Crime Scene Investigators in Science

We have been learning about properties of matter in science.  First we looked at a collection of objects and brainstormed different ways to describe them such as size, weight, color, material, shape, and texture.  Then students chose an object to draw and label in their science notebook.  Here are a few examples:

Then we put our skills to the test as crime scene investigators.  I presented the following scenario to the class:  A toy store was broken into in Grapevine recently and the method used was a ball thrown through the window.  Since it was a toy store, there were lots of other balls found inside.  We have been asked by the police department to confirm which of the balls found was the culprit.  We were given 2 clues to work with.  Clue 1 said that the ball used to break the window was smaller than an apple.  Clue 2 said that the ball used was the heaviest of the balls.  

First students worked with their teams to put the balls in order by size and eliminate the ones that could not be the culprit because of their size.  Then students used a balance scale to compare the balls by weight and narrow it down to the correct object used in the break-in.  Here are some students hard at work to solve this crime! 

 

When the teams were done, they recorded their results in their science notebooks like this:

 

Then we opened the evidence box to find that the small silver ball was the one used in the crime - just as our class of detectives had concluded!

Our Day in Pictures!

In this post I want to let everyone know what a typical day will be like for us in 1st grade.  There will be times our schedule changes due to special events or projects or to share materials with other classes, but this will give you a look into an average day's events.  (These photos were taken over several days during the first days of school.) 

Our school day begins with breakfast, KCAN, and circle time.  In circle time we might share what we did over the weekend, our thoughts about school, problems our class needs to solve, or goals or wishes we have.  After circle time we always share a story that I read to the class.  

Then we will have science and engineering time.  We might be going out to the garden to observe the weather and the season, studying plants and their parts, reading or writing about science or conducting investigations.

In these pictures we are in the science lab observing photos, models, and real objects and trying to find the connection between all the things at one station.  The students found objects that all had to do with birds, sea creatures, bugs, reptiles and mammals.

After science, we usually take a short movement break with dance videos from GoNoodle or other activities and a bathroom and water break for those who need it.  Then it is time for reading.  We may start with a short book or just use a book we have already heard as part of our mini-lesson for the day.  We may be working on strategies to figure out words when they are stuck, things to think about while reading to help them comprehend the book more deeply, reading together to hear rhymes and poems, working on word patterns or more!  Then students will have a chance to do several kinds of reading.  They may read in a group with me or with me individually.  They may read on their own, with a partner, on their iPad with apps like RAZ-Kids or iStation, or do other activities to practice word patterns or sight words.  Reading with me is the time when they will get to work on strategies that are just what they need to make progress to the next level.  Reading on their own gives them a chance to practice those strategies in books that are just right for them.  Partner reading time gives them a chance to read together with a friend and enjoy stories.  They will often pick more challenging books with a partner, especially books I have read to the class, when they can help each other.  Since they are reading aloud with a partner, it also helps them practice their fluency - reading smoothly and with expression.

Here are some partners enjoying books together:

After our reading time, we will often take another short movement break before we start writing.  Writing time also begins with a short mini-lesson about conventions of writing (capitalization and punctuation), choosing ideas to write about, organizing their writing, revising when they have finished, and more.  Then students will have  time to write and make quick illustrations for their stories.  (We will only do full-color, detailed artwork when we are finishing stories to publish.)  Sometimes we will share their writing with the whole class and sometimes in small groups or with partners.  We will also spend some time here working on handwriting and spelling skills.

Writers hard at work:

After writing, we have a break for lunch and recess.  Then it is time for math.  This year we will learn about numbers to 120 (and more), adding and subtracting to solve problems, geometry shapes, fractions, money, and time.  Sometimes we will use manipulatives like blocks or other objects to begin learning a concept hands-on.  At other times we will do work on paper or iPads, drawing pictures or writing equations to show their mathematical thinking.

Our first math unit is on graphs and these pictures show graphs made on the tables as students sorted their pattern shapes by color.  (After this we made graphs using a math app and then put those pictures into another app to label the graphs.  This is what we call app-smashing!)

When math ends the students go to specials classes.  After that we have a block of time at the end of the day that is for a variety of things.  We may use the time to work on big engineering projects or projects for other subjects that need more time.  (Lots of our engineering projects are connected to science concepts, but we sometimes have connections to social studies, math, or language arts.)  We may be working on learning to code, building structures, doing design challenges, building and programming Lego robots, and other STEM related activities.  We might also be working on setting goals for learning or tracking progress on charts for reading, writing, and math.

Here are some of this year's first design challenges.  Build a structure as tall as possible with the materials:

Build a structure where only 1 piece touches the table:

Build a structure that can support the weight of the blocks in the large cup:

Build the tallest structure using 1 piece of paper and NO glue or tape:

The last thing we do every day is to share another read aloud book before students are dismissed.  Starting and ending the day with read aloud time gives us a (kind of) quiet time (there's a surprising amount of conversation during the stories) to share good books and get excited about reading.  We get to share what we think about the books and get to know all kinds of characters in them.  It is a happy way to begin and end our learning time! I hope you enjoyed seeing students at work throughout all parts of our day.

Plants

As we have been learning about plants in science, one of our projects has been to make a book about plants and their parts.  Students used the app Shadow Puppet Edu, which offers an excellent way to safely search for photos, wrote their text, and then recorded themselves reading their book.  Click to play some of their books below...

Isaac                Colin          Hailey            Isabella      
    
Madelyn          Ryan           Natalia          Ava Grace

Carolyn           Livia            Katia

Students did a great job choosing photos to match the ideas they were writing and deciding what the best sequence would be.  Then they wrote and edited their work to make it easier for their reader to understand.  Even though we all started out to share the same basic information, all of their projects turned out different and interesting!  Enjoy reading and listening!

Engineering Cacti

One of the things we have been reading and learning about in science is interdependence - how plants and animals in an environment depend on each other.  First we talked about their suggestion of a forest environment and read a book called One Small Place in a Tree by Barbara Brenner that tells how a hole could form in a tree and the different forest animals that might make their homes there.  Then for a more unfamiliar environment, we have looked more closely at a desert.  I read the class two books:  Cactus Hotel by Brenda Z. Guiberson and Desert Giant by Barbara Bash, both of which describe animals that depend on the saguaro cactus for homes or food.  We used Google Maps to travel to Saguaro National Park and look around in street view at the cacti.  We also watched a short video clip showing many of the animals we had read about.  With all these resources we talked about what examples we found of animals making homes in the cactus or eating parts of it.

Now we are working on an engineering project to make a model showing some of the examples of interdependence we have learned about.  The model must have a 3D cactus that is between 3 and 6 popsicle sticks tall.  It must be able to stand on its own.  Then students must add three 3 D animals to their cactus and write an information card telling why each one needs the saguaro cactus.

Here are some groups hard at work on their plans:

Now we are hard at work to complete the cacti and animals:

I can't wait to see how these projects turn out!

Engineering Week at Cannon!

Our big excitement for this week was getting started on Lego WeDo Robotics in class!  Some of the students have been looking forward to this for a long time.  After some introductory puzzles with Ms. Pettit during last Friday's rotations, we got started today building our first project: the lion!  Students followed onscreen directions with their partner, gathered the pieces and followed the steps to build the lion, including connecting it to the laptop.  Then they followed the directions to complete the drag-and-drop program on the screen.  Finally it was time to see if they were successful.  If they typed a on the keyboard, the lion sat up and roared.  If they typed b, it lay down and snored.  Many students had time to make a short video of their lion in action that you can watch on their iPads.  A few even finished with enough time left to modify the program and change the lion's actions or the sound effects.  Everyone was excited and left the media lab looking forward to our next robotics session!  

In these pictures you can see the process they went through and the finished lion.  Check out these looks of concentration as they work!

We had also listened to the story The Most Magnificent Thing earlier this week and created plans for inventions they would like to have to solve a problem of some sort.  Some of the ideas included a robot to bathe kids for parents, a toy washer to clean toys, a garbage picker so the garbage men don't have to pick up the bags themselves, a machine to make noises so little sisters or brothers wouldn't bother you, a freeze ray, a gravity gun, and a flying car.  Today we used Google Hangout to connect with Ms. Read's class at O. C. Taylor and both classes shared their ideas!

Our last big activity for Engineering Week will be some extra building and design time on Friday.  That should be a fun way to wrap a week of fun and learning!

We have read about some famous inventors, practiced the way engineers draw and label plans for their designs, created a design to solve a problem just like other inventors do, followed plans to build something, and tested and fixed things that were not working.  These are some of the things engineers do, but these are also skills that can be applied to anything students want to do in life!