50 Things Fifth Graders Wonder About...

I have spent the last week introducing writers' notebooks to a class of fifth graders at a school in Newark, NJ.  One of the entries students began were a list of things they currently are wondering about. This is a list that they will add to throughout the year.


I modeled for them an entry I had started where I wondered about two things:

• What are the types of things that can’t get lost? (I'm thinking about a line from Neil Young's song, Old Man. He says, “Give me things that don’t get lost…”)
• What are multiverses?  Is there an exact you and me functioning in some parallel universe?

Then, I got out of the way and the students took over, recording in their notebooks the kinds of things they wondered.  We shared some and then returned again to the notebooks to record more. After we concluded (about 6 minutes), students wanted answers to their wonderings so we spent the next 20 minutes researching and recording interesting and important information in our notebooks.



Here's a partial list of students' wonderings:

1. Why are dogs color blind?
2. Is time travel possible?
3. What made all of the universes?
4. Is the Earth being duplicated?
5. I wonder about this quote: "Oh, my dear Miss Everdeen I thought we agreed to not lie to each other."
6. Why do people say, "It's going to be okay," when it is not?
7. What is beyond our universe?
8. How did scientists learn about the moon before traveling to it?
9. How many different worlds are there?
10. How did Hawaii form out of a volcano?
11. Why is there animal cruelty?
12. Why do cats have sharp claws?
13. Why are people's noses, mouths, eyes, and ears different?  Why are there variations?
14. Who was Charles Darwin?
15. Is Area 51 real?
16. What caused dinosaurs to become extinct?
17. Why are there different sounds in the world?
18. Will we cure breast cancer?
19. Why do we have a zodiac?
20. How was the idea of a Bermuda Triangle formed?  
21. Where are the 10 dimensions? How can I understand each?
22. How many moons are in our universe?
23. How do myths begin?  Are they true?
24. How many universes are there?  Are any the same as ours?
25. Why do people adopt wild animals like tigers, cheetahs, or lions?  What prompts this?
26. Is there really a man named, Moth Man?
27. Are aliens real or made up?
28. Why do most people think money is the solution to their problems?
29. Why do some people take their anger out on others when it was someone else who made them mad?
30. What are crop circles?
31. Why are there only 12 months?
32. Who created homework?
33. What will humans look like 1, 000, 000 years from now? How will we evolve?
34. How are snowflakes alike?
35. What will happen next?
36. Are there parallel universes? Can we move between them?
37. Can you time travel and still live?
38. When will my dad's work calm down?
39. How do adaptation and variation connect?
40. What would happen if the Earth died?
41. What is the most endangered species in the world?
42. Are there superheroes? Can we believe in them?
43. Why are some things in the world dangerous?
44. How are wormholes created?
45. Are there medicines that can cure AIDS?
46. How do brain tumors form?
47. How man planets have water on them?
48. What's evolution?
49. Can you curve a bullet like they are shown in movies?
50. Can we get rid of radioactive waste safely?

Read Aloud Books About Wondering: K-3

Fishing (M.A. Reilly, 2012)

Wonder is a word to wonder about. It contains a mixture of messages: Something marvelous and miraculous, surprising, raising unanswerable questions about itself, making the observer wonder, even raising questions like, "I wonder about that." Miraculous and marvelous are clues; both words come from an ancient Indo-European root meaning simply to smile or to laugh. Anything wonderful is something to smile in the presence of in admiration (which, by the way comes from the same root, along with, of all telling words, "mirror") (Lewis Thomas, pp. 55-56).

A. Noticing, Hearing, & Observing

Anderson, Stephen. (2001). I Know the Moon. Illustrated by Greg Couch. New York: Philomel.

Baylor, Byrd. (1997). The Other Way to Listen. Illustrated by Peter Parnall. New York: Aladdin.

Brown, Margaret Wise. (1990). The Important Book. Illustrated by Leonard Weisgard. New York: HarperCollins.

Bruchac, Joseph. 2004. Rachel Carson: Preserving a Sense of Wonder. Illustrated by Thomas Locker. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing. 

Fleming, Candace. (2001). Gabriella's Song. Illustrated by Giselle Potter. New York: Atheneum.

Frost, Helen. (2012). Step Gently Out. Illustrated by Rick Lieder. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. 

Lach, William. (2006). Can You Hear It? New York: Harry N. Abrams.

Showers, Paul. (1993). The Listening Walk. Illustrated by Aliki. New York: HarperCollins. 

Standbridge, Joanne. (2012). The Extraordinary Music of Mr. Ives: The True Story of a Famous American Composer. New York: Houghton Mifflin. 

Zhang, Song Nan. (1998). The Children of China: An Artist’s Journey. Toronto, ON: Tundra Books. 

from Outside Your Window

B. Exploring the World

Brandt, Deanna. (1998). Bird Log Kids: A Kid's Journal to Record Their Birding Experiences.Cambridge, MA: Adventure Publications.

Davies, Nicola. (2012). Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature. Illustrated by Mark Hearld. Cambridge, MA Candlewick Press.

Engle, Margarita. (2010). Summer Birds: the Butterflies of Maria Merian. Illustrated by Julie Paschkis. New York: Henry Holt.

McCloskey, Robert (1989). Time of Wonder. New York: Puffin. 

McLerran, Alice. (2004). Roxaboxen. Illustrated by Barbara Cooney. New York: HarperCollins.

Silver, Donald. (1993). One Small Square: Backyard. Illustrated by Patricia J. Wynne. New York: Learning Triangle Press. 

Silver, Donald. (1998). One Small Square: The Night Sky. Illustrated by Patricia J. Wynne. New York: Learning Triangle Press. New York: McGraw Hill. 

Slodovnick, Avi. (2010). The Tooth. Illustrated by Manon Gauthier. La Jolla, CA: Kane-Miller.

C. Playing & Imagining

Brideges, Shirin. (2008). The Umbrella Queen. Illustrated by Taeeun Yoo. New York: Greenwillow. 

Browne, Anthony. (2003). The Shape Game. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 

Catchpool, Michael. (2012). The Cloud Spinner. Illustrated by Alison Jay. New York: Knopf Books. 

Christian, Peggy. (2008). If You Find a Rock. Illustrated by Barbara Hirsch Lember. San Anselmo, CA: Sandpiper Press. 

Dematons, Charlotte. (2001). Let's Go. Rotterdam: Lemniscaat.

Manning, Maurie J. (2008). Kitchen Dance. New York: Clarion. 

Hutchins, Hazel & Gail Herbert. (2008). Mattland. Illustrated by Dusabn Petricic. Vancouver, BC: Annick Press. 

Johnson, Angela. (2004). Violet’s Music. Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. New York: Dial Books. 
Lee, Suzy. (2010). Shadow. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Lee, Suzy. (2007). The Zoo. La Jolla, CA: Kane-Miller.

Pinkney, Brian. (1997). Max Found Two Sticks. New York: Simon & Schuster. 

Prats, Joan. (2005). Sebastian's Roller Skates. Illustrated by Francesc Rovira. La Jolla, CA: Kane-Miller.

Stein, Mathilde. (2012). Dear Daisy Dunnington. Illustrated by Chuck Groenink. New York: Lemniscaat.

van der Heife, Iris. (2006). The Red Chalk. Illustrated by Marije Tolman. New York: Lemniscaat.

Young, Cybele. (2011). A Few Blocks. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books.

from On My Block

D. Coming to Know Other Creative People

Christensen, Bonnie. (2011). Fabulous: A Portrait of Andy Warhol. New York: Henry Holt. 

Goldberg, Dana (Ed.) (2012). On My Block: Stories and Paintings by Fifteen Artists. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.

Golio, Gary. (2012). Spirit Seeker: Coltrane’s Musical Journey. Illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez. New York: Clarion. 

Hill, Larry Carrick. (2010). Dave the Potter, Artist, Poet, Slave. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. New York: Little, Brown. 

Medina, Tony (2009). I and I: Bob Marley. Illustrated by Joshua Watson New York: Lee & Low.

From: When The Moon Forgot

E. Pondering & Problem Solving

Fitzpatrick, Mary Louise. (2009). There. New York: Roaring Brook Press.

Forest, Heather. (2006). Wonder Tales from Around the World. Little Rock, AK: August House. 

Jeffers, Oliver. (2011). Stuck. New York: Philomel.

Kamkwamba, William and Bryan Mealer. (2012). The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Young Readers Edition. Illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon. New York: Dial. 

King, Martin Luther, Jr. (2012). I Have a Dream. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. New York: Schwartz and Wade. 

Liao, Jimmy. (2009). When the Moon Forgot. New York: Little Brown. 

Meinderts, Kos & Annette Fienieg. (2012). The Man in the Clouds. New York: Lemniscaat.

Pennypacker, Sara. (2009). Sparrow Girl. Illustrated by Yoko Tanaka.New York: Hyperion.

Saltzberg, Barney. (2010).  Beautiful Oops! New York: Workman Publishing Company. 

Stoop Naoko. (2012). Red Knit Cap Girl. New York: Little, Brown. 

Veldkamp, Tjibbe. (2011).  Tom the Tamer. Illustrated by Philip Hopman. New York: Lemniscaat.

Young, Cybele. (2011). Ten Birds. Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press.

from The Conductor

F. Looking Closely (Wordless Books)

Dematons, Charlotte. (2006). The Yellow Balloon. Rotterdam: Lemniscaat.

Devernay, Laetitia. (2011). The Conductor. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Schubert, Dieter. (2011). The Umbrella. New York: Lemniscaat. 

Seeger, Laura Vaccaro. (2012). Green. New York: Roaring Brook Press. 

Sheen Dong Il. (2002). Yellow Umbrella. Illustrated by Jae-Soo-Liu.  La Jolla, CA: Kane-Miller. (Please note this is a wordless book and comes with a music CD. Plenty to notice via the illustrations and to hear via the CD). 

Tolman, Marije & Ronald Tolman. (2012). The Island. New York: Lemniscaat.

Tolman, Marije & Ronald Tolman. (2010). The Tree House. New York: Lemniscaat.

from Infinity and Me

G. Asking Questions

Bley, Anette. (2007). And What Comes After a Thousand? La Jolla, CA: Kane & Miller.

Hosford, Kate. (2012). Infinity and Me. Illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books.

Prap, Lisa. (2009). Why? La Jolla, CA: Kane-Miller.

Ray, Mary Lynn. (2011). Stars. Illustrated by Marla Frazee. New York: Beach Lane Books.  

Reibstein, Mark. (2008). Wabi Sabi. Illustrated by Ed Young New York: Little, Brown.

Van Camp, Richard. (2003). What’s the Most Beautiful Thing You Know About Horses? Illustrated by George Littlechild (Cree). San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press. 

Vaccaro, Laura Seeger. (2010). What If? New York: Roaring Brook Press. 

From: What's The Most Beautiful Thing You Know About Horses?