Crystal Woodin's Kindergarten class connected with our team member Jenny Bortoluzzi for a JAWsome Skype Lesson and were inspired to dive even deeper into the world of sharks. They even created an amazing shark museum We love seeing how creative students can be.
Thanks to Ms. Woodin and her FIN Tastic students!!! You are amazing ambassadors for sharks.
The kids wanted to make this 17 ft shark because this week we are hosting a shark museum for our shark project. (When we skyped Ms. Jenny we saw the life size elephant skeleton bones behind her and that is exactly how this started) The students selected sharks for our project based learning topic so we have spent the last several months learning about sharks to the point that we have become experts ourselves. For the shark museum the students will represent all of their knowledge gained from the project to their families. During project based learning the children selected their own topic, asked their own questions and found their own answers. They DRIVE all of their learning. It was a continuous cycle of asking and answering their own questions. The teachers role shifts from the keeper of knowledge to the facilitator of learning. We used books and online videos to research.
We went swimming with sharks via green screen thanks to our librarian. We then also went diving with sharks in a different way using VR. Our instructional technology coach could not believe the facts the kids knew about the sharks when she was trying to teach them about them (they already knew ALL OF THEM). We collaborated with our art teacher to make clay shark models that will be on display during the shark museum. We also wrote informational fact texts cards to go along with our clay sharks because in a museum you see things on display and then learn new information. We then worked with our computer lab teacher and typed (those fact text cards into actual shark books written by the children using the app Write Reader. The books will be printed and on display at the museum as well to go with their clay models. We will of course be singing baby shark thanks to our music teacher. Everyone helped make this possible. A parent made us "shark expert" logos to go on our shirts for the museum since they said people who work at a museum wear uniforms. They have literally thought of everything and I could not be more proud.
King Bruce is now a school legend, parents and students keep coming down to our room just to see him. And today when we talked about what the best thing about kindergarten was they all replied learning about sharks.