To practice their “Scientist Thinking” this week, the Kinder students used a combination of traditional and 21st century tools. On Monday, they used magnifying glasses to take a closer look at some leaves I gave them as examples. They observed the similarities and differences. Then, they went on a leaf hunt, and collected some leaves from around the school. When we returned to class, they used an app called “Leafsnap” to take pictures of each leaf. The app, once a picture is uploaded, gives suggestions from its database as to the type of tree to which the leaf might belong. Because the app gives several recommendations for each picture, the students really had to study the information carefully before identifying each leaf.
On Friday, the students talked about bugs and different ways to sort them. We looked at the number of legs, the parts of their bodies (some students even learned about the thorax and abdomen of insects). A fun book by PopAR Toys called Bugs 3-D was used to see different bugs up close and personal. We were able to scan the pages, and see 3D images of samples such as ants, grasshoppers, and tarantulas. Each child got to scan a bug with the iPad, and we were able to project the information on our classroom screen for everyone to see. The interactive book included videos of the animals, as well as diagrams and fun facts. I think we all learned a lot!