Science and Social Studies

This year we have had new Science and Social Studies units in first grade. This past quarter in Science, we had a unit called Sun and Moon.  

In this unit, students learned about our place in the universe and time.  They learned about the rotation and revolution of the earth, what makes day and night, and why the seasons change.  

 Students modeled how many hours there are in a day and night for each month of the year.  The students could see that the number of hours of daylight changed according to the month/season.

Students made a bracelet with a bead representing earth to help them with the understanding of rotation and revolution. 

Students also learned why the moon looks different at different times of the month, with the help of our cadet teacher, and represented the different moon phases. 

This past quarter in Social Studies, we learned about neighborhoods and towns. 

There was an emphasis on the members of a neighborhood, how the members improve the community, and the components of the neighborhood that are represented on a map.

Students created a neighborhood map in small groups.  They named their town and street names.  They included things in their community that they felt their town needed and wanted.

At the end of the unit, the students wrote to their local town leader or school leader suggesting a town or school improvement. 

We look forward to more learning in science and social studies this school year! 

Birds, Beaks, and Babies

We had a great science unit called Birds, Beaks, and Babies.  The unit had a STEM design challenge:  How can we design a nest that will hold eggs?  We spent some time exploring nests and gathering materials around the OB garden, playground, and in our own backyards.

Students explored natural materials first--getting a feel for what might work and what might not work to build a nest using materials in our natural environment.  

During the unit, students learned about parents and babies.  This included a look at adult plants and babies.   Students noted their similarities and differences.  

We went out to both gardens to observe and take notes.

Students were able to revise their nest and nesting materials.  They used natural materials that they gathered and then added other classroom and house-hold materials that might be good at holding a nest together.

Bird beaks come in all shapes and sizes.  This enables them to eat certain kinds of food.  Students participated in a simulation where they used various types of tools that imitated birds' beaks. They learned which bird beak worked best for each type of food.

 Grabbing worms in the soil

Pinching small seeds 

Pinching larger seeds 

 Scooping up fish 

Pointed beaks of wood peckers

 Long, slender beaks for reaching into flowers to collect nectar

Students had an opportunity to observe birds on a live nesting camera a few times during the unit.  

These observations helped them with their final design challenge.

In the end, the students' nests turned out great and all held eggs. 

The science journaling during this unit offered many opportunities for questioning, note-taking, and reflecting. 

Birds, Beaks, and Babies was an interesting science unit. We look forward to our next one!

Dance-a-Thon

Our biggest school fundraiser is upon us!  If you have not had a chance to show your support, here is the link to the fundraiser.  It is very easy  to access and use.  

https://app.99pledges.com/fund/2019DAT. 

Each grade level has a theme song for the Dance-a-Thon.  Our theme song is Old Town Road.  You can see a glimpse of the kids when the first grade theme song came on the announcements this morning!

Thank you for your continued support! 

Number Bonds in Mathematics

Students are learning about number bonds in mathematics.  A number bond symbolizes the part-part-whole for both addition and subtraction.  The concept of number bonds helps children see the relationship between addition and subtraction and promotes number sense and mathematical fluency.

Concrete: 
Students start out by using familiar objects they can interact with.  By putting counters into two groups, students learn different ways a number can be made. 

Pictorial: Once students understand the concept with objects, students progress to writing on whiteboards or in workbooks with pictures.  

Abstract: After the concrete and pictorial steps are comfortable for students, the next step is to represent these number bonds using mathematical number sentences like: 3 + 2 = 5.

Building Good Reading Habits

During Reader's Workshop, students are learning to build good reading habits.  Some of the good reading habits we have learned are: take a sneak peek before reading, checking our sneak peeks when reading, set reading goals, re-read to smooth out our voices, and scoop up words like peanut butter and jelly.  Students are also learning to do something at the end of the book like retell the story in their mind, think about their favorite part, or predict what might happen next.  All of these habits are going to help us become the strongest readers we can be!