Saturday, September 30, 2017

Ancient Explanations for Hurricanes

     Hurricanes have been the focus of our attention during the last month.  As we tracked  Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria, and Hurricane Jose many students were asking why there were so many  bad storms this season.  We researched the scientific reasons why the hurricane season has been so bad this year.  Then, we discussed the fact that people that lived thousands of years ago didn't have the luxury of researching on the internet.  They didn't understand all of the scientific reasons why storms were created, so they had to come up with other explanations for these terrible storms.  We looked into ancient cultures from Mexico, Greece, and the Caribbean and discussed the mythological explanations they had for hurricanes.  We looked at the similarities between all these mythological explanations and also looked at where these cultures were located on a world map and thought about why these cultures would have needed these explanations for hurricanes and why other cultures didn't.  We had some great conversations!

Here is a chart that summarizes what we discovered.


Sunday, September 17, 2017

Soccer ball design engineering challenge

      As a part of our reading instruction, we read some books that included details about characters who were playing with soccer balls that they made out of available resources. We then connected this to our map skills unit for S.S., by researching how people around the world make soccer balls out of various odds and ends that are available. We plotted the countries on the map as we shared our information.  We discussed the countries, continents, and hemispheres of each country and also discussed its proximity to the equator and the affect that has on climate. We found examples of makeshift soccer balls from Dubai, Brazil, Uganda, Kenya, Russia, and a few others.  Through the course of this project, we also discovered that Pakistan manufactures a large portion of the world's soccer balls and Columbia manufactures many, as well.  This research also helped us hone our researching skills, by using appropriate keywords, changing the focus of our research, and looking at all available resources in print and video.      
    Following this research, the kids were inspired to try and make their own makeshift soccer balls using some of the supplies found in our research. They formed groups based on the materials they were interested in using and designed their balls. During the design process, they listened to all group members' ideas and formulated a plan together. Once everyone was in agreement, they began constructing their balls.  The engineering of the balls involved some adjustments and modifications to plans, as some of the original plans didn't work out the way they thought they would.  Students had to problem solve through difficulties, use flexible thinking, and persevere through difficulties they encountered.  They also had to learn to compromise, listen to each other, and make sure everyone in the group had a job.  I'm so proud of the work that they've done so far!  Here are some pictures of the process. 
How can we turn these materials into a soccer ball?
Designing the soccer ball


Designing



And the construction begins.....























Stay tuned to see our final products after testing and modifications!






2nd grade buddies

We met with our 2nd grade buddies and brought them our book selections.  The kids looked at the books the 2nd graders chose for themselves, the answers they gave to the questions we asked, and then carefully selected a book that they thought they would enjoy.  The kids put a lot of thought and effort into choosing a book that might stretch the 2nd graders into a new series, lead them into a new reading direction, or introduce them to a new author.  The 2nd graders were so excited to see our selections for them and were enthusiastic about reading these new books. Then the 2nd graders added reflections about this process onto their Seesaw online journals.

Now we're going to work on putting the same care and thought into choosing books for ourselves!



















Curriculum Night Presentation

Saturday, September 2, 2017

2nd grade buddies & opening a new investigation!

     On Friday, we met our 2nd grade buddies from Miss Wilson's class for the first time!  They chose a book for us to read to them.  But, as agents of D.B.I., we can't stop with that!  We decided to ask our buddies questions about what they like to read about, what their interests are, what genres they like, and the length of book that they like.  We documented all of their answers and then plan to analyze all of the evidence we collected next week.  Once we look at all of the evidence and draw some conclusions about our 2nd grade buddies' preferences, we're going to choose a new book for them that we think they will enjoy and share it with them the next time we meet.  This investigation will help solidify our own understanding of genres, which is part of our first Reading unit!  After analyzing our buddies' reading preferences, we're going to analyze our own.  Understanding our reading preferences will help us in our book selection, but will also help us grow in our reading by identifying new genres to try that we don't typically read.  Stay tuned to find out what our investigations uncover!








Paige was excited that her buddy chose Cat in the Hat because she performed in Seussical the Musical this summer!