IPS/Butler University Laboratory School

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

Yesterday, the kids were excited to jump right back into creating our large, 24 foot airplane. Many friends helped one another construct walls for the plane’s fuselage, the body, out of cardboard and taped them together. We then moved to covering the remaining exposed roof of the plane on the cockpit and the tail. Lucas, Hutton, Monica, and Ruth worked together to make sure that before they fixed it on the top, the roof piece was centered and visually appealing. They enjoyed taking turns standing back and letting friends know whether to move the piece more to the left, more to the right, towards Mrs. Argus, and so on.  Once we had the pieces covering the cockpit and tail, Hutton said, “So now what?” Messi heard our conversation and excitedly shouted, “Our airplane needs wings!”

Friends measure the length of the box.

 More children joined us as we started our discussion on wings. Would they be small or large? Would they need to stand out straight from the plane or should they hang down? Where on the plane would we place the wings?   Ruth suggested we look at some of the different sizes of collected boxes in our room. After looking at different shapes and sizes, we decided on two large boxes, because we wanted large wings. I asked, “How do we know which is longer?” Monica suggested we measure them on the class number line on the floor. Messi and Hutton carried the first box over to the number line. Ruth explained that the box needed to start by where it said 1 so we knew how long the box was. After measuring both large boxes in this way, we discovered that they were both exactly the same size! We decided on using the nicer looking one that had less wear and tear.  Lucas came up with the idea to draw where the adult could cut out for the wings. He carefully drew the wing with a pencil, and then traced it over with a black marker. After the wing was cut out, we tested to see how it looked on the plane. The kids were pleased, and so was I! A great fit. Tomorrow, we will see if we can creat a symmetrical wing to match our first.

Very carefully drawing where the wing should be cut out.

Tags: arithmetic, capable, project

"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.

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

The frame for our airplane.

Last week, our friend Journey’s dad, Mr. Newbold, came in and saw all 85 of the boxes we had collected and our measured space. He asked if our class would be interested in having a structure built to frame our airplane and guide our building. After some class discussion (and a very enthusiastic YES from the kids) we decided to take Mr. Newbold up on his offer to help us out.  This afternoon after lunch, our class was so excited to be greeted by Mr. Newbold, Journey, and her sister, Aidia, working on our frame. (which is close to 20 feet long, and about 5 feet wide) Our frame is made out of pvc piping which has been drilled together to hold it in place. The kids were fascinated by the process of how the piping was put together and began making observational drawings of what they saw being built and what ideas they had next for our airplane. Many questions and ideas have been floating around the classroom today. “How will we put up the sides of the airplane?” “Do we have enough boxes?” “Do we have too many boxes?” “Will everyone really be able to fit inside this thing?” We may not have all the answers yet, but one thing is for sure- the kids are truely dedicated and passionate about making this airplane a reality. Next, we will talk more about how to utilize our abundance of boxes and try to construct a way to help build our fuselage (the plane’s body).

Our friends are fascinated as they watch the structure being built.

Tags: capable, inspiration, project, thinking

"Mrs. Argus, look at all these boxes!"- Hutton

If you thought we had supportive families, just wait untill you hear this- two days ago, our class sent home a letter explaining our need for some boxes for our airplane we are building. Within just two days, we have recieved over eighty-five boxes- that’s right EIGHTY FIVE!!!

This morning, the kids were so astonished at the large amount of boxes that have been coming in and we decided we needed to count and organize them. First, we had to talk about how to organize our growing number of materials. We decided by size would probably be best, so we have been making piles of small, medium, and large boxes. After the boxes were organized today, a group of friends began counting. We counted up all the way to eighty-five. We also have twenty paper towel rolls and one large can. We want to start planning on Monday and talk about how best to utilize our large number of resources. It will certainly be a day for lots of big thinking and possibilities.

Journey and Da'Sean are a huge help as they sort our boxes and paper towel rolls.

Tags: capable, creativity, inspiration, project