Wonderopolis

Does anyone else have the problem over the summer where they can't seem to turn off their brain?  Mine just seems to go and go.  Seriously...it's keeping me up at night.  Well, that, and the copious amounts of caffeine I have been drinking lately. Anyway...

One of the things I couldn't stop thinking about was... The Wonder Wall.

I'm sure I saw this idea somewhere (forget where - sorry!) and it has been percolating in my brain for months...adapting and reinventing itself the more I think about it.

Basically, I wanted to create a small bulletin board in my classroom where kids could post things that they wonder about the world.  I was hoping that once a week, we could investigate as a class and answer one question.

I teach at a Title 1 school and many of my students have had very few experiences outside of their neighborhood.  We even had one child tell us this year that she had never been to a movie theater! Ah! Can you imagine?!?  My whole team just wanted to leave school and take her to the movies. Anyway, I wanted some way to help them expand their world and I stumbled upon this fabulous website.

Wonderopolis! 

Now, I'm obsessed and check it daily.

The website is through the National Center for Family Literacy and highlights a different "Wonder of the Day" and explains it. Questions can range from "What is a hybrid?" to "How do you zorb?"  and "Where is Motown?" Explanations include a video, interesting information, and a try it out opportunity! 

So... I have a new plan now.  

I'm going to add the widget to my school homepage for my students and myself to access. We can check the widget daily and learn about all kinds of cool new things in just a few minutes. Hopefully some kids will go home and get back online to learn more and even submit their own wonders.


So, hurry over to Wonderopolis and get answers to questions you didn't even know you had!