicate and learn through “one hundred languages” — not just speaking, but making art, singing, engaging with nature, and developing relationships with others.

Planning in Reggio Emilia schools takes a bottom-up approach. Teachers create the curriculum with the students. Based on the students' interests, teachers will set up activities around a topic or theme. Then, teachers will follow the students' interests until the students have learned everything they want to know.