{"id":1310,"date":"2018-05-01T13:13:46","date_gmt":"2018-05-01T17:13:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/blog\/waterinquiry\/?p=1310"},"modified":"2020-01-02T09:24:07","modified_gmt":"2020-01-02T14:24:07","slug":"missing-ducklings-at-maple-elementary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/ducklings\/missing-ducklings-at-maple-elementary\/","title":{"rendered":"Missing Ducklings at Maple Elementary"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
First grade teacher Margaret Betts reads Inquiry, Inc. and the Case of the Missing Ducklings to her students.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cYeah! Missing ducklings!\u201d two first graders exclaimed, high-fiving one another while sitting criss-cross-applesauce on Margaret Betts\u2019 classroom rug.<\/p>\n

It was Friday the 13th, but the Water Inquiry Story Group was surrounded by enthusiasm at the launch of Inquiry, Inc. and the Case of the Missing Ducklings <\/i>at Maple Elementary School. Hazy sunlight hinted of spring as first graders clad in colorful sneakers embarked on a tour of their local storm drains. Students had already worked together to brainstorm about the positioning of \u201cwater cleaning facilities\u201d in the storm-to-faucet journey of water– a conversation that left them excited and ready to explore as they walked single-file out of their classroom door.<\/p>\n

Crouching down to peer in each storm-drain, student investigators made observations about contents (\u201cWater! Lots of water!\u201d; \u201cA pipe!\u201d; \u201cA Band-Aid\u201d). \u00a0Throwing pebbles into the drains\u2019 depths, students imagined the ways in which pipes might connect and travel throughout the underground system.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Bringing their noticings and ideas back to the classroom, students then settled into our Inquiry, Inc. <\/i>story, connecting their adventure to its plotline as they practiced the problem-solving steps that our protagonists model. After identifying the problem in the narrative (the baby ducklings are trapped in the storm-drain), the drains and pipes on the children\u2019s playground served as fodder for creative thinking. When students were asked, \u201cWhat would you do if you were Anna [the protagonist of the story]?,\u201d they brainstormed a resourceful set of solutions based on what they had seen:<\/p>\n

Student:<\/b> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAsk my Mom to sew me a rope and tie it to something and go down\u00a0and get the ducklings.\u201d
\nMargaret<\/b>: \u00a0\u201cHow would you get in?\u201d
\nStudent:<\/b> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cOpen the grate\u201d
\nMargaret:<\/b> \u00a0\u201cWhat if it\u2019s too deep?\u201d
\nStudent:<\/b> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI would put scuba gear on and tie the rope to something and go down.\u201d
\nStudent: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>\u201cI would just grab a rope and go in and grab the ducklings and find the mom.\u201d
\nStudent: <\/b>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIf I had a phone I would call the police and they could take the grate off.\u201d
\nStudent: <\/b>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI would call the fire department — they have a ladder.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Adopted into the Easthampton first grade curriculum, Inquiry, Inc. and the Case of the Missing Ducklings <\/i>is an interactive story and learning adventure that will encourage a town-full of students to investigate the water systems that support and surround them. \u201cIt\u2019s a whole pipe system!\u201d one student exclaimed at the close of Margaret\u2019s launch– a statement that is predictive of lessons to come. \u201cCan we make our own storm drains?\u201d another student asked, reflecting upon the day\u2019s notes. \u201cLike with a box? And poke holes in the top?\u201d<\/p>\n

These design-thinkers have yet to discover that our unit will ask them to do just that, applying their experiences, questions, and ideas to a science and engineering challenge that seeks to preclude duckling peril.<\/p>\n

We are thrilled by students\u2019 curiosity and can\u2019t wait to see what they create!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Students were asked to draw their answers to the question, “Where does water go?” This illustrator captured the story’s conflict with his caption, “Uh Oh!”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Written by Brittany Collins on behalf of the Water Inquiry team.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cYeah! Missing ducklings!\u201d two first graders exclaimed, high-fiving one another while sitting criss-cross-applesauce on Margaret Betts\u2019 classroom rug.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":735,"featured_media":1315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ducklings"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/485\/2018\/04\/maple-launch-pic-2.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/735"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1310"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1605,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310\/revisions\/1605"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}