Landform Museum

Anyone who knows me understands my apprehension for dirt, mess, and clutter. While I am not an over-the-top-Type A, I come pretty close to the mark. I understand that learning is messy. I recognize the need for play, discovery, and inquiry. I know students learn by doing. Yet, why does all the dirt, sand, and soil have to be in Ohio 4th grade Science !! We're beginning our Landform unit, and I've been thinking about ways to make it valuable for my students, yet doable for my "messy issues." I've been teaching 4th grade for three years, and very rarely do I teach the same way. So, I've thought up some ideas to make it a global project.

1. Using our textbook, landform readers, websites, and more: we're going to find similarities and differences between: mountains and hills, valleys and canyons, deltas and dunes, plains and plateaus. I created text boxes for the students to write their ideas for the landforms.

2. I was reading my last issue of Family Fun and there was a recipe for "All Natural Play Clay."

(Isn't great when the "universe" aligns with our teaching?") I'm sending the recipe home on

Friday so they can create 2 different landform colors of play clay and bring to school next week.

3. By taking a virtual tour through the Smithsonian, we're going to discuss the set-up of a museum, descriptive cards next to the museum features, and more. They are going to create 2 sets of landforms, and write descriptive placards next to their landforms with their research on it.

4. While writing this, I thought about having each group use the flip video to tape their landform ideas and talk, and then make a "virtual landform tour" to share with others in the school, home, and other classes.

I'm excited for this project to see how all my treasures stretch their thinking, their ideas, and themselves. My treasures matter.