Teachable Moment-Apollo 7 Splashdown!

Crew of Apollo 7 (NASA photo)
Schirra, Eisele and Cunningham may not be household names, but they are names that are now known in our fourth grade classroom thanks to one 10 year old girl and her Grandpa.  These gentlemen were the crew of Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo space flight!  Our young fourth grader shared a piece of their incredible story, but shared it through the eyes and stories of her Grandpa who was fortunate enough to see the end of Apollo's mission.

In honor of Veteran's Day our class wrote letters thanking a veteran in our family (or neighbor).  My student wrote to her grandfather (who happens to also live with her) and he wrote back.  Not only did he write back but he sent in his yearbook from the ship on which he was stationed, pictures of that vessel and some amazing photos of Apollo 7's splashdown from 1968!

As this young lady shared the photos (via the class document camera) she spoke knowledgeably about each one of them. The photos were taken from the ship (where her Grandpa was assigned) the U.S.S. Essex on October 22, 1968 as they recovered the space capsule from the waters. She fielded questions from her classmates and answered them intelligently.  It was clear that she spent time listening and learning from her Grandfather. 

Splashdown - Navy Frogs
Of course this was not the planned lesson of the day, but the impact this had on the students was far greater than the scheduled instruction.  The class couldn't get enough information and wanted to learn more. They asked questions about the astronauts, the spacecraft, the aircraft carrier as well lots of other questions.  It became a social studies lesson on primary sources, a science lesson on space,  a math lesson on elapsed time, a language arts lesson (we wrote poems) and more! But, perhaps what made it most exciting for students, was knowing that their classmate's Grandpa was really "there"!  It made that instant connection with them.

It is important sometimes to forgo the plans and capture the excitement and enthusiasm for learning that comes from those teachable moments.  What was your last 'teachable moment'?  Please share it in the comment section below!


Learn more with Apollo 7 Resources:
Encyclopedia Astronautica:  Scroll down to see a great timeline beginning in March 1965
Astronomy Top 100: This site speaks about Apollo 7 being broadcast 'Live'
NASA Video of Apollo 7
Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum A brief summary of Apollo 7's mission.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Digital Breakouts

Image
MedfieldDLD Promo A few weeks back I attended a conference in a neighboring district, #MedfieldDLD (Medfield Digital Learning Day!) It was a day filled with lots of great conversations & lots of learning.  Sessions I attended included: Hyperdocs; NEW Google Sites for Digital Portfolios; Homework: Shifting the Perspective and BreakoutEDU .  While I plan to incorporate ideas from all of these in my classroom somehow I was able to start immediately with the help of this  BreakoutEDU  slidedeck that Kerry Cowell presented. Kerry's Box BreakOuts are a game where "players use teamwork and critical thinking to solve a series of challenging puzzles in order to open a locked box." Literally, the box is locked with several different types of locks! (Number locks, key locks, word lock & direction locks)  Kerry's Breakout was related to the "Back to the Future" theme of the day and very challenging. As we worked through the clues, my team and I felt what it wo...
Read more

The Power of "I CAN"

Image
Over 30 years ago I was a student teacher in 1st grade.  It was frightening to me as I only pictured myself working with 4th grade students not being with 'little kids." I remember my cooperating teacher had me sit with a sign that said, "I CAN DO IT!"  As I recall, those first grade kids COULD do it and I did too!  Afterward I left that class and went on to become a grade 4 teacher.  I became good at figuring out what my fourth graders were and weren't capable of doing.  I often wonder if I held my students back believing they couldn't do something and not giving them the opportunity to try! Lately, as a Digital Learning Coach I have had the opportunity to spend time with kindergartners and 1st graders.  I forgot what it was like to be with 5 & 6 year olds. So, I am always pleasantly surprised and impressed by what they ARE able to 'do' when it comes learning.  Admittedly, I'm not familiar with the 'littles' and their abilities as I ...
Read more

Use of Thinking Blocks to Help Solve Math Problems

Image
More and more we are asking students to solve complex math problems.   Along the way we do a lot to help them become successful.  We incorporate the use of many tools during the math classroom. One of the tools we are using this year in the classroom is called, Thinking Blocks ".   This website (there is even a 'free' app for the thinking blocks) poses problems around different types of models.  As a warm up before the regular math lesson this week we practiced solving addition and subtraction word problems using the "part whole model with two parts" and the "part whole model with 3 parts". As a group we watch a quick 3 minute tutorial , practice several problems and then break off with a partner.  Using chrome books, students access the Thinking Blocks website and begin solving each new problem by first checking for understanding and then manipulating the blocks.  Working with a partner also gets the students used to 'talking' about mat...
Read more