The school year is just a few weeks old, but we are already hearing of exciting plans and developments from our Water Inquiry teachers. As we prepare for our first teacher roundtable session at the end of the month, the student members of the Water Inquiry team wanted to share our initial reactions to various project launches.

The Rain Yard, designed by Stacy Levy and installed at the Schuykill Center for Environmental Education in Philadelphia.

Catherine: What excites me is the possibility of collaborations between grades as well as interdisciplinary connections. Too often, learning is done in a vacuum, and what a student learns in third-grade science does not seem at all applicable to fourth-grade English. That’s why I was particularly intrigued to hear that 2nd and 3rd grade teachers from the Smith College Campus School are working together as a team to design their projects. I am also interested in ways of studying water inquiry that are not directly connected to science. Early ideas ranged from collecting water outside in some sort of artistic installation (from Katy Butler at Jackson Street School) to writing personal stories about water and creating geometric-based drawings to illustrate the story (from Renee Bachman at Leeds School). Since water is all around us, I am excited to see ideas that will make this theme as ubiquitous and present to students as water itself.

Ruth: While reading the observations about water from the 2nd and 3rd grade students at the Smith College Campus School I noticed repeated questions and observations about water moving objects around it. This brought up questions on the power of water. How strong is water? What can it move? How does water move these objects? This inquiry both noticed and then investigated by students opened up many other areas of study into the strength and power of water. I am excited to see if this topic continues to be pursued by students along with new discoveries and exploration into the different roles water can play in our community.

Allyson:  As I read over the email responses from August, I was struck by ideas from the teachers at Jackson Street School. Ms. Garcia plans on structuring her kindergartners’ study around the question “Why is water important?” This essential question lays ground for years worth of scientific understanding, supported by Ms. Garcia in the form of observations, books, discussions and exploration. The social implications of this question may also be discussed in the form of another essential question: “Who controls water? Is this fair?” In the first grade, Ms. Butler plans on structuring her inquiry around the questions “Where does water come from?” and “Where does water go?” Plans to go outside make me wonder what questions will be stirred up by the quest to ‘track’ water. (A word of advice: another teacher recommended that students definitely bring a change of shoes!) I can’t wait to see how her wall space for collective learning and idea building develops over time.

Both teachers plan to continue their water inquiry throughout the year. I hope that students in these classrooms will connect water studies with other scientific topics they cover. The fact that these students are a year apart also presents an interesting opportunity for both classrooms. I can certainly image a group of kindergartners and first graders standing at a classroom window in the winter making group observations about the icicles forming outside.

Welcome back to school! We are very excited for the year ahead and to see what directions the Water Inquiry project takes. This year’s plans for the project will be discussed in a later post, but before getting started, we would like to take this opportunity to introduce the student members of the Water Inquiry team. We look forward to visiting your classrooms and sharing water resources throughout the year.

Catherine Bradley is a junior at Smith College majoring in history and minoring in education. She has a strong interest in informal learning experiences and making educational resources such as museums, libraries, and archives accessible to all. Catherine spent her summer literally surrounded by water on the island of Nantucket, where she enjoyed swimming, biking, and exploring the island’s natural beauty while also interning at a historic house museum.

Allyson Ciccarone also attends Smith College and began her work with the Water Inquiry Project during the summer of her first year. Now a junior, she continues with student-centered engagements in settings both inside and outside of the classroom, including after school programs and tutoring. Allyson plans on teaching  history after gaining her certification. While passionate about her major, she is also interested in English Language Learners, shaping learning opportunities outside the classroom and developing creative methods of teaching. Over the summer, she worked two jobs while indulging in semi-regular hiking trips and days at the beach.

Hannah Searles is a sophomore at Smith College majoring in education and psychology. She plans to pursue licensure to become an elementary school teacher and is particularly interested in exploring science with young children. She spends her summers as a camp counselor working with preschoolers and kindergartners and finds herself constantly inspired by them to wonder “why?” about the world. During the year, she is a diver on the Smith swim team and spends most of her time immersed in water.

Ruth Neils is a freshman at Smith College planning on majoring in Environmental Science and Policy and minoring in Education. She is interested in environmental elementary education and spent this summer interning at a nature center helping to develop and lead environmental education programs for children between four and ten years old. In her free time Ruth enjoys biking, swimming, and reading.