article and photos by Lillie Pardo

For the second part of the project-based social studies unit on how families show care, the Kindergarteners in Ms. Pardo’s class studied “food.” Throughout the study of food, lesson plans, or “learning events,” incorporated art, drama, reading, writing, math, science, and of course, social studies. Students learned about food in context of my family’s foods, special family foods, the origin of foods, nutrition and traditional Eskimo foods. This article will describe three different learning events that took place during the two months the class studied food.

Pop Art Project: For this visual arts lesson, which was co-taught with parent Emily Green, who is an artist, students were exposed to the work of Pop Artist Andy Warhol. They learned about sketching and the process an artist goes through to make a final piece of artwork. The first day, students sketched many different types of popular food such as cans of Campbell’s Soup, packages of cereal, Sun Maid raisins, Quaker Oats, Goldfish crackers and candies such as Dots, Junior Mints, M&M’s and Skittles. During this process, students learned that making mistakes is part of making art. Kindergartner Daisy said, “There are no mess-ups in art.” The next day, they chose one item that they wanted to draw for their final picture. So, they sketched that food again and using black marker drew over their sketch. Finally, they colored in their drawing with oil pastels. The students worked carefully throughout this process, as is evident by their attention to details.

Field Trip to Whole Foods: On a slightly wet, drizzly January morning, the students in Ms. Pardo’s class walked to Whole Foods Market. Ten enthusiastic parents accompanied the class on the outing, which was planned so students could learn more about where food comes from and healthy foods. Ms. Caroline Capizzano, the Marketing Supervisor of Whole Foods, guided the students through the store and taught the class more about the origin of the food they sell, what the word “organic” means and about recycling.

Throughout the tour, students sampled many different foods, including carrots, two kinds of cookies, organic chocolate, cheese puffs, cheese, Thai black rice with tofu and also pomegranate juice. The children also got to touch a mussel and clam from the seafood department and smell some delicious-smelling natural hand lotion. Afterwards, the class discussed the experience and what they learned. They drew pictures of their impressions of the field trip and wrote a thank you note to Ms. Capizzano.

Family Food Celebration: As a closure to the study of food and to learn about what makes food special to families, students and their families had a family food celebration on February 1, where each child brought a special dish to share with the class. The classroom was filled with wonderful smells of soups, salads, casseroles and baked goodies that day. A sampling of the foods brought included: Mexican hot chocolate, Indian chana masala, guacamole, Greek lentil soup, enchilada casserole, Greek salad, sushi finger rolls, brownies, cookies, and peach cobbler. Kindergartener Jack reflected, “I tasted some things that were new, and I liked them.” Students were so proud to share their special family foods with each other and everyone else who came to the celebration, including their parents, grandparents, younger siblings, Principal Karin Newlin, Assistant Principal Nancy Martorelli and P.E. teacher Mr. Wenger (who sampled ALL the foods!) Throughout the study of food, students made many connections to learning how food shows care.

An Integrated Approach to Project-Based Learning

by Tawny Dovico and Renee Marcy | photos by Tawny Dovico

Throw the lever! Flip the switch! Spin the bobbin! Drop the hitch! Blast four weeks into the past. When the frothy smoke dissipates and the magic time travel dust settles you’ll find yourself in the second-grade classrooms among young mathematicians working in small groups of four. The young thinkers are hovering over elaborate oil paintings by Beth Peck from The House on Maple Street. Having learned that artists, like storytellers, use varied modes to share stories, such as picture, symbol, line, and color, the students attempted to interpret the paintings and sequence them from past to present. “Why is there a horse-drawn carriage and a car in this picture?” one curious mind puzzles. Such was the buzz and hum as students collaboratively problem-solved and negotiated their various notions of “time.” In the background, suspended at eye-level, was a newly hung, and still bare, timeline for future discovery.

The construction of the timeline in each classroom was deliberately interactive, tangible, pictorial, and dynamic. The kinesthetically friendly timelines provide a rich concept-developing experience.

The second-grade project-based learning this year revolves around America’s Family Stories. Not only do students explore and excavate their own family stories, but also learn, interpret, and discover others’ stories. We have titled our project-based learning as “Our Connections” because it is our aspiration that these second graders will utilize storytelling as a means to understand and interpret history, but also foster empathy for their future.

In math, we began exploring perceptions of time and experimenting with non-standard measurements of time. As a whole group we used a life-size Thinking Map to document our prior knowledge about “time.” Our classroom transformed into a “time laboratory” for days afterwards. Strings and weights, popsicle sticks, and measuring tape composed all of our makeshift supplies for handmade pendulums. Empty water bottles, bags of sugar and salt, rubber bands, masking tape, and more were strewn about while teams of two buddied-up to construct their own hour-glass sand timers. Each partnership calibrated their own timer, thought up tasks they could perform, and then timed each other. “I can draw 34 stars in 62 seconds,” Anthony concluded! The kids were tireless with time! “How many pendulum swings does it take for us to get lined up for lunch?” Mady asked one day. “I think 80,” Phillip estimated.

Concurrently alongside these explorations, we challenged our recent discoveries about 2-dimensional relationships with 3-dimensional figures, and began thinking about the possibility of 4-dimensions: width, height, depth, and time… time travel to be exact! Bringing both classes together, we drafted drawings of what our very own time machines might look like. We watched clips from the 1960 H.G. Wells’-inspired film The Time Machine. Students used their skills from Readers Workshop to think about setting as time and place, as well as make predictions and inferences based on their knowledge of the main character and events. Many burgeoning scientists borrowed ideas for the engineering of their own time machine.

Our timeline, both the tangible one in our classrooms and our intellectual conceptualization in our minds, is indeed still “under construction.” It was just last Friday that the students were taking a walking trip along the timeline, and one student chimed in, “I think that Martin Luther King, Jr. could’ve been alive during the first Hanukkah.” Hmm… if he had a time machine, maybe…

text and photos by Lillie Pardo

The kindergarten school year began with learning about “caring,” which led to learning about “shelter” in early October. The guiding question for the whole unit was “How do family members show they care for each other?” To make a bridge from caring to shelter, each student made a sock puppet pal and gave it a name and a personality. Next, students thought about what their puppet pal would need to be cared for properly. When asked, “Where could it rest or eat?” some of the children answered, “It needs a home.”

After reading the book, “A House is a House for Me,” by Mary Ann Hoberman, students were asked to think about what they already knew about shelter, and this was documented on a chart. Next, they were asked what they wanted to know about shelter, and this was also written down. The questions they posed about shelter served as a pathway to guide inquiry for research and learning.

To further the exploration of shelter, the students worked in small groups of four to five to build tent shelters in the classroom using blankets and sheets. As they enthusiastically worked together to construct their shelter, they learned to work collaboratively and about estimation by guessing how many people could fit inside the shelter; then they tested out their guesses to see if they were correct. The students thought about their feelings while inside their shelter and what else they would need to be comfortable inside the shelter for a longer time. Students said they felt, “crowded,” “comfortable,” “great,” “soft,” “hot,” “safe”, “cozy,” and “good” while inside.

In a subsequent lesson, students thought about their own shelters and what makes a house a home. After discussion, they agreed that families, people, and love are what make a house a home. Students drew maps of their rooms and pictures of other rooms in their homes, which were made into individual shelter books. The students talked with each other about the activities that took place in different rooms of their homes and pantomimed these activities with a partner. A class graph was made showing each student’s favorite rooms in their shelters. Students discussed with each other why a certain room was their favorite and what they liked to do there.

To explore shelter construction, students became “researchers.” Armed with clipboards, paper, and pencils, they started with an exploration of their classroom and then school building—inside and out—to observe and formulate questions about different building features. Some of their questions included, “What are vents for?” “Why are there different types of floors?” “What is concrete made of?” “How was the play structure made?” “How was the school built?” An architect guest speaker, first-grade parent Kevin Mulcahy, came to talk to the students about building and helped answer their questions. He brought in building plans, scale models of houses, and samples of different building materials (concrete, ceramic tile, marble, granite, wood, metal, cork, linoleum) to share with the class.

In other lessons, students learned about animal shelters, arctic shelters, and shelters in different parts of the world. Kindergartener Ashley stated, “Shelters help keep animals safe so they can stay alive and protect their babies.” Kindergarteners learned that although many different types of shelters exist, shelters show care by protecting us and meeting our needs physically and emotionally. As a culmination to the unit on how families show caring through shelter, students used what they learned to design, build, and decorate a special shelter for their sock puppet pal.

by Alyssa Gonzales

What exactly is a neighborhood? If you had asked a first grade student this question in early September, it would have sparked a variety of personal responses. So how do we as educators take all of these wonderful ideas and honor our students’ individual input while validating their unique experiences? We ask more questions, of course!

The topic of neighborhoods lends itself perfectly to many opportunities in which students can gather data, explore their surroundings, and learn about their community. “Neighborhoods” is the overarching theme for the first grade project-based curriculum, Different Ways of Knowing.

Over the course of several weeks, students collected information to construct meaning to the question: What do we already know about neighborhoods? Children “zoomed” in on the sights and sounds of the neighborhoods around them through pantomime, paintings, and play.

Students took a walk through their neighborhood using their imagination. They pretended to hold a small video camera and recorded what they saw, smelled, heard, and felt. Using their senses as tools, the children were asked to share their images by pressing pause on their “recorders.” With the images fresh in their minds, students were asked questions like: What sounds do you hear? Are there birds or animals nearby? If so, what are they doing?

To compare and contrast differences and similarities among neighborhoods, students examined four art prints: Marc Chagall’s The Street, Philip Evergood’s Sunny Side of the Street, Winslow Homer’s Snap the Whip, and Anne Belle Lee Washington’s Sunday. Teachers then asked the essential questions: What shapes do you see in the painting? What time of day do you think it is? In what ways does this painting remind you of our school neighborhood? All of this inquiry gently guided the children closer to their goal of defining neighborhood.

As another part of the “neighborhood” study, all four first grade classes took a walking field trip in the school neighborhood in late October. It was a perfect opportunity to explore our community and learn more about what a neighborhood is.

First grade teacher Leeza Hamberger was asked to articulate what students gained through this inquiry-based approach. She explained, “Essentially, students gained a deeper concept of neighborhoods and relationships within their neighborhood community. Asking wonderful questions helps along a path of research. Organizing information helps students use this information to show what they’ve come to know…” All of these learning events help to develop critical thinking skills that are important not only in higher education, but also in life.

By narrowing their focus, students came up with a class definition of a neighborhood to create a common language for further inquiry. As a culminating activity, each of the four first grade classes showed what they came to know through artistic expression. Students collaborated and worked together (another essential skill for project-based learners) to create a large three-by-six-foot paper classroom neighborhood collage.

While students worked together to cut and paste the construction paper cutouts, each class had its own buzz in the air, its own uniqueness and energy—much like four mini-neighborhoods. When first grade student Ilsa was asked why she enjoyed learning about neighborhoods, her response was, “I like to learn about nature, living, and about people.”

By: Bebe Johnson

“Vogueing” like pros, they strutted the makeshift catwalk at LFCSA by twos and threes, pausing—with a bit of attitude—at the front of the stage to show off the t-shirts they had individually created the week before.

An invasion of supermodels? No, it was the culmination of Ms. Hamberger’s first grade class unit on clothes, and a great illustration of LFCSA’s project based curriculum in action.

“The whole thing began when we were studying about clothes,” Ms. Hamberger recalls. “Since the overall theme for the school this year is caring, we explored the different ways that clothing can show that we care.” Quizzing the children on the ways that clothing can show concern for others sparked an expanding notion of the roles clothing plays in the world.

As part of the goal of making each child an “expert,” “they all had to do research at home on questions they generated themselves,” Ms. H—as she is affectionately known—explains. “We are always trying to work with their critical thinking skills. We use a technique we call KWL—what do you know, what do you want to learn, and what did you learn.” As part of that process, each child did a survey of family members’ clothing choices and preferences; they also worked in teams to show how different fabrics might drape based on construction and fiber content and evaluated appropriateness of various garments for different activities. They even grasped the concept of supply and demand by setting up a mock clothing store where they made and sold paper “clothing,” using a pre-established spending budget for their wardrobes.

To learn about fabric textures and construction, the children wove paper textiles from construction paper. For garment making, they read books on pattern making and practiced sewing with string, all of which helped invest them in the learning process. Ms. H observes, “They’re so much more connected to the learning this way. Also, by having to work together, they’re experiencing real life situations, where you have to solve problems in a group.”

For many of the children, getting to apply their expertise on their own t-shirts was the highlight. With guidance from Ms. H and a handful of helpful parent volunteers, the children executed their creations to their own exacting specifications. “For some of the kids who seemed a bit stuck, I explained that they could filter their designs through their own interests.” Philip and Nikolai tapped into their love of Star Wars, creating starbursts from silver sequins and star fighters from shimmering textile paints. Colette, a budding marine biologist, created ocean layers with rolling waves, fish and mermaids. “They really had to think the design through,” says Ms. H, “and learn how to compromise what they wanted with what they could actually achieve.”

The fashion show seemed like a natural way to tie up the project. Naming the show “The Boys’ and Girls’ Spring Collection,” they practiced their fashion forward moves—choreographed by Ms. H—to hip techno music. A rapt audience of kindergartners, first graders and staff, and videography and popping flashbulbs from visiting parental paparazzi heightened the excitement of LFCSA’s first fashion event.

“When the show started, they really pulled it off,” their proud teacher beams. The students were proud, too. As Zahara pronounced after the dust had settled, “Ms. H, you’re just like Tyra Banks in America’s Next Top Model!”

By: Tawny Dovico

Early February brought with it bubbling excitement for Valentine’s Day. The notion of making letters and cards, sending them, and also receiving them in a reciprocal gesture of friendship and fun, inevitably fostered fertile ground for our organic discovery of the postal system.

While reading Ezra Jack Keats’ story, A Letter to Amy, students began to stir with ideas about family and friends that they’d want to write to. “I wanna write to Granddad in England,” Freddie said. “I’m going to write to Sheldon,” Maccabee added. “I’ll send my letter to my dogs, Monkey and Pepper!” Lauren exploded. “I’m mailing a whole package to Sonia in Texas,” Ella beamed.

For five weeks the students worked on drafting their letters through words, symbols, and pictures. Additional read aloud stories, a video presentation, discussions, peer feedback, and teacher conferences allowed the students to compose letters that were meaningful, thoughtful, and authentic.

The day of our field trip, March 29th, served as a culminating event that celebrated our hard work in Writers’ Workshop, as well as our coin investigation in our math unit on money. Our walking field trip landed us at a fairly quiet Fairfax post office. Knowing that they were no longer “just kindergarteners,” but genuine paying customers, the kids waited in line patiently for their turn to stand tip toe at the counter. Each student respectfully presented their money and selected a stamp that suited their fancy. Tristan thought carefully about the postage for his letter to Switzerland and Olivia beamed proudly when she found just the stamps for her Canada-bound letter to Papa Richard. Finally, each student ceremoniously hoisted their special letter into an indoor drop box or the shiny blue mailboxes outside.

Our field trip not only allowed us to connect with our local community, but also celebrated the writing journey that we have been on since September 2006. Visit our in-class Post Office center and enjoy browsing through copies of the letters that we joyfully sent.