Migration!
/Continuing our Unit Study focus on animals in winter, Whales began to explore how and why animals migrate as the weather changes. Our study has been interdisciplinary; examining the concept through numeracy, literacy, art and physical movement.
Early in the week, Whales used the SMARTboard to sign up for a migrating animal that was of interest to them. The next day, our classroom looked like an artist's studio. We spent quiet time studying our animal in more detail, using an artist's eye to paint beautiful watercolor representations of our animal.
With help from our amazing Whale parents, students researched their animal at home, looking at where their animal began migration, and where it traveled to when the weather became too cold. We have begun sharing details about our animal, and are mapping their journey South. We looked at distances on our map, measuring the travels of each animal and comparing and contrasting our results.
We introduced a new game at our Numeracy Table. We are pretending to be migrating birds! We draw a card that tells us what happens to us on our journey south. Sometimes we catch strong winds that help propel us forward, and sometimes we are slowed down on our journey when we are unable to land in lakes that are polluted and dirty. We use our ruler to measure our progress forward and back. We love the game!
To wrap up our week, Whales went for a geese migration walk (or run!). We talked about the fact that geese fly in a V formation, taking turns being the goose in front. Whales agreed that the goose in the front would "probably have to work the hardest, because being the leader is hard!" We talked about geese using a honking sound (we practiced this A LOT!) to communicate to one another, making sure no one gets off course. When we began our flight, we made sure to fly in a southerly direction, stay in formation, flap our wings like crazy, and HONK, HONK, HONK!
