So I'll be honest...I've been slacking as a teacher...sort of. One of the common core standards is to participate in research projects. This can be fine and dandy in a single grade level classroom where kids are capable of sitting in chairs and following simple directions. That just doesn't happen to be my class! I have 3 grades of squirmy kiddos and almost every day someone has a meltdown at some point during the day. April through May is just about the only time I have where I can get the kids working independently enough for this little project. Trying it in October when my kinder and 1st grade boys can't really read, just wasn't going to happen! This is my golden time for big independent projects!
Today my kids brainstormed things we'd find in an ocean habitat. This was the list they created with zero help from me! I'm really proud of them! I actually had to give it a time cap because they were coming up with so many ideas I was afraid we'd never get to our other projects for the day. Please forgive my messy writing, the kids were listing out animals faster than I could write! And yes, I realize I spelled "Narwhal" wrong. I told the kids I'd check the spelling later and then I forgot. PS~ Does anyone else thing it's crazy that my KINDERGARTEN kid came up with a narwhal whale?!
So I created a bunch of ocean clip art lately and suddenly I'm inspired to make a research project out of it. My thinking is that I can give them a bit of an outline for how to research their individual animals. This needs more thought. I'll post it when it's ready!
Last but not least, my bloggy buddy Gabrielle at Teaching Special Thinkers is hosting a HUGE GIVEAWAY! I'm one of many contributors. Be sure to check her blog out. It's one of my faves! Plus, I only have one of the giveaways listed here. There are THREE MORE on her page!! (My code isn't working right now, hopefully tomorrow you can enter right from my page!).
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