Feb
02
2012
Mrs. Argus
Predicting and testing.
- Ruth and Christian begin an investigation.
This afternoon during studio and explore, I noticed three friends, Jenesis, Ruth, and Christian, building very enthusiastically over in the block area. After observing for a while, it was evident what they were working very hard to create- a marble launcher! They noticed their marbles didn’t have enough speed to get to the end of their almost 8 foot launcher. After trying different things out independently, Ruth said, “I think it needs more force!” The kids agreed, and together, they lifted the beginning piece higher. Christian said, “It’s higher, and the marble is more powerful.” Jenesis agreed. Their enthusiasm for their project spread through the classroom. By the end of the afternoon, there were almost 10 kids working together to shoot multiple marbles across the launcher. All were working together, communicating with their words, after careful observation and trial and error.
The building continues.
- The group is enthused! A second marble launcher begins…
Tags: collaboration, creativity, curious, design, friendship, motivation, problem solving
Oct
27
2011
Mrs. Argus
Who knew that a metal detector and a mail center could occupy the same space? They do in room 104!
Today while working on our airplane, we discussed ways to make the two wings symmetrical. After some discussion about measurement and guesstimation, a friend suggested tracing the first wing onto the next cardboard piece for the second wing- that way it would be totally symmetrical. After cutting out the second wing, friends tried out different placements on the airlane to see where the wings fit best. We then saw a problem- how could we make the wings stick out from the plane without drooping on the floor? Cameron suggested using a large, popcorn tin to hold up the wing. We noticed that the tin looked almost exactly like an engine on the wing- how perfect! Hutton suggested we get two tins for each wing. Knowing we had one tin already, we had to problem solve to figure out how many more we needed. Monica suggested three, because we already had one, and the total we would need was four. She said, “Because four take away three is one!”
After figuring out the airplane wings and engines, we began to walk away from the plane and continue other activities during studio and explore when I heard Monica squeal excitedly. “Mrs. Argus!!! It’s a metal detector! Flip it over!!!” “Huh?” I thought as I looked at the large box on its side. Then I saw what Monica meant. Once we flipped up the large box so it stood vertically, she showed me the two door like openings that the cut wings had left. It looked exactly like a metal detector! Monica and Cameron continued to add details to the metal detector, like an x-ray machine, a button to turn the detector on, and a pretend flashing light to show if somone inside it had contraband! They enjoyed showing the class their creation. The class LOVES making a beepiong noise when someone pretends to go through.
Monica shows the class the metal detector.
We also have another exciting addition to our class. We have recently begun writing letters to one another in class and we saw a need for a mail center. Each child now has their own personal mail center mailbox where other children can place mail inside. We even have a mailperson job who delivers mail on a regular basis and calls to friends that have mail.
Our sign for the mail center.
Jenesis, our mail carrier, delivers classroom mail.
Tags: creativity, motivation, project, thinking
Oct
05
2011
Mrs. Argus
"We need to measure the airplane."
Each day when the kids enter the room, they sign in to let me know they are at school and answer the daily question.Today our daily question said, “How long is our airplane? 10 feet, 20 feet, or 30 feet?”This question brought up a lot of conversation on measurement and estimation during our arrival activities. What is a good estimation? How do you know when you’ve made a good estimation? How do we learn to become good estimators? While friends were pondering these questions and engaging in conversation, I began to notice several children grab a material and begin lining it up against the side of the airplane. I asked Sascha what she was doing. “We’re using the inch worms!” she exclaimed. “Why?” I asked. Journey answered for her friend, “We need to measure the airplane.” The two friends were using one of our math workshop tools, inchworms, which are little worms that are one inch exactly. Several other children noticed what the girls were doing and became interested.
Messi assists with the inchworm measurement.
Once about half the plane was surrounded by inch worms, we reached a problem. “Wait! Wait!” Ruth ran over and tried to stop the friends from building. I asked Ruth why she wanted them to stop. “They don’t need to build around the whole way.” I asked her why. Ruth explained that since half of the plane had been measured, we didn’t really need to measure the whole way around, because this was measuring length. Ruth was paitient and articulate as she drew a diagram and showed it to her friends.
Ruth explains why the inchworms should stop.
The friends agreed that Ruth was right, we could stop. “So now what?” Lucas asked. We decided next that we needed to count the inch worms to see how many inches the plane was across. Cameron and Carriea worked together to count. Cameron put his finger on each worm as Carriea said what number worm it was. As they got higher and higher, into the hundreds, more friends became excited and joined in the counting.
Cameron carefully marks the worms counted with his finger.
The excitement grew as we counted more nad more worms. “Two hundred eighty, two hundred eighty-one, two hundred eighty-two, two hundred eighty-three!!!” The kids all cheered.
So excited to count!
“Wait a second! That number is not part of our daily question!” Lucas brought up a good point. Our class was stuck. How could we have counted two hundred eighty-three inches and not have that be one of the three choices on the daily question. Monica suggested, “It’s not in feet!”We then discussed what exactly a foot was and that there were twelve inches in a foot. A friend suggested we break up the inch worms in groups of twelve, to show how many feet. The kids were so paitient as we took turns breaking up the two hundred eighty-three inch worms into little groups and neatly placed them on the floor. After all groups were created, we counted them together. We counted twenty-three groups of eleven and a group of ten, so our airplane is approximately twenty-four feet long! WOW!
Two hundred eighty-three inches. WOW!
Tags: arithmetic, capable, curious, motivation, project, thinking
Mar
01
2011
Mr. Smith
Daniel Pink describes himself as a reformed attorney. His best selling books A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future and Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us provide a fresh perspective on the importance of creativity and motivation in schools and in the workplace. Continue Reading »
Tags: creativity, motivation, schools
