Trees Are Alive Learning Expedition

What better way to study about trees then to get outside and observe them!

Our crew loves anytime we can take our learning and adventures outside!

Students observed trees and looked for the parts of a tree to understand how they meet their needs.

We have learned:

roots give trees water

leaves give trees food using photosynthesis

stomata helps trees breathe air

bark protects trees

trunks help trees grow strong and sturdy

branches help trees  move

We loved doing the work of a dendrologist outside!

 

We are mathematicians!

 

We are doing the work of mathematicians!  Students have been persevering to understand, model and solve addition and subtraction problems.

  Math is not about memorizing facts, but understanding what is happening in these problems.

Students are collaborating together to solve problems using many strategies including drawing models, using fingers and using number lines.

Students try all the strategies and then reflect:

"I am the kind of mathematician who....."

We are Scientists!

 As scientists, we have been observing, experimenting, recording and asking questions.  

We studied force by exploring push and pull.  We noticed that some things move by pushing away from us and that some things move by pulling closer to us.  We also noticed that some things can be pushed and pulled.

On a different Wonder Wednesday, we observed rocks.  We researched them by looking at non-fiction texts and asked questions.

What better way to study weather than going outside!  As meteorologist, we learned about temperature, thermometers, weather elements and collecting data.

We also enjoyed wondering about pumpkins by observing closely, using our 5 senses and recording our thinking.  We are really growing as scientists!

Reading in Kindergarten

We are readers!  

Kindergarteners are in the routine of choosing their own books.  They are picking a variety of texts to include song books, ABC books, non-fiction, pattern books and science readers.

Students have time each day to read independently, in small groups and with partners.

We are learning that readers don't only read words, but THINK about what they are reading.  We meet with partners and our crew to talk about our schema, connections, favorite part and questions.

Students engage with books every day because we know that readers become stronger readers by READING books.  

Students are gaining an identify as readers and are reflecting on themselves as readers by thinking about "I am the kind of reader who....."

Outside Adventures

 

I love when we get to leave the walls of the classroom to explore, discover and play.

Outdoors, kids learn perseverance skills by trying new, hard things.

Outdoors, we learn how to care for our crew members and help them when they need it.

Outdoors, we get to explore, ask questions and look for new things.

Outdoors, we forget about store bought toys and use nature to have fun!

Outdoors, kids learn to love nature and grow confident in their abilities.

We are authors

In kindergarten, we have been working hard to follow the workshop model to grow smarter as writers.

We persevered to write our first book.  Kindergarten authors are using high quality pictures to tell their stories.

Students reflected on their own books and thought about how they got smarter as writers.

We used both our high quality checklist and our kindergarten writing rubric.

Finally, we celebrated our writing with our crew and set goals for ourselves.

Play Expedition

Mr. Brian (our principal) and Ms. Heather (our assistant principal) came by the classroom to kick off our play expedition by challenging our kindergarten crew to become play experts.

Learning expeditions involve students in original research, critical thinking, and problem solving, and they build character along with academic skills. All learning expeditions explicitly focus on building literacy skills particularly in reading and writing nonfiction text and writing from evidence.~EL Education www.eleducation.org

For the next 6-8 weeks, we will be learning all about what makes playing together fun and creating our "Play Commitments".  These will be the year long promises we will make to each other to have fun and play!  We will be reading our mentor text, Llama llama Learns to Share to help us notice how sharing makes others feel and why sharing is important.

We will be studying the attributes of toys, reading books about toys and researching different toys around the world.  We will write about our favorite toys and also interview a crew member to learn what toys they enjoy.  We are excited about this challenge!

I love this reminder of how quick time goes!  We look forward to making play and fun an important part of our day!  We are excited to share all of our research with you in the coming weeks!