SARAH
Elementary Education
|
SARAH
Elementary Education
|
Another week has passed in Siena, and I can’t believe how the time is flying.
This week in grade 2 we continued our water unit. On Monday, we made water filters! We briefly explained the large scale water filtration system to the students once again, supplied them with bottles and materials, and then set them loose! I gathered some muddy water from a nearby construction site, and started to pour it through their filters. One group, was able to get their water almost completely clear again! *See images below.* We had a big discussion about what they used, why they chose the materials they did, and what they would change were they to try and build a filter again. One of the biggest differences I've noticed between this school and schools where I've worked back home is the lack of traditional forms of assessment. Students are not taking weekly language or math tests. They aren't completing a worksheet for every single new idea they learn. Instead, their thinking about a topic is recorded, the process of their learning documented, and they usually do some sort of hands on project - like the water filters or the models of the filtration systems I wrote about last week. The IB places a much larger emphasis on action as assessment, rather than on traditional forms of testing. The idea being that if students are truly engaged in their learning, they will want to apply it in real life situations. Throughout the water unit, we have been encouraging the students to take note of the water-related problems they’re learning about and think about how they can be responsible and take action to solve these problems. Over the past few weeks in math, we’ve been working on calculating the amount of water we use to wash our hands. The tap in the bathroom is one of those automatic ones that you can’t stop - you just press the button and it runs until it’s done. First, we calculated how many plastic cups come out with one press of the button (it was 12 cups - not a cup as in the unit of measurement, just one of the little plastic cups the kids drink out of at lunch, a non-standard form of measurement). Then, we measured how many milliliters are in just one plastic cup. Finally, we figured out how many milliliters there were all together in the 12 plastic cups. It was tricky math for six and seven year olds, but the students were very motivated to find out the answer! At the end of the day on Friday, we had a big discussion about the findings of our math investigation. The students had discovered that we use approximately 4 liters of water with every push of the bathroom tap. We talked about how that made them feel and what they wanted to do about it. They were shocked by the amount, as was I! Some of the students wanted to talk to the principal about how to decrease their water usage. A group went to her office and asked if she had time to talk. She was very happy to listen to them and told them that she would find out if the amount of water that comes out or the length of time for which the water runs are things that can be changed. Other students came up with the idea to catch the water under the tap in a container so that multiple students can use the same water. They decided that they wanted to tell other students about this waste of water, and came up with multiple ideas as to how they might spread the word. This discussion was just the beginning of their steps toward taking action, and it will be exciting to see where it all goes, but it was truly amazing to watch their learning come to life.
4 Comments
Keli Garas-York
4/15/2019 12:07:40 am
Hi Sarah,
Reply
Patty
4/17/2019 10:34:53 pm
Wow! 4 liters?! That really is a lot of water! I love how actively engaged the children are with this unit.
Reply
Julie Henry
4/24/2019 06:00:58 pm
I love the emphasis on action and documentation as assessment, Sarah. Thanks for sharing these details. I just told Molly that I would love to have you two do a guest lecture in my early childhood class this summer and share what you have experienced!
Reply
Sherri Weber
4/24/2019 06:42:02 pm
Hi Sarah,
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorHello! Ciao! I'm originally from the rural Finger Lakes region of New York state, but I've lived in Michigan, Japan, South Korea, and now, Siena! I originally got into the field of education after teaching English in South Korea. I've continued to study education because kid-brains never cease to astound me. Apart from spending lots of classroom time with young children, I really love to run. I am excited to explore the gorgeous Tuscan hills on foot. Hopefully all the hiking will balance out the ridiculous amounts of pasta and cheese I am sure to consume. Thanks for following along! Archives
May 2019
Categories |