This week we dug into becoming animal researchers. We started off with learning about what a researcher is, what makes a good researcher, and about some famous researchers. We read a book and watched a video about Jane Goodall.
We then learned about an author who loves science and animals, Steve Jenkins. We read many of his books this week including What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? We focused on 3 animals we learned about from his books: elephants, platypuses, and chimpanzees. We used PebbleGo, National Geographic Kids, and Youtube videos to learn more about these animals. The students then picked which animal they wanted to research about the rest of the week.
In addition to researching animals, we also learned about non-fiction text features. So far, we have talked about diagrams, labels, and captions. The students made diagrams of the animals of their choosing by labeling the important parts of the body. Next, they drew themselves with their animal's important feature (an elephant trunk, a platypus bill, or chimpanzee feet) showing what they would do with the feature. They then wrote a caption explaining it. They were so creative!
In addition to researching animals, we also learned about non-fiction text features. So far, we have talked about diagrams, labels, and captions. The students made diagrams of the animals of their choosing by labeling the important parts of the body. Next, they drew themselves with their animal's important feature (an elephant trunk, a platypus bill, or chimpanzee feet) showing what they would do with the feature. They then wrote a caption explaining it. They were so creative!
We did a special math task with Mrs. Belkind this week surrounding the book Cookie Fiasco by Mo Willems. We presented the students with the problem, "there are 5 people and 4 cookies. How do you share them evenly?" They had to work in a group to figure out a way to split them up evenly. There were a lot of great math conversations happening!
And last but not least, Wednesday we participated in Global School Play Day! We had a whole day of unstructured play time inside and outside. The students said it was the "best day ever!" :)