Magic Door Investigation

Our magic door investigation didn't start out as a magic door investigation at all.  In fact, it grew out of my original idea for in-depth investigation of St. Anne's called STAB A to Z.  I figured this would be a great way for the kids to learn more about their new school (or building), reinforce letters and sounds, and begin developing their inquiry and investigation skills.  

We began by breaking up into small groups and exploring the school to find as many things and places as we could that began with each letter of the alphabet.  We followed up by gathering together and wondering more about the places we found most interesting.  However, our wonders and discussion did not elicit the enthusiasm I had expected.  Perhaps the entire school was too large of a topic!

A few days later we explored again with the purpose of meeting the people who work at STAB.  Along the way, we met everyone from Chef Trey to Mark and Mark who build and fix things to Mr. Lourie himself.

As I rethought our investigation, I remembered that one of the things from our walk that grabbed the kindergartner's attention the most was the artwork around the hallways.  They were especially fascinated with the dragon mural and the gorgeous doors.  I thought the pieces of art would be great (and much less overwhelming!) catalysts for learning how to wonder aloud.  First we walked together to the dragon mural, and the kindergartners watched and listened to me model how to "wonder" and ask questions all about it.

 

Then we headed to the beautiful doors in the hall close to our classroom, and it was the children's turn to wonder.  For some reason, I introduced the activity by calling them the "magic doors."  Little did I know the use of that mysterious phrase would end up inspiring our first full-fledged investigation.  I could hear and feel this children's excitement as they marveled about the magic doors, so I knew were  on to something great.  It turns out we didn't need to inquire about the entire school...we just needed to head out into the hallway!

I was extremely impressed with the variety and depth of their wonders.



Next we learned the different ways we can usually find out the answers to our questions.  However, we could only learn more about the doors by looking at them closely and interviewing an expert.

First we spent some time looking closely at the door.  We were surprised to discover that the closer we looked, the more and more we noticed.  The kids spent time in front of the doors carefully noticing and sketching everything they could see.  I was impressed by their ability to represent something so large and complex. 

Noticing, looking closely, and recording what you see/learn is such a valuable lifelong learning skill.  I taught the kids how to photograph their favorite item on the door, zoom in closely, and sketch it using as much detail as possible. 

Of course they wanted to paint their drawings as well...

After noticing and learning as much as we could by looking closely at the doors, we invited an expert (Mr. Brennan) to come tell us the history of the doors and answer all our questions.  He told us where the doors originally came from, who decorated them, why they chose certain materials, and even about the secret code written at the top. 

He also told us there aren't any kids behind the doors...but, if you lean in closely and listen carefully sometimes you might hear something :)  Hmm...that thought alone made for some very curious kindergarteners! 

Then I challenged the kids to remember everything they had learned so far by both looking closely at the door and by listening to Mr. Brennan.  As you can see, they had learned a lot!  We left two blank lines in the places where we couldn't quite remember a fact and needed to investigate more.

Next it was time to look closely at the code and see if we could finally figure it out....

In case you'fe wondering, in scrambled up letters it actually says - Susan Bacik with Ms. Abbot's 4th Grade Artists

Our magic doors made for some very engaging morning work, and they turned out to be a really fun way to incorporate early kindergarten skills (letters, number recognition and formation, our names, drawing and labeling, and 2-d shapes).  

One of the morning challenges was to record as many numbers as they could find on the door.

Another day they sketched the shapes they saw on the door.

And the next day, several kiddos even asked if they could PLEASE write down all the letters and words they could find on the door.  It's always a good sign to see kids engaging with our investigation topics during their free time!

 

There continued to be quite a bit of chatter among the kids about what was behind the magic door.  in order to further explore this idea, I challenged the kids to use their imaginations and draw and label what they might see if they could open them up.  They imagined treehouses, castles, tornadoes, bedrooms, and more.  After sharing our creative ideas, we compiled the pages into our first class book.

In an effort to begin wrapping up our first investigation while simultaneously modeling for the kids ways to celebrate their learning, I began to wonder aloud if we could possibly create our own door. Turns out the resounding answer among the kiddos was yes, and they were full of helpful ideas.  The kids quickly began collecting special treasures both at home and at school to use on our future door. 

 

Next it was time to plan out each child's piece. They used a planning sheet (their first of the school year) to sketch their shape, record what color they were planning to paint it, and think about one decoration they brought from home they wanted to make sure would be glued onto it.

They very carefully drew their shape, cut it out, and painted it gold, silver, or bronze.

Once shapes were glued on and trinkets from home had been added, the kids found the letters of their name and added them to the magic door in a secretive looking way.  Now our door has some "secret codes" on it too!

Since our door was designed to open up, we began brainstorming about what we could put inside.  "Ourselves" was a very popular answer, so that's what we did.  The kids drew backgrounds showing where they would land if they could walk through our door, and they glued a picture of themselves onto that background.  Be sure to ask your child where they imagined they might land...

The kiddos couldn't wait to surprise Mr. Brennan by showing him our very own magic door masterpiece!

And now, we're taking our newly developed inquiry skills with us and are already headed off on another investigation.  Stay tuned to find out more...