Teacher Journals

Linda Kirousis
School: Petersham Center School

We began by talking about Inquiry. A large "?" and Curious George have become our symbols. We used clipboards and paper to write or draw changes we found on our first trip to the garden we planted in the Spring. "Oh, look at the sunflowers!" "They weren't here when school ended.": "They're called sunflowers cause they follow the sun." - all comments from children.

They were jumping from one "new" finding to another -flowers, insects, seeds, grass. We looked at the sky and questionned why the color was deeper in one area? We listened to the sounds and talked about the different insect sounds. We questionned the smells in different parts of the playground. We looked at the textures of the plants and grasses. Another day we explored a different area. one student became very aware of the changing color of the weeds. This led to a discussion - about color. One felt the weather changed the color. He said the rain washed the green out. Another felt the cold changed the color. We wondered how we could check their ideas.

We found milkweed and caterpillars - Were they in the yard in June? We saw tent caterpillars. Berries were on the ground and some said, "Blueberries" They looked at where the berries came from and changed their minds . We wondered about the trees the tent caterpillars were in - were they in leaves with needles? Why didn't we see them in the Spring?

Different students brought in caterpillars. Three were similar. Each group had magnifying glasses and one caterpillar to examine. The children were asked to describe their caterpillar. We made a Venn diagram to show the similarities and differences in the caterpillars.

We have an area with magnifying glasses, observation sheets and "things" the children have found interesting and want to share or investigate - caterpillars, dead bat, spiders, seeds, rocks. Everyone in the room has had questions about these findings

We have watched our caterillars change to a chrysalis and seen them slip out and be beautiful monarch butterflies. Many watched the beautiful chrysalis for signs of the butterfly and became so excited when it turned "black" and they could see the colors of the wing. Questions were everywhere--What is the liquid below the butterfly? Where will it go?

We had lots of questions as we watched squirrels in the yard - why does he need such a big tail - does he sleep all winter - where does he live - do they talk to other squirrels - can he find the nuts he buries?

Glenede Albertine
School: Petersham Center School

SCIENCE:

We began with just the question on the bulletin board. The school year began with an (all school) community meeting. There was a large sign in front of the school, The Spirit of Inquiry. Also, all the students signed a banner, Committed to Excellence.

The grade 3-4 multiage combined for the first day of inquiry, "How do we know it's autumn?" With 27 students, we formed groups of three by giving each student the name of an animal. They had to find the other two members of their group with the same animal by not talking, not making any noise, and not showing their animal's name card. We began after each student settled with the members of their group by asking about observations of changes since school got out in June. We began at our school garden which the students had planted in June. Using the garden as a focus point, we plan to continue observations throughout the fall as the garden proceeds through the stages of seed production and death. Then, we spent about 30 minutes walking through the field paths and making observations. Back in the classrooms, the students worked in their individual groups and made lists of their observations. For homework that night, students recorded similar observations of changes at their homes.

After making long lists on the board of the students' observations, each student drew pictures which were added to the bulletin board. Questions, reflecting the students observations, were printed out and added to the bulletin board. The following list reflects those questions. Why do people pick apples now? Whay are birds flying south? Why does school start now? Why do caterpillars build webs? Why is the grass in the field changing to a purplish color? Why is the garden dying? Why are seeds and leaves falling? Why is it cooler in the evening and the morning? Why do farmers cut the hay? How come ice cream places close down? Why are ferns turning brown? What other plants are the monarch caterpillars eating in the garden? What insects eat the leaves of the milkweed? Why is the sunset earlier? Why can birds eat poisonous berries? What was the baby snake doing? Why do sunflowers lose petals and leaves? What do milkweed pods look and feel like now? Where do you find mushrooms? Were there cherry tomatoes in June? Where are the butterflies? Why do the nuts on the plant with the pretty flowers only come now? What insects do you hear? Are the insects flying around now the same as the ones in June? How many berries do you see?

We continued our observations the next day by taking a closer look at trees. The students drew a picture of a tree and then wrote about What is a Tree? by making a story, a description, or a poem. Later, in groups students working in groups picked a tree on the play ground and completed a specific questions about the bark, leaves, size, shape, color,etc. The students made leaf and bark rubbings of their tree. Students used leaf samples to determine deciduous and coniferous trees. As Autumn continues, students will return to their tree to observe changes.

Where do forests come from? How do most forests grow? Do most forests grow in similar ways? Does it take a long time for a forest to develop? Students continue observations by studying forest succession using the story, How the Forest Grew. Students learn about forest succession and then find signs of it in our schoolyard, neighborhood, and town. The historical connection comes in with a visit to Old Historic Deerfield. Careful observation of the wood used in building reveals the size and availability of trees during the various time periods.

Why do plants need to move its seeds? How does a taller plant succeed in an area? What happens to a species that requires light when it produces too much shade for its seedlings? How does a tre grow? One sign of fall is that so many plants are at the seed production stage of their life cycles. Students begin searching and collecting different seeds. First, seeds may be categorized by the shape and general appearance. Some seeds have hard shells while others have juicy fruit surrounding them. Next, the seeds are categorized by the means of dispersal.

How are living things, plants and animals, adapted to environmental changes? Where do green plants grow? What is the "right" environment? Why do plants need to move seeds? (seed dispersal - diversity, categories) What is a pine tree? (observation, description, identification of seed, leaves, bark) How does a tree grow? (cell division - tips, roots, cambium) Look at tree cookies.

What makes planet Earth so unique for living things? In our exploration of the uniquenes of planet Earth, we continue to look at its changes and its diversity. We walk the schoolyard and collect various seeds (autumn is a great time for this activity); and then we categorize the seeds depending upon their means of dispersal. Why do seeds ned to disperse? What effect does dispersal have on the diversity of an area? What effect does seed dispersal have on forest succession.

LITERATURE:

Arthur, For the Very First Time by Patricia MacLachlan

How the Forest Grew by William Jaspersohn

Long ago, Native Americans used their stories to explain the changes and diversity of Earth. Share stories such as The Earth on Turtles Back, Manabozho and the Maple Trees, The Grizzly Bear Who Climbed Too High, and How the Turtle Flew South For The Winter (Caduto)

Macmillan basal reader, Sketches, Level 4 - How the Forest Grew Where do forests come from? Do most forests grow in similar ways? Does it take a long time for a forest to develop? We learned about forest succession and how it relates to Petersham's history of land use. A great extension would be a trip to the Diorama at Fisher Museum at Harvard Forest.

Science For Kids; 39 Easy Geography Activities by Robert W. Wood

SOCIAL STUDIES:

With regard to mapping, a student asks, "Why do we need to learn about what the land is like or how hight above sea level it is?" We start by making our own maps of the school room, the school grounds, the center of town, and what we may know form our home to our school. Concrete models, such as blocks of wood, work well in transitioning to building models. A map is a model.

We look at topographical maps and historical maps of Petersham. We learn about benchmarks and contour lines while we locate our homes and observe where we each live in relation to each other, hills, and water. Thus, we begin our investigation of how land affects the way we live.

In Wood's book, several activities help to understand different types of maps ( topographical, road, political, land use). I particularly like the model build ing and charting activities that helped with the understanding of contour lines (Chapters 9 and 11)

In order to study the diversity of the six geographic regions of the United States, we need to take a wide angle view of the United States with its varied land. We look at how humans use and adapt to the land and climate. We use maps as mod,els for land regions, geographic regions, and the 50 states.

Linda Kirousis
School: Petersham Center School

SCIENCE:

The first few times we do this we'll try using tape to establish individual standing positions. Sun stickers may be used to help with orientation. A sticker would be put on the left shoulder, chest, and right shoulder as we do our viewing. (Tina's suggestion)

Observation! Observation! Observation! This will be our prime work. First observing the sun, later using our senses to talk about the sounds and smells and feel of the area . We'll compare the sounds heard at different times of the day and also different seasons of the year. How does the grass feel at 8:30? 12:00? 2:00? What words would describe the smells at 8:30? 12:00? 2:00?

Experiencing with children - The tape did help - we didn't use stickers. The first prediction made was in the right direction, but low. The children's predictions followed an East-West pattern. Some had the sun lower in the sky---a few were strong in feeling it would be high (straight arm pointing up) at the time of our second viewing. When asked why they felt this was they responded that's where it was when they looked. When we talked about the shape we were forming the first response was a rainbow then a part of a circle. One child felt it was a rooftop. She was connecting the sun's in the picture and was making straight lines. When questioned about what was happening the response was mixed. Some felt the sun was moving, some said, " The Earth is moving toward the sun. It's going at 1000 miles a minute."

Where will the sun go when we go home? Responses included - to China, Hong Kong, Japan, to the other side. This all sounded pretty reasonable...then one student suggested there were two suns. When questioned about our planet he wasn't so sure. Some real confusion here!

A worksheet with three views of the room will be developed to help our scientists illustrate the light source used in the classroom.

Tania worked with the group on the inside portion of this experience. She became the Earth and a child, then a picture became the light source. This seemed to work well. We have done this same activity again and have tried to keep our arms straight helping to form the movement. I think we'll do this periodically - till the children seem in tune.

MATH:

Geometry - start work on shapes - Use big clock to model the times we go out to view the sun Some may be ready to count the hours between viewings .

LITERATURE:

Writing - We'll make a Big Book of our observations. An individual page will be used for each viewing. Each season we'll add three more pages. The children will add seasonal animals, flowers, plants and people dressed for the season. We'll develop rhymes for some of the pages :

Hello, Sun
 It is _____________
 Let's have fun!

These pages will be laminated.

A Hello, Sun Journal will consist of paper cut in a circle shape and stapled. Some suggestions for journal entries may be - Where does the sun go when we go home? I heard___, I smelled___. I felt_____. What's moving? Earth/Sun? Why is the sun not in our night sky?

Songs to Use: May There Always Be Sunshine - Sarah Pirtle, Two Hands Hold the Earth, One Light, One Sun - Raffi , Rise and Shine - Raffi, Big Beautiful Planet - Raffi You Are My Sunshine

Poems: The Sun by John Drinkwater, The Sun's Travels by R.L. Stevenson

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Seasons

Beginning map skills

Colleen Grady
School: Petersham Center School

Before this investigation began, I started out the year by exploring our five senses. Students were blindfolded for taste tests (sour=pickle, sweet=jellybean, salty=pretezel, bitter=unsweetened chocolate), as well as for feeling (soft=pussywillow, rough=sandpaper, cold=ice pack, sticky= tape, wet=water, hard=rock) and smelling (purfume, cinnamon, pickle juice, lemon juice and cottonballs).

Some feedback I received from the students were that they thought I was trying to "kill them" with the sample of unsweetened chocolate (have napkins ready). For hearing, students put on headphones while I talked facing them and my back to them. Seeing was explored by myself asking the students how they would describe colors to a visually impared person. Describing colors was extremely frustrating for them at first. I had to lead them with a few suggestions like name something that is hot (fire), what color is it? After one example they had no problem thinking of others.

All of the investigations were exciting for myself as well as the students. It touched home with many students because there are visually and hearing impared students enrolled at school who are very friendly with, but never quite asked how their impairment means to them. We had a visually impaired student come and talk with us. The children had so many questions. The one thing that the student said to the class that really touched me was "If you are having a bad day or are feeling bad don't ever wish that you were someone else. Be happy for who you are and how lucky you are being yourself".

The day I introduced Hello Sun! I told the students we were going outside to find out where the Sun is. They all thought it was very funny. They told me "It is in the sky, where else do you think it would be"? When I asked them where it was in the sky, I got no response.

When we first got outside I explained to the children about not looking directly at the Sun. I asked them when Helen Keller was in the tree, how did she know the Sun was no longer out and that a storm was coming? They remembered that she could no longer feel the Sun on her face and neck. We went outside with the forth graders as part of our multi-age teaming. Once outside at our easel with a drawing of the trees and the school in front of us we found the Sun. We then modeled how to put your hand/fist to the Sun. We then asked the students where would that be on our drawing. A student drew the Sun on the paper and wrote the time on it. We then asked where they thought the Sun would be at 10:00? We put a dot on our estimations which were very accurate. We then sang our "Hello, Sunshine!" song. We continued this thoughout the day. The children really caught on quickly.

The next day I took it back into the classroom. I put up our drawing of the Sun from the day before. Plenty of stimulating as well as frustrating conversation followed. I used the overhead projector and cut a circle out of a piece of paper and made that our light source. The students really impressed me here. We stood up and moved around discussing movement. When I asked the students what time they thought it was at each particular movement , they told me. Then out of nowhere, one student yells out while their fist was pointed to the light source and their head facing the opposite way, " If you do this, then it is night time". I was blown away and just started jumping up and down and clapping.

When I asked a student to draw the pattern of the Sun's path on the chalkboard, it was done correctly, they even said "Hello Sun!" I think it was said unconsciously from all of the times we said hello to the Sun making the "motion" of the Sun the day before. They had a lot of names for this shape but the one that got me was it was named a belly.

When asking the students where does the Sun go when it is night, they knew it went around the Earth to another place. One student stated that the Earth moves away from the Sun and faces the Moon. This was a great thought. But what was even greater was that there was a full Moon out that day. So we went outside and saw that it was light out and that the Moon was indeed out. The class is still thinking about what place is the Sun when it is night here. Here is a perfect time to go to the internet and find live camaras. Places all over the world can be seen as what it looks like at that given time. Try Austraila.

SCIENCE:

MATH:

Introduction to pie graphs can be made by graphing the amount of night and day. Also, students can use a pie graph to graph their daily activities.

LITERATURE:

My Five Senses by Jo Ellen Moore & Joy Evans (teacher resource), The Story Of Helen Keller by Lorena A. Hickok was super for an expansion on our senses. The children loved this story. Stories for grades 2-4 include The Sun, by Seymour Simon, Arrow To The Sun: A Pueblo Indian Tale, and I Can Hear The Sun, by Patrica Polaccos.

MUSIC:A song Hello Sunshine written by our fifth grade teacher Mrs. Simms goes to the rythme of Brother John:

 
Hello Sunshine,
Hello Sunshine,
Where are you ?
Where are you?
I see you in the sky so bright,
But never never at night,
Shine so bright
Shine so bright.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Glenede Albertine
School: Petersham Center School

SCIENCE:

The first step may take longer for younger students. With Inquiry, it is important to slow down. It may take several tries outside, before proceeding to the blackboard. Rather than saying, the Sun has set in the west; we say the sun "appears" to set in the west.

The fourth graders tried the board on the second day. The arc was called a rainbow, a bridge, part of a circle, etc. We talked about what people long ago had thought. We talked about how the Sun would get back to the east each morning. The students quickly connected the arc to a complete circle.

Students rapidly moved to the concept of the earth moving around the Sun, instead of the sun moving around the Earth much faster than I had anticipated. We then used the overhead projector as our light source. Although students had stated that the Earth travels around the Sun, they quickly stated that it didn't go around the Sun in a day. We then used the overhead to show with our heads how the Earth spins around once a day. Slowly turning, we felt the arc of the light as we turned from the left side of our body to the center to the right and felt the light move in the arc from east to west. The students enjoyed the wave and saying, "HELLO, SUN!" with exaggeration. The school wrote a little Sun song to the tune of "Three Blind Mice". The signing for time is similar to Hello, Sun! MATH:

Fourth grade students will need a review of curves and circles. In Addison Wesley, the challenge activity, "Going in circles," (11-8) on page 312B should be used. This is a good spot to touch upon telling time with the idea of clockwise.

LITERATURE:

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Colleen Grady
School: Petersham Center School

SCIENCE:

MATH:

LITERATURE:

SOCIAL STUDIES:

A lesson or activity on blindness would definitly make students realize how one takes sight for granted.

Glenede Albertine
School: Petersham Center School

SCIENCE:

MATH:

LITERATURE:Old Sturbridge Village, The History of Light

SOCIAL STUDIES:The history of light includes candlemaking with the use of animal byproducts. W hat is the importance of candles on birthday cakes and so many of our cultural a nd religious observances? (Hannukah, Halloween Jack-O-Lanterns)

Linda Kirousis
School: Petersham Center School

SCIENCE:

The clouds were thick the day we planned to begin this work, so we used flashlights in the classroom.Each child was asked to bring a light to school and many did! Sue and I used different objects to form shadows and to form different shadows from the same object by either moving the object or light source. We questionned "What happens if.." "Guess my shadow?" We used the overhead and flashlights. The children had all been assigned Science Buddies to work with and they then were given different objects to explore with during this session. It got pretty chaotic. We regrouped to close the class and asked about findings. "No light, no shadow" "You can make the shadow big or small. If the light is right over the domino almost disappears." What would happen to your shadow if you were outside and the light was over you? J. said "Oh, the shadow would be hiding under your foot. See (she picked up her foot) the shadow would be right there." What is a shadow? "It's when the light can't get by." "The light is blocked."

The next day, it rained and forced us inside again. We really wanted to get some shadow work done before the eclipse. We had one group work on shadow plays and another group used the tensor light and a block or an oval to trace the shadow and a ruler to mark the lines where light was passing. The shadow play was fun. We hope it furthered the understanding of shadows. The group tracing shadows seemed uncertain of the purpose.

Sunshine returned and we did a model of drawing lines to show where light traveled . Sue and I each worked with a group of mixed first and second graders. One of us worked with a rectangle and the other had a cylinder (large wooden blocks ) we traced the shadow and base of the object-we shaded in the shadow. Then we used a ruler to draw lines from the light source. Why weren't any lines drawn throught the shadow? The outside experience with one leader modelling seemed to work better.

MATH:

Geometry-shapes

LITERATURE:

The Bear's Shadow by Frank Asch A joy! Leads to writing a new ending for the story or thinking of another way for Bear to hold on to his shadow.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Colleen Grady
School: Petersham Center School

SCIENCE:

MATH:

LITERATURE:

Books include The Biggest Shadow Ever, by Jack kent, I Have A Friend, by Keiko Narashi, and Shadows, by John Canty.

SOCIAL STUDIES:Geography: Using a world map, write the names of states, countries, or continents that suggest rectangles and triangles.

Glenede Albertine
School: Petersham Center School

SCIENCE:

How does light travel? Where can light travel? How do we see the Moon? What is the speed of light? How fast does light travel? Along with the shadow investigations, students enjoy using small mirrors to experiment with light traveling in straight lines, the bounce of light that creates angles. By fourth grade, we use the word opaque. This may be a good spot to look (or rather listen) to sound. How are sounds alike? What makes your vocal cords vibrate? Can you speak while holding your breath or breathing in? How are sounds different? How does sound travel? How are sound and light similar? How are sound and light different?

MATH:

Fourth graders will need to work with the idea of parallel and perpendicular lines and the idea of angles. If these concepts are briefly introduced at this time, there will be a more meaningful understanding when the students cover them later in the school year in a math lesson (Remember when we...). In this activity, prior knowledge is not assumed and the concept is being applied in a direct experience.

LITERATURE:

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Linda Kirousis
School: Petersham Center School

SCIENCE:

We put a new pencil in clay and placed it in the middle of a large paper. The second graders set up on the Little League field and the first graders set up near the flag pole. We wondered if we'd get the same lines on our papers. We went out every hour. The children made predictions about where the line would be in one hour. The first child put the stone on the opposite side - after that every prediction followed the movement. The third child smiled looked at the lines and said " I can make a very good prediction." He took his hand and measured the distance between the last markings and made a very accurate prediction. The children also traced a body every hour - it was interesting to see the predictions here follow the same pattern as the line paper. At the end of the day the two groups looked at their data - the lines looked about the same, but the angle was different. How could that have happened? One child said she knew where to find the same lines on the playground - it was the painted lines from last year. We asked if the lines made them think of anything we'd done recently. "Hello, Sun"

We (first and second graders) have continued monthly ( as close as the sun allows) shadow measurements. It is becoming very interesting to view the data!

MATH: lines, length, distance

LITERATURE:

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Colleen Grady
School: Petersham Center School

SCIENCE:

Continued reinforcement of the warning to never look directly of the sun is extremely important. The ongoing collection of temperature data should be a part of the collection of shadow measurements. This activity is a good start for learning to collect reliable data. Using a meter stick will result in long shadows and require large sheets of paper. Shorter sticks make shorter shadows. However it is done, make sure to record the height of the stick, an important variable. The meter stick, secured in a can with plaster, is good for the large model. Use paint to mark the position of the can and the compass direction. Chalk lines can be drawn to show shadow lengths, or paint can be used to leave a permanent record of the lines. Groups of students, using shorter sticks and smaller pieces of paper will get the same arc. It will just be easier for them to manipulate and to bring indoors for further examination. Making predictions of where the shadow will be for the next reading is challenging fun. Also, making a prediction about the shadow at noon provides interesting ideas. By the way, what is midday? It is not the same as noon. What do you notice about the points formed at the end of the shadow at the Autumn Equinox?

About once a week, it is a good idea to make shadow measurements and collect data to establish the pattern of change in the shadow of the sun. Although we started with the meter stick, we switched to a drum stick (44cm) imbedded in Plaster of Paris in a #10 can. Measurements are made each hour and the data is stored on the a ClarisWorks spreadsheet. Graphs can be then created from the spreadsheets later on.

While observing the natural changes in plants and animals along with the shadow measurements, we grasp the relationships of seasonal change. The measurement of the shadows helps to prove the change in the Sun's shadows, the position of the Earth in it revolution around the Sun, and the effect of the Earth's tilted axis. It takes a great deal of time to collect the data needed to show the pattern of change, but it is necessary that we observe the change. We see the proof rather that just the statement. The charting of temperature reinforces the shadow patterns.

What makes Earth able to sustain life? The soil, the air, and the water are part of that uniqueness. How does the position of the Earth, in relationship to the Sun (just right; not too close, too hot or too far, too cold) make life possible? the amount of light and the directness of the light yields warmth on areas closer to the equator and cold closer to the poles. Growing season is the lenght of time lants grow frost free. The closer to the Equator, the more frost free days, therefore there is a longer growing season. Using the Internet weather update, daily temperatures for various locations can be observed.

Contacts in thirty locations world wide sent the exact times of sunrise and suns et for a day in January. Students took this raw data and first compiled it into a table, converting all times to a 24 hor clock for easy subraction. the amoun t of daylight was calculated and students made a bar graph beginning on the left with the location experiencing the least sunlight. Then, the students took a b lank world map and numbered the lcoations from the North to the South Pole. "Aha s!" were exclaimed as the students discovered the correlation between the amount of sunlight and the location on Earth. Of course, one student queried, "If Ant arctica has the most