Volcanoes with Symbaloo and Popplet

The children asked if we could research volcanoes this week. We began by viewing the sites on our Symbaloo page and researching what a volcano is and what it does.

When I asked the children if they had become experts on volcanoes, they stated, 'no'. When I asked them what they thought an expert was, they decided someone who knows a lot about something. We listed everything we knew about volcanoes (four pages of information), and they decided they were experts on volcanoes.

They created presentations to share in Popplet. In their presentation, they needed to include a title, name, picture, and supporting sentences. Beyond that, their presentation was all theirs!

They did an excellent job using their quick words, sound spelling, and putting spaces between their words. Great job kindergarten!

APBFDS

EG

`

















HJ

KC

LL




LN



LD



NH



NP





OW






RN




WD

Farm Animal Fotobabble's

We began our farm inquiry this week. We asked many questions about farms, including:
What do the animals eat?
How much water do the animals drink?
How many people need to work on the farm?
What are some of the different kinds of cows?

We found a few answers in a video (on our Symbaloo page) and on our Worldbook of Animals app on our iPads. When we finished researching, we created Fotobabble's to share an animal we liked, found interesting, or just thought was worth sharing.

Take a look and enjoy:)

RN
LN
KC
HJ
OW
DS
AP
NP
LL
WD
BF
EG
LD
NH

Insect eBook

We have researched insects and other creepy crawlies over the last week. The children spent the last few days discovering more about an insect they had never heard of before. They found some pretty amazing creatures that look different from many other insects/animals we have investigated.

Here is our eBook. Some children chose to sound out and write their own sentences, while others chose to copy directly from their animal research. We are glad that we do not have some of these insects around Minnesota!

Earth Day: How will I help the Earth?

The children chose to research several different topics for Earth day. We read books about cleaning up and stopping pollution, watched videos on how to recycle, as well as shared our thoughts with each other and on our iPads. We have some very Earth-friendly children in class!

Here is a quick video on how we can each help the Earth. The children do a great job with each of these tips at school!

Our Lego Challenge Week

We became engineers and architects this week and completed a lego challenge week. Each day, the children voted on which challenge they would like to complete. We had three great days of creating that challenged the children's thinking and patience.

Day One: Marble Mazes 

       

Day Two: Bridges 

 

Day Three: Build a City
Our day three was pushed back for a snow day, but we finally were able to use our building skills to build a city. We had buildings, apartments, houses, stores, restaurants, and vehicles. There were also a few statues and trees. We labeled our work so others could understand the purpose of the structure.

We used a lot of team work and understanding during the group work projects. We also problem solved  while building to be sure it was a solid structure. It was a good unit! We have shared a video below so everyone could see how our marble mazes worked. Enjoy:)

What if dinosaurs were still alive?

We spent some time exploring dinosaurs this week. We checked some sites, apps, and videos for information. We learned many different things, such as what was alive when the dinosaurs were here (butterflies, crocodiles, birds) and that birds are the closest living relative. We talked about meat eaters as well as plant eaters and what it would be like to have a dinosaur pet.

After some thought, the children filmed their own opinions about a dinosaur world. What would it be like if dinosaurs were still alive?

Opening a Store

After some great discussions on what money is used for and why it is important, we decided to open up our own stores in the classroom. Not only would it be fun, we would get to put our math skills (money), reading and writing skills (making posters, reading about stores and money, creating the product), speaking skills (filming a commercial), and social skills (selling and buying from others) to good use.

Here is a quick look at the children buying and selling products. They were each given a budget using fake money and needed to be careful about what they would buy. They also needed to be polite so others would want to be in their store. Any disputes about the correct price or change was handled by the bank (Mrs. Lembke). They could also save their earnings and spend them later.

One of the last aspects of the creation of our stores was to film a commercial. The children decided how and where they would film. They also chose what they would say in front of the camera. Keep in mind that the videos were completely filmed and created by the children. Some chose to set-up the camera on their own, while others chose to have someone hold it for them. This can cause for some interesting camera angles and glare. This is learning at its' best! Some chose to flash their great prices, while others just wanted to use a catchy phrase or two. They did a great job. Enjoy!