Sunday, April 10, 2011

Wonderings


As I gaze out my library window at home, I see the once bare maple tree has changed a bit. Red buds dot the tips of its branches. I wonder when those bare branches will be covered with leaves this year.

Tomorrow morning the fourth graders with whom I am focusing on inquiry learning will come to class with a list of wonderings, things they wonder about. Each day as I walk or run or simply observe my surroundings, I wonder about many things. I shared my list with them on Friday.

Why does a double rainbow have a VIBGYOR order for the first and a ROYGBIV for the second?

Why do some dogs bark at approaching strangers and some ignore them?

What makes worms come onto the streets and sidewalks during rain?

Will there always be agates to find in Minnesota?

Why were green, yellow, and red the colors chosen for traffic lights?

Why do silkworms eat only mulberry leaves?

Why are some crayon colors retired and others introduced? All colors stayed in the world.

Why are goldfish orange and not gold?

How do fish communicate? Or do they communicate at all?

What is the difference between pumpkins we carve and pumpkins used for pies?

I look forward to reading their wonderings and then helping them find information sources that will provide answers.

7 comments:

  1. I wonder why I keep setting off the exit alarms when I leave stores (Target, Barnes & Noble), even though I'm now using my spring sweater (I thought it was something in the pocket of my winter coat). My friends don't trigger the alarm, and I'm not carrying anything other than what they have in their pockets (keys, change, etc).

    I never noticed that the order of colors in a double rainbow were reversed!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not only is that annoying, David, but it can be embarrassing! I set off the alarm at every airport in Europe and finally realized it was my clogs.

    ReplyDelete
  3. David, I think it's because you have heart of gold.
    : )

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree with you, Joyce. David does have that!

    ReplyDelete
  5. You are both extremely sweet! But no, that wasn't the reason I was setting off the alarm. Finally, today, after having gone through the Barnes and Noble alarm system without my coat, pocket watch, keys, change, we discovered the culprit. The billfold I bought several months ago had not been "deactivated" by the store when I purchased it, and so continued to set off the alarm. The store clerk was able to negate the security tag that was still in my billfold, and now I have one less thing to wonder about.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I hope, some day, you will post the answers to all of your wonderful wonderings. And share some of the children's wonderings, too.

    ReplyDelete