I worked with the first and second graders on maps the first week to support the September's theme of "Our Backyard." After introductions I started asking questions.
"Where is your backyard?"
"How would I find it?"
Soon they suggested that I use a map. This brought out even more questions.
"Would the map of the world in the classroom help me find your backyard?"
"Why not?"
"Are all maps the same?"
So we decided that we could make our own map of the classroom. This type of map has a special name, a floor plan. They eagerly started drawing what they saw in the classroom. One thing that the students discovered right away was that maps are usually drawn from above. This and the uncommon shape of the rooms at Summers-Knoll caused some problems for a few students.
The students agreed that if their maps were done they could help other students who may be having trouble. Once the maps were finished some students hid a treasure (a hedgehog or giant eraser) and marked its location on their maps for the other students to find.
We also had a quick preview of a video that I took from a balloon. This is a great way to show how the world around us looks from above.
If you want to support your child's understanding of maps while at home there are several things that you can do.
- Next time you are driving somewhere with your child and you search for directions print out a copy for your child to follow along with. If you have a navigation device (and know your way to the the next destination) give the device to your child and have them tell you when to turn.
- If you want to be very adventurous let them get you lost!
- Next birthday party have your child help draw a map to the goody bags.
- Google maps and Google Earth are wonderful tools. If you have not done so yet download Google Earth and take a flying tour of our planet!
Lava (Kindergarten)
Val asked if I could introduce the rock cycle which is very cool, but can be hard for students. The thing that I still find hard to get my head around is the sheer magnitude of the time scale involved when it comes to the age of rocks. We talked about different kinds of rocks like smooth and rough, stripped and a their favorite the wishing rock!
I asked the students if rocks ever change. We talked about lots of ways that rocks change and the ones that were easiest to understand were rocks becoming smooth in a river and rocks rubbing against each other to make sand.
We talked about Sedimentary rocks that form on the bottom of lakes and oceans, that these and other rocks could change into other forms if there was enough heat and pressure to form Metamorphic rock. The final and most exciting type includes lava and those are Igneous rocks.
Grinding and pounding rocks together to make smaller rocks may be easier to understand than the other types so I wanted to demonstrate something similar to what happens in the rock cycle. Jelly beans worked great to demonstrate Metamorphic rock formation. Smashing a hand full of jelly beans in my hands made a conglomerate, a form of metamorphic rock. Next we took fruit flavored Lifesavers candies in a plastic bag and smashed them with a brick. To model Igneous rock we heated the crushed candy in a pan on the stove (students at a safe distance). The resulting lava was hot, boiling and red!
Benthic Macroinvertebrates (5th/6th)
I believe that all children start out curious and that learning is as natural an outcome as walking. There has been some fascinating work done on this by Sugata Mitra. If you have not seen his "Hole in the Wall" experiment (an inspiration for the movie "Slum dog Millionaire") here is a link.
Taking a page from Mitra's work I grouped them around computers and wrote "Benthic Macroinvertebrates" on the board. The magic began to happen (I have done this sort of thing several times and it never fails to amaze me). Terms and generalizations started appearing. "Bugs", "worms", "water related", "having a spine", "a set of computer commands." (We pruned and clarified latter.) I asked a few questions. "Is a honey bee a benthic macroinvertebrate? How about a mosquito? What about an octopus? An amoeba/bacteria? But mostly I listened.
My goal was to just reflect back to them the growing wisdom of the group. I proposed summary statements and wording for the ideas they were learning. If I saw a clearer or simpler way to word it I asked if my wording still captured what they were saying. I made sure not to only repeat and write down what I agreed with. I don't want them to just "read" me.
Seventy five minutes flew by. We decided to take a 10 minute break. But the break didn't even slow the learning. In fact it intensified it. Some ran to the pond. Some to a tree to look for the bugs they had seen earlier that day. Spiders were discovered on the wall outside of the classroom. An aphid gall in a poplar leaf was dissected.
Back inside I wrote a second question "Why study them?" They were off again.
This year is going to be so much fun!!
