The Bear Facts...

As an inquiry classroom, it is the interest of the students that direct our topics of study.  At the end of January, we read a fiction and non-fiction book about bears.  These two books sparked major interest in the students.  They had many interesting questions, and they wanted to find out more.

To find out more information about bears, and more importantly, to find the answer to some of the questions the students had, we have been doing some research together.  We are reading non-fiction books, watching informational videos and visiting web sites to find out all we can.

The other day, the students interest was focused on the grizzly bear.  We found an interesting and informative video on YouTube that we watched together.

The students were given time to talk with a partner about something new they had learned.  To help solidify the learning, I invited the students to watch the video one more time.  I placed sticky notes at each desk, and students returned to their seats to record the interesting facts they learned from the video.

The students were so excited to share their new knowledge, they got right to work.  The classroom was silent as the students worked on recording what they had learned.

The students were so excited to share their discoveries, that we took the time to allow each student to share their findings with the class.  This was an excellent and authentic opportunity to promote oral communication, and the students did an amazing job presenting in front of the class.  After they presented, we compiled all the stickies onto a Grizzly Bear Facts chart to keep our discoveries in one place.

This activity was such an authentic learning opportunity.  The students were interested, and invested in the topic.  Reading some of the sticky notes below, it is amazing to see how clear and concise the students were in recording their ideas.  

Our learning sparked some new questions that we plan on investigating.  Here are two types of bears the students had never heard of, and want to learn more about.

Mr. Allen joined us for part of our grizzly bear exploration.  While he was talking to some of the students, an interesting question arose and he helped us explore it.  Mr. Allen used the Internet to explore which kind of bear is the strongest. The students were very excited to talk to Mr. Allen and share in the learning with him.

 

There is more amazing learning on the horizon.  Although the topic of bears was decided on by the students, there are valuable learning opportunities and curriculum connections happening every day.  We are covering expectations in reading, writing, oral communication and science in both the Gr. 1 and  Gr. 2 curriculum.  I can't wait to see what exciting learning will happen this week!

The Big Show...

We had our last visit with Mr. Romaine on Tuesday.  The puppets were ready to go and the students had practiced their presentation with their partner.  Mr. Romaine showed us how to use the overhead projector to produce stage lighting.  He also provided some music on the ukulele to introduce each play.  Then, we were off.  Take a peek at some of our puppets in action.

A doctor and a taxi driver...

A chef and a crossing guard...

A peek "backstage"...

A firefighter and a dentist...

When all students had a chance to preform, Mr. Romaine and Wiarton Willy asked the students some great questions to solidify all the learning they had done about community helpers.  We were all big fans of Wiarton Willy...

Thank you Mr. Romaine for teaching us about community helpers, puppets, preforming for an audience, but most of all reminding us why we ALL should strive to help others in our community.

Have You Ever Wondered?

Our classroom is inquiry based.  This means the interests of the students direct the topics we study.  All curriculum is covered, but in a more authentic way.  The students are more engaged and interested in the learning, because they themselves decided what we will study.

One site we like to use in our classroom is called Wonderopolis (www.wonderopolis.org).  This is a fun site that posts a different "wonder" or question every day.  You can also search through older "wonders" to learn more about a topic of interest.

I encourage you to stop by Wonderopolis once a week with your child and discuss a "wonder" together.  This will give you both a chance to learn, discuss and explore.  Oral language development is so important for children.  This website is a great tool for schools and families.

Take a peek to the right of this post.  You will find a new link called "Have You Ever Wondered?"  This will be updated daily with a new "wonder".  If you click on it, you will automatically be taken to Wonderopolis.  Please click, explore, discover and discuss these with your children.  You'll be amazing at how the interesting facts, ideas and questions you will find. :)