During the first few weeks of school, it is important for students to feel comfortable and excited about materials they will use frequently. I like to engage students in what we call a guided discovery - an opportunity for students to explore materials with imagination and confidence. On Wednesday (Day 1), we explored our most common classroom materials: markers, pencils, erasers, and colored pencils. The goal of this activity was to not only provide students with time to actually explore how these familiar tools work, but to establish and teach routines for their usage, care, and storage. On Thursday, we explored our classroom library books as we talked about finding what we need, caring for these very well-loved books, and placing them back in their homes.
In the afternoon, we spent much of our time exploring math manipulatives (pattern blocks, base 10 blocks, geoboards, unifix cubes, and coins). Children are encouraged to use the materials in any way they choose - building structures, making patterns, designing, etc. This allows students to familiarize themselves with the physical attributes of each material, and also gives them a chance before we dive into curriculum to get the "sillies" out when working with block-type manipulatives!
At the end of each guided discovery session, we gather as a class and share what we explored. Together students share their thinking, offer ideas for the future, and share the results of working in groups. Most importantly, children are guiding their own learning.
