Students explored this chilly morning, finding an object that appealed to them, looking at it for an extended period, and using words and pictures to describe their objects. Practicing focused looking and focused writing took energy they are unused to using, but by the end of 15 minutes, students had something to bring back to class and share. I enjoyed seeing students outside of our shared classroom space on school grounds; I enjoyed the particular care some took in handling their objects!

And then…

Our outside observations turned to writing.

-Kim Swensen