The Pumpkin Challenge

The challenge: ASD students, can you build a structure to support the weight of a pumpkin?

The response: YES, of course we can! And, we can do it in so many different and creative ways!

Students used Keva planks and legos to build their structures. Some worked individually, some worked in pairs or small groups. Some went for height, some went for design. Highlights included a suspension bridge, a tower with inclosed pumpkins inside and a lego village that supported the weight of four pumpkins. 

Challenge accomplished and exceeded! Well done, ASD builders, engineers and architects. A new question for you, what will be our next design challenge?

Worm Wonderings

The new worm farm in the ES Library is sparking many wonderings! After enjoying some time holding and playing with earthworms, K1 students were ready for some inquiry learning. Students observed the worms closely and love how they feel in their hands. As they held and watched their worms in their environment, many questions came up...

What do worms eat? Why do they live in the soil? How do worms have babies? Are there girls worms and boy worms? How big does a worm grow? Does a worm bite? How can you tell where their heads are? How do worms move?

A small group of students gathered some of their questions to investigate. Students used books and the electronic resource PebbleGo to search for answers. When we came across information about one of our questions, students drew pictures or asked teachers to help them write words. 

As a group, our K1 researchers learned so much about earthworms! We gathered our new knowledge together and went back to the classroom to share with all of our friends. The research group was very proud to present their findings. 

Grade 2 students have also been digging deep (get it?) into worms. Students generated and sorted their questions into categories. Students looked at all the questions they had and decided what they wanted to learn more about.

Next, students chose a method of note-taking to gathering their information. Some students used a web, some drew and labeled a model, others used a t-chart organizer. Choice was embedded throughout the investigation - in terms of what students wanted to research, which resources they used and which tool they used to take their notes.

Our next steps will be revisiting our questions to learn more and sharing our new learning with friends! Perhaps we can have K1 and Grade 2 share their learning with each other. Stay tuned!

Our most recent learners to investigate our worms -- our teachers! Elementary teachers spent time after school thinking about how we can help our students learn through inquiry. We put ourselves in our students shoes and experienced the power of asking our own questions and leading our own learning.