Curiosity abounds on Tuesday and Wednesday is filled with Wonderings

Anyone for measuring?  

We continued with our measurement task outside Tuesday and Wednesday.  

Field Scientist Tools  - but where are the field scientists?

Setting our selves up for measuring around curves 

Exploring our surroundings and the distance between objects.  

Measuring perimeter, just look at the teamwork.   

Recording our data 

Interestingly, today when we analyzed our data we found that many of our measurements were similar.  I asked why that would be and here are some of our inferences:  

• the measurements are similar because we used similar strategies to get the measurement.  
• we used standardized measurement tools (i.e., meter sticks)  
•  we were accurate when we read the tool 

Here are some photos from today where we used our arm span to measure different lengths in the compound:  

using arm span as a tool 

recording our data 

getting it just right 

Here are some of the student comments about how their thinking was transformed in this learning task:  

"Skipping ropes are excellent for measurement tools because they are easy for curves."  

"I learned that cm is for centimetre and m is for meter." 

"There are 100 cm in 1 meter."  

"I never thought that bench has to be at least 456 cm for at least 6 people to sit on."  

"My background knowledge was transformed because I never knew you could measure with arm span and skipping ropes is a great tool."  

"I learned that some things are the same and some are not, the goal post was 8 m and the trees are 8 m (apart).  I infer that the goal post and the planted tree is a certain distance."  

"My thinking was transformed because different things, could be very similar size apart."  Measuring tools are important because if you are a builder and you don't know how to measure, you can't build."

"My thinking was transformed by paying attention to the skipping rope every time it moves."  

"My thinking was transformed because maybe the space between trees might mean if a tree branch grows thick it might knock the tree beside it and cause a knock on effect." 

"My thinking of measurement was transformed because I learned that a baseball diamond all around is over 100 meters!  I also learned my arm span is 1 meter."     

"My transformed thoughts about measuring:  Distance between trees, because the farther apart the better they grow and that jump ropes are measuring tools."

As mentioned previously, we are supporting the 30X30 nature challenge.  We had a closer look at the videos today that support learning outside.  And we decided to make our own pledge to spend more time outside.  I asked students to inference how learning outside will transform their brains.  Here are some examples from their journals.  These pages are works in progress: