We had a wonderful afternoon at Summit Park this week! The weather was beautiful and the Camas was in full bloom. We spent more time than we usually do "off the path" and had a greater opportunity to use our senses to explore nature. On each of our visits to Summit this year we have tried to take time to listen to the sounds around us, take note of the temperature and wind on our skin and be aware of the smells in the air. We also take time to wonder about our surroundings and point out the seasonal changes. I sure am grateful to have such a special place to take the class where we can learn and play together!
Mrs. Beckner and I had a lot of fun this week helping the kids make videos. The kids interviewed each other on the topic of reading. They asked questions like "why do you like reading?" and "what is your favourite book?" etc.
The students not only shared some insightful answers about reading but they also displayed expert interviewing skills.
Last week the students worked hard on a piece of writing. They drew pictures to generate ideas, they spoke with a partner to develop descriptive language and then they put pencil to paper. The goal was to use descriptive words that would help our readers visualize the garden each student imagined. Once the students had a finished product, an adult typed the work up so we could display it on our bulletin board.
Next, the kids filmed each other using a green screen so that it appeared as though the students were in their individual gardens!
The creative thinking, communication, problem solving and design thinking in our classroom today was amazing! Given just newspaper and tape the kids were tasked with building a tower tall enough to help Jack (from Jack and the Beanstalk).
I was pretty impressed with the variety, strength and height of the structures that the students came up with. I'm sure there are a few future engineers in our class! We kicked off a new unit of study this week - Plants! We started by brainstorming what we would need to grow a plant. The kids reflected on this inquiry question and recorded their thoughts with pictures and words. From there we got messy and planted some seeds. Each student will be growing sugar peas and marigolds. Today we took a closer look at seeds. The students made observations about a variety of different seeds. They were able to identify the many ways that seeds can be different. We also spent some time outside today looking at all the different types of plants that grow on our school grounds and then finished our day by reading Jack and the Beanstalk in the sunshine. |
Ms. Shawna WoodPassionate about teaching, learning, inclusion and kindness. Archives
August 2019
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