Play Doh 3 WAYS

Welcome!

Too hard, too soft.  Too wet, too dry. Less of this, more of that.  Just right.

INT: 3^rd GRADE CLASSROOM - MORNING

Several ingredients on the table.  Students divided into groups of 3-5.  Measuring cups and 3 plastic pales per group to mix the ingredients, plenty of newspaper to cover tables.  The Internet is available/optional.

                                                    TEACHER

The kindergarten needs Play Doh and your job is to make it for them. Here are some samples of Play doh they prefer.  Feel them. Think about how you might combine ingredients to create a “perfect” Play doh. 

You must work as a team.  Good Luck.  You may try three different combinations of ingredients and decide which recipe is best.  Have fun!  And tomorrow you will explain to the kindergarten how each variable makes a difference and how you came up with your winning recipe. 

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I wanted to jump in and BLOG a piece of “concrete” curriculum.

Learning to think through the variables in any project is the real beginning of thinking through the project.  Reflecting and sharing the process is helpful too.

Do teachers sometimes deprive students of thinking time in an effort to keep things rolling?  Or do we do it because we already have the answers?

There is “talk” in education circles about making the teacher more of a “guide on the side” instead of a “sage on the stage.” A handy topic for my next post.

Thanks for reading (more soon.) –L

P.S. Your thoughts, questions, insights are always invited.