Crayon Investigation

From the very first day of school I began noticing how much this class likes color!  Rainbow after rainbow after rainbow kept appearing in the art center. 

I had a hunch this interest in rainbows was more about beautiful colors and less about actual rainbows, so I decided to try out some color activities to see if I was correct.  We learned to mix colors to create new ones, explored shades as we made our color wheel, dove head first into the 100 color challenge, and put our new knowledge about making shades to use as we matched colors to paint swatches.   

In the process of matching shades we inadvertently created some colors of our own, which led to a discussion about how colors get their names.  The kindergartners of course wanted to name their new colors too.  Can you spot "basketball orange" and "elephant skin?" 

In order to test out their level of interest a little further I introduced the kiddos to our surprise sack, and inside was a brand new box of crayons.  As we looked closely and explored the crayons together I recorded everything the kindergartners noticed about the crayons' shape, wrapping, texture, shades, etc.  One thing that immediately attracted a lot of attention was each crayon's name.  So, the following day we watched a video that flashes different crayon colors along with their names, and the kids sat riveted the entire five minutes as I read each name aloud.  Clearly, their interest in color and crayons wasn't going away, so our first investigation was officially born...

The following day we noticed an advertisement on the crayon box for a contest to name the new color.  It was too late for us to enter the contest, but that didn't stop us from trying to come up with some of our own creative names.  After watching Dandelion's retirement video to find out which crayon was leaving the box, we finally got to meet the newest crayon, Bluetiful. Based on how excited the kiddos were to write down Bluetiful's name on a card to take home and show to their parents, I could tell our investigation topic was a hit.

My main purpose for our first investigation of the school year is to introduce my new kindergartners to the process of investigating.  Right from the start I want to infuse our classroom with a joyful sense of curiosity and discovery.  I want the kiddos to learn how to observe closely, ask thoughtful questions, and become familiar with ways we can find answers to their questions.  I also want them to experience the joy that comes from celebrating new learning and the sense of pride that comes from using what we have learned to teach others or to improve our own little corner of the world.  

One thing I have learned over the years is that just about anything can make for a rich investigation topic.  I sensed that a crayon investigtion could be a perfect first choice because it would be heavy on hands-on experimenting and light on book research, which is a perfect fit considering where kindergartners are developmentally at the start of the school year.  

We sorted crayons by color and then chose our favorite shades so we could practice looking closely and drawing what we see.  Learning to carefully observe and slow down as they work in order to add details is such an important (and hard lesson) for young children.

By now there was definitely a collective excitement about crayons in the air, so it was time to begin wondering.  Sometimes our wonders guide our investigation step by step, yet other times they serve as a general framework that helps me gauge interest and structure our learning journey.  Since this was the kiddos' first introduction to wondering and investigating, I knew it would be especially important for their questions to be our very clear guide along the way.  We learned about the four ways to find answers to our wonders (even though I know this chart doesn't really mean anything until they've had hands-on experience with each method), and then began tackling each wonder one at a time.  

First we figured out which of their wonders we could explore by looking (and experimenting) and thinking, and then we jumped right in.  I set up some provocations for the kiddos to explore using several of their wonders, such as using multiple crayons at a time mixing crayon and marker.  We met back on the carpet later to share and reflect on what they had experienced and learned.

We also dove deeper into our wonder about crayons and paint with a resist line art project.

Since so many of our crayon activities would be experiment-based, I thought it would be important to introduce the kindergartners to the terms cause and effect...especially because using these terms could help them think more deeply about what they were noticing. Using the cause and effect chart as our guide we tackled our wonders about what happens to crayons left out in the sun, crayons put in the microwave, and crayons in the freezer.

Our crayons-in-the-microwave experiment turned out the be a class favorite!

In fact, it was such a hit that I decided to add in a crayon-hairdryer experiment as well.

We also used the terms cause and effect to explore their wonder about whether or not you can draw with crayons on the sidewalk. First we experimented in the classroom to find out what happens when you pour water over chalk, marker, and crayon.  The indoor experiment helped us better predict what might happen to our crayon, marker, and chalk marks outside.  Believe it or not, our red crayon dot is STILL on the sidewalk.  So while you can color outside with crayons, the kindergartners don't recommend it!
  

Some older triangle-shaped crayons from the closet along with the remnants of our microwave crayon experiment helped us discover that yes, crayons do come in many shapes and sizes.

One of my favorite things about investigations is that while they are often guided by the wonders we develop at the early stages of the process, more and more wonders (and unexpected learning opportunities) develop along the way. One of those wonders was inspired by our class' obsession with the book The Day the Crayons Quit.  Early on in our investigation I had filled our bookshelf with all the crayon related books I could get my hands on, and for some reason this particular book was a huge hit.  The kiddos asked me to read it again, and again, and again.  

The pages where orange and yellow argue about which crayon is the true color of the sun got us wondering the same thing.  What a great moment to learn about collecting information on a graph.  We gathered our class' information and then headed next door to find out what Ms. Taylor's friends thought too.  This graphing activity provided a great introduction to the important and powerful word "opinion." Many kiddos were even inspired to ask their families at home. Poor orange.

The constant complaining from each crayon about being used the most (or not enough) also got us wondering which crayon does actually get used most often.   So, we decided to collect more information on another graph to help us gather our thoughts. However, this time I made the kids explain the thinking behind each of their color choices.  Blue was a popular guess because you can use it to draw the sky and the ocean, while black was another popular guess for its outlining capabilities.  I always love getting insight into their thinking.  The graph was another perfect opportunity to reinforce the concept of having an opinion (and respecting each other's), yet also learn to back our opinions with some thoughtful proof or reasoning as to why. 

In order to figure out the real answer to our question, we realized we would need to ask some crayon experts.  Several kiddos had noticed "Crayola.com" written on the side of each crayon, so we emailed off our question to the experts.  The kiddos were beyond thrilled to get a reply from Crayola the very same day.  Not only did this experience reinforce the role of experts in the investigation process, but it also introduced the kiddos to the power of connecting digitally. Turns out blue is America's most popular color.  Several kiddos even connected this information to better understand why the newest Crayola color is a shade of blue.   Love when those little wheels are turning! 

We dove into our next round of wonders by examining pictures closely to figure who invented crayons, what the first crayons looked like, and the size of the biggest crayon box.
 

Throughout the investigation it was fun overhearing kiddos talk about their enthusiasm for crayons with a level of excitement usually reserved for the latest toy fads!  We even had some crayons come in the share sack one day and an excited group of kids eager to try them out during choice time...which also turned out to be the perfect organic moment to experiment with the crayon sharpener on the side of the box.  Turns out it works, sort of.

Once most of our experiments had been completed (and attention spans had extended now that we were further into the school year), it was time to dive into their wonders about how crayons get made and shipped.  We watched a video of the process from back in Mr. Roger's days, retold the process to each other, and then retold it again by drawing and assembling a chart of our favorite parts.

The following day we watched a more recent video of the crayon production process, and I was so impressed with the kiddos' ability notice similarities and differences between then and now.

The shipping process wasn't part of the video, but several kindergarteners continued to wonder about it.  We started out by googling the phrase "Crayola truck" to see if their prediction of a crayon truck was accurate....however our search only resulted in pictures of toy trucks.  So, we moved on to looking closely at photos of the shipping process to help us better understand how crayons get to the stores and our homes.  And of course, we took some time the following day to reflect and make our learning visible.

I had saved their wonder about whether or not we could make crayons until the very end because I knew the process would be more meaningful once they had learned more about crayons.  I also secretly knew the process could be a springboard into the final phase of our investigation. We followed a recipe online to guide us through the process step by step.  I brought in old crayons from home, and then we pealed, broke, preheated, melted, transferred them to the fridge, and VOILA...

The following day we were walking past the lower school office and happened to notice a large yet unfamiliar looking crayon box sitting out on Ms. Morris' desk.  The crayon box got us wondering, so we asked a lower school expert (Ms. Monty) if she could come by and tell us more about it.  It turns out the Learning Village is joining forces with The Crayon Initiative this year to collect old crayons that get recycled into new ones for children at UVA Hospital.  Since most of us hadn't heard about this important project yet, Ms. Monty asked if we might be willing to help teach other classes about it.  Of course the kindergartners cheered at the opportunity to do just that!

Together the kiddos brainstormed a list of ways they could help teach other classes, and then we got to work tackling their ideas.

They told me what words to type and then illustrated signs that would be delivered to classrooms.  They also took a copy of their sign home to teach their families.

Next they worked in small groups to decorate posters to hang around the school.  The poster making process lent itself to a conversation about working extra hard on something that is being created for a specific audience.

A few days later we headed out to deliver signs and hang posters around the Lower School.  The kindergartners were both nervous and excited to visit other lower school classrooms, but they rose to the occasion.  Many kiddos even spoke loud and proud to unfamiliar teachers and even entire classrooms of older students to tell them all about the project. 

It was especially exciting to watch our crayon box begin to fill up!

Now that we had (almost) worked our way through an entire investigation process, I was confident the kindergartners would be better prepared to take on whatever investigation topic might present itself next. They had learned how to look closely and notice, how to wonder, how to find answers to their questions (using their eyes and hands and brains, books, the internet, and experts), how to gather new information, as well as how to reflect on their learning.

Recently I had been thinking about a powerful quote by Dewey that says most of the real learning happens in the process of reflecting on the learning, so I didn't want to move on too quickly and bypass this important step. The kids had talked earlier about making a movie of our investigation (specifically to educate others about The Crayon Initiative), and a video seemed like it could be a powerful (and purposeful) vehicle for self-reflection and closure.  We started by spreading out our crayon documentation to help jog our memories, the kindergartners each took turns telling me important information they had learned, and then each kiddo chose a part(s) to explain about in the "movie."  Are you as impressed as I am by all the learning that stuck with them?!!

I'm not much of a producer, but here's what we came up with...

Our Crayon Investigation Video

Not only did the kindergartners learn a lot about crayons through the course of our investigation, but right off the bat they were able to discover that their learning has real world value.  What a great way to start the school year!

Can't wait to see where these curious little minds take us next...