6.5.14

This is the first post of my newly established blog.  I have wanted to create a blog for a while now, so that I could share all the great stuff that is going on at Bilingual Center # 33. This is the first year we have adopted a Reggio inspired approach to teaching for the early years of preK-2.  It is now June, and I feel comfortable documenting my student work.

This month in my classroom, we are studying living things and growing plants.  Today's provocations were centered around the essential question, "What makes a living thing?"

Students were observing some bean plants that we planted back in April.  Every day they measure the length of the stalks and add that information to a bar graph.




Here is part of the conversation that I was able to capture: 

Me:  So what did you learn about plants?

Jo: My plant is 24.

Me:  24 what?

Jo:  Centimeters!

Je:  They need water to grow and some sunlight.

I:  And you need to treat them right.

Je:  They need to get air.

Me:  Was there anything surprising that you learned?

Je:   Everyday they grow.

I:   Every single plant grew.

Je:   And they grow a lot of roots.

Jo:  And when they get bigger they need a lot a lot of water.

Je: And when the plants grow they leave their seed behind.

I:   Miss, the bees get nectar from the plants.

Je:  And other bugs too, like flies and ladybugs.

I:   And the wind carries the seeds so they can travel.



I was pretty excited about this conversation because they built upon each others thoughts.  

I noticed how much more eager the students are to share their knowledge with me as compared to the beginning of the year when they were too shy to speak as I was typing what they said.

In the block area, the students are building forest dwellings.  The materials I placed out for them are pine cones; bits of fabric; flat, clear marbles; seeds; and a book on fairies. 

The following is a snapshot of the dialogue:

J:  ¡Usamos este libro para construir todo esto!

The students used a fairy book as their inspiration.

Here is the grass, water, plants and a bunny!

(The students set out green fabric to look like grass.   They sprinkled clear blue marbles over it as water.  Also, they were using seeds to represent plants.)

A:  That's our agua. (Pointing to the marbles.)  There is our grass and plants. 

In the classroom studio, students can come to work on art projects.  I set out a plant for the students to draw and paint.

Observational drawings of the plant.

At the light table, I set out dried leaves, brown crayons and pencils, scissors and magnifying glasses.  The students were working on leaf rubbings so they could observe the surfaces of the leaves closely.

Dried leaves on the light table

                             

Students researching an animal of their choice on WorldBook.com