Froglet Posted May 29, 2013 Posted May 29, 2013 I'm not asking for ideas (just yet !) but our next theme is going to be around water. Before the holiday I asked my reception class for their ideas around the theme. They came up with so many I thought I'd share in case they inspired anyone else with a starting point. I've given them rough headings but there's probably lots of overlap. Where do you find water? ponds, lakes, waterfalls, swimming pools, taps, baths, hosepipes, rivers, sea, ice cubes, toilets, rain What can we do with water? drink it, swim in it, grow plants, paddle, play and splash! Creatures sharks, mermaids, fish, dolphins, whales, frogs, tadpoles, crabs, bull sharks, killer whales, lobsters, seahorses, clown fish, dinosaurs, sea unicorns People sailors, divers, fishermen, pirates Stories Tiddler, Sailor Bear, Whale and the Snail, Little Mermaid, Shark in the Park, Finding Nemo Questions How do machines clean water so we can drink it? Why do you use water at a Christening? Why is the sea blue? How do we get a stuck whale back in the sea? How do you make water? How do African people get clean water? How do you break ice? How does sea float? How does rain make ice melt? How do waves splash so noisy? Which things float and sink? How do pirates get on to other ships? How do divers fall on the sea then get back up? How do fishermen get nets? How do fishermen catch fish? How are pirates so clever? How does water get into the clouds to pour rain down? How can princesses go in water with their dresses on? How can sea fairies swim? I have written the questions down exactly as asked! 6
finleysmaid Posted May 30, 2013 Posted May 30, 2013 Just such a perfect example of child led planning....if we as adults were to plan for this i doubt we would come up with anything so exciting! coupe of stereotypical things that made me smile.....why is the sea blue....well of course it isn't but we do tend to paint it that way don't we! and how do people in africa get water,,,well if you're in cape town from a tap! so now you've got the ideas Helen how do you sort out which ones you're going to tackle first?
sunnyday Posted May 30, 2013 Posted May 30, 2013 Well I hope you have an answer for 'How can princesses go in water with their dresses on'?! :blink: Thanks for sharing Helen! :1b 1
Froglet Posted May 30, 2013 Author Posted May 30, 2013 Just such a perfect example of child led planning....if we as adults were to plan for this i doubt we would come up with anything so exciting! I know - as we were doing it I kept finding myself thinking 'I never thought of that!' - mermaids and waterfalls in particular! so now you've got the ideas Helen how do you sort out which ones you're going to tackle first? I'm not quite sure! I felt a bit overwhelmed by it all to be honest. We had a trip just before the holiday where we saw tadpoles and did some pond dipping and we're hopefully getting some caterpillars soon too so will probably do a quick starter on tadpoles/life cycles/ponds etc. We've also just been doing Christenings in RE so will try and answer that question. After that I think we'll go with the fishermen questions and sea creatures and then go on to the mermaids and pirates things. I'd quite like to have mermaids/pirates dressing up day towards the end of term. Maybe a week on properties of water to get the water cycle/ice questions in. Questions like 'How do machines clean water?' and the floating/sinking one I'll probably set up as an investigation/exploration activity. Well I hope you have an answer for 'How can princesses go in water with their dresses on'?! :blink: Thanks for sharing Helen! :1b That one made me smile too - I was thinking 'well don't you just walk in?!' Maybe we could do a materials investigation - which material would be the best to make a princess dress for going in the water?! Like Panders I like the 'How does the sea float' one - no idea how we're going to answer that one - maybe this is the time to realise that some questions just can't be answered! I have to say, I was really proud of their questioning skills and how far they've come with them this year - the first time we did this it was a bit like getting blood out of a stone and I confess to doing quite a lot of "Do you mean...?" and re-wording their somewhat random statements into actual questions. I've learnt a lot too this year about how not to reframe their questions into things they would traditionally learn about! 1
Possum Posted May 31, 2013 Posted May 31, 2013 The learning wall we had a few years ago started off like this - we had all the questions at one end and posted answers up as we came across them, in amongst the artwork etc. Then at the end we asked them back all their questions and they answered them! I honestly think that this is the best way of learning!!! 2
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