Wonder of the Week: Why are apples red?

We took a wonder off of our Wonder Window for our Wonder of the Week.

On Monday morning we predicted why apples are red.  Later in the week we did a mini-inquiry to see if we could find out why apples are red.

First we brainstormed different sources that we might be able to use to help us find information.

Then we got to work and searched for interesting facts (leaving tracks of our thinking), as well as for clues to our Wonder of the Week.

We used Brainpop Jr., PebbleGo, books, posters, and real apples as our sources.

We found out that all apples are green when they are growing, but some change to red and even yellow.  We also learned from a Gail Gibbons book that different types of apples are specific colors.

  We got to see a youtube video of a pear growing, which is very similar to an apple.

We posted our new learning on padlet.

We are still wondering about those apples that grew on the crabapple tree, though!

'Wonder'ful Parent Ed Night

LEADS teachers led a parent education night about curiosity and wondering.  We talked about open versus closed questions and passed out a bookmark to help us have conversations of wonder and curiosity with our children.  We used Padlet to keep track of the wonders we generated.

Here is a video from that evening.If you didn't get a chance to join us for our parent ed night, maybe you'll be able to join us next year.  It was a great night!

Here is a link to the padlet wall, which is full of wonders!

Immersing Ourselves in Sound & Light

We began our study of sound and light sooner than I anticipated.  Last week the kids started debating about what was faster, sound or light?  I wanted to take advantage of the excitement and get going as soon as possible!

When the kids came into the classroom this week they were surprised to find that the windows had been covered with black paper.  How can we study light without a dark room?

We started by talking about our schema about light and sound.  We began creating our Wonder Wall:
click here to view our Padlet Wonder Wall

Our brains are like sponges in the Immersion Stage.  In this video we are seeing what we can find out about sound and light by playing around with objects and exploring.

We also took time to record some of our thinking so far, representing our learning with diagrams and words.

We also watched the following videos to make observations about light and sound.




We will also start using some new words to describe light:

Transparent

Translucent

Opaque

What can you observe about light and sound?