This week we started a new study about buildings. This study features five investigations that we will explore. The investigations offer children an opportunity to learn more about the characteristics and features of buildings, the people who build them, and the role buildings play in our communities. Each investigation will also help children explore science and social studies and strengthen their skills in literacy, math, technology, and the arts.

As a group, we built a city with houses, a space center, a farm, and a skyscraper.

One of our focus questions was, “Which would you use to build your house: straw, sticks, or bricks?” Each student had a chance to vote and tell the class what material they would use and why. We tallied our answers and then read the book, The Three Little Pigs. After reading the story, we discussed each house and the definition of the word “collapse.”

In pairs, I asked the boys and girls to walk around the room and count the doors. Each student tallied the number of doors they found on a clipboard. I was impressed that they counted cabinet doors, refrigerator doors, and the doors in the barbie house. We counted twenty-one.

After the boys and girls observed 2 boxes with different items in them, I asked “Which has more, the box with the blocks or the box with pigs?” Each student recorded their answer by placing a mark under blocks or pigs. We then counted the items to see whose prediction was correct.