Science Focus: October
Our current Science unit, Wiggly Scientists, students will be exploring what it means to be a scientist; someone who observes and wonders, shares their ideas and discoveries, listens to the ideas of others, explores the world around them, asks questions, conducts experiments and uses tools to solve problems. Students will keep a Scientific journal throughout the school year to record their thoughts, wonderings, experiments and findings. It's going to be a lot of fun!
Scientists at work, using hand lens' to observe objects up close and define their distinguishing properties...
Science Focus: September
States of Matter: Solids, Liquids and Gases: Students learned...
- matter is everything around them.
- matter is defined as anything that has mass and takes up space.
- cold and heat can change matter (liquid to a solid, solid to a liquid)
- how to use goggles and other tools to ensure safety while participating in experiments.
Scientists at work...
What's coming up in Science... Week of November 13, 2017
We will begin our new Science unit on Monday "Birds of a Feather Flock Together".
- Students will learn about the adaptation of birds feet over time that have helped them learn to survive.
- Students will design a solution to a human problem by mimicking the external features of birds.
- Students will locate key details from the text and illustrations about how feathers meet the needs of birds.
What's up in Geography the week of October 16th:
Students began their 3D map projects last week. They are collaborating with 2-3 other students to create a town. Students must include 10 buildings to ensure the town is successful (ie. grocery store, post office, town hall, fire station, police station, etc.). They spent 2 days sketching out their plan and discussing what was needed. This took A LOT of collaboration on the students part. They had to problem solve and come together as a team to make decisions. Then, they began the road construction to provide successful transportation. Students watched a video on the transportation system in Vietnam to get ideas for what works and what doesn't work;)
Coming up: This week students will begin to make their map key, compass rose and buildings.
Students began their 3D map projects last week. They are collaborating with 2-3 other students to create a town. Students must include 10 buildings to ensure the town is successful (ie. grocery store, post office, town hall, fire station, police station, etc.). They spent 2 days sketching out their plan and discussing what was needed. This took A LOT of collaboration on the students part. They had to problem solve and come together as a team to make decisions. Then, they began the road construction to provide successful transportation. Students watched a video on the transportation system in Vietnam to get ideas for what works and what doesn't work;)
Coming up: This week students will begin to make their map key, compass rose and buildings.
What's up in Science? September 27, 2017
We have entered the world of Geography! Students have begun to explore the parts of maps and globes and the many uses for them!
*Ask them about Never Eat Soggy Waffles:) It's an oldie but a goodie!
Students have been exploring the map keys/legends on maps and what the symbols stand for. They were able to explore real maps and share their wonderings...
*what are the numbers and letters on the sides for?
*what do the red and black lines stand for on the map?
*does every airplane stand for an airport?
*how do I find a city?
Students will be creating a map of the classroom and their bedroom this week to practice creating symbols to represent items/furniture, as well as, using a bird's eye view.
Challenge: If kiddos would like to create a map of their home or backyard (bird's eye view) have them bring it to school to share with their classmates!
Some photos of student work from our States of Matter: Solids, Liquids and gases unit...
What's up in Science? September 18, 2017
This past week students engaged in experiments that showed them how matter can change its state...liquid to a solid, solid to a liquid, liquid to a gas. Our 1st grade scientists practiced making and recording predictions and observations. Students also reflected on the steps they took during the experiment and writing these down. It was a lot of fun!!
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| Plop, plop, fizz using Alka-Seltzer to see how a solid turns to a liquid than a gas! |
What's coming up in Social Studies? Next week students will begin their first Social Studies unit...Geography. They will be working in a small group to create a 3D map of a town they create:)
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| Scientist sharing her thinking:) |
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| Feeling the fizz/gas |
What's Up in Science? September 7, 2017
Students have been exploring what it means to be a scientist; someone who observes and wonders, shares their ideas and discoveries, listens to the ideas of others, explores the world around them, asks questions, conducts experiments and uses tools to solve problems. Students will keep a Scientific journal throughout the school year to record their thoughts, wonderings, experiments and findings. It's going to be a lot of fun!
This week our 1st grade scientists started to learn about the 3 states of matter...solid, liquid and gas. We will be exploring these states of matter through the following experiments...
* Oobleck: solid or a liquid?
* Using baking chocolate as a solid, melting it into a liquid and freezing it back into a solid...with the help of an Oreo and some sprinkles:)
* Alka-Seltzer and water to show how a solid can be put into a liquid, dissolves and evaporates to become a gas.
* Rock Candy: shows how a solid (sugar) can be dissolved and turned into a liquid and than back into a solid.
* Cheerios: Students will use Cheerios to show molecules change form from a solid to a liquid to a gas.
This week our 1st grade scientists started to learn about the 3 states of matter...solid, liquid and gas. We will be exploring these states of matter through the following experiments...
* Oobleck: solid or a liquid?
* Using baking chocolate as a solid, melting it into a liquid and freezing it back into a solid...with the help of an Oreo and some sprinkles:)
* Alka-Seltzer and water to show how a solid can be put into a liquid, dissolves and evaporates to become a gas.
* Rock Candy: shows how a solid (sugar) can be dissolved and turned into a liquid and than back into a solid.
* Cheerios: Students will use Cheerios to show molecules change form from a solid to a liquid to a gas.
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| Learning about Matter with Bill Nye the Science Guy! |
What's up in Science (April 24th)...
We are beginning our final Science unit on Monday, Plants: Parts, Parents, Patterns. Throughout this unit students will be exploring questions, such as....
- What do the roots do?
- Have you seen roots before?
- Why are roots under the ground?
- Why do you think leaves are connected to the stem?
- What is the job of a flower?
- What questions do you have about seeds?
- Do you know what is inside of seeds?
- Do you think all seeds are the same outside?
- Do you think all seeds are the same inside?
- What parts do seeds have?
- What plants do we eat?
- What makes a root?
- What makes a leaf?
What's up in Science (March 16th, 2017)...
We have begun our new Science unit, Investigating Light and Sound.
For the next four weeks we will be exploring and conducting many experiments to learn more about the following concepts...Essential Questions
- How do we use sound to communicate?
- What does it mean to communicate?
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| Students used magnifying glasses to investigate the inner ear. |
Explorations and Topics
- How do we hear?
- What makes sound?
- Investigating sound through vibrations
- Describe how sounds travels over distance
- Building devices that communicate sound over distance
- How do animals communicate with sound?
- Interviewing an expert --- our music teacher
- Investigating light and shadows
- Flashlight investigation
- Darkness investigation, can we see without the lights on?
- Communicating with light - people, animals, safety
- Inventing, testing and presenting communication devices
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| Students used musical instruments to investigate what makes sound? how do we record sound? do vibrations cause sound? |
What's Up in Social Studies (February 27th, 2017)...
We have been continuing to learn about important inventors in history. To further our learning of George Washington Carver, we have a sweet potato garden in our classroom! We will be studying how they grow, measuring the plant's growth and then discussing how George Washington Carver used the parts of the plants for his inventions. Students also learned about George Crum (inventor of the potato chip). Students took part in a taste test...BBQ chips were the overall winner! This week students will...
*think about a problem or something that can be made better through an invention
*complete 3 test runs of their invention
*Complete an Application to Secure a Patent for their invention
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| Our Sweet potato garden! |
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| Potato chip taste test! |
What's Up in Social Studies (February 9, 2017)...
We will celebrating African-American History month by studying several different inventors. Students will create their own invention, write a "patent" and complete 3 test-runs of their invention and decide where "tweaks" need to be made. The inventors that we will study are...
*George Washington Carver
*Garrett Morgan
*Bessie Griffin
*George Crum
*George Grant
*Lonnie Johnson
*Patricia Bath
*Willis Johnson
What's Up in Science this week...
We have started our new unit "Space: Patterns in the Sky".
Students will...
We embarked on our first activity this past week. Students went outside at various times of the day to observe how the patterns in the sky (the sun) effected how the flagpole's shadow changed. They LOVED it!!
Here are some photos from our States of Matter unit (solids, liquids and gases)...
What happened in Social Studies this week...
Students finished their 3-D maps this week. Their task was to create a map of a town with at least 5 buildings to represent what a community needs to be safe and successful, as well as, a map key and a compass rose. At the completion of the project, students completed a group reflection and a self assessment to reflect on what went well and what could be improved for the next group project. Then, Ms. Lauer's kindergarten class came in and viewed the maps and gave students a chance to explain their projects!
Next week we will switch gears back to science and complete a unit on properties. Students will engage in some fun experiments to learn more about solids, liquids, and gases!
Some pictures from the 3D map project!!
What happened in Social Studies this week:
Students began their 3D map projects this week. They are collaborating with 2 other students to create a town. Students must include 5-8 buildings to ensure the town is successful (ie. grocery store, post office, town hall, fire station, police station, etc.). They spent 2 days sketching out their plan and discussing what was needed. Then, they did the road construction to provide successful transportation. We will continue working on them after the break. It's exciting to see their towns coming to life!!
Social Studies: Geography
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| Students explored maps and shared their findings and wonderings with the class. |
We have entered the world of Geography! Students have begun to explore parts of maps, globes and the different types of maps.
Students have been exploring the map keys/legends on maps and what the symbols stand for.
Students will be creating a map of their bedroom this week to practice creating symbols to represent items/furniture.
IF YOU HAVE ANY MAPS...SEND THEM IN!!!
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| Students have been exploring maps!! They have been putting their "wonderings" on sticky notes to guide our lesson:) |
What happened this week in Science:
(week of October 17th)
- Students studied the feet of birds and how they are adapted to meet the needs of individual birds.
- Students mimicked the feet of a specific bird to redesign the "Claw" arcade game.
- Students used the model below to guide their work in small groups while inventing their new "claw".
Coming up next week:
- Students will study how different feathers meet the individual needs of birds.
- Students will determine how birds help their offspring survive by building strong nests.
- Students will design a solution to a human problem by mimicking the external features of birds; working as engineers.
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| Student work with biomimicry inventions~! |
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| Students acting out their inventions for a new "claw" machine:) |
What happened in Science this week...
- Students learned that birds have common external parts. They use them to survive. Specifically their beaks.
- Students learned that beaks can be adapted are different because they eat different foods in different ways.
- Students became biomimicry engineers! They learned that this type of scientist copies nature to invent a tool to solve a human problem. Watch this biomimicry video to learn more!
- Students will learn about the adaptation of birds feet over time that have helped them learn to survive.
- Students will design a solution to a human problem by mimicking the external features of birds.
- Students will locate key details from the text and illustrations about how feathers meet the needs of birds.
What's up in Science for the week of October 3rd...
We have completed our 1st Science unit! For an assessment, students were asked to construct a 3D model of an animal, label 3 parts that the animal uses for survival and write about these 3 parts. Students were SHOCKED to find out that this was the unit assessment when they were all done! Students took part in a "gallery walk" and gave classmates feedback on their 3D models.
Next week, students will begin the next Science unit, Birds of a Feather Flock Together. Students will engage in experiments while asking essential questions, recording observations all while learning about different types of birds:) Students will even be engineers and create a "claw" machine to pick up an object reminiscent of how a bird claw picks up an object!
Photos of the kiddos being scientists while constructing their 3D models!
What's up in Science for the week of September 26th... Bugs, bugs and more bugs!! Student scientists have been busy learning how to observe, ask questions, and different ways to record their thinking/observations (illustrations, labels, words, etc.). Students will continue to observe bugs by watching meal worms go through their entire lifecycle over the next few weeks. eek! This week we will be wrapping up our first unit. We will finish the following lessons:
- Scientist Observe - Wiggly Worms
- How do scientist ask questions? - Part 2
- Scientists Build Models
- Scientists Share Their Learning
Science: Our 1st grade Scientists have been exploring what it means to be a scientist; making a hypothesis, making observations, using scientific tools, using 5 senses for observations, etc. Students made observations of nature outside using hand lenses and then reflected on whether the objects were living or nonliving.
Science Focus: What is a Scientist?
For our first unit students will be exploring what it means to be a scientist; someone who observes and wonders, shares their ideas and discoveries, listens to the ideas of others, explores the world around them, asks questions, conducts experiments and uses tools to solve problems. Students will keep a Scientific journal throughout the school year to record their thoughts, wonderings, experiments and findings. It's going to be a lot of fun!
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