Activity 1: (15 minutes) CURIOSITY

Review the Pyramid of Happiness poster. Review the fourth and fifth level of the pyramid and perform that action (strike a superhero pose and star-jump with arms and legs spread out wide). Make the connection of how curiosity helps us learn important things, and leads to a happier and healthier life. This makes us the best version of ourselves! Remind students about the actions associated with each level of the pyramid.

Even though we already know many things, there is still lots to learn about the world. Not knowing something doesn’t mean that there is something wrong with us; it just means we can learn something new by being curious. Being curious is when you want to know something more. Being curious means that you are a learner. Books, podcasts, the internet, and experts or others with more experience can help us explore the things that we are curious about. Some jobs like being a scientist, doctor, or teacher are all about being curious. When we are curious about something, we learn new things that can help us understand the world and be our super-star selves.

Read, I Wonder, by K. A. Holt, or watch the read-aloud video by Learning Tree T.V. Have a discussion:

• What do you wonder about?
• What do you do when you wonder about something?

Extend the learning by sharing a Wow in the World podcast during quiet playtime (many episodes do not require a subscription). Talk about what you learned.

• Does what you have learned make you curious to learn more?
• What tools could you use to learn more?

Activity 2: (10 minutes) CURIOUS QUESTIONS

Asking questions helps us explore new ideas and learn new things. Words like who, what, where, when, why, and how all help us get information about things we wonder about. Have a discussion with your class to explore these 6 question words. Have a conversation about the children’s weekend, or time away from school:

• How was your weekend?
• Who were you with?
• What did you do?
• Where did you go?
• When did you do something fun (or not fun)?
• Why did you choose that activity?

Note that when we use questions, our curiosity helps us find answers to things we didn’t know before.

Extend the activity to talk about how being curious about others helps us to understand one another and be better friends. For example, If someone hurts you, if someone seems sad, or if someone is new to class:

• What questions can you ask to get more information?
• How can this help you understand the other person better?

Start a “curiosity moment” during snack or lunchtime to model and help the students ask one another questions to get to know and understand one another.

Activity 3: (15 minutes) I EXPLORE WITH MY 5 SENSES

Our 5 senses of taste, touch, smell, hearing, and sight help us to explore things that we are curious about. Ask the children to point to the part of their body that helps them taste. Repeat for the other 4 senses. Show one of the 5 Senses Cards to the children and ask them to point to the senses that they would use to explore that object. Note that there may be multiple ways to help us be curious about an object, and there are some senses that will not help us learn something about an object. What words would you use to describe each item?

Extend the activity by sharing a sample of food such as a strawberry, a flavored potato chip, pretzels, etc., with each child. Ask them questions to identify the different senses that they can use to explore the item:

• What does it taste like?
• What does it feel like?
• What does it look like?
• What does it smell like?
• Does it make a sound when you bite it or touch it?

Activity 4: (10 minutes) CURIOSITY BOX

Find a small box. Place an unusual item inside (i.e., windchime, kitchen gadget, water globe, cuckoo clock, etc.). Wrap the box as if it were a birthday present. Show the children the box. Ask:

• Is anyone curious to know what is inside?
• What kinds of questions could you ask if you wanted to know what was in the box?
• What else could you do to figure out what is in the box without opening it?

Have the children explore, ask questions, and make guesses or predictions based on what they know. Reveal the contents and allow the children to continue to ask more questions. Add a new item to the box every day.

Activity 5: (15 minutes) EXPLORING WITH MY CURIOSITY

Experimenting is one way to use our curiosity to help us learn. Experiments help us investigate, analyze, and inspect objects and events around us. Experiments have 5 steps:

1. What are you curious about? (Ask a question.)
2. What do you think you’ll find out? (Make a prediction.)
3. Try it out, or explore what you’re curious about. (Gather data.)
4. What did you find? (Analyze data.)
5. What do you know that you didn’t before? (Draw conclusions.)

Give each child a magnet. Ask them if they know what it is, what it does, and allow them to ask you questions about it. Magnets are made from a material that is attracted to other metal surfaces. Use the 5 experiment steps to find out what kinds of things magnets will stick to:

1. What will a magnet stick to? (Ask a question.)
2. What do you think it will stick to? (Make a prediction.)
3. Encourage the children to move about the room looking for objects that will attract the magnets. (Gather data.)
4. Which objects would the magnet stick to, and which ones would it not stick to? (Analyze data.)
5. What do you know that you didn’t before? (Draw conclusions.)

Encourage the children to use these steps whenever they are curious and want to learn something new.