Children
have curious minds and need to further explore all the questions that come to
their minds. It is important to provide the children with a chance to
investigate the questions that pop into their minds. When it comes to the big
idea of a life cycle, the children might pose questions such as what stages a pumpkin goes through or how a pumpkin becomes a pumpkin?
The
children can plant their own pumpkins starting with a seed. With this, the
children can physically see how a pumpkin goes from the tiny seed into a big
vegetable. The children may have the opportunity to communicate and record
results and finds after constructing things either individually or in groups
within the science and technology curriculum learning area (Ministry of
Ontario, 2010, p. 119). The children can see what is occurring during the life cycle
process as their seed grows into a flower and then to a pumpkin. They can
document each step and communicate their findings with each other or on their
own.
Children
might also pose questions such as how tall is a pumpkin or does the size of a
pumpkin determine the amount of seeds that come inside. This is where
mathematics would come in to place. In the mathematics curriculum learning
area, the children may sort, classify, and compare objects and describe the
attributes used when grouping the size of the seeds (Ministry of Ontario, 2010,
p. 110). The children can have the experience of taking out the seeds from the pumpkin
and sorting them by size while also counting how many were inside.
With
mathematics the children can also measure the width and height of different
sized pumpkins. They can compare the results found and communicate their
thoughts on what they discovered. Within the mathematics curriculum learning
area, they children may compare and order two or more objects according to an
appropriate measure such as height and weight of the pumpkins (Ministry of
Ontario, 2010, p. 102). The children may come up with predictions and questions
on why some pumpkins grew larger than others and why some pumpkins were tiny.
It is with these questions that can lead the investigation further into the
life cycle process. They can plant their own pumpkin seeds and use different techniques
such as fertilizer or more sunlight.
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