Good-bye Summer, Hello Mill Pond
Wonder Jar Wednesday
Reading
Learn Like a Pirate
P= passion
I = immersion
R= rapport
A = ask questions
T = transformation
E = enthusiasm
Our goal is put all of these qualities into our teaching and learning to be life-long engaged and curious learners. I invited the students to join me in a year of learning like a pirate. They all eagerly agreed. AARG!
Which Ball Can Roll the Farthest?
After making predictions or hypotheses (most students believed the bocce ball would roll the furthest, no one believed the tennis ball would roll the farthest) we took the balls outside to roll down a paved driveway. We quickly learned that instead of the balls following the pavement, most rolled onto a grass area or bumped into a fire hydrant. The tennis ball surprisingly rolled the furthest.
As scientists do we considered the variables and decided that the experiment did not give fair and honest results. We took the experiment inside. In the hallway we set up a ramp with a 3-fold poster board and let the balls roll down the hall. Again, the balls rolling was interfered with obstacles.
What did we learn? We concluded that in any learning situation results do not always come easy. We need to think, rethink, make changes and try again until we get results.