Kindergarteners are busy little people and we've already started learning about EXPLORATION. We realized that we know that people explore by asking questions, using their senses, and thinking! Our big word for this week is observation and we practiced our questioning observational skills by exploring a variety of items in nature.
Of course, being Jr. scientists, we used the tools of scientists and enjoyed using magnifying glasses (on natural items and each other) and tweezers. We even used the Creature Peepers that let us see the top, sides, and bottom of any object we put in them. The cicada skin was a big hit and I'm sure the students will love our cicada lesson in a few weeks.
Our big focus this year is on inquiry - asking questions to learn more. I'm sure you have noticed that young students often confuse asking with telling and you can help them develop critical questioning skills at home by asking them what more they would like to know about any topic that comes up in conversation. Ask why they would like to know more, why is it important to understand, and what else they'd like to know more about. If your child answers a question you can ask how he or she knows that they are correct, and what evidence they have to back up opinions.
We will be working on several steps of the scientific method this year as we work as scientists. We'll focus on what the question is asking, what we guess might happen, collecting data thru observation, and creating conclusions to answer the question we started with.
The poster below lists many of the questions words and things students would like to explore this year. We'll add more questions words as we go along this year.
Of course, being Jr. scientists, we used the tools of scientists and enjoyed using magnifying glasses (on natural items and each other) and tweezers. We even used the Creature Peepers that let us see the top, sides, and bottom of any object we put in them. The cicada skin was a big hit and I'm sure the students will love our cicada lesson in a few weeks.
Our big focus this year is on inquiry - asking questions to learn more. I'm sure you have noticed that young students often confuse asking with telling and you can help them develop critical questioning skills at home by asking them what more they would like to know about any topic that comes up in conversation. Ask why they would like to know more, why is it important to understand, and what else they'd like to know more about. If your child answers a question you can ask how he or she knows that they are correct, and what evidence they have to back up opinions.
We will be working on several steps of the scientific method this year as we work as scientists. We'll focus on what the question is asking, what we guess might happen, collecting data thru observation, and creating conclusions to answer the question we started with.
The poster below lists many of the questions words and things students would like to explore this year. We'll add more questions words as we go along this year.