Similar to the beginning of the fall unit the winter unit begins with an activity that draws on what the students already know. A quick oral activity completed in groups culminates in posters which are hung on the wall to show publicly our collective knowledge and pique student interest in the topic to be discussed for the term. This being the second time through a similar activity the students are more able to recognize they already hold knowledge, they are also more able to work together sharing the load of the project and they are more able to efficiently accomplish the task in a shorter time frame.
As we move through a unit chapter by chapter, the students do a lot of work: thinking, connecting, discussing, writing, drawing. Each day we have science and each day we either tackle a section of a chapter or an activity, (experiment). These lessons are a lot about learning and using the discourse of science: I read aloud, they follow along, we stop and look at figures, notes and diagrams. We dissect the layout of the textbook as much as the concepts being covered. We discuss, question, speak, write and represent using scientific language and connecting to other places in the curriculum where the language crosses over. Below are examples of the written work the students do, each gallery is a class set of the different written activities completed in the first chapter of the winter term. When all students work is together in one gallery one can see the range of language, grammar, vocabulary, page organization, penmenship in one class; as well one can see the progress in comfort with layout and expanding scientific discourse. An interesting feature of this chapter is it also includes multiple opportunities for the students to express themselves in poetry and in representational diagrams and drawings.