I Went Walking...
Anyone who has ever spent time with a four year old will know that they are always, ALWAYS on the go. Who can blame them? The world is so big and there are so many fantastic things to see and discover!
It's okay for children to be this way. It's also okay for them to slow down and notice the world around them. As I often say, "There's a time to be fast and a time to be slow."
Sometimes we as educators seek to develop strategies within children to help them slow down. Our class talks a lot in the early weeks of school about 'slowing your thinking'. For some beginning lessons, we assume the role of observer--taking a walk around the school to see what we notice.
Before we begin our walk we read "I Went Walking". This is a fantastic book. It is short in nature and the illustrations are enough to hold everyone's interest at the beginning of the year.
After reading we discuss our own experiences in observation. I ask the students "What would we see if we went on a walk today? What would we see around our school? Would we see big things? Small things? Hard things? Soft things? What kinds of places would we see? What kinds of people would we see?
After discussing, I show the children magnifying glasses. I explain that a magnifying glass can help us to notice the small things that we might not normally see. We pass them around the circle and observe how a magnifying glass can help us to see small things.
After that introduction, I pass out our viewfinders. Our viewfinders are plates with holes cut in the middle of them.
With our viewfinders, we can see things that are large and far away--or we can see small things up close.
I demonstrate how to use them to see things that are far away as well as things that are up close. By giving the students something to hold--we are asking that they take the time to notice their view--to look through the hole--to slow down and observe.
Then, we go for a walk all around our school. I tell the students that if they find something small, they can put it in the collection basket that we are carrying. I draw the attention of students to large features "Oh! This is the bike area!" as well as the small features "Look at the interesting bark on this tree." I give them time to observe and notice the features and spaces of our school.
After our walk, we discuss the many things we saw. Not only were the students observers, we were also researchers and scientists. We used our eyes to notice things around us. Researchers often draw what they see--so we went straight to the paper and markers to draw what we saw. We made a beautiful display in our classroom!
Later, I put the collection bucket in our science area and the students are allowed to view the items they found with magnifying glasses. They also like the opportunity to draw the items again.
I've done this lesson with my students for the past two years and each time I do it, I find new and beautiful elements to explore. It's definitely an 'onion' lesson. There are lots of different layers and avenues that can be explored in depth.
Of course allowing students time to decorate and personalise their viewfinder is always a favourite activity. I put out different materials that they can choose to use. This is a great lesson for the beginning of the year as we are still learning how to use classroom resources in an appropriate manner.
A few days later, we return to this investigation--this time with the sense of touch. Students are given a ball of playdough and they are asked to take textures from around the playground. Again, I model this activity and draw the student's attention to small details they see around them.
Students really have to slow down and search to create molds. Students are eager to share their textures with one another. It's a great class building activity.
Afterwards we use words to discuss the textures we found. Some textures were bumpy. Some were smooth. Some edges were rough. Some were metallic. Some were natural. Some were plastic. I tell the students that we can use our hands to feel and explore the world around us. Both lesson coincide beautifully with our senses unit as well as "Our School" inquiry.
Until next time learning buddies!
Sam
It's okay for children to be this way. It's also okay for them to slow down and notice the world around them. As I often say, "There's a time to be fast and a time to be slow."
Sometimes we as educators seek to develop strategies within children to help them slow down. Our class talks a lot in the early weeks of school about 'slowing your thinking'. For some beginning lessons, we assume the role of observer--taking a walk around the school to see what we notice.
Before we begin our walk we read "I Went Walking". This is a fantastic book. It is short in nature and the illustrations are enough to hold everyone's interest at the beginning of the year.
After reading we discuss our own experiences in observation. I ask the students "What would we see if we went on a walk today? What would we see around our school? Would we see big things? Small things? Hard things? Soft things? What kinds of places would we see? What kinds of people would we see?
After discussing, I show the children magnifying glasses. I explain that a magnifying glass can help us to notice the small things that we might not normally see. We pass them around the circle and observe how a magnifying glass can help us to see small things.
After that introduction, I pass out our viewfinders. Our viewfinders are plates with holes cut in the middle of them.
With our viewfinders, we can see things that are large and far away--or we can see small things up close.
I demonstrate how to use them to see things that are far away as well as things that are up close. By giving the students something to hold--we are asking that they take the time to notice their view--to look through the hole--to slow down and observe.
Then, we go for a walk all around our school. I tell the students that if they find something small, they can put it in the collection basket that we are carrying. I draw the attention of students to large features "Oh! This is the bike area!" as well as the small features "Look at the interesting bark on this tree." I give them time to observe and notice the features and spaces of our school.
After our walk, we discuss the many things we saw. Not only were the students observers, we were also researchers and scientists. We used our eyes to notice things around us. Researchers often draw what they see--so we went straight to the paper and markers to draw what we saw. We made a beautiful display in our classroom!
Later, I put the collection bucket in our science area and the students are allowed to view the items they found with magnifying glasses. They also like the opportunity to draw the items again.
I've done this lesson with my students for the past two years and each time I do it, I find new and beautiful elements to explore. It's definitely an 'onion' lesson. There are lots of different layers and avenues that can be explored in depth.
Of course allowing students time to decorate and personalise their viewfinder is always a favourite activity. I put out different materials that they can choose to use. This is a great lesson for the beginning of the year as we are still learning how to use classroom resources in an appropriate manner.
A few days later, we return to this investigation--this time with the sense of touch. Students are given a ball of playdough and they are asked to take textures from around the playground. Again, I model this activity and draw the student's attention to small details they see around them.
Students really have to slow down and search to create molds. Students are eager to share their textures with one another. It's a great class building activity.
Afterwards we use words to discuss the textures we found. Some textures were bumpy. Some were smooth. Some edges were rough. Some were metallic. Some were natural. Some were plastic. I tell the students that we can use our hands to feel and explore the world around us. Both lesson coincide beautifully with our senses unit as well as "Our School" inquiry.
Until next time learning buddies!
Sam
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