After creating our knowledge and question web, the children shared stories about experiences they had with trees. During this discussion, several children sketched palm trees. More than half of the class had been to Florida in the last year and a discussion started to form about the trees they saw when at Disney World or when they were in Florida.
We decided, based on the children’s interest, that we would begin learning about the Coconut Palm Tree. The children began by reading books about Coconut Palm Trees and looking at pictures. Through their investigations, they started to notice certain characteristics about the trees and they started creating representations in the form of sketches. Our classroom had a coconut on our science shelf and a child noticed it. They took it off the shelf and began to use their senses to explore it, “It is hard and I do not think anything is in it.” The child then took it to every child asking them if they thought anything was inside the coconut. The pictures we took involve children tapping it, shaking it, putting their ear up to it, and spinning it around in a circle. After the children predicted what was is in it, they then decided to create a list of how they thought they could open the coconut. Kara sat down with the children and documented their responses. As she wrote their ideas down, she encouraged the children to offer sounds to the letters she was writing, spell a sight word or a vocabulary word (for example, tree and leaf), or identify letters in her writing. After the list was created, the children hung it up. They kept it hung up for an entire day and as children had ideas they were added to the list.
The following day, the children gathered their list, the materials they would need based on their list, and began to experiment. They followed the list in numerical order until they made it to the one that opened the coconut which was the scissors. Once inside the coconut from our shelf, the children found nothing inside! For children who were not part of the investigation, the children who were brought their results to their peers to share.
The next day, Kara brought a store-bought coconut in the classroom. This coconut was different from other ones we had seen. It had a white outer shell which the children (and the teachers) predicted was the inside of the coconut. We had predicted that the store had taken off the outer shell which we had cut into with the other shell. We spent time measuring it, sketching it, and exploring it. When the children were ready to open the coconut, they decided they needed to use scissors as that technique had worked for the last coconut. The children used scissors and passed the coconut around the table. With little help from Kara, the coconut was
open. “My hand got sticky!” a child exclaimed. Another shared, “The coconut is dripping.” A third child shared, “Wait! I think there is something called coconut juice!’ Kara held the coconut over the bowl and the coconut emptied. The children each had an opportunity to try it! Some children did not like it, while others came for seconds!
After the juice emptied out, we discovered something. The coconut ‘s white covering began to peel off. We continued to peel off the white coating until we found a hollow brown circle. We sketched what we had discovered! We began sharing this knowledge with our families and friends!
Currently, our two different coconuts are sitting on a wood tray for exploration. We also have magnifying glasses in the tray so the children can observe, discover, and represent!
Share your investigations! Anything that amazed you, you were inspired about, or have questions about! We want to hear!
Enjoy and keep inspiring!