On Tuesday, many of you got the chance to visit for our open house. While you visited, you had a task to draw your interpretation of Nema and check out the research wall to see what we have discovered.
I put up the research wall before school started because I knew we would need a respected space to store our thoughts. This could be about anything. When Nema came, I took advantage of the great opportunity to introduce the importance of the wall. Initially, I am encouraging the children to use the wall as I delegate how to organize that space, but down the road I am hoping to take the lead from the children as they showcase their research- whatever it may be.
As a classroom, we prepared ourselves for the open house and the fact that people were coming to view our work. When families came around, one of the tasks was to check out the wall and read it. This was very important for the children to see. Their research was valued, respected, and appreciated. The research wall is not a space to throw things at, draw on, or be "silly" with as it is a respected space. Our hard work is showcased there and it will continue to grow.
We have managed to answer our initial questions, so I will pose my ideas to the children about what we would like to add. We still have half a wall left. Should we continue with toads or move on to another subject?
Below are some examples of our interactive questions. I also added some links to videos we found to help answer our questions. We can't always observe these things in nature (or in our classroom tanks), so luckily the internet was there for us.
If you're looking for a slow-motion video to catch what actually happens, try this. It is a toad eating some lightning bugs. The ending was our favorite part because someone turned the lights off and you see the toad's lit up stomach!
This question, along with how the toad jumps led to quite the game of charades. Here is a simple video that showcases toad found in someone's pool.
We would often see Nema in a hole in the dirt, but never saw how she got there. We since have seen it, but this is the video that helped us answer the question of how she digs. The music was quite entertaining!
I am sure you have now heard many wonderful things about our classroom toad. She was introduced early last week and immediately we wanted to learn as much as we could about her. I figured this would be a great time to introduce our "Research Wall" to the children. I made the space before school started knowing we would find something important to us we would want to study. I did not know what it would be, until Nema came.
Covered with a blanket on the shelf, the children did not notice the mystery box until meeting time started.
"What is it?"
"Is it treasure?"
"I think it is a guinea pig from your home!"
"It's a duck!"
"No! A duck won't fit!"
"I think it is a dog. A puppy! I wish it was a puppy."
The mystery was solved when I brought her out. We gathered in a circle squeezing our shoulders together to get a closer look. With excited voices and bright eyes, we observed her every move- or lack of moves. I explained the toad's history and caught her as she jumped around the towel. Within ten minutes, I heard twice as many questions. Curiosity, wonder, excitement, and passion are great reasons to start a long-term investigation.
Taking those questions, we narrowed down the most "important" ones and recorded them in a list. We observed Nema as I took her out and drew our thoughts in our journals. The next day I took those questions and drawings and started the research wall. We talked about it and each child found a place for their drawing.
Here are some of our drawings.
As we started our research to answer our burning questions, we utilized discussion, books, and the computer. I had many stories about Nema's antics and the children had stories about coming in contact with toads in their own homes. We started answering each question as individuals and then reported to the group. Once we felt we had answered a question, we wrote it all down and made sure to make an illustration for the words. We were all the authors to the questions, while one person volunteered to be the illustrator.
The research wall is still growing bit by bit, so make sure to stop by to see what we have done!
Welcome families!
After speaking with many families, I figured a great way to continue communication would be to start a blog. The days are busy and newsletters may not make it home, but the blog will always be there at your convenience!
I would like to use this space to communicate what is happening in the classroom. I would love to talk in detail each time I see you about what your child is involved with, but the day is never long enough. Here I will be explaining my rationale, children's thinking, and evolving work. There is a lot happening in the classroom every day, so I am hoping to share a part of it with you.
As I start this process, let me know how it is going for you and if you'd like to see more. I am open to suggestions and you know where to find me. I can't wait to get blogging!
