Teamwork

Would you believe that our Swooper Citizens theme of the week is Teamwork? Mrs. Vanetti and I were discussing how this is the PERFECT topic for today. Yesterday, at 3:15 pm, we were told to prepare to hold classes at our alternate site in Goleta, as evacuation orders were being issued. Teachers worked together to pack up classroom necessities, rework lesson plans, and organize books and supplies. We helped one another load cars and worked through schedule changes. Talk about TEAMWORK!!!

When I arrived at Girl’s Inc. this morning, the large storage tubs that I had packed back in September were waiting for me in our temporary classroom space. All I needed was a pair of scissors to cut open the zip ties so that I could access the supplies! After a quick text to the teachers, a pair of scissors was delivered to my room, and I was able to get the classroom set up and ready for the day.

Fast forward to our Swooper Citizens lesson, we asked the students to describe a time when they either witnessed or were a part of an act of teamwork. We defined teamwork as:  Working together to accomplish a common goal.  Next, I showed the students some video clips and asked them to give me a thumbs up if the video showed teamwork or a thumbs down if the clip did not show teamwork. Have a look at some of the examples I used:

We wrapped up the lesson with a read aloud: The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza. I bet you know what that book is about! Teamwork!

Here’s some super high-fives for all the teamwork today. Yay!

Swooper Citizens Use Teamwork!

Our Swooper Citizens lesson this week focused on Teamwork. We began the lesson under the Pavilion where the giant parachute was set up. First, we brainstormed the meaning of teamwork: working together for one common goal. Students gave examples of times they used teamwork. (“Remember our play, The Rainbow Fish, Mrs. Delwiche? That was an example of teamwork!”) Next, I asked students to pick up a side of the parachute and try to make it work.

Next we added a ball to the mix to see if we could work together to get the ball to go into the hole in the middle of the parachute.

Would you believe that as soon as I stopped filming, the ball went through the hole?!!

We discovered that teamwork for this challenge required us to watch where the ball was and to either shake the parachute if the ball was close to us or to stop shaking the parachute if the ball was on the other side.

Back in the classroom, I showed students three videos and asked them to decide which videos showed teamwork.

Anyone else cringing at the thought of the one boys fingers getting too close to the door?!

It was clear to the students how each video clip did or didn’t show teamwork and what the common goal was. In order to give them one more example of teamwork, I read aloud The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza, by Philomen Sturges.

“The story of the industrious Little Red Hen is not a new one, but when this particular hen spies a can of tomato sauce in her cupboard and decides to make a pizza, the familiar tale takes on a fresh new twist. Kids will love following along as the hen, with no help from her friends the duck, the dog, and the cat, goes through the steps of making a pizza-shopping for supplies, making the dough, and adding the toppings. But despite their initial resistance, the hen’s friends come through in the end and help out in a refreshing and surprising way.”

We discussed how the story would have changed if the friends had used teamwork from the beginning of the pizza making activity. Of course, I spent the whole time singing the Wonder Pets theme song in my head….”What’s gonna work? Teamwork!”

Engineering in Kindergarten?

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You bet! Not only does Laguna offer weekly Lego classes for students, but in the kindergarten classroom, students enjoy time building and exploring kits made by the company GoldieBlox. Here is the idea behind the toys:

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This morning students explored the Zip Line kit and the Dunk Tank kit.

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Here, a group of students work to build the zipline action figure while others found a place to hang the actual zipline. Not only do these kits offer students a time to engineer, but it also fosters teamwork. Just look at this:

And who says GoldieBlox is just for girls?!  The boys in kindergarten love them as well.

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This year we are lucky to have Sarah Pousho, a Laguna Blanca alum and employee of the GoldieBlox company, as our speaker at the Science Fair. I am excited to learn more about this company. To learn more about GoldieBlox, click on the link below.

http://www.goldieblox.com/pages/about