Lewis and Clark Learns

By the time my kindergarten kiddos "graduate" to first grade they are amazing at jotting down notes about what they want to remember about their learning.  Thanks to a list of consistent guidelines that great researchers and notetakers do [used K-5], we are experts!  We start the year taking picture notes, then move onto modeling whole group note-taking, and then to taking notes all on our own.  Each kindergarten student "adopts" a beanie baby animal to learn about.  [We also read to and with our animal]  I developed a new way to organize our notes this year that has worked fabulously...finally!  The kids LOVE this process and feel so good about their success.  We use PebbleGo for our research. We spread out so the kids can listen to the info first before deciding the important information to jot down.  Kids worked at their own pace.  Some kids like the floor and some opt for tables.

Kindergarten building challenges, marble mazes, Rube Goldberg Machines, Coding workshop, researching, MakerKid's Club, reader reviewers, genre experts, Lego WeDo, train your robot...all that and more has happened in our library in the last few weeks.  Every grade level is busy making and thinking and researching and problem-solving and learning from failure and collaborating and reflecting and having fun while learning! Discussing plans and ideas before getting started...Smart! 1st graders finally getting to play with the marble mazes they have been working on. Lego WeDo...another experience in our 2nd grade robotics unit. First time working with Lego WeDo... completely focused.   Reading with an adult volunteer. Teamwork to create a fabulous Rube Goldberg Machine.  Researching with a split screen.  Working smart!  5th graders working independently on a video in our production room to promote Red Ribbon Week. Ho...

Kindergarten Research Project After several weeks of reading, learning, researching, and thinking, my kindergarten kiddos have finished their Hippo and Turtle nonfiction books. We used the stories of Owen and Mzee to guide us in our questioning and used other nonfiction books to answer the questions we had about hippos and turtles. I then put our information together into a book for the kids to add illustrations. Joseph's finished product is below...

Landmark Game 2011 results are in...Lewis and Clark tied for third place among 18 other teams. Way to go researchers. Hats off to Shoal Creek for placing second and Warren Hills for joining us in third place. It is going to be hard to wait another year for Landmark 2012...it is such a great learning experience for our 4th and 5th graders.