My day in the woods with the year two class was enjoyable
but also an interesting opportunity to talk to and observe children as they
explored the outdoors.
The task I led was making popcorn on the fire at lunchtime -
an optional come-and-go activity. The practicalities of the task were tying together
two sieves containing popcorn kernels in, tying the sieves to a long stick, and
put over the fire (avoiding setting the string alight) until popcorn is made.
I had a practise run by myself whilst the children were
constructing their dens and discovered that the stick I was using was not long
enough and it would be a safety hazard to have children sitting that close to
the fire. With a bit of help I found a longer one which was heavier but safer.
When the children came to make popcorn the longer stick
turned out to be better anyway; two or three children at once could hold it and
be at a safe distance. I talked to the children about whether they’d seen
popcorn being made before and I discovered that about half of the children that
participated had seen at home popcorn made from the kernels before, and half
hadn’t. I talked to the children about what they thought was happening to make
the corn turn into popcorn and with two boys in particular we talked about the
water inside the kernel and how it heats up/ gets excited etc. The girls were
less interested in talking about the science of what was happening and seemed
happier to sit back and watch me make the popcorn. The boys however tended to
want to talk and be involved and close to the fire.
A criticism of the activity is that the popcorn took a long
time to get going – a few children lost interest because they were just waiting
for it to heat up. The other thing was it was quite a lot for me to do on my
own and I had to stop early because my eyes were stinging from the smoke! However
another time this would not be a problem because Emma and I would take it in
turns. All in all, I think it was a successful lunchtime making popcorn!
As the children were only year 2 how did you judge how much detail to go into whilst describing the process? What methods did you use to check understanding? Hayley
ReplyDeleteI asked questions to see if they had any previous knowledge of popcorn (and also to tell if they were interested!). I judged the level of detail I could go into by the level of the children's interest so when I talked to the boys who I had a long conversation with, I went into a bit of scientific detail with them, but with some who weren't interested and just wanted to watch, I got them thinking about something less complicated, like listening to and describing the sounds the popcorn was making- less sciencey but still got them thinking about the process of kernels turning into popcorn. (zoe)
ReplyDeleteDid you find the children actually understood a lot about the process or was it through discussions with you that they developed this understanding? Lauren
ReplyDeleteThey definitely developed their knowledge of the process through our discussions.
DeleteSome had seen it before therefore knew what to expect, but didn't know WHY it was happening, which I feel I gave them an understanding of.
Others had never seen popcorn kernels before and thought popcorn came as they see it in the cinema, so for them, a far greater understanding of making popcorn was developed.
Overall everyone's knowledge was developed, just at different depths and levels of understanding. (Zoe)
This is just a comment, not a question, but because I missed the day, it was good to hear how the making of popcorn went Zoe! Just wondered - were any of them able to understand the process of the water inside the kernal heating into steam, until the pressure is enough for it to burst open?! Did you get a chance to talk about the kernal turning inside out, or was this too tricky to explain?
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a good time Zoe, such a shame I missed out on teaching this with you!
Emma
Oh Emma, 'this is a comment not a question' - then a question!
DeleteIn answer to your not-question, I did talk about the water getting hot and turning into steam, but I didn't mention the kernel turning inside out as I did not think that I could explain it efficiently.
The fact that the heat is what caused the change is something they all grasped very easily, and the few who I explained WHY it happened (due to the steam and pressure etc) seemed to understand the discussion.
Because the children only came in groups of about two or three, it was more like I was having informal chats with them to see what they understood and to try to further their knowledge.
It is a shame you weren't there, it was a lovely day!
Zoe