Pumpkin Predictions

With plenty of pumpkins to help set the stage, we were given a group challenge to get us thinking about asking questions and making predictions.  

Our first challenge was to count all the pumpkins.  Everyone started to count at the same time.  We noticed that it was too noisy and that we couldn't concentrate on the counting. This was not working at all!  

Someone suggested that we take turns counting and to put the pumpkins in order from biggest to smallest first!  Quickly, we noticed that this was a much better solution.  

We easily counted the pumpkins when they were in order! There were a lot of pumpkins to count, so we decided that we should double and triple check our counting... We know that everyone makes mistakes at times, and it is good practise to take a second look.

Our next job was to predict the circumference of the biggest pumpkin. We were given a ball of yarn and asked to cut a piece that we thought  would fit around the pumpkin.  Before we cut our string, we decided that it was okay if we weren't right.  Making a prediction is a good way to get our brain thinking and it isn't a matter of being right or wrong.

We worked together to measure our strings.  Near the end of our measuring, we could tell if our string was going to be too short, just right or too long by just looking at it.  We are really getting good at using our observation skills.

We were asked to make one final prediction...  

We charted our predictions on the smart board and explained why we made that prediction. 

 Here is what we said:

 Sink - Wesley and Madelyn - "Pumpkins are heavy."           Alfonso - "To strong to carry."            Maya - "Too big."Float - Lilly and Autumn - "It is big and it can float on a leaf pad."           Makayla - "not heavy"

           Leif - "The small pumpkins will float"

           Ben - "If we throw it, it will float."

          Patrick - "Gently put it in the water."

 Sink - Cash - "It is big."           Brayden - "fat and heavy"            Imad - "Too fat and  big."Float - Ethan - "If you take out the seeds, it won't be heavy."           Max - "if you put a string on it, it will float"

           Lydia - "Carve some off, then it will be lighter."

       Corbin - "The stem will make it float."

     
   Viola - "It will float away"

        

          Claudia - "If you take out the seeds and the stem, it will float."

        

        

When we tested our predictions, we discovered that all pumpkins float!  Everyone was amazed! During choice time, we came up with more questions and tested out our predictions.  Then we documented our learning, just like a real scientist would!