Dinosaur Bones: More than Research

On November 7, 2006, the Dinosaur Bones Group met again to further discuss their earlier drawings of dinosaur bones. A big part of reflecting on our work is to rethink and rework our previous ideas. As they revisited the bones, the group noticed that the skeletal drawing did not accurately represent a dinosaur’s structure. The children’s plan is to redo their drawing, but first look at a book for a better understanding of a dinosaur's skeletal system.

The four members of the group sat down to look at one book. This collaborative research proved to be a challenge in itself. At this point, the teacher decided to sit back and listen to the children’s conversation. They all have great knowledge of this subject and were very interested in sharing their ideas as they were inspired to from page to page. Sharing the opportunity to talk and be heard and being able to turn the page to a certain picture was a challenge the boys found hard to work out.

JD: "A triceratops has four legs."
CH: "What about the T-rex?"
GA: "It’s only two."
CH: (looking at the book): "It’s the biggest dinosaur. It’s a brachiosaurus."
CH and JD both flip the pages in different directions.
CH: “Wait, I need to go this way.”
JD: “I know, I know.”
JD: "I call it diplodocus."
BM: "I saw one of those. It bit my mom."
JD: "You’re skipping pages."
GA: "Let Jake see what he wants to see. Then I need a turn to look.”
Looking at a picture of a Triceratops:
GA: "You have to put a Band-Aid on it if it pokes you."
JD: "And you have to put ice on it."
GA: "If I’m a bad guy, I want to shoot him, but it’s a whole cool shield."
CH: "It protects him, right?"
GA and JD: "Right!"
GA: "How come I don’t get to talk?"
The children turn the page to a dinosaur egg:
BM: "Ooh, poopy."
CH: "No, it’s not."
GA: "These are fossils."
CH: "No, it’s dinosaur eggs."
GA: "No, they have to be like the eggs you eat."
CH: "No, dinosaurs come from ovals like this." (Pointing at the picture of the dinosaur egg)
BM: "It’s a fossil, no, no, no."
GA: "For goodness sake."
JD: "I have tons of animals."
GA: "Ooh, me too. I have 60,000."
CH: "Do you know I have a dinosaur that is blue, and you can twist it, and it destroys my house?"
JD: (turning the page) "I want to see something."
CH: “I’m still looking.”
GA: "What page do you want? You had lots of turns. When do I get a turn?"

Right away, the teacher realized that the group’s focus had moved from dinosaur knowledge to turn-taking and social structures. Without realizing it, the group was falling into small group roles that would facilitate this small group meeting. The children were continuing their learning and experience of small groups, which at this meeting were more important then the initial plans to redraw. The group spent the rest of the meeting time conversing, listening, questioning, and bonding as members of a small group. Through these kinds of small group meetings, the children are fostering their own dispositions to respect oneself and others and to be part of an enterprise or whole. They are also building the foundation that will lead to other dispositions, such as to think critically and imaginatively, to seek clarity, to explore, and to intrinsically enjoy learning.

Posted on January 5, 2007 1:38 PM | Permalink