Anyone wondering about the workings of the solar eclipse should just ask a fifth grader at The Dorset School (TDS). “My fifth graders were so excited about the upcoming solar eclipse,” says TDS Science Instructor Karli Love. “I decided to channel their energy and enthusiasm into a project where they could transfer their newfound knowledge to younger students.”
The result was a hands-on lesson for TDS Kindergarteners on the morning of the eclipse. Love used a scientific “systems-thinking” approach where her older students designed and constructed models to simulate the eclipse to help the younger students understand the concept of what would be happening later the same day.
The fifth graders worked in small groups, first researching and then designing their models during the week prior to the eclipse. One essential component of the project: know your audience. Take all the steps needed to connect with a kindergartener, someone almost half their age.
The fifth grade “instructors” met with their “students” early on the morning of the eclipse. They gathered in small groups and showcased what would be happening after school later that day. The result was practical, interactive learning for the young ones with lots of questions and responses that gave them a running head start for a day to remember.
And for Love it was a teaching moment she won’t forget. “I was most impressed with how the fifth graders really got into the driver's seat of this challenge,” says Love. “They were collaborating, brainstorming, researching, and creating together. The cross-grade level connection is something they will remember, along with the incredible experience of the solar eclipse.”
(Photo above: The Dorset School 5th graders built simulations of the solar eclipse to help teach kindergarteners on the workings of science.)
A kindergarten student at The Dorset School gets a lesson on the solar eclipse from fifth graders.