Every spring our kindergarten classes explore space in preparation for a moon party celebration. All it takes in order to build excitement for space is a few non-fiction books, and the kids are instantly hooked.
I knew going into the investigation that the kids were well prepared to engage in some research on their own. But, before I sent them off into the "independent research world," I modeled the process as we explored the ever popular topic of space travel together. We wondered...
and marked (via sticky notes and key words) all the interesting information we learned.
We gathered more information as we watched a video together about space travel,
we researched on our iPads,
and we collected all our new information into one place.
Then we used all our new knowledge about space travel to create a large spaceship for our pretend center.
Several kiddos even decided to make their own space helmets,
and they built a rover too.
We explored space through sensory play,
through art,
and through creative writing.
Then it was time for each kid to pick a space related topic to explore on their own using many of the same steps, except this time they gathered their information in their own space journal.
As a final step each kindergartener planned out a project representing everything they had learned, and parents got to check out the projects during our moon party showcase.
They planned their projects,
and got to work building them....
It was especially fun watching them help each other out along the way!
The kids LOVED getting to show off their masterpieces to their families...
They wowed us all with their research and presentation skills AND with their creativity!!
Mission complete.
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