”Men det åker inte upp i himlen!” Förskolebarn resonerar om vattnets kretslopp illustrerat i ett tärningsspel

“But it doesn’t go up into the sky!” Preschool children discuss the water cycle as illustrated in a board-and-dice game.

Abstract

 Abstract. Even though water is a frequently addressed theme in preschool education and illustrations of different kinds are typically used to explain pre-science concepts, there is a remarkable shortage of studies in this part of the educational research field. The present article deals with 4–6-year-olds making meanings about the water circle from a board and dice game. Video-recorded sessions with small groups of children have been used and analysed from socio-semiotic and cultural historical perspectives. The results show that even though the children referred to and made intended meaning of several of the illustrated water phenomena, it seemed difficult for them to come to grips with the water circle as such. In particular this seems to be a result of the fact that the concept of evaporation was a stumbling block that was too abstract to overcome.