Hello Wonderful Kinder Families! We have had another awesome week of learning here at HTe. We are deep into our paleontology investigation and this week we focused on attributes of dinosaurs and permineralization (how a dead dinosaur becomes fossilized). The Essential Questions driving our project are : 1) How do Paleontologists study the past? 2) What clues do fossils give us about how a dinosaur might have lived? As Junior Paleontologists, we understand that dinosaurs are extinct and cannot be observed at our local zoo. However, we can look at other animals' body structures and habits to give us an idea of how a dinosaur might have lived. For instance, this week we focused on dinosaur teeth and how its shape can reveal whether it may have been a "carnivore" (meat eater) or "herbivore" (plant eater). We investigated teeth of living animals and concluded that carnivores had sharp, pointy teeth and herbivores had flat teeth. We then used that knowledge to identify and sort which dinosaurs were carnivores and herbivores. We even investigated our own teeth and found that we had both flat teeth (molars) AND sharp teeth (canines). Building upon our knowledge of insect anatomy, we investigated the anatomy of a dinosaur. Like we did when identified whether a bug was an insect or arachnid, we began by counting legs. We found that dinosaurs were either "bipeds" (walked on two legs) or "quadrupeds" (walked on four legs). We then began identifying other living things that were bipeds or quadrupeds. We realized that humans were bipeds and that our class tortoise, Matilda, was a quadruped. Make sure to ask your child which dinosaurs (or other animals) were bipeds and which were quadrupeds. Our scientists are very excited to share their learning with you! Lastly, we learned about the process of fossilization and how body fossils are actually quite rare. You can learn more about the process here: http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/thezone/fossils/intro/form.htm Albert Einstein once said that "Play is the highest form of research" and here in Kindergarten, we see evidence of that every day. Often times, though play, very young children will process and demonstrate what they have learned. Here is an example of a pop-up "Natural History Museum" created by some of our Kinders at recess. Notice how they demonstrate their understanding of fossils through other modalities (other than pencil and paper) and use scientific language authentically. We will begin working on our dinosaur book by the end of the week. We will need volunteers to assist with critique sessions and with the publishing of final drafts. Please look out for a sign up sheet via our Shutterfly site by the end of the week. Our "Dino ROCK" book will be available for purchase through blurb.com. Thank you for your ongoing support!
Warmest Regards, Mrs. Rosemarie
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Hello Wonderful Kinder Families! Firstly, thank you for your patience with my blog entries! We caught the bug that was floating around Kinder. It took nearly two weeks to get through our household! I am so happy to see everyone back at school looking so happy and healthy! In the meantime, we have had many powerful learning experiences. Here are some highlights of the last couple weeks. HTe's Inaugural Engineering Week was an absolute success. During this week, our Kinders were invited to think and act like an Engineer. They engaged in a variety of Engineering Challenges. One challenge was linked to our Read Aloud, Curious George Goes to the Toy Store. In the story, Curious George attends a grand opening of a new toy store. He uses his climbing skills to fetch toys down from shelves for children who are too small to reach. Afterwards, students were invited to engineer something that would help the children reach the toys safely. There were a variety of creations ranging from ladders, built-in stairs, and even propellers with boomerang technology! It was incredible to witness such innovation and collaboration in Kindergarten. Miguel explains what his Engineering Team will do to solve the problem. Our next project, DINO ROCK, is in full swing! In the last few weeks, we have taken on the roles of Junior Paleontologists. We have investigated the role of a Paleontologist, examined a variety of trace fossils (imprints, foot prints) and body fossils, and most importantly, recorded all of our observations and findings! During our afternoon Exploration time, our Junior paleontologists worked very carefully on excavating their own set of body fossils. Check out the video below! To support our investigation, we are kindly asking for donations of elementary level dinosaur books, puzzles, excavation kits, and dinosaur toys. Many of them can be found at Lakeshore Learning Store or online through Amazon. Thank you so much!
Our study will culminate with the publishing of our own class book which will be available for purchase on blurb.com. We can't wait to share our project with you at Festival del Sol--our village's K-12 Spring Exhibition on Thursday, March 21 at 4:30. Thank you again for all of your love and support this year! Warmest Regards, Mrs. Rosemarie |
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September 2017
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