This
learning group was inspired by our students interest in the observing the moon
in the sky both at night and during the day. We then showed them a projected
image of the moon in the sky on the wall, and this led to exposure to movies of
the sun, stars and comets in space that were projected onto the wall. During
other explorations, the students were also very interested in turning different
lights on and off. These two observations of the children’s thinking has formed
the big question, “Where does light come from?”
When
first introduced to the image of the moon, Casey and Mustafa identified it but
were not as interested in it as they were when on the walks with their parents. So
then I projected a video of the sun onto the wall and they were intrigued by
the movement, the colors that they saw. At first, Casey identified it as the
moon, and then he placed his hand on the wall and said, “Hot!” Jad made the
connection between the projected video and the red cellophane that he then
placed over his eyes to look through at the image. It wasn’t until we projected
a video of stars that the children made the connection that they all give off
light. When Connor saw the stars, he pointed up at the projected video and
said, “Light!” When Abigail saw the projection, she looked at the wall and
said, “Wow,” in soft whisper.
After
this exploration, we went on a search around the building for different lights.
We walked into the art studio and observed where the lights were and then in
the teachers office. When the lights were turned off, it became very dark and
the children found flashlights that they turned on and pointed at each other
and on their bodies. When we explored the lights in the seminar room, they were
very interested in where the light went and where it came from when the light
was turned on and off multiple times. They would turn their heads in search for
how it happened. This showed us that they the children knew the light came from
somewhere, so the next exploration we decided to have them explore light
sources that they can directly manipulate.
We brought out the tap
light that created stars on the walls and ceiling when turned on along with the
other tap lights and flashlights. We had them in the darkest part of our
classroom so when turned on; the children were able to focus directly on the light
source that they manipulated. As Mustafa turned the tap light on and off, he
would look around the room to observe what was happening when he turned it on
and off. When a teacher would turn a light off, Mariana would say, “Turn light
on!”
The children have explored how they can control where the
light comes from and whether there will be light or no light. I wonder what
their ideas are of how they get the light and where it comes from? Do they
associate it with the on and off switches? Are they curious how light can come
from all of these different things? I intend to further explore these questions
with the children to gain a better understanding of their thinking.
