Thursday, January 9, 2014

Wonder Buddies

Jennifer Weales, a Kindergarten teacher in my school, has been exploring the world of wonder with her class. She is working to extend the natural wonder of childhood into the classroom. The students have explored space by working through centers that help them ask questions about space. The other day a Blue Jay stopped by on the tree outside the window. The class spent some time observing and then asking questions about the Blue Jay. Why is it blue? How do birds fly?What does it eat? How does it find food in the winter? Why doesn't it fly south?  She answered their questions patiently encouraging them all the time to tell what they think.

Since September my Grade 5 class and her kindergarten class have been reading buddies. This was done to foster a comfort level among the students in both classes. In January we are going to start doing Wonder Buddies. Working together the Kindergarten and Grade 5 students will research answers to questions the Kindergartners have. We will be using SOLE as a basis for this research. The grade 5`s will lead the research, discuss the findings and prepare the Kindergarten student to speak in front of the group about the topic. In doing this their wonder will have a great audience listening to them and prepare them for more investigations on their own.