Why Investigations?

So much of teaching (at least in my experience in independent school classrooms) is about making hard decisions. There are countless things we could learn/do each day and an increasingly long list of innovative (or even more traditional) ways of teaching them. In order to stay on track I find myself constantly asking - What do my students really need, and given what I know about them (and the world in which they live) what is the very BEST use of their time at school?

Sound and Instrument Investigation

It all started with a visit from the 7th/8th orchestra.  One morning they decided to practice in the first grade commons area and invited Lower School classes to watch. My kindergartners sat mesmerized as they watched the big kids play.  I could tell right away that music was an interest that spoke to many of them, and my suspicions were confirmed the very next day when I noticed several kiddos making paper instruments during choice time.  Since we were deep in the midst of our Lower-Middle-Upper school investigation, I filed the idea away for a few weeks...

Until one morning my daughter was headed to middle school with her violin in hand. The kindegartners gathered around as she opened up her case and revealed (and played for them too, of course) what was inside.

Lower-Middle-Upper School Investigation

For a variety of reasons we've had several older Stab visitors in our classroom this school year, and my class is always completely enamored with our visitors.  One day an upper school visitor walked in and the kindergartners rattled off about 20 questions for her in less than 5 minutes - all about things they wondered about her life in the Upper School. Clearly, they were interested in finding out more! 

Since the beginning of a school year in a brand new building is a perfect opportunity for learning more about the people and spaces around you...AND because of their unquestionable curiosity surrounding this topic, our Lower-Middle-Upper school was born.

Games Around the World Investigation (under construction)

Individual Investigations (under construction)

Our Rainbow-Chihuly-Waterbottle Investigation

Our Rainbow-Chihuly-Waterbottle Investigation was unlike any other, in large part because it seemed to never end. One of my main goals as a teacher this year has been to pause and give the kiddos time to think, remember, extend, and reflect. Since I'm the kind of person who tends to move quickly, slowing down and reflecting does not come naturally to me. Despite that challenge, I've come to finally understand that's where the real learning happens. Yes, in many ways this investigation went on and on and on - with a few other smaller investigations even happening in the midst of it. However, the slower pace and reflective mindset (especially toward the end) that guided our work allowed for a whole new level of depth, quality, and meaning.   

Our investigation all started with a rainbow obsession, but that's definitely not where it ended up! From the very beginning of the school year it was obvious that many of my kindergartners loved rainbows. Our drawing and painting and creating and building centers always seemed to be full of them.  

Our School Investigation

Most of our investigations in kindergarten arise out of students' interest and/or needs. However, I've always been curious to try an investigation that begins with a teacher-selected guiding question instead. I wanted a question that would lend itself to as much critical thinking as possible, and I also wanted one that would enable the kiddos to do the actual investigating themselves. Since we had already completed three interest-driven investigations so far this school year, January seemed like a perfect time to try something new.  

Our investigation began with the question, "What are the most important places at our school?" Since one of my main goals this year is to get those little brains thinking deeply as much as possible, we brainstormed a list the first day and the following day I challenged the kindergartners to explain their reasoning behind each suggestion.

Once our list was complete, we headed out to explore the Learning Village to see if there were any important spots we might have forgotten.  

Game Investigation

Our game investigation came about in the most organic and natural way possible, and it was the perfect fit for my particular group of kindergartners this year. One day someone brought a game to school in the share sack, and then all the kiddos gathered around after snack to play it. The following day our next sharer also brought in a game, and the same thing happened. It only took two days to VERY clearly see that this group of kiddos already had many of the social skills required for successful game play and that they absolutely loved doing it too.  

The countless benefits of playing board games are well researched and documented. Board games help develop...

• math skills - number recognition, grouping, counting, detecting patterns
• literacy skills - letter and word recognition, writing, sequencing, vocabulary development 
• social skills - communicating, sharing, taking turns, patience, being a good sport
• cognitive skills - problem solving, strategizing, decision making, critical thinking, logic and reasoning skills, cause and effect
• ability to focus and persevere
• friendships and a sense of belonging and community through shared fun

Squirrel Investigation

It all started with a pretend squirrel restaurant outside (isn't fall such a perfect time to explore outdoors!), 

and an ongoing LOVE for Scaredy Squirrel books...

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.   

Individual Nature Investigations

As our bee investigation was wrapping up, the kindergarteners began bombarding me with questions and suggestions about what we would investigate next.  The more they questioned and suggested, the more of a sense I got that they were ready to branch out and investigate on their own.  I have never done individual investigations and was concerned about the time constraints (only 2 1/2 weeks left of the school year!), but nevertheless I decided to give it a go.  Recently I had listened to several podcasts about Genius Hour and was inspired me to see what this type of individualized learning might look and feel like in a kindergarten classroom. I wondered what I might sacrifice from the learning and discovery process by letting kids investigate on their own rather than collectively, and on the flipside I wondered what my students and I might gain from the experience.  I often think of our investigations as a process of learning and discovering through projects and then ending with a final project that helps us reflect or make a difference in our own little corner of the world.  This experience, however, would be markedly different.  I wondered...

• Would there be a collective energy and excitement in the room even though our topics were all different?
• Would the kids care about their topic for more than a few days, or would they start to become more engaged in classmates' topics?
• Would they learn as much about their topic without doing little projects to make their learning come alive along the way?  And, would that matter?
• Would this type of learning process feel as joyful as our typical investigation process?
• Our investigation project ideas naturally emerge as we explore and wonder together, so how would project ideas emerge when kids are learning on their own?

Clearly this individual investigation process was going to be as much of a learning experience for the kiddos as it would be for me!!

I had noticed many of their recent investigation suggestions stemmed from things (other than bees) they had been noticing outside (isn't spring such a perfect time for little people to wonder about nature!), and I also had a hunch that making sure their topics could be seen and touched would make for deeper learning...so we settled on the broad topic of nature around our school.  Under that umbrella, the kiddos were free to investigate whatever their little hearts and minds desired.

We headed outside to notice, explore, wonder, and of course PLAY!

Bee Investigation

In the process of thinking about, talking about, and observing signs of spring together with the kiddos, I narrowed our next investigation topic down to the bees. Not only had the kids been noticing (and running away from!) lots of bees on the playground, but I also knew this topic would give us an opportunity to tie in some service work...which hasn't happened yet with any of our investigations this year.

Guinea Pig Investigation

To say that my class this year loves my guinea pig (Strudel) would be a massive understatement! They love watching him, feeding him, petting him, talking to him, writing notes to him, reading to him, 

holding him, 

Hot Air Balloon Investigation

It was hot air balloon season in Charlottesville.  Each morning as we passed our green sharing ball around the circle several kids were telling us about the hot air balloons they had seen on the way to school, and the rest of the kids were excitedly shaking their hands and heads in agreement. This morning routine continued for several weeks, so our next investigation was born.

We began by drawing and telling each other stories of hot air balloon sightings or anything else we already knew about them...

And we compiled our knowledge into an anchor chart...

Theater Investigation

If there's anything I've learned over the past 3 years it's that ANY topic can make for a literacy rich, joyful, challenging, engaging, and wonder-filled investigation, with plenty of opportunities to build and create along the way.  In fact, some of my favorite investigations have been our most unusual ones (spies and games and a magic door, just to name a few).  It's the kindergarteners' job to be playful five and six year olds full of curiosity and wonder, and it's my job as their teacher to figure out what interests and motivates them and help facilitate a learning journey around that big idea.  

In the process of preparing to act out a Halloween story for the other kindergarten classes (each K class chose a book to explore all week and then perform), I discovered how naturally all things theater (and storytelling) related come to this group.  In fact, the mere mention of the idea of putting on a show sparked a whole new choice time obsession in our classroom.  Not only did they spend the week preparing to act out our Halloween story, 

Our Nature Investigation

I've read a lot recently about the role of driving questions in project based learning (both at the beginning and/or end of investigations) and wanted to give it a try with my kindergarteners.  I was curious to find out whether or not starting an investigation with a driving question would elevate the quality and depth of what we would accomplish along the way.  Rather than just learning about a particular (and undoubtedly fascinating!) part of nature, I wanted to focus our learning around the deeper question of "Why is nature important?"  One thing I've learned for sure is that kindergarteners can and DO think deeply, as long as you give them the time and space to do so.

I began our investigation by adding some spring themed provocations to our environment.  The kids made nature bracelets outside, started talking about and creating artwork with flowers, and began telling fairy stories in our newly created imagination (small world play) center.

Space Investigation

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...

Pet Investigation

A new non-fiction book about baby animals in our classroom library sparked an exciting conversation about pets, which ultimately led to the beginning of our new investigation.  I knew the kindergarteners were ready for an investigation that would still be hands-on but could also incorporate a bit more of a traditional research element as well.  Plus, talking about our pets would be another great way for us all to get to know each other a little bit better and learn about responsibility and caring for animals in the process.

Simple Machines Investigation

When this group of kindergarteners arrived at the beginning of the school year, I noticed right away that many of them were interested in motion.  In fact, ramps and marbles were such a big hit back in August that we put them away for a while because the kids' collaboration skills weren't yet strong enough to handle their level of interest.  Over the past months I also noticed kids kept building things with wheels that moved really fast.  Catapults made from our Lincoln Logs kept appearing as well. Right before winter break our sneaky gingerbread men ran away, so the kiddos came up with the idea of building traps to catch them.  That's when I first noticed a real interest in pulleys too.  Thus, our simple machines investigation was born.  I had a feeling a simple machines investigation would be a productive and thought-provoking way to channel all their excitement and interest in movement!

Homes Around the World Investigation

A number of students told me at the beginning of the school year their hope was to learn about the world.  However, the world is not exactly an easy concept for five or six year olds who are still trying to understand the difference between Charlottesville and Virginia to fully grasp.  I wondered how I could make the topic of the world more concrete and meaningful for them.  Our school had also been engaging in professional development around topics of diversity and inclusivity.  These conversations got me thinking about my role as an educator who puts great value into growing what I do out of students' interests versus my responsibility to help grow my students' thinking by exposing them to topics they might not be naturally drawn to themselves.   And finally, I was hoping to begin an investigation that would get more of my students building with recycled materials so they could grow more comfortable engaging in the design process independently.  Thus, our homes around the world investigation was born...

We began as close to home as possible - by carefully sketching and painting our own houses.  There was a lot of detailed fine motor work that went into their artwork!

Ant Investigation

For a wide variety of reasons (strengthening our observation skills, learning to use books and the Internet as valuable resources for gathering new information, developing our critical thinking skills through thoughtful conversations, and strengthening our capacity for empathy by taking an ant's perspective) I had secretly wanted to explore ants for a while.  When we spotted a bunch of ants outside the K classrooms, I knew it was the perfect time to (hopefully...assuming the kiddos were interested) begin our new investigation.  We wondered, Why were there so many ants? Where were they all going?  Some of the kids were completely fascinated by what they saw, so we grabbed the iPad to snap a few pictures for reflection when we got inside.

Before we delve into an investigation, I'm always curious to see what the kids know (and/or misunderstand) about the topic.

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.  

Spy Investigation

It all started with the spy gear. Over and over again kids were creating various pieces of spy equipment during choice time. And it wasn't just a few kids...it was almost all of them! So we headed into very un-chartered territory with a spy investigation.

Farm Investigation

One of my students REALLY wanted to bring in one of her chickens to share. We had just finished space the night before and Easter was around the corner (and this particular chick lays colorful eggs), so it seemed like the perfect time.

Space Investigation

Our exploration of space happened in a flash!  Winter weather slowed down the culmination of our games investigation, yet the Kindergarten Moon Party was only a few weeks away.  So, we started as we often do...by activating our brains and thinking about what we already know about space.

Games Investigation

Our games investigation grew out of my desire to challenge the kids to interact, create, and play in new ways. They had grown very comfortable building structures out of recycled materials in our creation station and building (and engaging in dramatic play with) castle/house-like structures in the block area, but I was beginning to notice that the same kids were often choosing to do the same things (and thus interact similarly) over and over again.  I wanted to push them out of their comfort zones and challenge them to communicate, collaborate, and problem solve in new ways.  

I'd also been reading a lot recently about the power and value of "game-play" in education and selfishly wanted to experiment with it (admittedly, in a very low-tech way) a little bit.  Thus, I set out some games on a shelf in our classroom.  I sat back and watched what (if anything) the kids would do with the games in order to gauge interest in the topic.  Within a day, they were already busy playing...

Nocturnal Animal Investigation

We had just returned from winter break and found out that a representative from the Virginia Wildlife Center would be coming to speak to us all about owls at our upcoming assembly.  It seemed like a good time to learn a bit about owls and see what direction it would take us.  We began by sharing some of the things we thought we already knew about owls...

Castle Investigation

It all started at the beginning of the school year with our literature unit on fairy tales. One day the kids helped me think of commonalities they had noticed among fairy tales, and I just happened to record their answers on a chart shaped as a castle.  From there, several children requested help learning how to draw their own castles.  I noticed a number of kids beginning to build castles in the block area as well.  Thus, our castle investigation was born.  Well, not exactly.  Before we proceeded we delved into a few more preliminary activities to gauge interest.