Assumptions

We started thinking about fractions recently. The children were dividing brownies evenly between two people. The situation was serving mostly as a way for us to access our prior knowledge about fractions before we forged ahead with new ideas. The children had lots of ideas.



Several children started to think in divergent ways by cutting the brownie into four equal pieces, giving two pieces to each individual. Hmmm, interesting.

Then I headed around the room to look at the work of other students. That's when it all started. I was shocked when I saw a drawing by one child. She had decided to share her brownie between two people by cutting her brownie into 8 unequal pieces, some large some small.  Yikes!!! 

Just then, I started to feel overwhelmed as my mind compiled a list of all of the foundational things we would need to revisit before moving on. I decided to get started right then and there. I began to question her about her brownie in order to help her confront the misconceptions I saw in her work.  



"Well, I decided that if each person got the same amount, it wouldn't matter if the pieces were the exact same size. I would just have to make sure that each person got the same number of big pieces and the same number of small pieces so that in the end both people got the same amount of brownie."



My mental jaw dropped! I had assumed. In fact, I had assumed quite a few things and now I was feeling a little bit sheepish. As it turns out, this child knew quite a bit about fractions. Actually, she even knew enough about fractions that she began to think playfully about the task.

Luckily this episode happened in a matter of seconds, completely within my own mind.  But it has given me a chance to reflect. How many assumptions like mine do we make on a daily basis? Many kinds of traditional forms of assessment and testing are full of these kinds of assumptions. If it doesn't look like the few things we think fit, then it must signify a complete and total lack of understanding. And yet, could it be possible that a child choosing a "wrong" choice on a multiple choice test may have a very valid and logical reason for their thinking?

This experience reminded me of the power of a question. All I had needed to do was ask.

Dilemma

 

So, I have a dilemma. 

Right when we were getting ready to switch our attention from our science investigation of energy to our history investigation of immigration, the children decided that they wanted to build a windmill that could light a light bulb. What a great intention! It would really put so much of their knowledge of energy into practical application.

The thing is, it is turning out to be more complicated than I thought it would be. It is more complicated than I thought it was going to be even when I thought it might be kind of complicated. I'm starting to realize that, in order for it to really work, we would need to use gears to change the rate of speed of the shaft and to adjust for the blah blah blah blah. OK, so I still don't really know what it will take, but I know it is more than we can accomplish in 5 weeks. 

I've been talking to others and trying to process how to deal with the fact that we will not accomplish what we set out to do. And we are still trying to hand over more time to think about immigration. I'm developing some ideas about the whole situation, but honestly I am curious about what you have to say about it. 

What do you think?

How should we face this reality?

Interesting Article

Excercise is linked to better learning. Not that surprising.  I was, however, surprised that stimulating environments didn't have an impact unless physical excercise was present.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/magazine/how-exercise-could-lead-to-a-better-brain.html?_r=4&pagewanted=1&seid=auto&smid=tw-nytmag

Musical Investigation of Immigration

One of our guiding history questions is, "How would it feel to immigrate?" In order to help us think more deeply about our question, we have been putting scenes of the book Jessie Came Across the Sea  to music. Using another medium slows us down and gives us time to process our ideas about the thoughts and emotions these characters might have been experiencing and you wouldn't believe the thoughtful conversations that emerge while the children work. Music seems to be a really good medium for thinking about feelings.

Chris explained the process by saying,  "I think what we are trying to accomplish is… well I have never immigrated, so I don’t know how it feels, but while we write this music I might know what it feels like for Jessie. So I think we are trying to accomplish how it felt to her and all the things she was going through."

Messing About with Wind and Electricity

 The children are working together to make a basic generator with

copper wire, magnets, cardboard and a nail.

Click here to watch the YouTube video that taught us how.  

Pippin brought more toys to play with.

We messed about with big heavy generators (those magnets are heavy),

a motor hooked to a wheel and a voltage meter.

We hooked everything up to his voltage meter to

measure how much electricity we could produce.

The children also dissected a fan that one family donated to the scientific cause.

Guess what! We inspired Pippin.
He is working on his own windmill project.
He brought his blades to show us.





 The children also worked to add to our research windmill collection.

We put an old fan blade on a wooden dowel for one.

The other is a bicycle wheel that the children converted by covering the space

between the spokes with packing tape.  

We are having a great time, but our play also has a purpose. Besides being fun, these experiences are helping us construct an understanding of the mechanics of windmills and electrical generators-- two things we really need to understand when it comes time to create our own windmill. I also celebrate that there are a lot of details that I am learning right alongside the children. Thank goodness we don't have to know everything to be teachers or I would never have the courage to follow the children's aspirations.

Here are a few of the important observations I've heard the children make this week.

 "I noticed something! All three of our windmills spin on their shaft. When we make our own windmill, it will need to be attached to the shaft so that if the blades spin it has to spin too because it needs to turn the generator."

"But if our shaft spins, then our tail would be spinning all around too and I don't think that would work."

"Look! They spin different directions."

"Why do you suppose that is? They face the same direction."

"I think it is the way the blades are slanted. If the wind blows [demonstrates wind with her hand] like this, it will hit these blades and push them this direction. But if the wind comes and pushes these blades, they are slanted the other direction, so the wind will push them that way."



Playpods... I'm for 'em

I am VERY excited by this!! Chances are, you will be too.



Lunch Duty

I was on lunch duty today.

Sometimes I don't always hear the things I expect to hear at lunch.

Today it was, "I figured out how we can get energy from flowers. I'm serious!! You wanna know how? Well yesterday I was eating honey and I realized that honey gets its energy from nectar collected by bees. The nectar gets its energy from the flower, which gets its energy from the sun, which gets its energy from hyperactive gas.."

 I have come to a realization that there is no way I can "teach" these children everything about energy. I've long since dropped the idea of "covering" the whole entire topic and tried instead to light the flame of curiosity. It is thrilling to watch as even lunch turns into science class.

Researching Windmills

We have intentions of building a windmill that lights a small light bulb.

In order to provide a common, concrete experience with a windmill, our amazing friend, Pippin, brought us a windmill to put up just outside of our classroom. Now instead of people talking about that one windmill they saw that one time on that one family trip, the children can talk about our windmill. Everyone will know exactly what we are talking about.

One question that came up in our previous planning session really stuck with us and had us stumped. The wind doesn't always blow the same direction. We think our windmill should be able to move so that it can face whichever way the wind blows. But how should it move? Should people move it? What if we aren't at school when it changes directions? Do we just loose all of that good wind?

 There is no better teacher than experience. So we set to work to put up a windmill that we could study, to answer our question and help us think further about our own plans.

 There was lots of measuring to which one students commented, "I just thought Pippin was a builder guy. I didn't know he was a mathematician too!"

 As Pippin pounded the wooden stakes into the ground, the children were fascinated by the vibration they could feel in the ground. They would try to see just how far away they could stand and still feel it.

 They were also intrigued that they could feel the vibration while standing on the benches.

Of course, other classes that see the windmill stop by to see what is going on. Unfortunately, there wasn't much wind the first day we put it up.

 The next day was much windier. The children were thrilled to see that the windmill was facing a different direction and spinning vigorously as they pulled up in their cars to get dropped off for school. Some even rolled down their windows to cheer. They spent the first moments of the school day observing. What did they notice? What might help us when we build our own windmill?

"Which ever way the wind is blowing the windmill turns to face. All that air hits the panel in the back and it turns it, like opening a door. First is faces that way [demonstrates with his hands] now it is facing this way."

"But where should we put the tail on our windmill? Should we put it behind the generator or in front of the generator? Because that one doesn't have a generator like ours will."

"When it does spin to face the wind, the pole it sits on doesn't spin. There is a part that fits inside the pole that moves."

One student even tried to get the windmill he had created, in the studio with Anna, to spin in the wind alongside the research windmill.

It was fun to be in our room the next day to hear other classes run by on their way to PE shouting, "It's spinning! It's Spinning! Look!"I wonder what brain seeds it might be planting for the other children at Sabot.

Every good school needs a Pippin!!

Thinking in metaphor

After a conversation with our awesome atelierista, Anna, I decided to start appreciating when we humans think in metaphors. I've decided to start recording them.

I heard this one today while the children were working on writing non-fiction books about energy.

"The sun is pretty much a big, giant ball of hyperactive gas! I think it happens when the atoms and molecules go like crazy like...."
"Like they have fire ants in their pants."
"Like they are being chased by a crocodile."
"And they ate six pieces of cake."
"They need to use the bathroom."
"And they ate hot chili peppers!"

Inventing

Thinking about energy

"I bet we could study energy our whole entire life and still not know everything there is to know about energy!"

We've been studying energy as our science topic for months now. I started out by asking "What is energy?" They thought it was kind of a silly question ... until they had to answer. We've been trying to answer that questions ever since.

This is exactly where I want the children to be when we end an investigation of any kind-- realizing just how much more there is to know.

Thinking about Good vs Evil

The genre of fantasy always deals with themes of good verses evil.

How do you know if the characters are good or evil?

Theo: Definitely the person telling the story is good... well at least according to them.

Andrea: Have you ever read a story that is written from the point of view of the evil person?

Sophia: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. The wolf tells the story.

Livie: He is just trying to act all innocent to get out of jail.

Sophia: Yeah, but in his mind he was good.

Livie: It is kind of like in WWII, no one thought that they were the bad guys.

Sophia: It is kind of like they were both good [thoughtful pause] or both bad.

Andrea: Do you think that is true with most villains? Do you think they think they are good or do you think some villains know they are bad?

Theo: Some know they are bad. Voldemort. The emperor in Star Wars know he is bad. Well actually I don't know if the emperor knows. Kronos knows! Well Lucas knows Kronos is evil but Kronos doesn't know that Kronos is evil.

The children dive into a detailed discussion about the plot in the Percy Jackson series.

Sophia: He is good then bad and then good again.

Livie: In WWII, lets say Germany writes a history book, they make us sound like the bad guys but when we write a history book we make it sound like they are the bad guys. So particularly they are being bad guys to each other. There is no real bad guy. Except in fantasy and in fiction you will find that the bad guys know they are bad guys. In non-fiction people don't always know. They always think that you are the bad guy.

Andrea: It sounds like in real life it might be more complicated than they make it out to be in fantasy books.

Theo: To know if they are the bad guy you need to know if they do something evil. So watch their actions. Like Voldemort always kills innocent people.

Livie: But I am wondering, how did he become this evil man?



Thinking about differences...

Thoughts after reading Molly's Pilgrim

"I think the book was about bullying and how terrible it is."
"Do you think people who immigrate ever get bullied?"
"Well yes. Molly was bullied."
"Why?"
"Just because she was different than they were. She dressed differently and talked differently. But the thing is, if we went to where she was from, then we would be the ones that were different! We would dress differently and talk differently than they do."

Getting Ready to Build a Windmill

Beginning to think...

I almost didn't start a blog because it was so hard to think of a name. And then when I did think of names they were already taken. I found this title in the thesaurus under the word ponder. This is where I plan to put on my thinking cap or to share when my students have put on theirs. You can join me if you'd like.