Last Friday, our class had the wonderful opportunity of visiting Pilot Ryan at his airport! Not only was this a great way for us to see a real airport and airplanes in action, but it was a wonderful way to celebrate all of our learning as this incredible inquiry comes to an end.

Leading up to our visit, our students began to make predictions about what they think they might see at Pilot Ryan's airport based on what they've learned throughout our inquiry. One of our SK students (J.S.) decided to look up Buttonville Airport on Google Earth and inspired his peers to do the same. What came out of this learning opportunity was a chance for our class to create checklists for our special visit and what we hope to see when we're there:

When the day finally came, our students were beyond excited and we were happy to also have the company of our Community Class join us on our excursion! Smiles, songs and excitement filled our school bus and to top it off, the weather was absolutely perfect! 

Once we arrived, Pilot Ryan greeted us at the front doors and our adventure began. It wasn't long before "ooh's" and "ahh's" filled the building as we made our way to our "Classroom" for a Morning Meeting. This classroom was pretty neat - filled with pictures of airplanes, helicopters, maps and a real propeller! Pilot Ryan taught us about safety when we go out on the tarmac and had a few other Pilots come and assist us as we started our tour. 

Some highlights of our trip:

1. Students were able to make connections to various parts of the airport, airplane and job roles at the airport.

2. Students got to go up into the Weather Tower, talk and learn from a real Meteorologist and listen to the radio commands being given to pilots up in the air! 

3. Students learned how the Weather Tower measures how high the clouds are in the sky! A special machine shoots a laser into the sky and once a cloud passes over it, it bounces back down and tells the computer how high the clouds are!

3. Students got to see the flight simulation room where Pilot Candidate's practice how to fly.

4. Students got to sit in the cockpit of a real airplane, turn the yolk (steering wheel) and see what happens to the wings.

5. Students got to watch airplanes and helicopters taking off and landing every few minutes! They also learned that helicopters take off and land by going up and down and airplanes need to "zoom" down the runway to lift off!

For the "grown-ups" on the trip, we learned that Tom Cruise trained to be a pilot at Buttonville Airport and that John Travolta visits often (too bad we missed them during our visit)!

The pictures below are only a snapshot of all the wonderful things and conversations had while visiting Pilot Ryan at the airport! 

Flight Simulation Room

We would like to take this opportunity again to thank our wonderful Parent Volunteers who assisted us on our trip and to Pilot Ryan for hosting! Our students will always remember this visit and it truly was an authentic learning opportunity for them!

Pilot Ryan, we hope you enjoyed your "Thank You Book" from our class and we hope to see you again soon or maybe even up in the sky! 

Lego Airport

Thanks to one of our SK students (L.D.) and their parents for sharing this creative representation of an airplane, an air traffic control tower and a runway out of lego! When L.D. shared his creations from home today during our Morning Meeting this is what he had to say:

J.S. (SK): "How did you know how to build all that?"

L.D.: "Well, I looked in a book and it inspired me and teached me how it should look like and how to make it." 

Ms. Theis and I truly love hearing about our students' learning extending beyond the walls of our classroom. It makes our hearts so happy to know that our students are making such meaningful connections between home and school and sharing all that they know with their families! Thank you to L.D. and his family for letting us share these pictures and your creations on our blog! 

A Pilot Visits Airport 126

Last week, my DECE and I surprised our class with a visit from a real pilot! We thought what a better way to have some of our students' questions answered than by an expert! Prior to his arrival, our class looked back at our blog to review some of the questions we had around airplanes and airports with hopes that our visitor could answer them! The following video was put together to celebrate our learning from Pilot Ryan at our school's Good News Assembly on Friday and below is the interview our class had with our surprise visitor:

About Pilot Ryan: 
Pilot Ryan works for Toronto Airways and he teaches people how to fly and help them become pilots.

J.S. (SK): How does an airplane fly when it's so big and heavy?

"An airplane needs three things to fly: lots of speed, air and gas! Once it gets speed and goes fast enough the wings become weightless and then the airplane can fly into the sky."

T.B.: What places have you gone to in your airplane?
"My favourite place to fly to was Chicago and it took me 3 whole hours to get there! 

S.M.: Do you fly an airplane everyday?
"I like to fly airplanes when the weather is nice and sunny like today. It's the best time to fly because it makes it easier to see everything on the ground which helps make it safe and fun!"

I.D.: How do you fly an airplane? We learned from Daniel Cook that you can push and pull the steering wheel to make it fly.
"You have to use a whole bunch of controls and there's little dials called "instruments" that tell me how fast I'm going, how high and in which direction. The steering wheel is called a "yolk" in an airplane and you're absolutely right! When you pull back on the yolk towards your belly button the airplane will go up and when you push the yolk it will go down."

J.S. (JK): How does an airplane know where to land?
"Before you go flying, you have to make a plan using a map to figure out where you want to go and how you're going to get there. Bigger airplanes have something called "autopilot" and with that button the plane flies all by itself because of computers. It uses something fancy called a "GPS" and that tells the plane where to go. The job of the pilot then would be to monitor all the systems and make sure the plane is flying safe and using the right amount of gas."

L.D.: I have a GPS in my car! You have to push buttons for where you want to go and it tells you where to go. 

S.M.: What are all the buttons for in the cockpit?
"The majority of the buttons are all for emergencies. I have to go through a checklist before I can fly to make sure they are all working. The buttons that are in front of me are the ones I use and they are sometimes the "autopilot," radio buttons, gas buttons and safety."

L.D.: How does the pilot know where the airport is?
"We have the GPS' on an airplane and the computer will guide the airplane where it needs to go but there are also indicators on the ground that tell the pilot where to go and where you are. Every airport has different ones that tell the pilot where the runway is, what direction it is going, etc. If it's really cloudy outside then we use our radios and the airport workers help us navigate and guide us where we want to go."

Ms. Theis: Does an airplane need a key to start like a car does?
"When you have a small airplane you need a key to start it like a car. A bigger airplane needs the pilot to push a button to start the airplane. They have lots of different steps to take before it'll start the engines."

A.C.: What do the people in the towers do?
"People in the towers have a very important job to do. They help pilots when they can't see anything like when it is foggy outside. They tell pilots where to go and how to get there safely. They give directions on how to find the runway and how to land their plane safely. They also give pilots permission to take off and land on the runway so there are no accidents."

W.F.: Why is the airplane wing shaped like this?
"It is shaped like this with a curve because it needs to let the air go over and under it to help the plane fly. The gasoline is also kept in the airplane wings."

Pilot Ryan brought in his Pilot License too which looked a lot like our passports! 
"Pilots need a license in order to fly an airplane just like you need a license to drive a car. It looks like a passport but it also has all of my information about my health too. You have to be very healthy in order to stay safe when flying. You have to go to the doctor every year for check-ups."

W.V.: What is your special badge for?
"This badge shows that I'm a pilot and the role that I play when I'm at the airport. Different airlines have different pins for their pilots." 

I.D.: What do the stripes on your shoulders mean?
"The stripes on my shoulders mean the position I am in within a company. The three stripes mean I am a teacher. If you have two stripes then you're a "Second Officer" that sits at the back of the cockpit. If you have four stripes then you're a "Captain.""


Thanks to my wonderful grade partner Melanie (@mel4education) for giving us his name and helping to coordinate this surprise visit! 

We look forward to visiting Pilot Ryan at his airport very soon! 

Lorna Jackson Airline Update

Airport 126 has been quite a busy space in our classroom over the past few weeks! With flights going to Florida, China, Germany, Australia and beyond, our students have not only adopted particular roles which they felt were important (e.g. ticket agent, flight announcer, pilot, co-pilot, passenger, security guard, flight attendant), but they have truly shown eagerness and enthusiasm towards participating in this new transformed learning space.

Thank you to my wonderful Aunt who is a Travel Agent, for visiting our classroom and teaching us about what travel agents do, what belongs and doesn't belong in a suitcase, and surprising us with luggage tags, ticket holders and our very own airplane model! Your visit sparked lots of conversation around vacations and the steps to take once you arrive at an airport. Many of our students enjoyed sharing their own personal experiences from visiting places around the world and drawing and writing about them.  

This post highlights the student-led advancements within our dramatic play area as we continue to learn more 

about airplanes and airports! 

Here are some of the exciting additions to our learning space:

1. "Role Tags": Students decided that in order for everyone to know what role they are playing, they need a tag (e.g. ticket agent, pilot, co-pilot, etc). These are just simple clip-on plastic tag sleeves whereby students have written down each role.

2. Personal Passports: L.D. mentioned during a mini lesson that he needed a passport in order to go on his trip with his family. That comment led to much excitement as other students were able to make connections to having passports also. To support their idea, my DECE and I created a simple template for them to use. Each student filled out their passport and whenever they visit a new place, they get a sticker inside their passport to symbolize where they've been! It's been a hit!

3. Seat numbers: After reading many books about airplanes during our shared reading and read-aloud time, A.C., I.D., and C.M. decided that it was important for passengers to know what seat to sit in so they created seat numbers for the backs of our chairs. This also made it easier to fill in our Airline tickets!

T.B. (JK) decided to sort the airport word cards
around the carpet based on the first letter of
every word! Students saw and began reading all the
different vocabulary cards and making connections
to our airport! 

4. Luggage Scanner: After sharing A.C.'s creative representation of an "x-ray machine" at the Building and Constructing area to the class, she inspired a few students to make a plan for our giant cardboard box. R.L., T.B., I.D., J.S., and A.C. worked together to draw what they wanted our scanner to look like and what materials we would need to make it work. As a result, black streamers, tape and scissors were used to give it that realistic look! 

5. Security Computer and Checklists: I.D. brought in a book from home to share with the class that was all about airports. She noticed in the middle of the book that there was a picture of a luggage scanner! She also noticed that it needed a computer to see inside the luggage so she decided to create one to add to our airport. Similarly, a small group of SK's came up with the idea to make a checklist of "safe" and "not safe" items so that when luggage goes through the scanner, they can use the computer to check off what they see. Amazing!

This transformation of our dramatic play area has allowed us as educators to integrate, document and assess many curriculum expectations! Below are two short videos of three of our SK students (I.D., A.C., and S.M.) engaged at our ticket counter: 

(I apologize for the video being so small...it was much better quality on iMovie)

Oral Communication

BIG IDEA: Children are effective communicators.

1. Communicate by talking and by listening and speaking to others for a variety of purposes and in a variety of contexts. (1.2, 1.5, 1.7)

4. Communicate in writing, using strategies that are appropriate for beginners (4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.5)

Number Sense

NS1.3 Begin to make use of one-to-one correspondence in counting objects

NS1.4 Demonstrate an understanding of the counting concepts of stable order

Stay tuned for another update since we have another surprise visitor coming!

Blocks, Books and X-Ray Machines

Since the start of our airport a few weeks ago, our students have truly taken ownership over the learning space. In particular, the personal experiences and stories being shared by our students daily has really helped shape our learning and make the space meaningful to them. That being said, our students have found connections to each other which has allowed for an incredible sense of teamwork and creativity to flourish within our classroom! Moreover, with their interests and preferences at the forefront of our learning, collaborative projects are now underway to make our airport "more like a real one" (S.M.).

This post highlights the work of one of our SK students who used her schema, personal experiences and newly acquired knowledge to construct something spectacular in our Building and Construction area!

During our exploration time, A.C. decided to make an "x-ray machine" as part of our airport (now formally known as Airport 126). My amazing DECE and I noticed quite an interesting construction underway and wasted no time to jump in, dialogue and document her thinking. 

How it started... 

Here is how A.C.'s x-ray machine works:

Once A.C. was seen demonstrating how her x-ray machine works when scanning luggages at an airport, W.V. wanted to share his theory on how he thinks an x-ray machine works based on his personal experience at an airport:

Thank you to A.C.'s parents for letting us post these pictures since it truly helped make her thinking visible to all! 

How can an airplane fly?

Our Morning Meetings are always a wonderful opportunity for us as a class to reflect on the previous days learning, set goals for the day and share artefacts, sentimental items, and/or ideas and wonderments. With our classroom airport now up and running, our meetings have been filled with new and exciting learning moments and in particular, today's meeting was an extra special one! J.S. (one of our SK students) shared a "wonderment" that was brought up at home, specifically by his Dad:

How do the airplanes get up in the sky if they are so heavy and big?

What an excellent wonderment and it definitely got our students' minds-on to thinking about just how this could be! After some much needed "think time," our students were eager to share their theories behind such a puzzling concept. Here is what they had to say:

1. I know how they go up in the air. It's because they have a giant engine. - I.D.

2. I think an airplane can fly because of the wings because they are real wings. - R.L.

3. Well, you know the wings sore and then the pilot presses a special button and then it sores up in the air with the wings like a bird. - S.M.

4. I think it's the steering wheel that makes it fly because when you pull it into your belly button the plane goes up. We learned that from Daniel Cook. - J.S. (SK)

5. I think the airplanes go slow first, then they go faster, then faster, then even faster and faster and then it'll fly. - T.B.

6. The airplane are to go to the floor and then the wheels will turn and it go up the sky. - H.D.

7. Airplanes fly because it gets up in the air when the wheels go up into the plane because it is just in the sky now. - J.S. (JK)

8. Maybe when the airplane runs on the runway, it needs to go fast so that it can take off. - L.D.

9. I want to add to T.B.'s comment. Once it goes faster and faster before it's in the air you have to use the steering wheel because you have to pull it so that it will take off. - S.M.

10. It needs a ramp so it can fly. It has to be on the runway and then it goes straight and then it goes up and up and then it flies. - W.V.

11. When the bags go in the airplane's tummy, then it'll fly and now the machine will move and then the bags will move and in will go the airplane which makes it heavy but that's ok. - T.B.

How do you think airplanes fly?

Please leave a comment, idea, or question below because we would love to read your theories as we continue to investigate and learn more about airplanes!

Up, Up and Away!

The phrase "reaching new heights" continues to be evident within the walls of our classroom! Ever since our two Skype sessions with Ms. Callenbach's kindergarten class from New York City, the students in our classroom have not only been very busy writing letters and investigating the similarities and differences between our two communities, but they have used their prior and learned knowledge about the world around them to make incredible connections between our inquiries and their own personal experiences!

But just how far is New York City from Woodbridge?

How could we get there?

These questions led to a rich conversation whereby the following connections were made by some students:

"I went on a plane when I went to Punta Cana." - R.L.

"Me too! I went to Egypt on an airplane." - T.B.

"I went on an airplane to Bahamas with my family." - I.D.

"I went in an airplane and when it closed it moved. Airplanes are really big." - L.D.

"When my Mom went to America she went in a plane." - W.F.

"I watched movies on my plane when I went to Florida." - E.S.

"Airplanes can fly in the clouds because the clouds are air. It looks like fog." - L.D.

"You can fly in the clouds, up in the sky, look outside the window and see houses!"- S.M.

With airplanes becoming the headline of our conversation, our students (with little prompting) came up with the idea to transform our Dramatic Play area into an airport! When asked what we could use our airport for, I.D. replied, "Well, we need airplanes to visit all of the far away places on our "What Can You See?" map because they are just really far." The amazing thing is, our students' thinking didn't stop here. Many of our students began making connections to our Cloud Inquiry and talking about what happens when airplanes fly through clouds. Students also began talking about what airplanes look like and sound like when flying up in the sky and sharing personal experiences with each other! I think it goes without saying that my DECE and I continue to feel inspired by our youngest learners and how they can take their own learning to "new heights!"

Over the past couple weeks, the students in our class have shared many personal experiences and prior knowledge about airplanes, airports and vacations! Below are some of their initial theories around what they see, think and wonder when it comes to airplanes and airports:

What do you see in or on an airplane?

"You put your seatbelt, just like car." - T.B.

"There is a bathroom but it's really small. I saw a place where a conductor steers the plane too. Oh, the pilot is in the cockpit. I know that place because me and my brother we walked right by it." - S.M.

"An airplane has wings." - R.F.

"Windows." - T.D.

"You see lots of things when you see out the window." - J.S. (JK)

"There is like you have a number in your seat, so you know where you sit." - I.D.

"I saw tv's, magazines, books and stuff." - S.M.

"Jets make it go (turbines)." - J.S. (SK)

"To be safe, you have a life jacket and a mask. Something is for the mouth." - T.B.

Signs and posters being made for our airport

Who do you think has special jobs on an airplane or at the airport?

"I think a butler pushes the food carts." - W.F.

"I think people are helping the pilot on the plane." - I.D.

"I think there is another plane but it's called a jet." - L.D.

"I think that when the pilot lands there are people who tells them where to land and helps them where the plane lands." - L.D.

"There are passengers." - S.M.

"I know you need a ticket and bags when you go to the airport." - E.S.

 

As of last week, students have begun to create special job tags, vacation books, airport signs and giant wordles to make their thinking visible around their ongoing learning about airplanes and airports! With the giant donated box, our students have amazing and innovative plans to turn it into either a "baggage scanner" or the side of a giant airplane! Even our cockpit is under construction! Similarly, we have begun to create individual student passports to make being a passenger feel even more real since one of our students enthusiastically shared that you need a passport in order to go on an airplane! We know we are only just scratching the surface right now in our airplane inquiry, but we can't wait to see where we fly off to next with it! 

Our Cockpit under construction

Stay tuned for another update this week as we also have a "Surprise Visitor" coming in to teach us more about airports! 

New York City...China...Germany...Winnipeg...Mexico...British Columbia...and more - the sky is truly the limit in our classroom!