Here's an example of how it all ties together for open-ended, experiential learning:
We are studying the idea of community. I have showed them different types and given them the correct terms: rural, suburban, and urban. On the bus to a play in Seattle, the students were identifying landmarks and buildings and determining that it was an urban community. Back in the classroom, we begin making our own community, thinking about certain elements such as providing a service or selling goods, business hours, marketing, pricing, etc.
With that, we had to start thinking about money. We use money everyday in our lives, and we will want to make money at our businesses right? So, I conduct several mini-lessons that introduce coins and their values and begin to make different combinations for one price.
Finally, we have been cooped up in the class with all this rain! So, I asked them, "Where does the rain come from?" The rain plays a huge factor in our communities based on opportunities for outdoor fun, infrastructure with roads, pipes, etc. Each child had an excellent hypothesis to share as we begin examining the properties of water. Here are some of their responses:
AL: I think it comes from little vapor.
VM: I think the clouds and sun make ice and falls as rain.
ZK, YK, RH: The clouds make rain.
MK: I think water goes to the sky, turns to clouds, then it rains.
Today we did a game where we were a water droplet. They traveled between the Earth and sky. Throughout many were beginning to wonder...Why do I stay in the ocean so long? and Why can't I stay in the clouds? (The colored beads represent where they have traveled to.)
And just when you think we are done, I circle back around in a different way. In the community, the students love writing letters to each other, so we wrote letters and had a postmaster visit us. Many of the students were surprised to learn that mail can be delivered by boat (ferry boats), planes, bikes and even horses back in the days! Look in your mailbox over the next few days to see who wrote your child a letter!
My overall goal with all of this? I don't expect them to remember every new vocabulary word, and I don't believe in giving them piles of worksheets that have them cutting and pasting pictures, or filling in the blanks. Rather, I hope that these experiences make their way into dinner conversations, and encourage students to continue to be careful observers and thoughtful scientists as they continue to discover the world around them.
