Our inquiry into weather began with a windy day outdoors in our Full Day Kindergarten backyard. Windmills were placed in the garden for the children and provoked immediate curiosity and interest!
(PSI: SE 13.2- make predictions and observations before and during investigations)
Children began to watch the windmills daily, noticing the days they moved quickly and the days that they hardly moved. Educators prompted deeper thinking by asking, “Why do you think that might be?” The children came up with ideas and theories prior to conducting their own research:
Little Miss L: “They move fast when the sun is out!”
Little Miss A: “Umm…they move fast when I do this!” (makes a blowing motion)
Little Mr. D: “The windmills are moving fast today.”
Little Mr. G: “They are moving fast because the wind is blowing and when the wind is not out they don’t move.”
So we created a weather team that began to research, “Where does wind come from?” The children went to the Library and collected books about wind. They recorded their information and presented their findings during Sharing Time.
[DLMB: SE 11.10- retell information from non-fiction materials that have been read by and with the educator team in a variety of contexts (e.g., read-alouds, shared reading experiences), using pictures and/or props.]
During play, children were also given the opportunity to visit the Art Studio and choose various materials to show “What does wind look like?”
[BC: SE 30.2 – explore a variety of tools, materials, and processes of their own choice (e.g., blocks, puppets, flashlights, streamers, castanets, rhythm sticks, natural and recycled materials) to create drama, dance, music, and visual art forms in familiar and new ways]
As the children learned more about wind, they began to notice how the clouds moved on windy days. We lay out on the grass, watched the clouds and used our imagination to find animals and shapes in the clouds.
Our weather inquiry continued as we took a closer look at how clouds are formed and the various types of clouds. Informational texts were placed on the Inquiry Table so the children had the opportunity to research and create the types of clouds they observed each day.
[DMLB/PSI: SE 10.1- demonstrate an interest in writing (e.g., choose a variety of writing materials, such as adhesive notes, labels, envelopes, coloured paper, markers, crayons, pencils) and choose to write in a variety of contexts (e.g., draw or record ideas in learning areas)]
[All Four Frames: SE 22.1- communicate their ideas about something (e.g., a book, the meaning of a word, an event or an experience, a mathematical pattern, a motion or movement) through music, drama, dance, and/or the visual arts]
Check out our latest blog titled “The Weather Report” to see how the inquiry further developed and the children culminated their understandings. The Weather Report
Overall Expectations Represented
1.(All Four Frames)-communicate with others in a variety of ways, for a variety of purposes, and in a variety of contexts
2. (SRWB)-demonstrate independence, self-regulation, and a willingness to take responsibility in learning and other endeavours
3. (BC/SRWB)-identify and use social skills in play and other contexts
9. (DMLB/PSI)-demonstrate literacy behaviours that enable beginning readers to make sense of a variety of texts
10. (DMLB/PSI)-demonstrate literacy behaviours that enable beginning writers to communicate with others
11. (DMLB)-demonstrate an understanding and critical awareness of a variety of written materials that are read by and with their educators
13. (PSI)-use the processes and skills of an inquiry stance
14. (DMLB/PSI)-demonstrate an awareness of the natural and built environment through hands-on investigations, observations, questions, and representations of their findings
22. (All Four Frames)-communicate their thoughts and feelings, and their theories and ideas, through various art forms
Full Day Kindergarten Document 2016
(Four Frames)
Blog written by:
Journey Together FDK 
Love this inquiry and the connections to the four frames, Bravo, thank you for sharing:)
Thank you for sharing, as when we read about other classroom experiences and how we tie in the 4 frames, it gets easier to make connections for documentation.
We are all in this together! Glad our learning experience offered insight! 😊
fantastic! loved reading