Bear Inquiry

Bear Inquiry

Now that the Winter season is almost over, we decided that we should get ready for Spring.

 

First, we had a discussion about some of the changes that we can see, feel, hear and smell now that Winter is fading away.  Everyday my students had more questions about what will happen to all of the animals that have been hibernating.  This lead us to do an inquiry about bears.
First we found out what we already know about bears.

We realized that we did know a lot of things about bears but we wanted to learn more.
So we asked more questions.
What kinds of bears are there? What do bears eat?

     

We still had lots of unanswered questions so we decided to do some research.  First we used the projector to look at different kinds of bears.  We found out about so many bears that we have never even heard of before, like the spectacled bear or sun bear.
We asked our reading buddies to help us do our research in the computer lab.  Using technology is so much fun! 


Everyone had their favourite bear and wanted to learn  more about it.  Some of our questions were:
* Do all bears live in dens?
* Do all bears eat the same foods?
* How many different color of bears are there?
* Do some bears live where it is warm?
* Do bears have any enemies?
* Do all bears have the same body parts (fur, paws, teeth)?
So we decided that we should do our own bear projects to answer all of our "Beary" important questions and share our finding with our friends.
Here are our bear project groups

                      

We used all of our research information to help us complete our bear projects and other bear activities.

 

        

To end our Bear Inquiry, we decided to have a "Wake Up From Hibernating" party.  Our classroom bear Henry has been hibernating through our whole bear inquiry.  He will be surprised to hear all of the things we have learned about bears. 
First, we had to wake Henry up.

       

We need to find Henry.  He said that he was hungry and he went to look for some food.  If he is not back by now, he must be lost!  We need to go on a bear hunt. 

      

Everyone in Mrs. Johnston's Kindergarten class hoped
you have enjoyed our Bear Inquiry. 

It was "Beary" nice of you to visit our Blog. 
Come back and visit us again soon.

Remember, if you aren't having any fun, neither are
your students (or children)!

                                                     

                                                        

 

Winter Inquiry

KINDERGARTEN  KORNER

This is my first attempt at creating my own classroom Blog. (Well actually, it's my second attempt as my first Blog disappeared into technology outerspace.  If you find it on your journey please send it back to Earth).  Please ignore all of the spacing issues.  I still have a lot to learn. 
I have been faithfully following many Kindergarten Bloggers for some time now.  These are a few of favourites.  These Bloggers have inspired me to try to create my very own Blog. 

http://mrsharrisonk.wordpress.com

Our Kindergarten Journey:

http://ljpskindergartenteam.blogspot.ca/

Transforming our Learning Environment into a Space of Possibilities

Our Reggio Emilia-Inspired Classroom Transition

I would also like to thank my Vice Principal, Mr. Walo for encouraging me to get out of my comfort zone and try new technology.   I guess he is right, you really can "Teach an old dog new tricks!" 

The Big Picture

Here We Go!

It all started with a question. What do you know about Winter?

My Morning Class

Winter Brainstorm:

* Snow falls

* Winter is cold outside

* Snow feels soft

* You can make a snowman

Student Responses Told Us About:

* What we see when it snows.

* How snow feels.

* What we can do in the snow.

The group discussion lead to questions about where does snow come from.

* From the clouds

* From really cold water

* From God

Then the students began to discuss how snow is made.

* We can make paper snowflakes.

* We need the ingredients to make snow.

* Maybe a snow factory makes all of the snow.

Then the students decided that they needed to design a snow factory.  They divided into small groups and went to work.  They drew out their plan on chart paper and presented their designs to the large group. 

         

     First let's make the building.                               
We have to have a freezer place.

              

The rollers have to make the snowballs.                                

The mixture has to stay in the freezer for 6 days

My Afternoon Class

Winter Brainstorm:

* Snowflakes fall

* You can go down a hill

* You can make a snowman

* You need a coat and scarf

Student Responses Told Us About:

* What we see when it snows.

* What we can do in the snow.

* What we need to wear in Winter.

The group discussion lead to questions about Winter clothing.

* Hat, mittens, gloves

* Coat, snow pants

* Boots and scarf

Then the students wanted to show Winter clothing by making a person wearing the Winter clothing. They made their work groups and chose their materials.  Then they went to work.

         

The showed problem solving skills as they tried to make the clothing fit their person.

They realized that it was better to draw before cutting and and try it on the person before gluing it down.  They had to compromise on choosing the color of their clothing.



Making Labels

Our Final Product

Well, this was both an adventure in frustration and a wonderful learning       opportunity.  I still have to iron out all of the spacing issues.  I promise not to give up. 

Next Blog:  All About Bears 





Deciding What Labels To Use

 






             











     

  

  

                                 



 



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