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The Building Blocks of Community
Beginning of the Year Project, Kinder 2016
Essential Questions
Who am I? Who are we?
Is it important to take care of each other? Why?
Learning Goals
Content:
Community building
Get to know self (uniqueness, hopes and dreams, feelings, strengths and needs, growth mindset)
Get to know others (accept and appreciate differences, others' strengths and needs, others' feelings)
How to make sure everyone learns, feels safe, and has fun at school
Skills:
Phonemic Awareness
Matching letters to sounds
Reading--comprehension, decoding
Writing--using letters and sounds to compose words and sentences, letter formation, shared writing
Art--illustration, drafting and critique, various mediums
Social-emotional skills--listening, speaking, reflection, empathy, noticing others’ feelings, self-regulation, problem solving, understanding that different people have different needs-know strategies to use to help self (movement, tool, etc.), sharing, understanding, recognizing, naming feelings, multiple perspectives, accepting and noticing differences
Math--geometry, 2D and 3D shapes, construct 3D shapes using 2D shapes
Engineering--design and construct rectangular prisms
Products
Students will create art pieces in the form of wooden blocks. Each student will choose a word that represents an idea about themselves or their community. The faces of the blocks will have writing, art, the beginning letter of the child's chosen word. These blocks can be moved and used to build structures. We will build one sculpture that will help us remember how we can take care of each other in our classroom community.
Beginning of the Year Project, Kinder 2016
Essential Questions
Who am I? Who are we?
Is it important to take care of each other? Why?
Learning Goals
Content:
Community building
Get to know self (uniqueness, hopes and dreams, feelings, strengths and needs, growth mindset)
Get to know others (accept and appreciate differences, others' strengths and needs, others' feelings)
How to make sure everyone learns, feels safe, and has fun at school
Skills:
Phonemic Awareness
Matching letters to sounds
Reading--comprehension, decoding
Writing--using letters and sounds to compose words and sentences, letter formation, shared writing
Art--illustration, drafting and critique, various mediums
Social-emotional skills--listening, speaking, reflection, empathy, noticing others’ feelings, self-regulation, problem solving, understanding that different people have different needs-know strategies to use to help self (movement, tool, etc.), sharing, understanding, recognizing, naming feelings, multiple perspectives, accepting and noticing differences
Math--geometry, 2D and 3D shapes, construct 3D shapes using 2D shapes
Engineering--design and construct rectangular prisms
Products
Students will create art pieces in the form of wooden blocks. Each student will choose a word that represents an idea about themselves or their community. The faces of the blocks will have writing, art, the beginning letter of the child's chosen word. These blocks can be moved and used to build structures. We will build one sculpture that will help us remember how we can take care of each other in our classroom community.
WHY DO WE EAT?
Why do we eat?
What do Explorer kindergarteners eat?
Why do people eat?
What happens to the food we put into our bodies?
To answer these questions, the kindergarteners did some research. They read books, learned from websites, and talked to an expert. Students learned about the human bodies. They learned about the different systems in the body and how they work. There are student experts on the digestive system, muscular system, skeletal system, respiratory system, circulatory system, and nervous system in each nutrition game group.
Each game group learned about a fruit or vegetable that we grew in our garden. They learned about what nutrients a person would get if he or she ate that fruit or vegetable.
The kindergarteners made a game to teach others about nutrition. They taught some high school students and middle school students at High Tech Media Arts. They taught 5th graders and 4th graders here at Explorer. Then, they taught their friends and families at Explorer's Exhibition Night.
Why do we eat?
What do Explorer kindergarteners eat?
Why do people eat?
What happens to the food we put into our bodies?
To answer these questions, the kindergarteners did some research. They read books, learned from websites, and talked to an expert. Students learned about the human bodies. They learned about the different systems in the body and how they work. There are student experts on the digestive system, muscular system, skeletal system, respiratory system, circulatory system, and nervous system in each nutrition game group.
Each game group learned about a fruit or vegetable that we grew in our garden. They learned about what nutrients a person would get if he or she ate that fruit or vegetable.
The kindergarteners made a game to teach others about nutrition. They taught some high school students and middle school students at High Tech Media Arts. They taught 5th graders and 4th graders here at Explorer. Then, they taught their friends and families at Explorer's Exhibition Night.
KINDER GARDENERS
How can we grow our own food?
How can we make a beautiful, fun, new garden for our school?
The school garden was in desperate need of repair and renovation. The old wooden plant beds were rotting and the garden was overgrown with weeds and mint. Kindergarteners came to rescue and took on the challenge of designing and building a beautiful new garden for the school! The students used their imaginations to come up with garden design ideas. They also conducted interviews to find out from teachers how they plan to use the garden and what they would like to have in it. Teachers wanted a sitting area for a class, garden beds, and pathways that make it easy to get around and reach areas for planting. The kindergarteners also had ideas of their own about what should be in our school garden. They wanted an arbor, bridge, trelisses with vines, and a pond. They also felt that it would be important to have a variety of garden critters like ladybugs, spiders, worms, etc. The project was designed so that all these garden elements were included. The children had to learn about different kinds of plants and what they need in order to grow. They had to learn about how to design and build a bridge, an arbor, and trelisses. Last, they had to learn about fish and how to create a pond system that could keep the fish and pond plants healthy. As first graders, this class will learn about the bugs and critters that live in the garden. We will also do some problem solving when we assess how our garden is doing--what is working and what is not working. They will also be collaborating with a 12th grade environmental science class at HTHMA.
How can we grow our own food?
How can we make a beautiful, fun, new garden for our school?
The school garden was in desperate need of repair and renovation. The old wooden plant beds were rotting and the garden was overgrown with weeds and mint. Kindergarteners came to rescue and took on the challenge of designing and building a beautiful new garden for the school! The students used their imaginations to come up with garden design ideas. They also conducted interviews to find out from teachers how they plan to use the garden and what they would like to have in it. Teachers wanted a sitting area for a class, garden beds, and pathways that make it easy to get around and reach areas for planting. The kindergarteners also had ideas of their own about what should be in our school garden. They wanted an arbor, bridge, trelisses with vines, and a pond. They also felt that it would be important to have a variety of garden critters like ladybugs, spiders, worms, etc. The project was designed so that all these garden elements were included. The children had to learn about different kinds of plants and what they need in order to grow. They had to learn about how to design and build a bridge, an arbor, and trelisses. Last, they had to learn about fish and how to create a pond system that could keep the fish and pond plants healthy. As first graders, this class will learn about the bugs and critters that live in the garden. We will also do some problem solving when we assess how our garden is doing--what is working and what is not working. They will also be collaborating with a 12th grade environmental science class at HTHMA.
