The Hoot Owls are branching out into a new adventure with their Terrific Trees Project Approach unit! Through hands-on exploration, storytelling, observation, and lots of curiosity, our young learners are beginning to discover just how much there is to learn about trees.
Solving the Mystery of Trees
To kick off the project, the Hoot Owls explored a mystery box filled with clues: a leaf, a piece of wood, an owl, an apple, a bird, a squirrel, and an acorn. The children shared guesses and used their critical-thinking skills to figure out what connected all the objects. After plenty of thoughtful discussion, one student excitedly announced the answer: trees!
Sharing What We Know
Before beginning a new project, it’s important to discover what students already know. The Hoot Owls dictated true stories and drew pictures about their experiences with trees. Their stories included how trees grow from seeds, trees in their homes and neighborhoods, and animals that live in trees.
During circle time, each child had the opportunity to stand in front of the class and share their story. This gave them a chance to build confidence in public speaking, practice expressing their ideas, and elaborate on what they already know.
Building the Project Together
Next, the Hoot Owls began creating a Topic Web, a growing document that captures what they know and what they discover throughout the project. Their initial ideas revealed knowledge about fruit trees, products made from wood, parts of a tree, and animals that live among the branches. As the project continues, the Topic Web will expand alongside their understanding.
The class also created a Wonder Wall to collect the questions that will guide their investigation. What do they want to know about trees? Which questions might lead to new discoveries? By grouping their questions into related topics, the Hoot Owls can explore their curiosities and revisit the Wonder Wall as new questions emerge.
Their fourth-grade buddies joined in to help! The older students modeled how to ask thoughtful questions and encouraged the Hoot Owls to share their own ideas.
Exploring Trees in Our Neighborhood
The Hoot Owls took their learning outside with a neighborhood walk to investigate the trees growing around Saklan. Armed with observation journals, they sketched the trees they discovered and looked closely at their different shapes and features.
With Zuly’s help and a tree-identification app, the children identified several varieties, including redwoods, sequoias, gingkos, and buckeyes. They noticed that many of the trees were incredibly tall. One child captured the excitement perfectly with the observation of the day:
“It’s like 7 miles tall!”
The group also collected a few spiky seed pods from a gum tree to bring back to the classroom for closer examination.
As the Terrific Trees project continues, the Hoot Owls will build on their observations, investigate their questions, and make new discoveries together. Through Project Approach learning, even a simple neighborhood walk can become an opportunity to think critically, communicate ideas, and explore the world with wonder!
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