Matter Matters!

In science we have been learning about matter.  We have talked a little bit already about 3 states of matter (solid, liquid, and gas), but mainly we have been working on describing properties of matter.   We have measured the length and width of objects using nonstandard units (such as tiles or cubes) and this week we practiced using a balance scale to measure the mass of objects (with plastic counting bears as our units).  We have also described the texture of objects (soft, hard, stiff, flexible, fuzzy, rough, smooth...), the colors, the shapes, and what the objects are made of (plastic, glass, metal, wood, cloth, rubber, paper...)  Today students got with a partner and selected a group of objects that could be grouped together by one of the properties of matter.  Then they called on classmates to try to identify how they had classified the objects.  It was hard to remember to only use the physical properties of the objects and not an everyday word (like toys) to group them.  Here are partners with groups of objects.  Can you figure out all the groups they made?

Holiday Wreaths

All the students made holiday decorations to give their parents.  The wreath is made from handprints and the berries are thumbprints.  Students copied the poem in their best handwriting to make a wonderful keepsake from first grade.  

And then I forgot to hand them out at the end of the party.  So have a look at this lovely photo this year and they can decorate your houses next year...  So sorry.

Holiday Ornaments

This year our school charity project is to sell holiday ornaments to raise money for Habitat for Humanity.  Since they are about building houses, every grade level's ornaments have a house theme.  First graders brainstormed winter and holiday words, as part of our science discussion about seasons, and then chose words to type while we learned some things about using a word processing program.  Then we printed the words on our house templates and engineered some wintry houses.  Ornaments are on sale tonight during the choir performances and will be available while supplies last!  Suggested donations are $2, but give what you want to contribute!  Here are some cute 1st graders with their ornaments:

What is technology?

Today we started our first big engineering unit of the year by talking about exactly what an engineer is (hint:  they don't just drive trains!) and what technology is.  We learned that engineers use science, math, and creativity to design solutions to problems and to improve things so they work better.  Then we looked at some examples of technology I brought from my house and they worked with a partner to decide what problem this technology solves and what materials it is made of.  Here are some hard-working scholars with their technology.

Reading and Retelling

Today we practiced retelling a story by putting some of the pictures in order and then using them to help get details from the story in order.  We used a Frog and Toad story called "Cookies" since the first song the choir is learning this year is from the Frog and Toad musical.  Here are the kids working with their partners.

Magnets!

Today students used magnets to move a paper rabbit and squirrel along a path they had designed.  Many partners first tried blowing the papers, since the challenge was to move them along the path without touching the paper, but it turned out to be hard to get them to move just right...  Then some students realized that we had been working with magnets earlier in the week and since we had used a paper clip to hold the parts together that might work!  Students learned that they could pull the paper clip with the magnet and also that a magnet could push or pull another magnet.  Here they are demonstrating their magnetic force!

Building in the Engineering Lab!

We tried various building sets and activities in the lab today!