The Hoot Owls have taken on a new inquiry topic: Space! Space is something that the class was very curious about, and just like any new inquiry, they started by asking questions. Amongst their many wonders, the Hoot Owls shared:
- “How come there is no gravity in space?”
- “Why is there an eclipse?”
- “What are the little red rovers on different planets?”
The class read Moon! Earth’s Best Friend by Stacy McAnulty, in which they discovered that the moon has different phases. Next, to address one of the student’s questions, “Why is there a moon in space?” the class watched a video about the formation of the moon. The Hoot Owls then created moon representations to showcase what they learned about the moon phases.
Since the Hoot Owls were very curious about gravity, the class watched a video that taught them that gravity is a strong force that pulls things toward the center. They learned that gravity is what keeps people on Earth and why things fall to the ground.
Next, the class read Sun! One in a Billion by Stacy McAnulty, which taught them that the sun is a dwarf star that gives us light. From Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years by Stacy McAnulty, the class learned that Earth started as a big flaming ball of hot molten lava, and then it cooled with long periods of rain until it formed land. The Hoot Owls also learned about the four parts that make up the Earth: the crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core. They were amazed to learn that the sun’s gravitational pull keeps the Earth orbiting around the sun.
To reflect on what they learned, the class made Earth representations by looking at a globe and water-coloring what they saw. They are also working to create a representation of the solar system in our classroom.
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