This week Gefen started their Playground Habitats unit in science. Before I sent students out into the “field”, I had to make sure they were ready to be perceptive detectives. To get them ready, we did a dry run in the classroom. Unbeknownst to the students, I planted some clues in the classroom that would suggest to students that specific teachers in the school had been in our room. I pointed the evidence out to students. For example, I held up a pencil case and said, “I just found this on my desk. Does anyone recognize it? It isn’t mine…” It was Hamorah Dalia’s and Maayan recognized it right away. When I asked if she was sure someone else just didn’t have the same pencil case, Maayan said she was sure because this one had a stain on the bottom, just like her mom’s.
Students were able to use their prior knowledge and their problem-solving skills to figure out the two people who had been in our classroom: Hamorah Dalia and Hamorah Michelle. Then we discussed what kinds of evidence show us that something alive has been in a certain place. I told students that when we explored the playground, we would look out for animal and plant life. But we would also be looking for SIGNS OF animal and plant life. In other words, sometimes we would not see the actual organism (one of our science vocabulary words this week), but just proof that it was there.
After our discussion, we went out to the playground. Students broke up into groups and each group picked a specific area to investigate. In their groups, students wrote down everything they saw in as much detail as possible. The guiding question for students was, What living things have been here but cannot themselves be seen? Students had to cite specific evidence to back up their claims.
Many students found evidence of caterpillars (caterpillars had eaten holes through many leaves). Students also found spider webs and acorns – proof of spiders and squirrels.
Here are photos of students investigating their chosen areas.
We will revisit these areas on an ongoing basis throughout the year to observe how the environment changes with the seasons.
The students really enjoyed themselves. In fact, a few of them asked me if they could bring their clipboards out during recess in the upcoming days to continue to take notes on their areas. That was music to my ears! 🙂
Best,
Hamorah Eliza