January 23, 2009

Dynamic Dinos!!

Adasaurus, Maisaurus, T-Rex, the Triassic Period, the Jurassic Period, omnivore, herbivore, carnivore -these are just a few of the words that became a part of the 2/3's language during the past few months.

What better topic for second and third graders to study than dinosaurs? From learning about ferns and other plants from long ago(and ferns still exist today), moving to the time line of the earth's development and how this coincided with the rise of the dinosaurs(most dinosaurs lived not that long ago), making fossils and paper mache dinosaurs (they loved doing this-very messy and so very much fun), creating a restaurant menu for their dinosaur (Is yours an omnivore, herbivore or carnivore?), and ending with the study of individual dinosaurs and as part of their study, marking the lengths of the dinos in the hall(Isa's was the longest). The children's interest and enthusiasm was almost enough to bring the dinosaurs back to life.

When Lynn and I had the opportunity to just step back and watch the class at work, our observations were the same-that the children were and are a remarkably cohesive, self-directed supportive group of individuals. They all worked hard to produce their "best work." With a minimum of adult input, the children ran critique sessions for each other where suggestions on the progress of projects were given. These meetings were incredible-the children offered such thoughtful reviews of each others' efforts and offered positive suggestions for making improvements. They really helped to bring out the best in each others work! The 2/3's show of work was a wonderful example of the knowledge the children gained during their dinosaur study as well as their sense of pride in their accomplishments.

At today's morning meeting (Monday), we asked the children what they liked about their Show of Work. Here are some of their responses:
"I liked the positive feedback from others in the school."
"I liked being busy and the compliments I received."
"Everyone was interested."
"I liked sharing with my family."
"I liked speaking about my poster rather than reading it."



Your children are great-Lynne