Discovering Discovery Time

Discovery time is an exciting new part of our day this school year at Captain!  It is designed to be an opportunity for students to have more choice and be empowered to pursue their own goals in learning.  In fifth grade, we are still learning about how our discovery time might unfold, but we have begun brainstorming ideas building interest in a variety of areas.

For example: Simeon was given blood swipes from his doctor that he shared with our class to teach us about Leukemia.  His doctor even took pictures through the high-powered microscope and labeled the images for us to better understand what we can see in the slides.  Audrey then brought in her microscope so everyone could have a chance to see first hand.  What a great way to learn in a way that may not necessarily be directly linked to our fifth grade curriculum, but it something in which we are extremely interested in our class.

Another example of something that might inspire our discovery time is this clip we watched in class:

Finally we also looked at potential tools that might interest us such as Pixar in a Box, which is a way for students to learn how to use computers to create animated features.

The most important thing about discovery time is LEARNING.  We want it to be highly engaging and purposeful.  Maybe you've had conversations already about your child's pursuits.  Keep talking!  As we read in the book, What do you do with an idea?, these small ideas can grow and change our world.