Connect: Second
grade is going on a field trip to the Botanic Gardens tomorrow (yes, in the
snow). This field trip goes along with the math/science curriculum, so as a
literacy teacher I hadn’t really done anything related to it. I decided to do a
See-Think-Wonder with my kids to get them thinking about the trip we’d be
taking.
What I Did: I showed my
classes a picture of the indoor tropical exhibit at the gardens without
comment. I asked them to share first what they see, then what they think, and
finally what they wonder. With my morning class, I then had the students write
their thoughts on a worksheet, with a spot for “What did I learn?” that they
will fill out after the fieldtrip. Lacy Smith and I got our afternoon classes
together for this routine. After sharing out loud, the students each wrote what
they saw, thought, and wondered on stickies and put them on appropriate charts.
Extend: Although this
routine is pretty simple, I the students were so into it! I loved that it
required them to look at a new image in three different ways. Some of the
responses, like “I wonder if they have to water in there or if the water cycle
does it naturally?” impressed me. Other responses, like "I think this is at the
Botanic Gardens” were less impressive, although still valid. Next time, if I add a learn section again, I will make sure the students connect it to their thoughts or wonderings.
Challenge: This routine,
specifically the wondering part, made me think of the wondering part of the
weekly Red-Yellow Light routine Mrs. Umberger and I do weekly. Some of the
responses were very surface. I think with more time and instruction, the
students would be able to express deeper wonderings.
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ReplyDeleteJaime, I too am repeatedly surprised by regardless of the simmplicity of this routine, it has the potential to provoke really deep thinking. This combination is obviously why it is so effective and flexibile in that it can be used with a wide range of ages. I use it a lot in ECE and have discovered that the more ambiguous the material I choose for them to reflect upon, the less "lazy" they are and the deeper the thinking.
ReplyDeleteI am inspired by your use of this routine, Jaime! I finally went out on a limb last week and tried this with my 3rd grade intervention group and I LOVED it! I think the simplicity of it makes it easy to use as a routine, and I too have found that sometimes the kids are really surface, but once they get the gist of it, they start to dig a lot deeper. I love that you connected it to a field trip too- what a great way to make a day out of school really relevant to what you have been working on in school! Yay!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to require them to really THINK ABOUT A FIELD TRIP. The simplicity of the routine is sometimes exactly what you need in these types of situaions. They were given the opportunity to think and anticipate before the trip even happened. Field trips tend to be very rushed so the discussion BEFORE is a great technique.
ReplyDelete