Category: data-handling

The Invitations

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The children were ready to plan the rest of their trip to the Skyways kitchen. There were several activities they wanted to engage in during the trip, therefore, they had to think about additional support they needed. The children decided to invite some of their teachers to join the field trip to ensure some adults could support them. They sat with Ms. Hannah to decide on the important information they needed to include in the invitations, brainstorming and then designing the cards.

We are excited to finally visit the Skyways Kitchen to make the cupcakes for the community!

The Trolley Project: Final Steps

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The Trolley Project: Sourcing the Missing Parts

The trolley assembly team had been working on their project for a few weeks. Having lost some parts, they were trying to figure out their next steps. They had decided to reach out to different people in the community to ask for their help. The children checked their lists to see if all the missing parts were recorded on their papers. They found that they still needed to add one more piece of data, the missing back rings on the wheel. Then, they measured the part of the wheel that was going to be connected to the rings.

  • Evan “You should start it from ‘0’ like when we measure the milk.”
  • Jacob “It is 2.5 cm.”

Now that they had a list of all the missing parts, they decided that they were ready to ask members of the community for help and more information. They made a list of the people they were going to visit.

  • Adalyn “We are most familiar with Ms. Jo, so let’s start to ask her first.”
  • Isabella and Adalyn, “We once went to Mr. Arek’s room and we didn’t see these stuff in his room, so maybe he doesn’t have them.”
  • Isabella “We can go ask Mr. Matt next then.”
  • Adalyn “We can ask facility people the after. Finally, if none of those people have the missing parts, we can go ask the people who helped us purchase the trolley to buy a new set.”
  • Jacob “Ms. Jo, we are assembling a two-levels tall trolley, and some of the parts were missing, so we wonder if you can help us find some same ones in your room?”
  • Jo “Sure but what are they?”

Evan showed Ms. Jo his clipboard and pointed at the stuff on it, “We need some screws which is 8 cm long and some nuts.”

  • Isabella “We need some hooks too.”

Ms. Jo led the team to her tool board and checked but she didn’t have any of the parts that we needed.

  • Isabella “It is fine, we can go ask other people.”

When the facility staff member came in the afternoon, the team showed him the parts that got lost and what they were looking for. Unfortunately, he told them that they do have some screws and nuts, but they don’t have the same ones that we need.

Adalyn “We need to go ask Ms. Cherry if she can help us buy another set of the small pieces now.”

The team began to plan their visit to see Ms. Cherry.

  • Sophia “What would we need to say to her?”

  • Evan “The trolley pieces are missing. We need the screws, nuts, black rings and hooks.”
  • Sophia “What other information do we want from Ms. Cherry?”
  • Jacob “We are missing some parts of the trolley, can you ask the people who sell the trolley to sell the little pieces to us?”
  • Adalyn “I think she will say yes because I used to buy things online, some of the small parts were missing and I can ask the shopkeeper to only order those certain parts.” (in Mandarin)
  • Sophia “Any other questions we want to ask if she says yes?
  • Adalyn “Who do we need to ask for the permission when we need to order something?”
  • Jacob “Should we ask Ms. Jacqui if she can give us some money to buy it? Do we need to send a message to Ms. Jacqui and ask her?”

Children wrote down their questions before heading over to see Ms. Cherry.

The children went over to the main building to meet Ms. Cherry. They explained the problem to her, showing her their drawings and documentation to help her understand which pieces were needed to complete the trolley.

When the team returned, they recorded the information that Ms. Cherry shared about the process of ordering things for the class.

  • Evan “We need to fill an E-Form.”
  • Adalyn “We need to fill the money of the things that we need.”
  • Isabella “We need to first ask the permission from Ms. Jacqui. We ask her in the system.”
  • Adalyn “We choose Ms.Cherry in the system so the form can be sent to her.”
  • Isabella “We choose Primary school to find Ms Jacqui.”
  • Adalyn “We need to type the title of the things we need to order.”
  • Isabella “We need to write the number of things in the system.”
  • Adalyn “We need to click save.”
  • Evan “You need to write your name in the system as well.”
  • Jacob “We need to put our classroom in it so when it is arrived people know where to deliver it. We can check the list after we click save. If there’s any mistakes, we need to correct them.”
  • Adalyn “We check the list and send out.”

The team were excited to learn that a box had arrived in the post.

They opened it up to find the missing pieces that they needed to assemble the trolley.

 

Presenting the Trolley

The team presented the trolley to the class.

  • Adalyn “We are making the trolley to put the water bottle and the snack.”
  • Evan “And lunch.”
  • Isabella “When we are pressing the screws they were very hard.”
  • Adalyn “So we used the tool.”
  • Jacob “And the nuts is difficult to tighten up.”

  • Evan “We used the tools because we need to because it’s so hard to tighten them up.”
  • Teacher “Did you sometimes disagree with someone else.”
  • Isabella “We figured it out. We tried it out and then one worked. We listened to each other. We tired the idea of the person who said it the first.”
  • Evan “I think I took some months (to finish the trolley) because the pieces is gone.”
  • Jacob “We need to ask some people and they said no.”
  • Adalyn “And then we buy it.”
  • Isabella “It’s not money to get it. It was free. Because it was just a little.”
  • Teacher “How will we look after the trolley?”
  • Suzy “Maybe we can ask PreK-K1 because they also have a trolley.
  • Isabella “I can also ask PreKK1B.”

 

Reflecting on Learning…

The team took many months to put the trolley together. They had to overcome obstacles and collaborate to achieve their final goal, ‘to assemble the water bottle trolley’. Reflection is an important part of learning, therefore we paused to encourage the team to think about the skills they have learned, the knowledge they have acquired and attitudes they have developed as a result of their learning. They made a list of ideas they wanted to share with their friends.

  • We tried everyone’s ideas to find out what works best.
  • We needed to help each other put the screws and nails because you need strong muscles to fix them.
  • We listened to each other so that we could know everybody’s ideas.
  • We took turns to talk so we can hear those ideas.

  • We had to be mindful, that means we are listening and looking at other people.
  • We had fun.
  • The best part was completing the trolley because we can use it.

The children wanted to ask PreK-K1 how they look after the trolley. Isabella and Suzy volunteered to speak to them. They came back with suggestions on where to place the trolley and how to use it carefully.

Through their inquiry, the team have developed a better understanding of the different ‘systems’ in place at the school to help the community maintain the school facilities and equipment. These authentic experiences have helped the team explore how ‘interconnected’ we are as we collaborate and work to ensure the community within the school has what it needs to support teaching and learning.

By using their ‘senses’ to explore the world around them, the team had opportunities to pursue their ideas based on their curiosities, documenting their thinking through a variety of mediums.

The team had opportunities to explore mathematical concepts about ‘measurement’ and ‘number’.

They developed their literacy skills as they took notes at interviews, documented their thinking, created plans and noted reflections using illustrations, words and sentences. Presenting ideas and updates to the class encouraged the team to see themselves as problem-solvers, risk-takers and communicators.

– Jacob’s statement, “You turn right to tighten the screws and left to untight (loosen the screws).” Shows how the team developed their skills and knowledge about tools (wrenches and Allen keys) for making and design.

The Field Trip Updates

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How many cartons of milk do we need to give everyone a cup of chocolate milk?

After working with a group of mathematicians to calculate how many cups of milk there were in one carton of milk, Adalyn took the initiative to work out how many cartons of milk we needed all together to make chocolate milk for both K2 classes. She illustrated the problem and the process, using pictures, words, numbers and symbols to show her problem-solving strategies. 

Adalyn explained her process to the class, suggesting that 6 cartons of milk would be enough for the 28 children, four teachers, Ms. Hannah and Mr. Patrick. She also suggested that we bring the two remaining cups back for Ms. Dora and Ms. Jacqui.

 

How many seats are there on one school bus?

Ciel counted the number of seats on the school bus…


Ciel “I counted the bus seats because then we can go to the field trip. Then we can know how many children and teachers can go in the bus. We will need 2 buses because if one bus has 28 seats but teachers go too, so there won’t be seats for the teachers so we need one more bus. Then the K2A teachers go in the K2A bus and the K2B teachers to in the K2B bus.”

We updated our trip planner, including more information, checking off tasks that we have completed and adding more steps where appropriate.

When children have AGENCY they:

  • can apply their understanding of concepts through their experiences, projects and play.​
  • are actively involved in discussion, questioning and by being self-directed in their learning.

The Survey

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We referred to our plan for the trip to the Skyways Kitchen to plan our next steps. The children were eager to invite K2B to join us on the trip to the kitchen. The team created a survey to find out how many children and teachers would like to join K2A on the trip.

Suzy “We can ask them, ‘Do you want to come to the Skyways kitchen to make the PTA but the cupcakes?’” The team wrote their question and possible responses. Then, they went off to K2B to speak to their friends.

Dahyun “I am finding the letter and big letter and I write that. Because then I know letters. Because I sound it out and find the letter, and it helped.”  

Euno “I write the question. I used the alphabet chart to find the letters. I see the alphabet chart and I can write the word.

I sound the letter. It was a little bit hard but then I sound and write and see the alphabet chart and write.”

Euno “I asked ‘Do you want to go to the cafeteria for making the PTA cupcake? And they said ‘yes’. I tell him sign your name on the paper on the ‘YES’.”

Dahyun “Because he want to go to Skyways kitchen and make cupcakes so they say it in the paper. Everybody said yes.”

The surveyors presented the data to the rest of the class explaining their process and what they learned as a result of their research.

Suzy “We are going to K2B and ask them and then I write the names. Everyone wants to go!”

While presenting the information, the class noticed that one child did not want to join the field trip. We wanted to make sure that the team had surveyed all the children. Therefore, we decided to check the responses against the K2B class list. As the names were called we realised that two of the children had not responded to the survey.

The researchers went back to collect the data they needed.

The class was pleased with the results both teachers and 13 of the 14 children wanted to join the field trip.

Having collected the information they need, they are ready for their next step, deciding on the date and booking the school buses for the trip.

A plan to make Chocolate Milk!

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We decided to revisit our first ideas about the wasted milk. The children recalled Mr. Patrick’s suggestion to make chocolate milk when they visit the kitchen.

  • Adalyn “We can use the milk to make chocolate milk.”
  • Riccardo “But we don’t know how to.”
  • Suzy “I know, Mr. Patrick knows. We can ask him.”
  • Jacob “K2A and K2B are going to drink the chocolate milk.”
  • Riccardo “We need chocolate to make the chocolate milk but we don’t have it. Maybe we can go to the cafe to buy some chocolate.”
  • Jacob “We can buy the chocolate from the cafeteria where we get lunch.”
  • Suzy “We can go to buy the chocolate from the chocolate shop.”
  • Jacob “We can collect milk from K2A, K2B and K1 when we have lunch in the kitchen. We can ask them for the milk that is not used.” 

Teacher “How much milk do we need?”

  • Jacob “We can measure the milk with a ruler.”
  • Riccardo “We can measure it with the ruler plate, the plate with numbers.”

The children’s conversation revealed their understanding that we use tools to measure accurately. They suggested using a measuring cup to find out how much milk we need to collect for both classes to have a cup of chocolate milk.

How many cupcakes do we need to make?

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A team were tasked with calculating how many cupcakes they needed to make for the NIS community that did not receive the birthday cupcakes.

The children went back to the list to see how they could solve the problem. Paper, pens and manipulatives were available as resources.

  • Jacob “We are going to the PTA where they make the cupcake so we will have a trip.”
  • Ciel “If you lose the PTA cupcake, you will tell the teachers and the teachers will help you find it.”
  • Isabella “We are putting the numbers together to figure out how many all together.”

  • Suzy “We are writing the people who didn’t have the PTA cupcakes. We will give them a cupcake.”

  • Evan “We used the counting blocks to see how to count the numbers because it’s too hard for us.”

  • Isabella “We need to have the same number. Maybe we need to agree with each other then we can say the same number.”
  • Suzy “We can talk to each other then we can have the same number.”

Further to the children’s suggestion, we decided to use the virtual Base 10 blocks to discuss and solve the problem together. The children helped colour and count the different addends to find the total.

The cupcake problem helped the children explore the different strategies we can use to solve number problems. Making their thinking visible through their drawings helped them communicate their ideas with each other.

Additionally, the children explored the relationship between their drawings and manipulatives and their function in solving mathematical problems.

Rules for Sorting

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We have noticed the children categorising everyday objects around the campfire as they play and construct with different objects and materials. We decided to present the Mathematicians with an opportunity to sort, categorise and organise a collection of objects to help them explore how objects can be organised in different ways.

To help them think about this further, we referred to prior documentation from the ‘waste’ project, when the children sorted the different foods into groups and discussed their rules for the sort.

The children noticed that:

  • Isabella “Pictures tell what it is.”
  • Adalyn “Words at the bottom tell everybody what is that picture.”
  • Riccardo “There are numbers because you can tell how high the people like more food.”
  • Evan “How many food there are.”

The children worked in teams to sort out the different collections. We discussed the skills they would need to use to complete the team challenge.

One team was given a collection of loose parts. As they observed the contents of the basket, they decided to sort it by shape. The team were invited to think about other ways to sort the objects. 

Next, they decided to sort the objects by colour. They noticed that the coloured objects also had different shapes and put them into new categories sorted by shape and colour.

The team were reminded about the graph they had made previously, to help them think about how they might organise the information they had gathered. They moved the objects to a new piece of paper, placing the objects in lines.

The team were given feedback on the placement of the objects, encouraging them to consider where the objects were placed in relation to the numbers they had written on the left side of the paper.

Finally, the teams included labels at the bottom of the chart paper to help others know the different categories. Together they decided that the title for the chart would be ‘Shape Tower Chart’.

A second team were given a bucket of loose parts. The team spent a lot of time discussing all the different objects in the bucket, talking about the shapes and colours, and deciding how they might want to sort the objects.

At first, they decided to sort them into two categories beads and buttons. After some negotiations, they decided to categorise them by colour instead.

Having sorted all the different colours out, they transferred this information onto a new piece of chart paper. They were encouraged to refer to the ‘favourite Foods’ graph they had made previously, to help them notice other information that should be included on a graph.

They began to include labels and numbers on the graph and helped each other out with the spelling of the labels. 

They finally repositioned all the different objects to create an organised representation of data and labelled their graph ‘Colour Shape Graph’.  

A third team was given a mixture of cutlery.  The team shared and explained their ideas to each other and then came up with three ways of categorising the collection of cutlery: by colour, size and function.

It took a long time for them to decide on the rule for the sort.  They voted to sort by colour but decided to try out all three ways to see which one works best.

Finally, they agreed on sorting the cutlery by their function as this was ‘the best’. They sorted them into 5 categories, spoons, forks, knives, chopsticks, special spoon (for getting things like ice-cream, salt, or sugar). They were encouraged to refer to the ‘favourite Foods’ graph they had made previously, to help them notice other information that should be included on a graph. They realised that organising the objects vertically rather than horizontally helped create a better graph. They included labels and numbers on the graph and helped each other out with the spelling of the labels. 

They used Google Translate to find the word ‘tableware’. They finally repositioned all the different objects to create an organised representation of data and labelled their graph ‘Tableware Graph’.

Learning Outcomes:

  • collect data
  • sort and label real objects into more than 2 sets by more than one common attribute
  • record data on simple tables
  • present information using pictographs where one picture equals 1
  • explain data using simple comparative language

The Foods We Like to Eat

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Our discussions about ‘food waste’ led to the children sharing all the foods they like to eat from their school lunch menu. They drew pictures of the different foods and included labels to share their ideas.

Then, we gathered to sort and organise the information we had collected.

We began to sort and group the different foods. The children discussed the data that emerged through this process. Rice, hot dogs and pizza were some of the children’s favourite foods.

How can we tell how many people like each type of food?

  • Suzy “We can write numbers!”

 

The children included numbers on one side of the graph.

How can we tell which foods are in one column?

  • Riccardo “We can write the words.”

We decided to add the names as Riccardo suggested.

The children discussed the idea of a title, to let people know what the graph was about. They agreed that it was ‘What K2A Like to Eat’.

 

  • How do the rest of the children in the Early Years feel about their options for school lunch?
  • Do they also like the same foods?

We wonder what choices the children might make because of their data collection.

How will they use the information to guide their next steps to reduce food waste? 

Food Waste – Choices and Responsibility

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We have been discussing the concept of waste, thinking critically about the choices we can make to reduce food waste. A photograph of the food waste in K2 during lunchtime led to many discussions about choices and our responsibility to reduce waste.

The children wondered how much food waste we had at lunchtime. We decided to collect the leftovers from the lunch boxes to find out.

How do we know how much food there is in the box?

We decided to read a book about measurement to help the children think about the tools we use to measure ingredients and food.Having seen the images in the book, we decided to weigh the leftover food. Mr. Arek told us there were scales in the cafeteria for this purpose. A team went over to the cafeteria to see if they could weigh the box of leftovers.

They learned that the box was 1111 grams. When we returned to the classroom the children used a scale Mr. Seth had in his classroom to see if it recorded a similar weight. They also tried weighing the box of food using a bathroom scale.

Children were unsure about the number that was recorded on all the different scales. On day one we had 1110g of food waste. We decided to use manipulatives and virtual tools to talk about big numbers.

Reflecting on the waste we had collected, the children decided to make an effort to reduce the waste by:

  • eating more food from their lunch box
  • trying to eat different foods they don’t normally try
  • Remind their friends to eat more and talk less

On the second day, we weighed the leftovers to see if there was a difference. This time the scale recorded the weight of 534 grams.   

Was the food waste more or less than on day one?

We used the base 10 blocks to see what these two numbers looked like. We talked about regrouping the hundreds to make a 1000 when showing the number 1110 grams. We used the words more and less to describe the two lots of manipulatives.

Having seen that the second day’s waste was less than the first, we decided to explore some other ideas to reduce food waste. We discussed the different foods that were offered as options in the children’s school lunch box.

Which of these foods were their favourite which ones did they dislike eating and why?

The children drew and wrote to share all their favourite school lunch options.  

We wonder how we might organise the data that we collect about the school lunch.

  • What does the data tell us about the food the children prefer to eat?
  • How might we use this information to improve some of the choices we have for school lunch?

Planning a Challenge – Ice creams

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The children have been discussing the concept of ‘time’ while engaging in play and exploration. Often, they refer to time as being ‘long’ or ‘short’.

  • Suzy “It only took me two minutes to draw the love heart, that is a short time.”

The children were interested in creating challenges to explore the concept of ‘time’. They were excited about the three-minute challenges they had brainstormed and voted on. We gathered to discuss the different ideas collected, noting them all down on chart paper to help us create a plan for our next steps. As the children discussed these ideas, we used drawings and words to document their thinking. We had 13 challenges altogether!

How would we decide which one to explore first?

We decided to vote on the different challenges to find the most popular. Making ice creams received the highest votes (6). The children had many different ideas about the ice cream challenge. They suggested purchasing ice creams from the café, and buying ice creams at the supermarket or McDonald’s. Having heard all the ideas, the teachers decided to encourage the children to consider the practical challenges connected with some of these ideas.

  • Where would we get the money for the ice creams?
  • What about the children who have different allergies?
  • What options for flavours are there at McDonald’s

The teachers decided to stretch the children further, to encourage them to consider alternate opportunities for learning.

Does anyone know how to make ice creams?

After some thought the children tapped into their prior knowledge and experiences from previous years. Isabella and Evan recalled making ice pops at school. They explained the process of making watermelon ice pops, preparing the fruit and using moulds and popsicle sticks to make the ice creams.

The children were excited about making their own popsicles. They discussed several ideas, including the flavours they could choose. Considering the many opportunities this project may have for the children to apply their understanding of concepts through their experiences and play, the teachers agreed to support the children in preparing for the challenge if they could come up with a plan for their next steps. They would need to solve some practical obstacles to make their ice creams and carry out the challenge. They would need to decide and plan how to purchase the items, the process they needed to follow to make the ice creams and how they were going to organise the challenge.

We wonder how the children would:

  • plan and follow through to make the ice creams (process)
  • document their thinking and ideas so others can understand and follow their process (representation)
  • consider and plan for the safe use of materials, resources and tools (safety, responsibility)
  • consider how to include their friends and the community in their challenges (inclusion)
  • collaborates with students, parents and other teachers on learning (collaboration)

Voting for 3 Minute Challenges!

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We have noticed the children are showing interest in the concept of ‘time’. Isabella and Adalyn have been thinking about what they can do in 3 minutes.

But how long was 3 minutes? We used an online timer to ‘feel’ the time pass by. The children sat patiently, thinking about the length of time that passed by.

We challenged them to think about the things they could do in 3 minutes. They drew to share their thinking:

  • Euno: Draw a heart, Take a photo, Talk and share 3 ideas
  • Isabella: Run 3 circles in the playground, Read 2 small books in the library, Put my socks on
  • Ethan: Go to sleep, Cooking a cookie, Eat snack
  • Archie: Go on a train to Africa, Come to school in 1 minute, Go to Japan in 5 minutes, Put my shoes on
  • Jacob: Make a paper airplane, Build a puzzle, Make a Lego car
  • Evan: Make a block tower, Eat lunch, Draw a house
  • Adalyn: Run 2 circles in the playground, Pack my backpack, Talk about a tower
  • Suzy: Eat an ice-cream, Build a tower with coloured blocks, Run 3 circles in the outside playground
  • Dahyun: Put shoes on, Draw a heart, Read 2 little bit small books
  • Sea: Read a book in the library, Wash your hands for lunch, Swim across the pool
  • Finn: Wash hands, Put on my jacket, Write my name, Put on my shoes
  • Riccardo: Write my name, Draw a clock, Eat a sausage
  • Junsu: Go a friend’s house with daddy, Read a big book in the library, Robots break the blocks

We gathered many different, interesting ideas and wondered which ones to try out. We decided to vote on each child’s ideas, using tally marks to track our data.

While discussing our next steps, we wondered if other children in the Early Years would also enjoy some of our challenges. The children believed that K2B and PreK-K1 could also do some of the challenges as they run fast and like ice cream because everyone likes ice cream!

We look forward to seeing how the children develop a plan to present these ideas to others.

The Trolley Project – Parts and Instructions

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Over the last few days, the team of assemblers have continued to work on the trolley. They felt it was very challenging to put the parts together. They gathered to discuss the problem before they began their task.

They began by looking carefully at all the different parts of the trolley.

  • Isabella “We have the small parts such as screws and wheels.”
  • Adalyn “We have the nuts.”

  • Jacob “We have the holders for holding the sticks.”
  • Isabella “We have the tools for assembling the trolley.”
  • Evan “We have the words.”
  • Adalyn “那个叫说明书。”（that’s called the instruction) A picture of the trolley.”
  • Jacob “The big parts of the trolley, like the baskets and sticks to connect them.”

Now that we have all the different parts of the trolley and the tools to assemble it, where do we start?Adalyn suggested that they read the instructions carefully. Isabella emphasised the importance of the pictures in the instructions. However, as they tried to assemble it, Evan could see that it was very wobbly. Isabella suggested taking the wheels off. Jacob agreed, explaining that this could come right at the end.

  • Isabella “There are some numbers that show us the steps.”
  • Jacob “Some parts such as the long sticks are too hard for us to insert”
  • Evan “We don’t have enough muscle.”
  • Jacob “We need an adult to help.”
  • Isabella disagreed and said, “We children can work together”.

The team continued their work together, assembling and dismantling parts of the trolley as they tried to complete the task. During the week, a clean-up in the Early Years centre posed a new problem!  

One morning, when the team went back to continue with their project, they found some of the parts were missing. How can we assemble the trolly without the parts?

Yet again, the team sat down together to work out which parts were missing. And how they might solve the problem. Isabella suggested that they look at the paper instructions to figure it out.

The instructions provided information on all the different parts that were required to assemble the trolley. They needed screws, nuts, black rings on the wheels, hooks and the holders. Together the team tried to calculate how many of each they needed in total. The problem invited the children to use their understanding of calculations to find the number of missing parts.

  • The nuts: Adalyn “We need 12 in total and we used 4, so 8 of them are missing.”
  • Hooks: Jacob “We had two before and now we only have one.”
  • The holders for the screws: Evan “There are 6 in total on the instructions, but there are three levels in the instructions, and we only need 2 levels for our trolley so we need two more.”

They continued to work on creating a list of items they needed. Then, the team plan their next steps to solve the problem. 

Jacob suggested asking the facilities department for the missing parts because they have the staff who come and fix items that are broken in the classroom. Isabella suggested reaching out to Mr. Matt as he helped fix the table. Jacob recalled Mr. Arek helping to fix ‘The Nest’ in the playground. Adalyn thought Ms. Jo might be able to help as well as she has lots of different materials for making things.

  • Adalyn “If none of the people that we mentioned above has the parts we need, we can buy another set of the small losing parts we need.”
  • Jacob disagreed, “if we buy only a set of the small parts, the other trolley is going to miss some parts.”
  • Evan disagreed with Jacob, “I think the shop must have some extra small parts.”

Everyone agreed with Evan’s suggestion, and they decided to ask the school purchasing office to help them source the missing parts. To do this they decided they had to:

  • take a photo of the parts they need
  • make a list of the parts that need to be purchased
  • measure the size of the different parts to give accurate information.

They worked together to gather all this information to take to the school’s purchasing officer. We look forward to their next steps as they solve the problem of ordering and purchasing the missing pieces in the trolley.

 

How tall is the Tower?

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The tower in the block play area cannot be missed!!

It has been standing tall for a few weeks, with only its steeple toppling over on a few occasions when children pass by or try to adjust the blocks that support its design. We noticed the children adjusting the columns, replacing and testing out different shapes to see which ones offer better support. Through trial and error, the engineers developed and tested theories about balance, shapes and design.  

They were now more intentional when choosing the shapes for different sections of the tower. For instance, they realised that using broader, flatter shapes horizontally provided more foundational support and that they could make the steeple taller by using cylinders with a greater diameter at the bottom. Throughout the process of experimentation, the engineers discussed and negotiated ideas, looking for ways to work collectively to reach their goal, of building the tallest tower.  

Through inquiry, we explored different ways to measure the height of the building. At first, the children used non-standard units to measure the tower.

Then, a team uncovered the use of standard units and decided to measure the tower using a ‘flexible, long ruler’, a measuring tape.

The children shared estimations of the height of the tower.

Then, we used the measuring tape to measure the tower accurately. The children were excited to learn that the tower was 190 centimetres tall!

During outdoor playtime, a group of children met Mr. Lee and explained that they had built a tower that was taller than him. Mr. Lee decided to check if this was true. As he stood next to the tower he asked, “How tall am I?”  

 

Survey Data

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A team of researchers have been visiting different spaces in the school to gather data using a survey, to find out who gets a PTA birthday cupcake on their birthday month.

  • Isabella “We asked people ‘Do you get a PTA cupcake?’ because we want to know did they get one.”
  • Jacob “Because we want to ask people because we want to know a ‘YES’, a ‘NO’ or a ‘MAYBE’.”
  • Isabella “We asked people and then and we wrote it down.”
  • Adalyn “And we want to know if all the school people and teachers have a PTA cupcake.”
  • Evan “Some people said yes, no and some said maybe.”
  • Suzy “We want to ask mummy or daddy do you get a PTA cupcake?”
  • Evan “We asked the office, the teachers and the bus drivers and now we know that some people get a PTA cupcake.”

Next steps…

What do we do with the information we have?

  • Isabella “Maybe we need to count on our paper.”
  • Adalyn “To see how many people said yes, no and maybe.”

The team of researchers have been documenting their learning, and sharing the information with the rest of the class. The process has helped the children better understand their research questions as they learn more about the community at NIS.

The team then used what they had learned about data and graphs, to transfer their data into concrete graphs.

We wonder what new theories the children have as a result of their research, and what decisions and plans the class might have as they move forward with their project.

Making Sense of Data

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We have been conducting surveys, and documenting data to answer questions that help us understand how objects and events can be organised differently. A group of children have also taken this further by creating a survey and interviewing the community to help them find answers to their ongoing questions related to their projects.

Our next step was to sort and organise the information in a way that made sense to others.

During Morning Meeting, we introduced the children to some tools and resources they could use to sort data.We decided to use Unifix cubes, an easy resource for children to create simple concrete graphs as they work with data.

Through this experience the children:

  • gathered information by asking questions
  • sorted and recorded data on a concrete graph
  • explained data using simple comparative language; more, less, all together, and difference

How might we use what we have learned in new situations to make sense of the world around us?

Taller than a Teacher!

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Over several days, Evan and a team of engineers have been building a structure in the block play area. The team worked hard to find solutions for the steeple as it kept falling over. Through trial and error, they explored different ways to make the structure taller. One afternoon, Evan was excited to learn that the block tower was taller than him. He wondered if it was taller than Adalyn (as she was taller than him). As Adalyn stood next to the tower, Evan could see that it was taller than her. 

Adeline and Evan wondered if the tower was taller than the teachers. First, Ms. Sophia stood next to the tower. She was taller than the tower. Ms. Shemo and Ms. Sophia were both taller than the tower!

 

The engineers went back to work. The tower was now taller than them making it harder for them to place the blocks. George looked around the classroom. He was excited to share his solution, “I know, we can get a chair to stand on then we will be able to reach that high.” (in Mandarin) The team carefully positioned the chairs, so they reach beyond the highest block on the structure allowing them to reposition and test their new ideas.

As they stacked the new blocks, the steeple on the tower collapsed. They persevered, trying many different positions and shapes, but parts of the tower continued to fall. Evan looked around for new shapes that could be used in the structure and noticed a block they had not used before. He had a new idea that he wanted the team to test, “We can add more flat pieces on the joint part and the building can be more stable and will not be that easy to fall.” (in Mandarin)

Isabella “I found more of this kind of green wooden pieces and I’m going to add them at the joint part of the block sticks.” (in Mandarin) 

Evan “We need to top the stick on the middle part of the two underneath. Because it will help the one on the top to stay more stable.” (in Mandarin)

They used all the green blocks that were available on the shelf. But there weren’t enough. As Isabella observed the structure, she realised the significance of the flatter, wider shapes that made the building more stable. The flat shapes held more blocks which in turn allowed them to go higher. She looked around for blocks that had similar characteristics and paused at the wooden cookies. She decided to test her theory.

Even though the building collapsed many times, Evan didn’t give up. He continued stacking the blocks, learning through trial and error that being more intentional about the placement of the blocks resulted in greater success. After many attempts, his tower was done.

He was ready to invite Ms. Shemo to stand next to the building. The team were excited to see that the building was as tall as Ms. Shemo!

As Ms. Shemo looked at the building she invited the children to think about the concept of measurement, “How can we measure the height of the building?”

Ms. Shemo was worried about the building collapsing before the children could have an opportunity to explore tools that help us measure. Therefore, she suggested recording the height of the building on the wall next to the structure. Isabella helped Ms. Shemo find a solution to gauge the approximate height. They used a coloured sticker to mark the position. 

The team continued to work on their tower, testing theories and ideas to make the tower even taller. After several days, they were ready to test the height to see if it was taller than Ms. Shemo.

They called Ms. Shemo to stand next to the building. The children cheered with excitement as it was much taller than her!

Evan quickly remembered what they had done the previous day, and brought a flat, long beam to help Ms. Shemo find the correct level for the new sticker. 

Ms. Shemo invited the children to reflect on the question she had about the measurement of the structure. “How can we measure the height of the building?”

We decided to share a photograph from the previous year which focused on the concept of ‘measurement’ to guide the children’s thinking.

The children quickly tapped into their memories from the previous year, recalling how they had explored height by creating a ruler.

  • Adalyn “He was seeing who is taller.”
  • Isabella “He is using his hand.”
  • Ethan “Edward is stretching his hand to his head.”
  • Suzy “I see some numbers.”
  • Evan “I see some colouring.”
  • Isabella “I see some drawing.”
  • Suzy “The numbers is for knowing who is bigger.”
  • Jacob “Finn is 33 tall.”
  • Evan “I think Edward is 20.”

As Suzy demonstrated how to read the measurement, Isabella reminded her that she needed to place her hand ‘straight’ (not at an angle) and read the number across.

  • Suzy “How can we know that because we can see a number over here.”

As we looked at the photograph of the tower, we invited the children to think about their wondering, “How tall is the tower?”

  • Suzy “I think the building is 56.”
  • Isabella “I think it is 57.”
  • “That ruler on the wall is 66” explained Jacob, recalling the highest number on the ruler they had created the previous year.  
  • Isabella “100 is too many!”

As the children shouted out their estimates, we recorded them on a table.

We look forward to seeing how the children will use their prior knowledge about measurement to find out the height of the new tower.

Creating a Plan for Data Collection

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Creating a Plan for Data Collection

The children have been thinking about the people in the community that they would like to speak to, to find out if they receive a PTA birthday cupcake.

They have been making lists and taking photographs of people in the NIS community to collect and organise their research.

As we thought about the task, we wondered about the ‘process of research’.

  • Jacob suggested that the children should spread out and speak to different people in the community, to make the process faster.
  • Isabella thought it would be better if three or four children went as a small group to speak to different people in the community.
  • Adalyn suggested that each group should have a teacher for safety and support.

The conversation went back and forth as the children shared many different perspectives and suggestions. The teachers decided to ask the children …  

  • How can we remember all the things we talk about?
  • How can we share or make our thoughts more visible?

A teaching Moment:

The children suggested writing down the ideas that were shared, to help us plan the next steps. The teachers scribed, drew and wrote as the children shared and discussed the details.

The teachers modelled adding details to illustrations to share information with others. We discussed the way illustrators choose colours and show action and key details through drawings. These are important techniques the children will be invited to practise and use when creating illustrations for different purposes. 

 

Creating a Survey

The children’s initial belief that everyone at NIS receives a birthday cupcake has been challenged!

A deep dive into our wonderings about the PTA birthday cupcakes at NIS has resulted in the children wanting to find out more about the cupcakes. They decided to speak to the community, to find out if this belief was true.

We discussed the next steps in our research. Perhaps a survey was required to gather the information the children were seeking. When this was suggested to the children, they recalled gathering data in a similar way, the previous year. They explained how they had done it, writing sentences down and seeking out people to find out what they thought. They recall recording their information on paper.

Isabella explained that a good question to ask the community would be, “Do you get a PTA cupcake?” The children agreed with Isabella’s idea. Next, a small group gathered to prepare the survey.

We began to plan our writing. Saying and stretching the words helped the children isolate the sounds and look for the letters they needed in an alphabet chart. Sight Word cards were used to help the children write the words that were harder to sound out.  We talked about leaving spaces between words and punctuation at the end of the sentence.  

The surveys were photocopied and clipped onto boards as they needed to ask many people in the community.

The researchers practiced conducting their survey by asking their friends and teachers in K2A.

Next, they will visit different people in the community to see what more they can learn from their research.

The team of researchers will bring their data to the rest of the class to share their findings.

We wonder what they might uncover through their research!

Understanding data

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The team sat with the data they had collected through their survey, to sort and understand what their friends and teachers in the Early Years thought about the concept of ‘beauty’.

Looking at the information before them helped the team decide on a rule for sorting. They began to notice that they each had similar ideas that could be grouped.

They created several different groups based on the criteria they had decided on.  

The team decided to include labels to help others understand the groupings they had created.

The team confidently presented their data to the class, naming all the different elements the Early Years community thought were ‘beautiful’.

How can we change the way the balls travel on the ramps?

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The children have been wondering about the ‘speed’ and ‘direction’ the balls might travel if they made changes to the ramps. They have been recording their theories and making changes to their ramps using a range of materials around the classroom.

 

 

What did they observe and learn from their experiments?

A Table for Lego

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Sungjune, a Grade 9 student reached out to K2A to ask if he could build something for us as he was engaged in a product design exploration. As the children would often struggle to sit around the rectangular table that we have in the classroom, the teachers suggested a table for Lego projects.

After a few days, Sungjune shared 3 draft plans for the table. The drafts were presented to the children for feedback and questions.

As the children discussed the designs, we noticed that they were considering the shape, space and purpose of the table. Finally, they voted for the table they preferred the most.

The children’s preferences have now been shared with Sungjune. As we know that the children are always curious about building and making, we wonder what they might learn from observing Sungjune’s process of building the table.

The Garden Plots – Making Decisions 

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The gardening group (composed of student representatives from each class) gathered to discuss their project. Their task for the day was to document what was still growing in the garden and how they might organise the garden plots.

Thirteen gardeners joined the meeting with Ms. Hannah. They began by revisiting their agreements. The gardeners reflected on what it means to be a respectful listener “We talk one at a time and listen to others as they share their ideas.”

Then, they reflected on what they did during the previous session.

  • Emma “We don’t have many plants.”
  • Oliver “Some plants survive when it was snowing, it means when it’s snowing they are not very scared of the cold. The big plant is dead because it’s not cold protection.”

The team wondered about the ‘temperature’ and what plants ‘need’ to ‘survive’ and thrive.

Which plants might grow in the different seasons?

Which ones will survive?

  • Jacob “Because that big plants got too much water and it would die and too much worm pee pee it will die too.”
  • Logan “Earthworm poo, could it help?”
  • Jenny “Not too much water, not too dry (in Mandarin)”
  • Adelyn “Not too much sun”
  • Oliver “If you get a dragon fruit then dig a whole and then a plant will grow and the flower will grow and it is actually a dragon fruit. If you use the outside part of the strawberry seed and put it in the dirt it will grow strawberries. I know how to grow a watermelon to a shape that you want. If you get a square shape cube and dig a hole and then open it and then close it and then it will be the shape.”
  • Albert “If you grow watermelon then you will get a watermelon tree.
  • Keira: “In my home, there are orange trees.”
  • Jacob “Watermelon black and watermelon white seeds. People can eat the white seeds and plant the black seeds.”
  • Emma: “At my home, I have a paprika tree.
  • Albert: “At my home, I have a bamboo tree.”

Teacher “This is a shared space. We have 5 classes. Which means we need to find a way to share the plots. How might we do this?”

The gardeners gathered their clipboards with paper and writing tools. They looked at the plants in the plot and began to draw to share their observations and thinking.

Teacher” How do you know something is still alive?”

  • Emma “Because the seeds were still in the mud. And it didn’t fall out. Some was out but some not.”

We noticed that the team considered the size and shape of the plots when documenting their thinking. The gardeners were encouraged to think about and explain how they knew the plants were still alive. They used their senses to observe carefully, sharing their theories about the growth of plants and the weather. As they visualised the space, they began to share suggestions on how the plots may be allocated to the different classes in the Early Years.

The gardeners gathered to share what they had learned and to decide on what they would do next.

  • Oliver “One is a bigger plot and one is smaller.”
  • Sophia “Prek-K1 has more children so they use the bigger plot and K2 use the smaller plot.” (in Mandarin)
  • Emma “Also we need to plant so many new plants because only in some places there are plants.”

The gardeners agreed with Sophia’s suggestion.

  • Emma “PreK-K1 has 3 classes and K2 has 2 classes.”
  • Albert “The bigger one to PreK K1 and the smaller one to K2.”
  • George “One class has one space.”

The children took a vote and agreed with George’s idea.

The team’s suggestions were based on the number of classes in each grade level and the number of students in each of them. The teachers wondered how they might encourage the gardeners to show the division of a space.

Games

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The teachers noticed that a group of children had been interested in making their games during inquiry playtime. They often used recycled paper and cards to design and create their games.

Recently, the Grade 4 students visited K2, to ask the children about the arcade games. This was connected to their Unit of Inquiry ‘How We Organise Ourselves’.

First, the Grade 4 students conducted a survey, to learn more about the younger children’s interests in games. Then, they returned to create a list and gather feedback to learn “What might make the game fun?”.

  • Jeongyoon “Rules and tag.”
  • Motong “If we don’t have rules and we don’t know how to play.”
  • Oxford “”

We noticed that the children continued to refer to the ‘rules’ in a game. We wondered if the children were making connections with the games they play in their P.E. class, as conversations at the end of the lesson highlight important behaviours that make games fun and engaging. The teachers decided to dig deeper, to learn more about the children’s thinking. The teachers decided to ‘use the discussion to generate new ideas and investigations’.

Why do we need rules in the game?

  • Jeongyoon “If the game has no rules, it’s not a game, because it’s not fun.”
  • Motong “Because we don’t know how to play if we don’t have rules.”
  • Oxford “Rules let us know what we can do and what we can’t do.”

The children highlighted the ‘function’ of rules in the ‘organisation’ of a game. Then, the children drew the games they liked on large chart paper. We noticed that many of the games had mazes. Was this something that interested the team?

We discussed the kinds of games the team would like to make for the other children in the EY. We wondered…

  • How might we gather information to learn about the games that the EY children like to play?
  • What does a game need to have to make it exciting and fun?

The team gathered to discuss their next steps. Could we use a survey or draw some graphs to show our findings?

Oxford chose to create a survey that included three games. He planned to ask the children in the EY to choose their favourite game, to help him decide which game he was going to finally make. The three games to choose from were ‘Whack-a-Mole’, ‘Maze’ or ‘Treasure Hunt’.

Motong chose to create a survey with three choices of games for children in the Early Years. His games were ‘Car Race’, ‘Solider Game’, ‘Code Guessing.

Jeongyoon chose to use the maze game and decided to write some questions that would help him find out how he could make his game fun for the children in the EY.

  • Question 1: Do you like water in the maze game?
  • Question 2: Do you like easy games or hard games?

What can we grow in the garden plots?

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Many of the children worked to maintain the garden plots in K1. The children noticed that some plants had died, and others needed to be pruned.

The children began to make suggestions on what they could grow next. We decided to gather this information using pictures and words.

The children were invited to share 2 suggestions. Then, we sorted and organised the information.

The children quickly noticed that some suggestions such as flowers (8) and trees were very popular. Other suggestions were mint plants (3) orange plants (1) grass (1) trees (5) strawberry plants (5) apple trees (3).

We wonder what we need to know about these flowers and plants to be able to grow them in our EY garden. We wonder what resources will help us learn more about the needs of these plants.

Our inquiry continues…

Learning Outcomes: We are learning that we can…

  • gather information by asking questions
  • record data on simple graphs
  • present information using pictographs where one picture equals 1
  • explain data using simple comparative language

The Paper Airplanes

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Noticing the children’s interest in making paper airplanes, Ms. Eileen decided to introduce the children to a new design.

The children followed the instructions to make the paper airplane.

  • Eli “I want to throw it outside because outside will have wind so it will fly fast and high.”
  • Howie “I think the airplane the airplane can fly really high and really fast because the wind is really strong and it will go fast. We can feel it when the wind is cold you know what is the wind.”

We looked at a photograph of the playground to help us decide where we might fly the planes from. What would we need to consider?

  • Liz “I think airplanes go to water is broken. Airplane is paper, paper in water is wet and broken.”
  • Oliver “I think the airplane might go round and round all the time I think. Because the wind is going left then the airplane will go left and if the wind is going right then the airplane will go right.”
  • Wyatt “Outside is airplane is go out of school and people can’t go outside of school and then you make it again.”
  • Morning “The airplane will go to the tree and the people cannot play with it.”
  • Eli “It can go over the fence because if you throw on the mountain then it will go over the fence and no one will get it and it might go into the building and there might be sharp things and then it will get a hole in it.”
  • Motong “We can send it from the slide. We can stand on the yellow wall because the airplane will fly very far.”
  • Jeongyoon “If we fly it from the roof, then we can’t get it.”
  • Lydia “I think this flying to outside you can’t take it (the airplane).”
  • Eunbyul “If it goes to a very tall tree then I will not catch the airplane.”
  • Howie “Then, we can climb the tree.”
  • Oliver “The sticks are not very strong.”

How can we find out which airplane has gone the furthest?

  • Oliver “I think if the airplane looks the best then it goes the furthest. And my airplane looks the best.
  • Eunbyul “Throw it and it will go up and down.”

When you run a race, can you start from different places?

  • Eli “No, we have to stay together.
  • Howie “Some people together in the back, the first people will get number 1. The people in the back will be number 2.”

The children explained that they had to fly the paper airplanes from the same location for it to be fair. The children discussed the different options. The children were excited to see many planes flying high above the playground. Perhaps our planes would fly high too!

Many of the children suggested flying the plane from a height as it would help the plane go further. They agreed that the best spot would be the top of the short wall.

We decided to go out and try this out. The paper panes took off from the wall. We watched them scatter around the playground. 

How would we know which plane went the furthest?

Howie suggested that we use a tape to measure the distance. Ms. Shemo did not have such a long tape but had some string instead. We measured and cut out the string to mark the distance.

When we went back to class with the string, we had them in bundles on the floor. Many children believed Eli’s plane flew the furthest because his bundle of string was ‘higher’. We recorded everyone’s best guess using tally marks.

But how would we know for sure? How do we measure things in real life?

Eli suggested using the ruler. But the ruler was short, and it would take a long time to measure them.

Liz suggested measuring them using the white PVC pipes. We brought one over and kept it next to the ruler. It was longer. We noticed the numbers on the ruler and decided to add them to make our ruler with the pipe. But, there were too many numbers to write.

After some thought, we decided to count in 5’s and record them on the pipe. The children helped identify the numbers from 0-100.

Then, we began to measure the twine. We recorded the distance each paper airplane flew. Finally, we had the data we needed. Eli’s paper airplane flew the furthest!

Throughout this experience, the children shared their theories about paper airplanes, and considered the properties of paper. They considered the concepts of speed, height, distance and variables that may affect the flight of the paper airplane. They explored measurement, data handling and number, to find out who’s paper airplane flew the furthest.

The Egg Experiment – A Story of Research

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A Story of Research

@O had a book full of experiments. He described one to the teacher explaining “The egg becomes soft when it is in the water for 3 days!”

  • Teacher “Hmmm, is that so, well can you prove that?”
  • Child “Yes! I can show you!”

He began to make a plan, thinking about how he might share his theories and document the process and findings over time. He drew out his plan, made a list of needed materials, and shared the steps to be taken to complete the task.

At first, the child insisted that the egg needed to be submerged in water. He planned and experimented, even though he subsequently learned that the liquid should be vinegar for the experiment to work.

The teachers encouraged him to complete his first experiment, to observe and document his learning and the outcome of his experiment, to encourage the child to develop the ability to carry out tasks, and to learn through experience.

The child agreed, and documented his observations in his journal, learning new words, and referring to the sight words flash cards to help him spell unknown words.

He labelled his pictures and included details to share the process with others.

He learned how to revisit his journal post on Seesaw, editing and including his daily observations to document his experiment.

The child was excited to begin his second experiment, feeling confident that he knew the outcome.

Through this experience, he practised patience, resilience and learning through ‘trial and error‘.

He questioned to learn more, used observation to gather information and explored patterns and connections. The child used mark-making to share his observations and presented his findings to the community, all important skills, and processes that scientists need in their work. 

Designing Ramps

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The team of researchers investigating ‘slides’ collated their drawings to make their own books about slides. On the cover, they decided to draw the most exciting slide! The designs were creative and complex.

Mr. Lewis, a teacher working in Hong Kong, visited us a few weeks ago and shared his excitement about the slide project. He told us that his class were also very interested in slides. He offered to share photographs of the slides they had made. On his return to Hong Kong, he shared them with us. 

The children discussed the ideas presented in the images.

  • The slides are very big.
  • The blocks are big and so the slides are high.
  • They used water on their slides!
  • The slides were connected to other things like car parks and buildings. 
  • They used bamboo slides at the water troughs! 

The children recalled having many of the same materials in their own space. They were excited about the different designs and were inspired to create more ‘slides’.

What more can we learn about slides?

Next, we read a book about slides to help the children expand their ideas further. The book had many examples of ‘slides’ which were referred to as ‘ramps’. Over the next few days, the slides in the block space evolved. The children explored new ideas, creating cities and maps with a range of materials. More children entered the play spaces with conversations around the structures becoming more animated and complex. 

We decided to offer the team a new opportunity to create ramps. For this, we revisited the team’s drawings created for the book covers.

What do designers and engineers need to consider when creating?

We reached out to Ms. Jo to plan this experience. The team went off with Ms. Eileen and Ms. Jo to begin their work on the structures. They have created a plan and discussed the materials they would need to make their ramps. In the next few weeks, we will learn more about their process.

Our research into ramps has resulted in a collection of chart papers that include brainstorms, Venn diagrams and drawings. We decided to move some of the documentation into a central location, a bulletin board in the corridor. As we sat back to reflect on the documentation, we asked the children why learning about slides was important to them.

  • Morning “I like slides because we can slide down and it makes us happy!”
  • Liz “I like big slides because it is fast.”
  • Eli “It is higher, it has more time to roll down. So on the floor it goes really, really fast.”
  • Oliver “I make slides for balls to go down and the slides are up hill and down hill. More higher makes the ball go faster.”
  • Howie “Because its fun. It is fast. The ball goes fast, the box goes slowly, because it has 4 corners, its not fast. I tried once.”
  • Oxford “Big slides, cars go fast. I like to put people and cars on the slides, they go fast.”

We heard the children talk about the attributes and properties of shapes. We noticed that they were exploring concepts about ‘speed’, ‘height’, ‘distance’, ‘forces’ and ‘energy’.

The discussion about the display led us to wonder if other people also like slides. How could we find out?

– Eli “We can ask people!”

We decided to post a paper to ‘ask’ the community if they like slides. The children suggested two options for the chart.

  • I like slides.
  • I don’t like slides.

– Oliver “I like slides should be in green and I don’t like slides in red.”

We decided to accept Oliver’s suggestion. Next, we documented the responses from the class, then we posted the table on the wall.

At the end of the day, the children invited their caregivers to add to the table. The children were excited to find out how many people would respond to their survey.

We are learning that we can:

– use all senses to observe and notice details

– gather information from a variety of sources

– sort and categorise information

Math Talk – Gathering Data

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We gathered to solve a Maths problem. We are learning how to collect information by organising objects in different ways.

  • Eli “We are looking how much bugs and insects. And we counted how much is the same and how much different insects.”
  • Oliver “You have to look at the board and see the board and count. Its because if you do nothing there is zero insects.”

  • Jeongyoon “Drawing bugs.”
  • Eli “I have to think and look at the picture and look at how much insects there are.”

  • Eunbyul “Sharing ladybugs and drawing on the whiteboard.”
  • Motong “This is a garden. Everybody draw.”
  • Wyatt “It’s drawing pictures.”

Next, we used colour blocks to explore data collecting.

  • Howie “These are colour blocks. To use same colour blocks to build together. Counting blocks.”
  • Wyatt “Its writing on the paper. Putting blocks on the paper and then draw.”

  • Oxford “I am putting blocks on the paper then we can do drawing.”
  • Motong “I had orange the most, 4. I had only 1 dark green and purple and yellow and red.”
  • Eli “I had green, 8, the most but the green when I put it in the bowl I found lots of green like 8.”
  • Morning “I had blue the most. 7.”
  • Liz “I had 3 blue, I have green is 9 the most. I have 2 red and 2 orange.”
  • Oliver “I have the most is yellow, 4.”
  • Eunbyul “Is from 1 is green.”
  • Howie “I have drawing one white block.”
  • Jeongyoon “I have a green 7, the most.”

The children used colours and numbers to document their information. We noticed that they used comparative language (most, little, lots) to explain their data.

Next, we decided to organise our blocks in columns. This helped us see the different colours and quantities. 

Then, we documented what we saw on paper, creating column graphs to record the data. We noticed how the children represented one real object with one picture/coloured square.

Laundry Fun

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The children have been dipping into their extra clothing bag to change into clean and dry clothes when needed. Frequently, the children comment on the number of clothing in their bags. We decided to offer the children a data gathering experience to help them use number and data collection for a real purpose.

We began by presenting the children with this image and prompt:

What do you notice?

We encouraged the them to think about the way the clothing was sorted.

The children noticed that:

  • the labels and pictures to help us know what the items are.
  • the clothing was organised in rows and columns.
  • there were 15 items in total.

How might you use pictures, numbers, or words to show what is happening?

The children began to make their thinking visible on paper.

They gathered the clothing in their extra clothing bags, sorting and organising them to make it easy to count and document their observations.

Then, they used a graph paper to show the number of different items in the bag. Through this experience the children were able to collect information to make decisions.

The next time your family does laundry, you can sort the clothes into categories by type. Some possible prompts could be…

  • How many categories are there? Which category has the most?
  • Which has the fewest?
  • Is it different for each person in your home?

Organising the Shed: Sorting and Data Collection  

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A team of children went to the shed to begin sorting the toys. They placed tubs for the sand toys, put the kitchen and cooking items on one rack and all the trucks and diggers on the shelves.

Next, Doho and Sean went to look for Mr. Jamie, to ask him if he could help the team mount the hooks on the pegboards.

Sean and Doho explained the problems they had, and then they went out to the shed with Mr. Jamie. Together, they were able to problem-solve and make a plan to mount the hooks.

A team of K2 mathematicians went to the shed to gather more information to plan the next step of the project. We needed to find out how many hooks, tubs and racks we will need to sort and organise the different toys in the shed.

 

The team began to think about the different ways we can record data. We decided to divide the paper into four to record the number of kitchen items wheelbarrows trucks and sand toys.

Then, the data collectors used pictures, words and numbers to record their information. 

We observed the children:

·     gathering, recording and organizing information

·     listening actively and respectfully to others’ ideas and listening to information

·     using mark-marking to convey meaning

·     taking responsibility with tasks

·     using strategies to problem-solve

Seasons – Data Collection

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The researchers decided to conduct a survey to find out which season people preferred the most. They drew out their table and then interviewed the Early Years community to gather their data.

Then, the researchers used their information to create a vertical bar graph. They could clearly see the data they collected as it was organised by columns.

They used simple comparative language to talk about their graphs and will present their findings to the community.

Through this authentic inquiry, the children explored the different ways we can collect information to make sense of the world around us. Their research allowed for the following experiences:

  • collecting information by asking questions
  • using tally marks (1 line/1 object) to record data
  • recording data on simple graphs
  • explaining data using simple comparative language

Waste – Data Collection

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Where does all the waste go?
The students had differing views on what happens to the waste we produce. We gathered to discuss and document these ideas on chart paper.

The Power of Images

Our inquiry into waste has been thought provoking and engaging. We watched 2 videos to help us tune into the ways we produce waste and the impact it has on the world around us. The first, was a video to mark ‘Earth Day’ and the second, a documentary on the journey of plastic bottles. While watching the video, the students took notes, using pictures, labels, sentences and words, to capture important ideas shared in the video.

Next, an image with icons was shared.

The students were asked to work in teams to guess what messages the icons conveyed. They worked with their partners to decide on the labels they would attach to the images. The students explained their ideas, making connections with what they have seen, think or already know.

The students have been writing questions to help them learn more about waste management. They have been conducting interviews, gathering data and taking notes to capture different perspectives and information shared by the community.

The students will continue to document their learning and present their findings on waste. Focused literacy sessions on word choice and grammar helped the students improve their pieces of writing.

We continue to discuss and explore the impact our actions have on the environment as we consider the action we can take as a result of our learning.

Creating Structures with Shapes

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The students were invited to recreate a structure using shapes.

TASK:

  1. Choose a structure that you would like to recreate with shapes. Recreate it! 

Three Options:

  • Option 2: Use paper shapes to create a collage

  • Option 3: Use play dough or clay

  • 2. Create a table showing all the different shapes you have used.

Student Responses

Through this experience, students were learning that:

  • information can be expressed as organised and structured data 
  • geometric shapes and associated vocabulary are useful for representing and describing objects in real-world situations
  • specific vocabulary can be used to describe an object’s position in space
  • shapes can be transformed in different ways

Math Talk – Graphs

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We have been counting collections and exploring different ways we can collect and share data. Ms. Delia shared 4 different images with the students to help them think about other ways we might share the data we gather through our projects.

Teacher “What do you notice?”

Graph 1

  • Hyun Seo “That tells me that the favourite ice cream shows that it is about the favourite ice-cream.”
  • Ethan “That one is left to right, the other one is the bottom to top.” (referring to the vertical vs horizontal graphs)

The students talked about the horizontal and vertical bar graph.

  • Grace “The difference is that there 1-10 and this other one has it to 100.”
  • Yuchan “There is a very small line at the bottom. Because then the small line is 25, to 50 to 100.”
  • Yuki “Here there have a colour, change colour can see clearly so other colours can see well.”
  • Fedo “If you turn it the other way it will be like the other bar graph.”

They explained that the length of the bar shows the data.

Graph 2

  • Hayoon “I see two circles. In the middle, like the Olympic. This one in the middle is the same. The same thing the whale and fish have.”
  • Seungbin “I don’t see numbers in it.”
  • Ella “Data is like, we ask people and research and then we make data with like how many people like ice cream and they are using research skills. Like we have to research about the whale and the fish and find what we have in common.”

Teacher “When can we use this diagram?”

  • Ethan “When they are the same or not the same. Like a wolf and a dog.”
  • Alejandra “And the things about the same are in the middle.”
  • Lawrence “What is that graph?”

We named the diagram ‘Venn Diagram’.

Graph 3

  • Fedo “All of them equals 2. So it means they ate 2.”
  • Yuchan “Each mango is 2, so if it is 3 mangoes it means 6 mangoes.”

Teacher “This is why we call it a picture graph.”

  • Lawrence “The picture shows the tally graph.”
  • Alejandra “10.”
  • Ethan and Hayoon “I think it’s 20 apples.”
  • Ethan “I like because it shows pictures. If someone does not know the spelling, then you can use pictures.”

Graph 4

  • Grace “It looks like mountains, and it shows numbers.”
  • Diego “I think this looks the like the bar graph, you use the line and the dots.”
  • Gihyeon “I notice it looks like a W.”
  • Ella “Because here its 50. So when you go down you can see how many bikes were sold. In January 50 bikes were sold and in February 30 bikes were sold.”
  • Yuchan “I notice that its like a news graph. Like weather. Like how sunny or cloudy.”
  • Seungbin “I saw in a book and it shows how the earthquake happens. Like in other countries how much it happens.”
  • Lawrence “It shows like If you don’t put the line.”
  • Seungbin “It is shows a little bit and then it keeps going and then in the last it shows going high.”

Next, the students were given different scenarios. They had to work in teams to decide which graph would be the ‘best’ choice to share the data.

Data-handling

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We are learning that information can be expressed as organised and structured data.

To help us explore this further, we looked for objects and collections that we can organise and categorise.

collections 

 

Then, we recorded our data on a table and created bar graphs to show our information.

table 

graph 

Next, we generated questions about the graph that we can ask others. We know that reflecting on our learning can help us become confident mathematicians.

questions

We used two sentence starts to help us reflect on our data collection inquiry.

  • Something that I am proud of…
  • Something I found challenging…

reflections 

Storytellers in the Community

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We have been creating stories that we want to share with our community. These stories are significant as they have a message or an important idea to communicate to the reader.

The students used a story planner to help them decide on the important elements of their story.

Then, they wrote their stories and shared them with the class. After making changes and editing their writing, they were ready publish their work. Many of the students decided to create their own short stories. These stories will be included in a Grade 2A Memory Book.

The class had discussed the idea of creating a collaborative piece of art or artifact, that communicates our stories and culture to the community. We had a large piece of canvas in the classroom. We wondered how we could use this piece of canvas to create an artifact.

  • How big should it be?
  • How would we draw on it?
  • Where will we display the mural?

We made a plan. The students shared their ideas and perspectives. What if each student drew a picture from their story, on the canvas? We would have 16 stories!

The students wondered how big each section would need to be. One student measured the width of the canvas and shared his suggestion for dividing the canvas.

The students agreed that each section would be 35cms. wide. But what about the length?

The students began to suggest different lengths. 45cms in length? 50cms. in length? We created a chart to document the data as the students voted for their choice. 

Then, we drew two of the most popular measurements on paper.

Next, the students voted to decide on the best length.

An agreement was reached. Each section of the canvas would be 35cms. X 55cms.

We will have 16 sections and 16 images that share what we value as a community.

We are finally ready to divide our canvas and begin to draw our stories to create the mural.

We have a plan to guide us as we create together.

The students used Book Creator to publish their short stories. These stories will be included in a Grade 2A Memory Book.

Here are a few published books:

Each student painted an image on a mural that represented their individual story. The students enjoyed this collaborative project that tells a story about the culture and values we share as a community.

Our Learning Story continues…

Oggie Doggie Tags for the Circus

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We have been learning the words to our songs, practicing the actions and creating make up and costume designs.

Grade 2 will play the ‘Oggie Doggies’ in the show. We had to create dog tags for the characters. We decided to use wood cookies for this purpose. We had to decide on the ribbon we will need for the tags. The students began to suggest different colours for the ribbons. There were clearly too many choices as Ms. Heidi said we could only have 5 choices. We had a problem. Which 5 should we choose?

First, we listed all the colours the students suggested. We had 9 choices. How should we organize this information?

The students suggested we create a chart and record the data on it.

(Information can be expressed as organised and structured data)

We had a clear first, second and third choice. However, three colours were competing for the 4th and 5th choice. The students suggested that they take a second vote to find the fourth and fifth colour. We recorded this data on a second table.

Now, there was a clear choice for the remaining two colours.

We finally had our 5 choices for the ribbons. Next, we voted a third time to find out the quantity of each colour we had to purchase. We created a third table to record this information.

Then, we created a column graph to record the data. We decided that each square would represent 2 people as there wasn’t enough space for the highest number.

We gave Ms. Heidi the information she needs, the chosen colours and the quantity of each colour.

When the wood cookies arrived, the students used a wood-burning tool to write their names on the wood cookie.

Then, they used acrylic paints to paint their wood cookies.

Finally, the DOG TAGS are ready for the SHOW!

Research Skills:

  • ask relevant questions that can be researched
  • make a plan for finding information
  • gather information
  • record observations by charting, tallying, writing

Line Plots

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Displaying Data on Line Plots

We had a tub of sticky worms. We wanted to collect data on the length of the different worms.

First, we created a line plot to display the measurement data. We recorded the title on the line plot and wrote centimetres below the empty number line. The students began by measuring the length of the worms. The longest worm we had was 20 cms. and the shortest was 4 cms.

Next, we wrote the numbers 4 to 20 on our empty number line. We were ready to collect the data. Each ‘X’ represented 1 worm.

Making Line Plots from Measured Data:

Then, the students worked in 5 groups to generate a set of data by measuring strips of paper and then displaying their data on line plots.

They worked in teams to measure the strips, sort the information and document their findings on a line plot. Each group created a line plot to document their data. We compared the line plots of each group and discussed the data we had gathered.

Through these inquiries, the students developed the following Approaches to Learning.

Students worked in mixed groups to answer the questions posed by each research group. 

Line Plots


Line Plot Activity PDF

Folktales

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An inquiry into Folktales:

Passed down from generation to generation, folktales provide a glimpse into a culture’s beliefs, and also insight into people’s motivations, feelings and values.

We read the folktale Stone Soup by Jon J Muth. In this story, three monks convince the people of a village to share a small amount of their food in order to make a meal that everyone enjoys.

After listening to the story, the students identified the characters, setting, problem, solution and moral of the story. We also noticed the details in the illustrations and how they give us clues about the text.

(Communication Skills: Exchanging information: Listening, interpreting and speaking)

The next day, one student reread the folktale while a story map was created. We used labels to help us remember important vocabulary and key information from the story.

(Communication Skills: Literacy – Reading, writing and using language to gather and communicate information)

The students completed a graphic organizer to document the discussion points.

The moral of the story Stone Soup by Jon J Muth, is that ‘sharing benefits everyone who contributes’.

Next, we read Stone Soup by Marcia Brown. In this version, the travellers are 3 soldiers.

(Communication Skills: Exchanging information: Listening, interpreting and speaking)

Communication Skills: Literacy – Reading, writing and using language to gather and communicate information)

The students helped create a story map of this version by Marcia Brown, including the important elements and key vocabulary. We compared the two versions of Stone Soup and thought about the similarities and differences between them. 

Next, we documented our thinking on a graphic Venn Diagram.

(Communication Skills: Literacy – Reading, writing and using language to gather and communicate information)

(Research Skills: Information literacy: Formulating and planning, data gathering and recording, synthesizing and interpreting, evaluating and communicating)

One student brought in yet another version of Stone Soup, this time it was written in Korean. He worked with a partner to read and translate the story for the others. As they read the story, we thought about similarities and differences between all three versions. 

(Communication Skills: Literacy – Reading, writing and using language to gather and communicate information)

We continued to add our thoughts and ideas on our mind map, discussing what we know and think these important words might be.

(Thinking Skills: Creative thinking: Generating novel ideas and considering new perspectives)

We continue to wonder about the concepts ‘community’ and ‘culture’, what do these words mean to us? How do communities ‘express’ their culture?

We wonder…

Counting Collections

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We began by looking for patterns in numbers. We skip counted in 2’s, 5’s, 10’s, 3’s and 4’s starting from 0.

  • What do we notice?
  • How might we use what we know about skip counting, in other situations?

TASK!

What do we have a lot of in the classroom? Come up with a way to count your whole collection. You will have to be organised and think about how you can keep track. You might need to create sets or use containers.

  • Once you know how many in your set, take a of it.
  • Use the tool and explain your strategy in your Maths Journal.
  • Complete Page 2 on the activity template.
  • Use the tool to show how you worked out the total and prove that your answer is right.

 

Sorting, documenting and explaining our strategies! 

Maths Provocation: Jimmy’s Ramp

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Jimmy set up a ramp for his toy cars. He and his brother Joe each sent one car down the ramp. 

We gathered to think about the provocation. Here are some of our initial wonderings.

I wonder…

  • … whose car is faster.
  • … whose car goes straight
  • … if the car falls down
  • … how the ramp is made
  • … if the cars fall down from the side of the ramp
  • … what Jimmy used for the ramp
  • … who pushed it down first
  • … whose car is slower

Joe’s car rolled 15 centimetres farther than Jimmy’s.

1) If Joe’s car rolled 27 centimetres (cms), how far did Jimmy’s car roll?

How could you get started?

2) Does this problem make you think about addition or subtraction?

3) Whose car rolled farther? Draw a number line to model the problem.

4) Follow Up:

Make your own ramp with books, cardboard, or other materials you find. Roll 6 different objects down the ramp and measure how far they go.

5) Record your data on a table.

6) Make up your own story problem with the results.

We began to construct some questions that we might want to ask about the data in our table. 

Mr. Matt worked with the students to help them create questions using ‘Question Words’. 

Sample Student Questions:

we wonder what YOUR ramps might look like…

Pattern Block Designs

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The students were invited to use Pattern Blocks to create designs. Each pattern block shape had a value. The complete design needed to have a total value of 24, 40 and 60.

Next, the students completed a bar graph using the information in their Pattern Block design. Finally they wrote a number sentence that reflected the data they collected in their graph. 

Instructions:

  1. Use Pattern Blocks to create 3 shape designs that have a value 24, 40 and 60.
  2. Take a picture of your designs.
  3. Upload your pictures to Seesaw.
  4. Complete the graph to show how many shapes you used in your design.
  5. Write a number sentence that reflects the data collected in the graph.

Creating the designs involved a lot of problem-solving, thinking, calculations and conversations. Here are some Student Responses:

What designs might YOU create?

What is the SUM of YOUR design? 

The Lego Graph

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Lego is popular and fun to play with. It is also a great resource to explore learning.
The students were invited to create one object using 20 pieces of Lego.
They displayed these creations in the atelier.

We all noticed how different the creations were.

Next, we took a photograph of our creation.

We wondered how we might sort the pieces we used in our creation. The students suggested three possible sorts.
-by colour
-by the number of ‘dots’ a piece of Lego had
-by length (long and short)

Then, we decided how we might document our sorts on a table. Here are two possible options. The students decided that a tally table would be the best way. We decided that we would have colour on one column and tally marks in the next.

We know that information can be expressed as organised and structured data. We constructed and labeled a vertical graph to document our data.

Finally, we wrote 3 questions that we might ask our friends about our graph.
What questions can YOU suggest?

Each student worked on their own creation, to follow the different steps needed to document their own learning.

Here are two examples:

Measurement – Size, Height & Length

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Online Learning

Focus: Thinking Skills, Research Skills, Communication Skills

We have been exploring objects around us, and finding ways in which we can identify, compare and describe their attributes. Here are a few different collections that have been organised by different attributes.

What do you notice? What do you wonder?

You might want to explore your own environment to find objects that you can compare, sort and organise in different ways. 

🌻 Through this invitation, the children have opportunities to identify, compare and describe attributes of real objects.

Materials

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Online Learning

Focus: research Skills, Thinking Skills, Communication Skills

An inquiry into ‘Materials‘.

Central Idea: The things we use come from somewhere else.

We are currently inquiring into the different materials around us and how they are used to create the objects we use every day.

  • What are the properties of these materials?
  • How do we change or manipulate materials to meet our needs?

We have inquired into materials and sound in Performing Arts, noticing how we can create sound and music with objects we have around us.

Let’s go on a walk in the Early Years playground to explore materials and their properties.

 

Here is a collection of items I gathered from around my home.

  • I wonder how I might sort these objects… 
  • I wonder what materials have been used to make them…

You might want to go on a hunt to explore objects and their properties in your environment.

Approaches to Learning (ATL’s)

  • seek information
  • observe carefully
  • test generalizations, strategies or ideas
  • sort and categorize information and materials; arrange into forms or order
  • draw conclusions and generalizations

Fish in a Pond

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Online Learning

Focus: Communication Skills, Thinking Skills, Research Skills

Felix and his brother Simone were very excited about some glass nuggets they found.

First, they sorted them by colour.

Then, they counted them.

Finally, they used numbers to record the number of coloured counters they had.

I wonder what else we can sort by colour, or shape, or seize…

Here is a game you can play with counters and dice. If you want to know how to make your own dice, you can go here.

 

CHALLENGE: Use more counters and use 2 dice (addition) to decide how many fish should be in the pond.

Through our encounters with materials we can:

  • explore number names
  • explore quantities
  • estimate
  • use one-to-one correspondence
  • understand the terms more, less same as
  • sort and catergorise
  • problem-solve
  • follow directions and rules of a game
  • be persistent 

Sorting

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Online Learning

Focus: Thinking skills, Research Skills: Mathematics (Data handling)  

Watch the video to see how Sarah has been sorting the cutlery in her kitchen drawer and how Ms. Shemo has been sorting the earrings in her jewellery box.  

Make a collection of interesting, small objects from

around the house.

Sort the objects into different sets. 

How did you sort the objects? 

Feel free to share a picture of your own sort.   

This activity helps children to notice the properties of objects and helps them to understand that people (mathematics and scientists) categorise objects according to their defining properties. You can repeat this activity as often as you like, indoors and outdoors, using different objects. Over time, the children develop increasingly creative ways of sorting the objects! 

Exploring with Paper

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Ms. Tina introduced the children to ‘Haha’.

  • Teacher “What is an art gallery?

The children wondered…

  • Teacher “It is a place with a lot of art.”
  • Sebastian “Toys?”
  • Teacher “It could be.”

The children talked about what people might do while they look at the different displays.

  • Teacher “Can we be loud in the art gallery?”
  • Children “No we have to be quiet.”

Haha went to an art gallery over the weekend. Children from a different school have created lots of wonderful pieces of art using different types of paper. He shared what he had seen there.

The children shared their thinking as they looked at the different pictures.

  • Charlotte “A floating city!”

  • Charlotte “It’s a bird house.”

  • Bruce “A monster house.” Sebastian agreed.
  • Yoochan “like toilet (shape of the toilet).”

  • Yoochan “Cakes!”
  • Sarah “It’s signs. Something you can’t do.”

  • Charlotte ‘Like candies.”

  • Yoochan “Like Television.”

  • Charlotte “Like zombies.”

In the morning the children had collected a range of different pieces of paper.

These papers needed to be sorted so that we can use them to create.

What should we remember when we are sorting the paper?

How should we hold the paper?

Ms. Tina made a long line of paper.

She laid out 7 trays to help us sort. Charlotte suggested that we sort the paper by colour. Everyone agreed.

While sorting the paper the children thought of other rules for their sort. They noticed that some of the paper was thicker. Some had patterns and different textures. They worked in groups to sort and collect 6 trays of paper. Each group shared their rule for the sort.

Bruce, Leming and Yoochan had sorted the paper into two trays. Although both trays had white paper, one tray had ‘PAPER WITHOUT LINES’ and the other had ‘PAPER WITH LINES’.

Michelle and Charlotte explained that their sorts were by the thickness of the paper.

We wondered…

How should we sort the paper if we wanted to be able choose the paper without difficulty?

Michelle decided that it would be better to add the white papers on their tray into the trays that had ‘PAPER WITHOUT LINES’ and ‘PAPER WITH LINES’.

The children then needed to decide where these papers will be stored. They suggested the shelves by the table.

Sarah, Charlotte and Michelle created labels for the trays.

We wonder what we might create with this paper…

How might we express our creativity with paper?

Watch this space!

Sorting, Living and Non-living

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We had a set of 8 pictures. We gathered to have a discussion about the pictures to decide how we might want to sort them. The students began by counting the pictures and using their fingers to count out 8.

Next, the children named the pictures “A boy, bicycle, a ladybug, a bench, a tree, a dog, a swing, a rock.”

Then, we recalled what we had done the day before with a picture of a person made with shapes. The children were encouraged to think about how they sorted the shapes based on their characteristics.

We looked at the picture to help us recall the different groups we made, naming them as ‘circle, dot, triangle…”

 The children were invited to think, how they might sort the 8 pictures in front of them.

  • Felix “We put the animals together.”
  • Charlotte “Tree is animals too. Because tree is living too.”

  • Felix “Tree is not living because living is when you have nose and mouth, so trees are not living.”
  • Charlotte “Because tree is really animal.”

Teacher “Why are these pictures on this side?”

  • Michelle “No eyes. No ears and no mouth.”
  • Charlotte “These things are help people.”

The children decided to call one group ‘Living’ things, another group ‘not living’ things.

Teacher “What do they need to live?”

  • Michelle “Eat.”
  • Felix “Vegetables, fruits, meat. They have to learn. Climbing the tree. The ladybug. Dog learn running. People learn talking.”
  • Nina “Ladybug, dog, they need sleep, they run.”
  • Charlotte “They walk.”
  • Felix “And try to climb the tree.”

Teacher “What is the same about the things that are ‘not living’?”

The children thought hard about this question. Michelle stated that the swing can move so it has to be in the living group. But others did not agree because they don’t have ‘eyes’.

The children started wonder and talk about ‘trees’, “Do they sleep?”

  • Nina “When he sleeps tomorrow, they will grow.”

The other children did not agree. Some of the children decided that tress don’t sleep.

  • Michelle “Windy day it can move.”

Yoochan and Charlotte used actions to show how the trees move when it’s windy. They showed us how the leaves move with the wind.

We wondered why people, animals and bugs needed ears.

  • Felix “They listen.”
  • Nina “He has ears.”

We wondered why people, animals and bugs needed mouths.

  • Sarah “Drink water.”
  • Yoochan “Teeth.”
  • Felix “People need the teeth to eat the hard things. The bug just opens the mouth and just eat.”

We wondered why people, animals and bugs needed noses. What was the purpose?

  • Charlotte “To smell.”
  • Felix “To smell the plant.”
  • Yoochan “To smell the flower.”
  • Charlotte “To breath in. Bugs nose is like this.” (Charlotte used her index fingers to show us how bugs have moving ‘things’ above their heads)

Michelle and Charlotte explained that there were bugs outside that had a nose and mouth.

  • Felix “What about caterpillars? He doesn’t have eyes, nose and ears.”

As our next step, we hope to observe mini-beasts to see what more we can learn about them.

What Shapes Do You See?

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Tyson created a picture of his grandfather using ‘shapes’ (loose parts).

Teacher “What shapes do you see?”

The children began to name the shapes they saw. Circles, squares, half circles, which looked like the moon.

Felix pointed to the lines, there were red, orange and blue. Some are teeny, and some are super long said the children.

We decided to sort and count the shapes. We created a graph to help us document the information collected.

https://twitter.com/shemogani/status/1196335073642999811

Approaches to Learning (ATL’s)

Thinking Skills

Analysing

• Observe carefully.

• Find unique characteristics.

Evaluating

• Organize information.

Research Skills

Data gathering and documenting

• Gather information

• Record observations—drawing, charting, tallying—using emergent writing skills

Synthesizing and interpreting

• Sort and categorize information and materials; arrange into forms or order, for example, with graphs, marks or symbols using emergent writing skills.

• Analyse and interpret information.

How Many?

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Each morning the children gather to greet each other. Next, they check the lunch order by asking their friends if they have brought in lunch from ‘home’ or need a ‘school lunch’. This information is gathered and recorded as a graph. The children count out the numbers to make sure we have the right total.

The class leader uses numbers to make sense of the information collected before placing the lunch order.

This experience provides the children with opportunities to use number in real life situations.

https://twitter.com/shemogani/status/1189390883407314944

Approaches to Learning (ATL’s) 

Research Skills

  • Gather information
  • Record observations—drawing, charting, tallying—using emergent writing skills, when possible, to write comments, annotate images, and so on.

Synthesizing and interpreting

  • Sort and categorize information; arrange into forms or order, for example, with graphs, marks or symbols using emergent writing skills.
  • Analyse and interpret information.

 

Communication Skills

Listening

  • Listen actively and respectfully to others’ ideas.

Interpreting

  • Interpret visual, audio and oral communication: recognizing and creating signs, interpreting and using symbols and sounds.

Speaking

  • Express oneself using words and sentences.
  • Participate in conversations.

Reading, writing and mathematics

  • Understand symbols.
  • Understand that mark-making carries meaning.
  • Use mark-marking to convey meaning.
  • Document information and observations in a variety of ways.
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