How Do Unit Blocks Help Children Learn?The Economist,June 10th,2013
积木块是如何帮助孩子学习的？经济学人，2013年6月10日
Unit blocks, developed by early childhood education pioneer Caroline Pratt in 1913,
单元块是由幼儿教育的先驱卡罗琳·普拉特于1913年发明的，
are wooden bricks,in carefully chosen sizes and shapes, found in classrooms in America.
是一种木制的积木，大小和形状都经过了精心挑选，在过去的一个世纪里，一直存在于美国的课堂中。
Friedrich Frobel,the originator of kindergarten education,
弗里德里希·福禄培尔是幼儿教育的鼻祖，
who believed in the value of play to shape behaviour and aid in children's intellectual and emotional growth.
他相信这些单元块在塑造儿童行为和帮助儿童智力和情感发展上所发挥的价值。
Frobel spent the first half of the 19th century tinkering with the oddball notion that even very young children could learn scientific,
在19世纪上半叶，福禄培尔一直摆弄着一个古怪的想法：通过玩弄各种不同的实体物件，
artistic and natural principles simply by playing with various physical objects.
即使很小的孩子也可以学习科学、艺术和自然原理。
This was a big departure from the idea of learning via adult-led activities.
这与通过成人引导的活动进行学习的观点大相径庭。
Frobel's principles were widely adopted after his death in 1852,
福禄培尔在1852年去世，他的原则被广泛采用，
the idea of using concrete objects to establish a basis for later abstract knowledge remained at the centre of this approach.
以具体对象为基础而建立起来的抽象思维的观点成为了这种方法的核心。
Educational theorists cite a laundry list of the benefits that children derive from playing with unit blocks.
教育理论家列举了孩子玩弄积木块的一系列好处。
The different shapes of unit blocks lay the foundations for basic maths and geometry.
不同形状的块为数学和几何学习奠定了基础。
Balance and collapse teach the nature of gravity.
平衡和倒塌可以讲授重力的性质，
Ramps and columns can be used to make simple levers and fulcrums.
坡道和圆柱可以用来制作简单的杠杆和支点。
The need to place blocks carefully develops hand-eye co-ordination.
孩子们需要仔细的放置木块，这可以培养孩子们的手眼的协调能力。
In fact, multiple studies over several decades back up these claims,
事实上，过去几十年的研究都支持了这些说法。
with some finding that children who play with blocks significantly outperform those who do not,
一些研究发现，玩积木的孩子明显优于那些不玩积木的孩子，
not just in infancy but over their entire academic careers.Thank you.
不仅只是在起步阶段，而是在整个学术生涯中。谢谢。
