Student writing from our Observation Window
Our Wonder Center
When I stood back and looked at my resource room, I realized that I have very few places of wonder and discovery. My EC kids struggle with writing, especially in coming up with ideas to write about. Wonder Centers and Projects seem to be wonderful ways to help them learn to observe and question. They would be ways of broadening their sometimes very narrow world and I feel it would benefit the various grades and ages that come through my door every day.
The first Wonder Center I plan to implement is the Observation Window. My window looks out onto fields, a mobile home, a road, a small grassy area where I plan to add a bird feeder, and a school parking area. There are chickens that roam in the yard of the mobile home. There is plenty to observe out my window which would lead to plenty to write about.
A second center I plan to add to my classroom is the Discovery Table. Some of my students haven’t traveled much out of Yadkin Co. so that would be a great way to bring the outside world to them as well as to explore their own backyards. I think I’ll start the center by bringing in my own seashell collection and then encourage each student to bring in something they have found or collected that is special to them.
The Wonder Center is also something I would like to start right away. Some of my students don’t seem to wonder about things, don’t question things. I’m hoping that once we start the center that they will begin to ask about how things work or why things happen so their world can become larger. Some seem to need to be taught how to question. It doesn’t occur naturally. I think they are very capable of learning how to do that.
I would also like to implement One Small Square, especially as the weather warms and the world starts to change. I love the idea of using all the senses- not just sight, which most of my students rely heavily upon. I am hoping that this will make them more aware of what they see as well as hear, feel etc. utilizing all of their senses.
My hope is that these Wonder Centers will help my students’ worlds open up which will give them many ideas for writing and will especially help them to notice details , to elaborate, to ask, to wonder and most of all to realize there is a whole lot to write about in very simple everyday things.
April 6,2011 Because of limited time with my 3rd grade group, I decided to go ahead and try the one small square with my 4th graders. I wasn’t quite sure how this age would work so I had my fingers crossed. It actually went much better than I had expected. I did really have to work at getting them to look beyond what they first saw, whether it was grass, a rock, etc. It did take a few minutes to get them to see that there was so much more. It was also amazing to see the difference in the abilities of my third grade group, the ones I’m been working with all year on this writing, and this 4th grade group. The third grade definitely has the advantage. Anyway, we spent maybe 20 minutes on the squares and used them on two separate locations. There was definitely a huge difference from the first observation to the second. There was much more detail the second time. Even with the older group, they could see how when they use all their senses they can add so much more detail. I do plan to do this activity with my 3rd graders when we finish our individual writing. There’s just not enough time in the day right now. I also still plan to bring in the guinea pigs and crabs but that will again have to wait until we finish the books.
Linda B's Blog 
Posted by lboh55 on February 7, 2011 at 12:41 pm
This week I implemented the Observation Window in my classroom. Being an EC teacher doesn’t allow as much time to work on writing as the regular classroom does so I thought this center would be one that the students could utilize whenever they had a free moment. I bordered part of my window with a printed bulletin board boarder at eye level to the kids when they are sitting . I also placed two chairs there. At first I took the class to the window and observed something myself, noting as much detail as possible. I wrote what I saw in my journal as I talked about it. I then gave each child (4) the opportunity to tell about what they were seeing. As we went along, the descriptions became more and more detailed. One of the students even noticed that the lines in the brick wall were parallel and intersecting, bringing in the math!!! It was very obvious that they were not used to noticing the fine details, at first just naming what they saw. It didn’t take long for them to begin to add more and more details. They were shouting them out.
We also talked about things we wonder about. There were plenty! The one that threw me was, ” I wonder why mud is orange.” We checked the Internet but finally had to go to the Science teacher for that one! Later, when other classes came in they asked what the observation window was for and some went and sat down themselves and noted what they observed. It was a lot of fun for them as well even though I don’t serve them in writing!
There is plenty to observe out my window and I plan to add more. As the season changes there will be dramatic changes out the window and much to wonder about.
Posted by lboh55 on February 13, 2011 at 9:16 pm
February 13, 2011
This week was very busy with the new center I began, the Wonder Center. It took my students a while to begin coming up with questions on their own but once they did, at least for some, they never stopped. They at first wrote down questions from their observations out the Observation window such as why is dirt brown, Why do birds sit on the telephone wires and why are there cracks in the sidewalk? Later in the week they branched out a little and thought of questions other than what they observed out the window. A couple of my students are having a very difficult time thinking of questions or things they wonder about or want to know more about. I am trying to find out different things they are interested in to help them want to know more. They just draw a blank or ask a question someone else has already asked. For a start that has to be OK, but I do hope as we talk more and more about the questions asked that they will begin thinking of their own.
As with the Observation window I have opened up the Wonder Center to all of my students, not just the few I have for Written Expression. They are really enjoying adding to the list. Friday, I chose a few of the questions to talk briefly about and how I went about finding the answers to the ones I didn’t know. I talked about looking in books, the Internet and asking someone who is an “expert” in the topic. The science teacher has become invaluable to me and I encourage my kids to ask when they don’t know, again something difficult for many of my students. We also took a minute for the students to tell what they thought the answers to some of the questions were.
I “built” the wonder center on the doors of a cabinet in my room. I made a section for the questions bordered by bulletin board borders and taped a library card pocket to the door which holds a sticky note pad and pencils. There are two pictures of children taped to the door as well saying “ I wonder” and Hmmmmmmm. I’m looking forward to using this center to teach my kids HOW to question and HOW to wonder about things
Posted by lboh55 on February 19, 2011 at 6:13 pm
This week we continued the Wonder center and the Observation Window that were already up and running. I did add a bird feeder to the Observation Window which greatly added to what the kids could already observe. It was only a few minutes before the birds started flying in. Several students wrote how the birds flew down to the branches first then scouted out the place before landing on the feeder. They wrote about how the birds were carefully observing their surroundings to make sure it was safe before they started eating. One connected how the birds were observing just like they were themselves. The added movement gave the students new material to write about. They really enjoyed watching the birds and went to the window every day to see if any were out there.
I plan to bring in my hermit crabs next week to add a pet center to the classroom. I also plan to bring in my Guinea pigs for a day or two for them to observe. We aren’t allowed to keep them at school but I can bring them back and forth for a couple of days.They are very active and I’m sure they will give the students plenty to write about. We are working on adding interesting verbs to our writing and I think the animals will be a great asset to the classroom in helping the students come up with more interesting verbs to describe their movement and activities.
Posted by Linda B on March 20, 2011 at 6:47 pm
Because of the amount of time we have needed to work on our class and individual writings we have not had as much time lately to use our Wonder Centers. I only have 40 minutes a day in which to cover math, writing and reading with my students. We are nearing the completion of our individual non fiction writing so hopefully will be able to get back to the Wonder Centers at least for a little while before beginning the final individual projects. The students have continued to write questions they wonder about and I still do find the time to answer them. There just isn’t a lot of time for them to respond in writing. They just quickly jot something down in the notebook before we begin work on projects.
Something else that has come from the Observation Window is that it has extended to other classes with the same view as my classroom. The next door 3rd grade teacher came over to tell me several of her students couldn’t stay away from the window , watching the many birds drawn to the bird feeder I put up. I told her to have them write about it as well so our window has extended to include others. I thought that was very exciting. I also have a 6th grader who regularly comes in, goes straight to the window and briefly writes in the Observation Window notebook. He comes to me for math only but still loves to write about what he observes.
As the season is changing, I have asked the students to write about the changes they are seeing out the window. I had one to only notice the way cars were parked differently than before but most were able to pick up on the seasonal changes. As time allows I do hope to bring in my hermit crabs and guinea pigs and to use the one small square. These activities have definitely opened up my student’s eyes as to all the options to write about. I just need more time to give them. That’s just the nature of the EC program. We have made great strides and will continue to do so as we are able.
Posted by fryeem on March 13, 2011 at 10:33 pm
What a HUGE success Linda! I love the way you created the Wonder Center from the cabinet…you most definitely made the most with your space! Have you brought in the Hermit Crab and Guinea pigs yet? Keep us posted!