It was a beautiful, warm day at Bogus and today’s focus was all about ecology. The highlight of the day was crawling into the igloo that had been made by our instructors! We learned about animal adaptations and were challenged to run up a fresh bank of snow WITHOUT snowshoes to show how important adaptations are for survival. We especially enjoyed playing “Food-Water-Shelter” to demonstrate how animal populations can become unbalanced and what healthy populations look like in relation to the resources available to them. And, of course, no outdoor experience is complete without a game of Camouflage!

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This week we began our provocations for our Unit of Inquiry: How We Express Ourselves.

Provocation #1: The Physics of Sound

We began our lesson talking about instruments, particularly the manner in which we handle and care for instruments. I explained that Mr. Hamilton and Mrs. Benton had generously allowed us to use one of the most expensive instruments our school owns. We talked in depth about handling them gently, with reverence and responsibility. They then closed their eyes in anticipation while I handed each student a……TONGUE DEPRESSOR! After a good laugh, I challenged the class to use the tongue depressors to compose Mary Had a Little Lamb. They began with tapping, and moved onto plucking. They began to experiment with pitch as they shortened and lengthened the tongue depressor on the edge of their desks. This first provocation was just the beginning teaser into our next Unit of Inquiry!

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Provocation #2: What Messages Does Sound Convey?

In this second provocation, students listened to three organisms making sound: an infant crying, a beaver tail striking water, and a bird’s song. They were asked to brainstorm what messages were being conveyed by each organism.

Provocation #3: What Emotions Can Sound Convey?

Students were tasked with recording the emotions they felt while listening to seven compositions from popular movie sound tracks. Talk about passion and engagement! The class was so full of anticipation as each composition played, and overcome with the very emotions conveyed by each piece!

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And on Friday we were finally able to unpack our new Unit of Inquiry!:

Save the date, families! We are looking forward to sharing all we’ve learned during this unit at our exposition on February 12th from 2:30-3:30!