That is how it begins.....
After living 2 years in the river where the salmon were born, why do they take the trouble to swim to the ocean, stay for 3 years and then return back to the same river to die after laying eggs?
Min Yan, Qian Yu & Parveena guessed: To find their parents?
Cayden, Joshua, Eugene guessed: To find food?
Yu Hui guessed: To live in a bigger home with more food because they will grow very big?
-->I told the children to decide if those answers are correct by participating actively in the lesson of Salmon.
Before I could go on with my learning plans...
Cayden asked : Is the river connected to the ocean?
-->The children's perception is that river and ocean are too far apart & hence couldn't be connected!
Eugene asked: How did the salmon get out of the river to the ocean?
-->"Hire a taxi!" exclaimed the silly teacher. Everyone laughed their jaws out (children know that can't happen in reality)!
I explained with a pictorial map: River is normally at a higher level such as around the mountain compared to the ocean or sea level. The fresh water from the river will flow downstream natuarally because water flow downwards (all children know that). As it flow downstream, it will meet with the stream which is also on its way to the sea......(the children continued the inference). Please refer to your child's exercise book on their documentation of their newly acquired understanding about the world around them.
Joshua asked : Then, how do the salmon swim up the waterfall when they go back to the river?
-->Children's imagination of downstream is that there is waterfall.
--> With the aid of IT and books, children were convinced that salmon are very strong and can leap their way up a high waterfall.
With the year drawing close to an end, I'm just a little relunctant to let go of these wonderful moments experienced in my class that often enriched my lesson plans.
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