Plant ID in a Parallel Universe

Plant identification is a quirky matter. As a child, I was not especially interested in wildflowers, trees or other plants. Family walks were decidedly boring if there was too much plant talk and not enough running, climbing and swinging thrown into the mix.

So when looking at plants as part of a school project, a few guerrilla tactics can be deployed. Creating a "Top Trumps" type of database appeals to some children. Points can be awarded based on the variety and characteristics of each plant.

Thanks to Photo Booth on iPads, it is also possible to view plants in a different way. The special effects can be used to produce plants which do not look quite right. It is like waking up and finding yourself in a parallel universe. For this blog post, I just used the mirror feature.

So here's a wee test for you. See if you can work out which plant is which from the photos above below. The first three above are probably easy to work out. The rest may be more tricky. Scroll down for the answers

PLANT A

PLANT B

PLANT C

PLANT D

PLANT E

PLANT F

A - Flowering currant; B - Plantain; C - Nettle; D - Garlic mustard; E - Hawthorn; F - Honesty.

The possibilities are endless for using Photo Booth for plant identification. If you have enough iPads, then children can be asked to create their own parallel universe of plants, places and people. If you only have one or two iPads, then photographing common plants found in the school grounds this way can be done by a group of children. Then the rest of the class have to work out which plant and where it is situated outside.

What it does do, is encourage children to observe plants more closely. They will find the changes to the petals, leaves and overall shape of the plant quite fascinating. It can lead on to some interesting story writing too. Because I'm having fun exploring apps, I stuck a photo into Phoster and played around with it. This app is about posters and greeting cards. The downside is only one photo can be used on each poster but it is easy too use.

Any thoughts you have on this activity, please let me know. What would you do with plants from a parallel universe?

Using Thinking Journals Outside

This guest post is from a fellow education consultant, Sue Dixon, who runs The Thinking Child consultancy. In this post she gets us thinking outdoors - no box needed! In Sue's words...

"A Thinking journal is a simple, blank A5 booklet, but its simplicity provides some powerful ways for children to be able to validate and share (if they wish) their thinking. Thinking, of course, may or may not be subject specific.  

I find most children do want to share their thoughts, to have adults and their peers interested in what they had considered possibly irrelevant and/or uninteresting to others.

Thinking journals help children to capture immediate thoughts using words, drawings, diagrams, cartoons, etc.

They can be used later in follow up sessions to:

• explore separate, individual experiences of the same activity – it is often a surprise to children to realise that they are creatively unique.
•  to validate the fact that having different thoughts and opinions is a good thing and to see where the commonalities are in the group.
• provide an opportunity for children to listen to each other’s thoughts and for them to be challenged - to listen carefully to others, to consider other possibilities and points of view; something a lot of adults I know could do with learning!

Here are some starter ideas that lend themselves to the use of Thinking Journals.  They can be done in any size of outdoor space – whatever is in your ‘backyard’ will suffice. They have been designed as ‘stand-alone’ activities, simply to get children to see how the outdoors can provide a great place to think, but you will also be able to incorporate and extend them into longer pieces of planning. 

1.     Designate some ‘sound stations’ in different locations of your grounds. Choose them according to the different sounds you are likely to hear there. Children have to visit a ‘sound station’, close their eyes and listen carefully. They have to draw or write the top 5 sounds they can hear and assign a word to it that best describes that sound: invented words and similes to be encouraged. Once back together you can compare what everyone’s listening experiences were and collate the bank of interesting ‘sound words’ to use later. You could also produce a ‘sound map’ of the whole area – using GPS technology and Mp3 files if you wish.

2.     Let children choose a ‘close up view’ of insect life somewhere – lifting a stone (carefully) to observe woodlice, watch ants trooping back and forth on a woodland floor or tree trunk, or place a square grid down on the grass and get a close up view of the insect life. It could also be done near a pond with pond skaters and larvae etc.  Children have to sit as still as possible and with their pencil touching their page (mustn’t lift it off) they observe and plot the patterns of travel that their insects make – for a few minutes. They end up with a continuous flowing mark on their paper that usually has a pattern/rhythm to it. If possible collect a few different ones that become a rich source from which larger pieces of abstract art can be developed later.

3. The Question Trail. Learning to ask good questions is a basic thinking skill which needs lots of practice. Mark out some objects/places in the grounds with numbers – some man-made, some natural. Children have to visit each place and think of 3 questions that they would ask about that object/place and write them in their journal.  To extend children’s thinking you could ask that they think of a closed question, a factual question, a question that is a matter of opinion – or a philosophical one that has no answer.  This will provide a rich bank of questions for future philosophy sessions as well as providing valuable practice at asking ‘good ‘ questions."

Thanks Sue! Please do hop on over to Sue's blog for more ideas around thinking journals and much more!

Photo Booth Outside

A couple of days ago I bought a mini iPad. My original iPad was stolen back in February and I decided to hang off from buying another one until I was really sure that I would use it well. I'd been in a bit of a digital doldrum for a number of months prior to this.

Last week as I was uploading photos onto my MacBook with a group of children, they stumbled across   Photo Booth. This caused great excitement and hilarity as we changed the background and viewed ourselves in the picture frames. 

The iPad does not have such a great range of functions as the MacBook, but this doesn't matter. The principle of exploration, creativity and fun still applies! These first few photos are all taken by children outside.

With my P2 ASN class, they freely explored the outdoor space. Any child who wanted to investigate the iPad Photo Booth could do so. The school iPads have substantial protective cases which means they can be taken outside and used by children. 

The P7 ASN class were challenged to use all 8 different options in different places outside. Interestingly, the children didn't go roving but largely stayed together in one big group. 

To give you an indication of the range of effects,  I've stayed in the one place. It is easier to compare then. What is clever is that if you move your finger over the screen, the effect will move, so you can pick which feature you want to "fully effect," if this makes any sense.

The first two you see are the "Squeeze" and "Twirl." One of my favourite is "Kaleidoscope" below. This is one of the interesting things about tablets and digital software. Very often they come with all sorts of features which can save buying additional resources.

The "Light Tunnel" produced some beautiful results. The photo below does not do this choice justice. The children were particularly good at putting each other in the centre and producing some Dr Who type of special effects. 

The "thermal camera" produces easily the most colourful photos. This was much loved by the younger class.

The "Mirror" is made for investigating symmetry. It's all very "Alice in Wonderland" looking at the world through the mirror!

The "X-Ray" also produced a lot of "Oohs" and "Ahs" but was the least popular in both classes in terms of the numbers of photos taken. (Some children took a LOT of photos).

It was lovely for the children to explore Photo Booth. The programme takes very little explanation. The children just need to be able to recognise the icon to access, the button to take the photo and the square to change the viewing lens. No child needs to be a photographer to be able to take an interesting photo. Also each effect lends itself to additional explorations and has the potential to add value to a number of different projects. Watch this space!

Make a Kite by Re-using Plastic Bags, Etc.

Recently on the Creative STAR Facebook Page I showed this wonderful photo of a wind tunnel created by a space blanket. Sadly, it ripped almost immediately after the photo was taken. I really didn't want to chuck it out as I felt that was a waste. So instead I decided it would make fine kite making material.

It has been years since I made a kite! When I was a countryside ranger, I was lucky enough to attend a kite making workshop. It has stood me in good stead over the years, especially early on as a young teacher. There are so many different varieties of kites for all ages and abilities. Sled kites are very forgiving when homemade so are a good one to begin with.

If you are thinking of undertaking this activity with your class, in my experience this type of kite is definitely for upper primary children and beyond. It requires careful, accurate measurements and attention to detail. Practice makes perfect.

Firstly you need to gather your stuff. I had colourful plastic bags, the space blanket, a ruler, 30cm bamboo skewers, sellotape, a hole punch, strong cotton thread, permanent marker pen and a pair of large scissors as well as a pair of small nail scissors.

Here's the Blue Peter resource shot!

The first step is to fold the space blanket in half. With kites equal weight and balance is needed on both sides of a kite. The fold is the centre axis of symmetry going down the length of your kite.

The dimensions of the kite are made to suit the length of the skewers. The kite is 30cm long. Mark both ends with a line 9cm, perpendicular to the centre fold. In the photo below, the skewer joins the ends of the lines drawn. 

Below the skewer you can see the outline shape of the kite - its wings. The widest point is 10cm down from one end of the skewer (and 20cm from the other end). It comes out from a perpendicular line also 9cm in length down from the skewer. 

The next job is to carefully cut round your outline. Then open the kite out and attach the skewers 9cm  at either side of the centre fold. Attach the skewer with sellotape. Remember to cut each piece to the same size and place it in the same place on each skewer. Kite making is all about symmetry of pattern and weight. 

There is no need to decorate your kite, but I rather like funking things up. This is why the coloured plastic bags are needed. Again, thinking about the symmetry can help. Along the fold I cut out two triangles and squares. 

These have been placed in a symmetrical pattern onto the kite and the edges sellotaped. When this happens, care is needed to ensure the sellotape covers line where the pink and the silver colours meet, all the way around the shape. 

Next turn the kite over and rub the shapes thoroughly so that the sellotape lines show through. Very carefully, remove the foil within each shape. The inner line of the sellotape will gently guide your cutting movements. This allows the pink to show both sides of the kite. 

 To attach the tails, cut two equal lengths of foil and attach to the kite at the end of each skewer. Add a double layer of sellotape to each wing and use the hole punch to create holes. If you fold the kite before doing this, you will get the holes symmetrically balanced too. Add strong thread to each hole and tie in the centre with a loop. Attach a reel of string or thread to this loop.

And now it's time to test the kite! It was a little too windy really but I decided to give it ago. My kite flew beautifully and went so high that I almost ran out of string! This kite works best in moderate to gentle winds.

With kite-making, so many skills are required which demand accuracy and precision. It is about maths and understanding symmetry and balance. It's the cutting and measuring skills of technology. Then it's about the patience required to develop the art of flying a kite. A skill which humans all over the world have been undertaking for thousands of years. A lovely legacy to inherit and continue :)

A Maths Stick Picture Game

In my last post, 10 Little Stick Activities, I mentioned the game of Pick Up Sticks. This is fun, good for all ages and a nice way to introduce sticks to a class. Here's another useful little idea that one course participant showed me when training in Perth last year.

I've used cut sticks in this post but, quite honestly, I reckon it would be even more fun with a range of gathered sticks of different shapes and sizes.

Challenge children in pairs or by themselves to create a picture using sticks. In this instance, 12 sticks were used. If you have older children, you may wish to add in additional criteria such as, containing at least one right angle, or which has 2 pairs of parallel lines. In fact you can pick all sorts of properties of shapes as a criteria.

How you do the next bit, depends on how you want to manage your class or group. If you are working with 30 children, you may wish to gather them around one picture and model the next part of the game. 

In turn, each child has to move one stick in the picture. As they do this, the picture starts to morph into something else.

At this point it can be fun to encourage children to think what the picture now represents. By looking at the picture from different angles, it will change. I think this picture went from being more of a house into an alien insect pig-like creature. 

If it is part of a maths activity that is focusing on shape or angles or position and movement, then you may want to add in specific instructions, such as "move a stick clockwise" or "add in a line of symmetry." This will work well if the class is looking at one picture in a circle and commenting collectively.

However, if you are encouraging a more free flow approach, where children are moving around independently from picture to picture, every time you ask them to "change picture" then it may just be easier to look at it from a thinking skills perspective and the enjoyment of being able to change other children's pictures and seeing the difference in your own.

What also makes this activity more powerful mathematically is to let children decide each rule for making changes. What ideas do they have? It is particularly useful in terms of encouraging children to experiment and investigate the outcome of each rule.

Regardless, it is the sort of open-ended activity that I think most children, teachers and parents can see the potential of, and change to suit their interests and needs. All-in-all, a very enjoyable game.

10 Little Stick Activities

Sticks are possibly the most versatile play resource that nature ever invented. These ideas do not even begin to cover the possibilities…

Wishing Sticks

Find a small forked twig that is just the right size for you and a friend to grasp with your pinkies (little fingers). On the count of three start tugging until the twig snaps. Whoever gets the biggest piece of the twig gets to make a wish.

Stick Dogs

Tie a piece of string or twine to a short fat stick. This is now your dog to look after. Woof! Take him to a dog show... 

Pooh Sticks

Find a stick to drop over one side of a bridge. Go to the other side of the bridge and wait for it to appear. If you and a friend both do this, which stick appears first? Is it possible for both to arrive at the same time? Can you fix the results of this activity?

Stick Puppets

Draw a face on a flat stick. Put double-sided sticky tape on the back. Attach a leaf of your choice to make the hair and introduce yourself.

Nature Jigsaws

Find a twig. Break it into 3 pieces and give it to a friend to put back together.

Try the same with a leaf. Stick the pieces on a piece of paper. Create a funky mosaic or just enjoy exploding the leaves.

Pick up Sticks

Everyone find a stick and put it into a pile in the middle of the circle. Take turns to remove a stick without disturbing any of the others. If you do, you keep the stick. If you don't, the next person has a go.

Towers

Build a tower of sticks. Use only sticks lying on the ground. See how tall you can make the tower and estimate how many sticks you used. Then remove one stick at a time until it falls down. Remember to count as you go along.

Sticky Words

Use sticks to make your name or at least the first letter. What is the minimum number of sticks you can use? Add flowers and other objects to jazz up your stick name.

Sticky Sculptures
Use elastic bands to attach sticks to each other. Hang in interesting ways and places. 

Sticky Endings
What can you do with the ends of a stick to make them more useful, interesting or exciting...? Now there's a challenge :)

Rainy Day Rubbings - Exploring Pattern Outside

Wednesday was a wet day. It was raining before I even arrived at the school where I was working alongside the teachers on maths activities outside. So it was a case of shrugging our shoulders and going outside anyway.

When investigating patterns outside, there are many ways of doing this. Most teachers know about using wax crayons and paper for recording patterns. Except with the myriad of surfaces and weathers, this technique can be quite limiting. 

So a useful alternative which is suitable for all weathers all year round is using aluminium foil. Small lengths can be cut out and then children can choose a surface which interests them to press it onto and rub.

It also is quite a pleasant sensation. For little hands which do not have much pressure, the technique works fine as the foil is soft and moulds itself onto most surfaces outside.

The resulting patterns can be used to make fetching displays. It's worth asking children how they would like to display the patterns as they can be used in so many different ways. 

Another complementary activity to this one, is to find some natural materials to stick onto a piece of card with double-sided sticky paper. Stick any plant leaves face down (underside showing). 

Then wrap tin foil over the top and rub down to reveal the outline shapes. There is an element of mystery and excitement to this task. The results can be displayed outside - and make nice sun catchers when hung from a tree or bush.

 This exercise can also be completed with money, cardboard shapes and other objects, inside and out. Naturally, if there is a fire nearby, then outdoor snack has to be something cooked in tin foil, just to complete the occasion!

(Many thanks to Audrey McLaren at Drummore Primary for finding supplies of foil at the last minute)