U learn Presentation_2008_Discovering Our Backyard

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• Schools should explore not only how ICT can supplement traditional ways of teaching but also how it can open up new and different ways of learning.

Ministry of Education,.(2007) The New Zealand Curriculum. Learning Media Ltd,. (p. 36)

NZCD - elearning



Discoveries – School-wide theme



An inquiry approach to

Discovering our backyard



Inquiry learning involves students forming their own questions about a topic and having time to explore the

answers.

There are 6 stages:• Tuning In• Finding Out• Sorting Out• Going Further• Reflection• Action

Inquiry Learning

Wilson, J., & Wing Jan, L. (2003).' Focus on Inquiry'. Curriculum Corporation. (p. 12)



Graphical Representation

Finding Out

Action

Tuning In

Sorting Out

Going FurtherReflection



• To engage students in the topic.• To gauge student interest and attitudes.• To find out what students believe.• To provide opportunities for students to share

what they already know and believe.• To introduce/clarify language.• To identify gaps in their knowledge and

misconceptions.• To assist with teacher planning of the unit.

Tuning In






We thought of some of the things we might find in our backyard.

snails

ladybugs

grasshoppersflies

centipede

wasp ants



Here is the way we sorted our list.

We wondered what makes an insect an insect?



We weren’t too sure whether a dragonfly was an insect or not so we checked the garden detective learning object.



We came up with some other questions we wanted to answer.

Why do butterflies not live very long? (Charlotte)

What do ladybugs eat ? (Tony)

How many spots does a ladybug have ? (Josie)



Finding Out

• To take students beyond what they already know.

• To challenge students’ ideas, beliefs and values.• To enable students to use skills (eg thinking,

communication, cooperation, research) and knowledge to collect information.

Finding Out

Wilson, J., & Wing Jan, L. (2003).' Foucs on Inquiry'. Curriculum Corporation. (p. 12)



We looked at this fabulous website to explore what makes an insect an insect.



missgambyswiki



We used kidpix to create pictorial images of insects to show their understanding.

Music by: Starfish Music Company



With the Kowhai team we headed out to Butterfly creek. It was a great day – we saw a lot of animals and butterflies.



We wrote about our trip and displayed our work in the classroom.



Having read ‘bubbles’ we got interested in ‘hedgehogs’. We read a lot of books and made a class y chart.

We wrote information reports about hedgehogs.



We made potato hedgehogs.

We were reporters and recorded a fact about a hedgehog.



As a class we read ‘My worm house’. Keen to make our own work house we looked at the website which told us what worms like.

We had a great deal of fun making our own worm house.



We made a class e book using the pictures we had taken. We put the e book on our class blog to share with our families.



We used our new found knowledge about worms to show Room 2 how to make a worm house.



We wriggled into our classroom pretending to be worms moving through the soil making a tunnel.



Sorting Out

• To sort out, organise, represent and present information from the Finding Out stage of the unit.

• To provide opportunities for students to use their preferred ways of learning to demonstrate their learning (knowledge, skills values).

Sorting Out




We used this experience to write statements about worms.



One day after play Jordan noticed a ladybug on her hand. We looked at it and the questions flowed.

How many spots goes a ladybug

have ?

What do ladybugs eat ?How long do

ladybugs live for ?



Inquiry learning allows you to take advantage of

those teachable moments by its non-liner

nature.

More Questions



We found books about ladybugs and made a class Y chart to organise the information we collected and used this to write an information report.

We made ladybug paper weights.



We made a ‘web’sharing all the facts we knew about ladybugs. We then had a ladybug huddle.

We enjoyed playing this game where we had to feed the ladybugs aphids.



Grace brought in ladybugs she had found in the weekend. We thought they were looking a little hungry so we put them on our plant covered in aphids. We watched the ladybugs eat the aphids!

A ladybug can eat up to 100 aphids in a day



We used kidpix to draw a ladybug.



Faith found this dead ‘butterfly’in our classroom.Tara informed her it was a moth – Faith was adamant it was a butterfly.



• To extend/broaden the unit if appropriate.• To allow students to investigate areas of

personal interest.• To use their preferred learning style.• To present another perspective on, or

dimension to, the topic.

Going Further




The moth – butterfly debate had begun.We collected facts and presented our information on a Venn diagram

We wrote down the facts we knew about moths and butterflies.



We decided that Faith had found a moth. It had a feathery antennae and a fat body.



We used kidpix to demonstrate our new understanding of the difference between a moth and a butterfly.



We explored the life cycle of the butterfly.

We looked at the monarch butterfly site where we watched a caterpillar emerge from its egg.



We received an email from the ‘butterfly lady’ who had seen our blog. We sent her anEmail along with some of kidpix drawings.

She sent us another email explaining how to tag butterflies, suggesting we join the tagging programme next year.



We discovered that butterflies liked to get nectar from Bottlebrush, Poinsettia, Hibiscus

The next day Josie brought us in a hibiscus.

It was great to see first hand a flower a butterfly likes to get nectar from.



Each stage of the cycle was videoed.

We also used kidpix to show the lifecycle.



• To provide opportunities for students to think about their learning – how they learnt what they learnt and why.

• To identify changes in skills, knowledge and values.

• To draw conclusions and make connections between ideas.

Reflection

Wilson, J., & Wing Jan, L. (2003).' Foucs on Inquiry'. Curriculum Corporation. (p. 12)



We wandered around our school grounds.We discovered we had a lot of beautiful trees but very few flowers that would attract butterflies and insects into our school grounds.



We thought about what we could do about it -

Grow some seeds and plant

them

Plant some more hibiscus

Plant some flowers in a

pot

Plants need sun and rain

Plants need soil too.



• To identify what students have learnt and the implications for personal actions.

• To enable students to make choices and apply their ideas.

• To relate their learning to real-life situations.

Action




We talked about the price of planter boxes and plants



We sent an email to our principal Mrs Heasman to seek permission to plant some flowers in our school grounds.



We sent Kaiyu our classroom representative to the garden centre to help select plants and a planter box.



It was with great excitement that we planted our planter box and hibiscus plants.



On the last day of the term – we watched our video and every one went home with their own copy.



• Schools should explore not only how ICT can supplement traditional ways of teaching but also how it can open up new and different ways of learning.

Ministry of Education,.(2007) The New Zealand Curriculum. Learning Media Ltd,. (p. 36)

NZCD - elearning



Assessment



Inspiration Planning Document



Technology

U learn Presentation_2008_Discovering Our Backyard