Wailele's Water

Expert Speaker about Wailele
Seated on the sloping hill next to Wailele, the first- and second-grade classes enjoyed a thought-provoking discussion with Hank Howlett, Director of MPI's Facilities and Maintenance.  Mr. Howlett provided the students with an abundance of information about the spring on campus, and the students asked questions that we have been pondering since the start of our inquiry. 


After our talk with Mr. Howlett, the children reflected on what they learned:

What did we learn from Mr. Howlett?

• We’re not sure how old Wailele is.
• Wailele’s water comes from Manoa Falls.  It has an underground tunnel like veins.  
• It’s not polluted.  It has organic material from the things inside the pond, like the turtles, crayfish, and fish.  
• If you boil the water, you could probably drink it.
• Trash blows in.  People sometimes throw in trash.
• It’s a spring.  Underground water feeds the water source.
• We’re not sure if it ever had hot water.
• The fence was for protection for little kids who don’t know how to swim and might drown.  Also dogs, cats, and other animals.  
• Wailele used to be really big.  When they built the fields, they put concrete around the edges.
• Water never flows uphill. It always flows down.
  
• Sea level is the level of the sea.
• Elevation is the height between sea level and the height we’re at now.
• Sometimes when the water is really high, it goes out of the spring and onto the field.
• When the water gets high, it goes down the drain, down a bigger drain, into the Ala Wai Canal, and into the ocean.
• The water goes from the roofs to the broken pipe to the field.
• When the water is low, the spring gets dry, so the maintenance workers put water in it so the fish and turtles stay alive.
• There are one big turtle and three small turtles.  The turtles grow every day.  Somebody put the turtles in the spring.
• Water sometimes goes through the cracks and onto the field. They’re working on the drainage pipe.  They’re working on cleaning the spring of trash.
• When it rains, the water can flood the field (make puddles). It fills up the spring. The water can evaporate, or it can go into the ground (percolate).
  

Thinking back to our previous questions...

• Where does the water come from and go?
• Why is there a fence?
• Is the water polluted?
  

    What hypotheses were correct?

• The fence is there so people do not fall in.
• The water is not polluted.
• The water comes from the back of the valley, the underground tunnels or rivers, and then it goes to the ocean.

Our class has been working with Ms. Revard's class throughout the inquiry process. It really adds to the insightful comments when we have the ideas of 36 children and two teachers!  The first- and second-grade classes have also been videotaping the discussions and the path of our inquiry.   We're looking forward to sharing the inquiry process using a podcast.  The teachers are experimenting with iMovie and editing all the video clips.  It's a great opportunity for us to reflect on our teaching, the students' learning, and the use of technology to capture and convey all the wonderful learning that occurs at MPI!

Most of our discussions and learning have focused on the science of Wailele (in particular the water cycle).  Next week, we will turn to the culture surrounding Wailele.  Ms. Graves and Mrs. Montes will be sharing what their sixth grade students discovered about life in ancient Hawaiian days, at the time when MPI was founded, and in the present day with respect to Wailele and water.  We're very excited to learn from the sixth graders and their teachers!

Jack, Sumo, and Rascal
With the addition of a large aquarium for our Jackson chameleons, we set up house for Sumo and Rascal.  During our Jackson chameleon research, we read about how chameleons are not sociable animals and will fight to defend their territory against other chameleons.  Some students pointed out that there are numerous chameleons in a cage at the pet store.  We figured we'd give Sumo and Rascal a chance to be roommates.  At first their housing situation seemed to be working out just fine.  However, conflict quickly arose during math class.  Being the keen observers that the children are, they noticed a combat breaking out in the aquarium.  "Ms. Field, the two Jackson chameleons are fighting!"  Sumo and Rascal have not been trained in peer mediation like students at MPI, so rather than try to resolve the situation we realized that Jackson chameleons truly are territorial and the only solution was to separate the two animals.  It was quite thrilling to witness animal nature in our classroom.  Sumo opened his mouth, hissed, and turned light green.  He also turned sideways to appear bigger than he looks from the front.   Rascal was not intimidated, and had it not been for the intervention a fight would have occurred.  With the removal of Rascal, Sumo is now content, but curious about Jack, who is in the neighboring cage. 

Thank You
Thank you to the Ramirez family for letting us borrow a large aquarium to house one of our Jackson chameleons (at the moment, it's Sumo).  Thank you to the Kim family for bringing in a "Chameleon's Bento" consisting of plump silkworms and mulberry leaves for our four-legged friends.

Posted at 7:53 AM| Permalink

Guess What's in the Buckets? February 21, 2008

What's in the Buckets?
On Monday, I "surprised" the class with two "things" that my brothers found over the long weekend.  Two buckets sitting atop a shelf housed the surprises, and with anxious anticipation the students wrote down their predictions, explained the reasoning for their predictions, and came up with questions they would ask me to find out if their prediction was correct.  After brainstorming during Writer's Workshop, the students shared their questions with the class, and I proceeded to answer the questions.  Before revealing the "surprise," the students' questions taught them the following about what was in the buckets: The "surprise"....does not live in water; is a vertebrate; does not lay eggs; is not a cannibal (usually); has horns; is not a plant; is not a type of fish; sometimes changes color; does not eat leaves; is a reptile; eats crickets.  After hearing these hints, the children cheered, "It's Jackson chameleons!"  The children enjoyed the show-and-tell with both Jackson chameleons.  The small guy was the first one out of the bucket, but he ran too fast and scampered around the carpet...the class now calls him "Rascal."  The big boy's name is still up for debate: either "Shaq" (since he's so large), "Victor" (since he would be the victorious one in a fight), or "Struck" (since he was almost struck by a car in the street before he was picked up).

Due to the voracious appetites of these creatures, keeping them as class pets was initially out of the question.  However, the children have stepped up to the plate, and some of them have volunteered to take turns bringing in crickets and the likes for our Jacksons.  It's thrilling to watch the Jackson chameleons hunt their food.  Yesterday we read about Jackson chameleons and discovered that their tongue is one-and-a-half times as long as their body.  No wonder they can be perched on a twig and make a meal out of a cricket on the other side of the cage.  We've also been coming up with great word problems about our class mascots.  If there are 3 Jackson chameleons in a cage and each Jackson eats 8 crickets a day, how many crickets do we need to put in the cage each day?  Thank you to LW and ER for bringing in crickets and "yummy" worms for Jack, Rascal, and Big Boy (for now).


Thank You
Thank you to Torry Montes for coming to our classroom to teach us about adoption and celebrate EM's Happy Adoption Day!  We loved learning about EM's experience and enjoyed the delicious homemade brownies.  Thank you to JH for the special rice krispee treats!

Posted at 7:54 AM| Permalink

Writing Enthusiasts! February 15, 2008

Valentine's Day Writing
Our classroom was filled with future Hallmark-card creators this week.  It was heartwarming to witness the eagerness with which the students created valentines for their family and friends.  Sentiments of friendship and love were accompanied by illustrations of colorful hearts and flowers.  A holiday centered around writing and expressing friendship to others...I love it!

First Grade Math
In Unit 6, the first grade mathematicians are focusing on number composition, whole number operations, and proper representation of mathematical thinking.  The students are enjoying playing math games such as "Make 10" and "Tens go Fish" to develop fluency with combinations of 10.  Have your child teach you the rules of these games, then play along with them at home!

Valentine Gathering
We had an afternoon of Valentine partying, thanks to the planning of Room 11 parents.  The children loved decorating (and devouring) cupcakes, designing Valentine bags, putting the finishing touches on their valentines, and sharing and reading cards with their friends.  Thank you to Laura Adams, Wendy Handa, Ann Loo, Karen Mento, Tracy McConnell, and Donna Wong for all the help with our Valentine's Day party!

Posted at 10:23 AM| Permalink

Kung Hee Fat Choy - February 8, 2005

Rainy Day Adventure
On a rainy morning last week, our class journeyed down to the Wailele spring to observe the effect of rain on it.  Dressed in raincoats and rubber boots, the children tromped through the soggy football field on their way to the spring.  It was tempting to go puddlehopping, but most students resisted the urge and walked around the large puddles.  When we arrived at Wailele, students were pleasantly surprised at how much the water level had changed.  The rocks that were above water a couple weeks ago were now submerged.  Water was also quickly flowing down the drain on the side of the spring.  As the students first predicted during our "pre-rain" visit, the rain does make the water level rise.  We're very curious about where the grated drain in the spring takes the water.  Hmmm, that's what we're investigating now.

Water Cycle
The students are learning about the water cycle, and this week our class began practicing a Readers' Theater Script: Water Cycle Adventure.  Each student selected a part for our "play," which focuses on the adventure of a raindrop and the process of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.  The "cast" includes the sun, ocean water drops, water vapor, a cloud, snowflakes, glacier ice, stream water, river water, reservoir water, tap water, water in a drain pipe, and a sewage processing plant.  The children are reading their parts with expression and confidence!

Celebrating Chinese New Year with Lion Dance and Festivities!
Lion dancers and drums filled the elementary school with energy and excitement yesterday.  In celebration of Chinese New Year, the Chen family organized a lion dance troupe to visit our school.  The students and teachers were thrilled to have the lions come into each classroom and bring good luck for the new year.   Mrs. Chen brought in supplies for each student in our class to create their own lion mask.  Kung hee fat choy!

Thank You
Thank you, TC, for bringing in lots more crickets for Mr. Jackson.  We appreciate the endless supply of food for our four-legged friend.  Thank you to the Chen Family for organizing such a wonderful cultural experience for the whole elementary school.  The children loved the lion dance, making masks, and eating dumplings and mochi rice cake to celebrate Chinese New Year.  Thank you to Mrs. McConnell and Mrs. Wong for helping with the lion dance festivities.  Thank you to JH and TC for bringing in items associated with Chinese New Year.

 

Posted at 7:55 AM| Permalink