2. Starting Point The DiscoveryWhile playing on the playground,
some children noticed a hole. They explored the hole by pouring
water down it and watching what happened. We began to wonder, Where
does the water go? 3. First ThoughtsArmed with clipboards andpens,
the class studied thehole and recorded theirinitial ideas:- To the
ocean- To the pool- To the field- Down a deep, deep hole tothe ants
4. Investigation # 1Our first investigation was the field.
Thechildren walked slowly on the edge,noticing dirt and plants.
Through thefence, some saw manholes in the streetand others saw
construction. Perhapsthe water went there? Suddenly wefound large
drains and wondered if thiswas the location. At the far end of
thefield, an area full of water behind theguard house was noticed.
New ideaswere recorded on paper. 5. Investigation # 2We observed
the pool fromabove. Some peoplenoticed the water lookeddifferent.
Then suddenlywe found another largedrain. We were stillwondering so
we decidedto ask somebody. Ms.Jentried to call Mr.Gillepsieand
Mr.Campbell, but bothwere in a meeting. So wewrote them a note
asking ifthey knew where the watergoes. 6. Finding Out -
VideoMr.Campbell sent a video to help us find out more. Magic
School Bus Wet All Over helped explain about water evaporation and
pipes. 7. Finding Out Discovering How Water Moves On a rainy Monday
morning, we watched a gardener sweep the water into drains. We then
noticed drain holes all around our playground and school. Ms.Jen
gave us small pieces of pipes to explore. We brought the pipes
outside and used them to move water from the tap to the hole. The
pipes had to be connected and angled for the water to successfully
flow. 8. Finding Out Discovering How Water MovesNext the children
were givenpieces of bamboo to helpmove the water. The bamboowas
longer and water movedfaster. The students started touse the bamboo
to make riversin the sandbox. Small groupsworked together to
explorehow the water affected thesand and how to change theeffects
by moving the bamboo. 9. Finding Out Properties of WaterHow can we
use water to cook?The children were given rawnoodles. The noticed
thetexture and taste. Then theywatched as hot water wasadded. The
rising steam madesome think of the movieMr.Campbell had shown
them.The noodles sat in the hotwater then were eaten. 10. The
children explored theproperties of ice. Cold, washeard a lot. They
noticed theice melted and made coldwater. We moved the watertable
outside and the childrenworked in a small group to fill itup using
the tap and a hose.They noticed the water tablewas getting full and
it wasgoing to overflow. The groupthen collaborated to fill it
tooverflowing, after which theyemptied it using buckets
andcontainers. 11. Finding Out Properties of WaterAs the children
continued to explore filling the watertable and putting water down
the hole, thechildren began to use the words float and sink.The
water table was used to experiment withitems from the classroom do
they float or sink? 12. Finding Out Looking Under theSchoolThe
class went on a mini fieldtrip down the stairs tounder the school.
The areawas full of different colouredand sized pipes. Large
blueones were the air-conditioning; medium blackpipes were full of
dirtywater; small green movedclean water. The tiny redones were
mysterious: somethought they were for fireand some thought for
hotwater. 13. Finding Out Properties of WaterWe read a book
aboutfour birds who werethirsty. By the time itwas the last
birdsturn, Sparrow, thewater was too shallowfor him to drink.
Thechildren had to figureout how to get thewater higher soSparrow
could drink. 14. Finding Out Underground BookWe looked at thisbook
on thescreen andtraced the pipesunder the street.We comparedthem to
the oneswe saw in ourschool. 15. Sorting Out What do we know?Where
does the watergo?We shared our ideasusing a picture ofthe hole in
theplayground. 16. Final Thoughts On a Rainy Day It is the day we
have been waiting for! A stormy wet day was a great way to end our
investigation. The playground flooded, the gardeners were trying to
move the water to the drains and we saw water flowing all around
our school!
