Spring
Awakenings
Feedback
Send Feedback
|
|
Spring
Awakenings |
|
I chose this inquiry mainly for the timing. Our school has four ornamental cherry trees in the front yard. These trees are in clear view from our classroom and come into full bloom during late March and early April. I really liked this inquiry for the amount of true discovery through which the students did practically all the learning themselves! They were amazed that a single bud, which started out so small, could grow and explode into so many leaves and even a flower. I read Sugarbush Spring by Marsha Wilson Chall to the students after finishing our last day of observations. This book also connected with their next reading unit, Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Additionally, I showed the students the Brain Pop movie on photosynthesis from www.brainpop.com. Since we only have five online computers in each classroom, students went by group to view this at our computers while I assisted others with observation journal entries. As mentioned in my other reflection, the proficiency assessment was somewhat above my students' capabilities (third grade). Therefore, I allowed them to complete this assignment in groups as I monitored to make sure all stayed on task and were equally involved. Matt Lawson I did this lesson with my 3rd grade class and they really enjoyed going outside. (We did our observations at school.) Most of this material was fairly new so we did some vocabulary work to make sure they understood each new term. Since the buds were on a tree that had multiple leaves and even a cluster of flowers and leaves opening from what appeared as one bud, they changed from measuring just the length of the bud to the number of centimeters in the area of the cluster as it opened. They were surprised at the amount of growth and how the weather affected this. From the results of the proficiency questions it became evident that I should have reviewed metric measurement using millimeters, however, their letters show that they learned a lot about buds, trees, and photosynthesis. They enjoyed the book Sugarbush Spring and dramatizing the process of photosynthesis. Linda Sebastian I chose Spring Awakenings because I could easily adapt it for kindergarten. It also fit in perfectly with our study of the spring season. I could not teach the inquiry as it was originally written. It would have been over the heads of my kindergarten students. I rewrote it to study a tulip's (Which are in abundance on our school grounds) growth instead of a leaf on a tree and also incorporated observations of signs of spring. On the first day of spring we went outside to complete two different activities. Our first was an observation period to look for signs of spring. We went out and looked for things we haven't seen in a while because it's been winter. When we came back inside, we made a chart of what we saw and what we heard. Then picked one item and wrote about it in their Spring Awakenings science journal. Our second journey outside, that day, was to observe a single tulip plant and measure it's stem in centimeters. We talked about the shape, color, and length of stem while outside. I also used a digital camera so we would have a picture of the tulip. When we returned inside we illustrated a tulip plant and predicted how many days it would take the tulip to bloom. I also demonstrated how to measure a green strip of construction paper to match how long our stem was. We returned outside to observe and measure our tulip one to two times each week until it bloomed. Each time, we would come back in, individually measure a strip of green construction to match the stem's length, and draw the tulip plant around the stem. We would also make a new prediction as to how much longer it would take to bloom. We would add this page to our Spring Awakenings science journal. We also went out a few more times to observe signs of spring (trees with flowers blooming, leaves growing, flowers blooming, insects, birds, squirrels, mole holes, warm sun shining, birds singing, etc.). Each time we would come in and write about our observations outside. I utilized the following trade books: It's Spring- Linda Glaser, When Spring Comes- Robert Maas, My Spring Robin- Anne Rockwell, Spring- Ron Hirschi, and It Could Still Be Spring- Allen Fowler. I also utilized the following poem: A little yellow cup, Carolyn Helmers I chose the Spring Awakenings inquiry with my students because it was a good follow up from the Fall Slumbers. They were able to apply a lot of what they learned in the fall to the spring. This also was a great activity to introduce vocabulary, etc. for our plant unit that we will be starting after break. I think that in the future, I would make this activity into a booklet as well; like the Fall Slumbers. My students were able to keep track of the booklet a lot easier. I sent this activity home with my students, as well as doing it at school. It was a good thing I did it at school, because only 4 of my students were able to do it at home. The students learned a lot about photosynthesis, buds on a tree, how weather affects buds, etc. They are very eager to start our plant unit. Kim Large I chose this inquiry because the Fall Slumbers was such a success. The students really enjoyed Fall Slumbers as well as this inquiry. The activity was easy to do especially after doing the leaf observations. The background information was very similar. The students remembered most of what we learned in the fall. We did one observation a week instead of two. This was because we had science fair going on at the same time. I also made a folder out of construction paper for each group. The groups kept all of their papers together. This came in handy for comparing the changes from the previous observations. This is an activity I plan on doing every year. Winifred E. Oliver This
activity gave my students the opportunity to look at seasonal change
in a way that will help them to build an appreciation for the wonders
of nature in their surroundings. I also liked the measurement integrations.
|