Hello all, and Happy Wednesday!
As we approach the spooky season, I wanted to re-share this fun activity originally shared on our Teaching with CLASS Podcast.
Halloween Curiosity Box
- Add items such as Pumpkin guts, spaghetti noodles with breadcrumbs, egg yolks, Jello, Marbles in dish soap, etc., into a box and cut a hole big enough for a child's hand. For the contents, think of spooky stuff! What could a child interpret as brains, worms in dirt, or eyeballs? (Have fun with this!)
- Have the children feel the items in the box without being able to see them and describe how they feel.
- Ask questions such as"do you like it or not like how it feels? Why do you or don't you like the way it feels?" By using just their sense of just touch, what can they explore and learn? What conclusion can they come to?
- Ask them about the traits of the objects, to guess what the object is, and what made them come to this conclusion. "How do you know it's pumpkin guts?"
- Then have the next student try, ask them if they agree or disagree, and see what they can add to the description from the other child
- One thing our guest shared that helped me to think of problem-solving is, "You aren't trying to expedite an answer; you are trying to shape a process in a human being"
- At this early age, you want to bolster not only the process but confidence in their abilities. By exploring how to come to these hypotheses and prompting these thought processes, you're shaping the way they solve future problems!
Can you think of any other ideas for these types of curiosity boxes for Halloween? Listen to the full episode,
Promoting Equity in Critical Thinking Skills, for a great conversation about STEM, Instructional Support, and Equity!
Best,
Allison
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Allison Bloomfield
Silver Spring MD
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