Over the past couple of weeks the children have been
learning about the three states of matter: solid, liquid and
gas. In this unit we conducted several experiments. For
liquid, we had an experiment with different types of liquid
such as corn syrup, water, rubbing alcohol and vegetable
oil. We added food coloring to each individual liquid and
what we discovered was that liquids can have different
weights. Also, to learn about gases we put vinegar in a
water bottle and baking soda in a balloon, here is our
result....
When we finished our unit we then sorted pictures of
objects into the appropriate state of matter and displayed
it on our science board.
Throughout the year we have been discussing elements of a
story. In the beginning I took the lead on the discussion of
plot, setting, characters etc. in our group lessons after
reading a story. Now that the children fully understand
what these concepts mean I have given them more
independence in talking with each other about these things
and not having me as the director. To help build these
skills of retelling stories and reflecting on story elements
we have used these sticks...
Story pieces are laminated and put on to paint stirrer with
velcro so children can manipulate. From
www.firstgradewow.blogspot.com (want to give credit
where credit is due! :) )
These allow the children to physically engage with the story
elements as well as discuss with a partner. Each person
may have a different insight or remember something the
other person did not.
For non-fiction reading, we learned facts and information
about penguins. As a class we read a factual book about
penguins and then completed a chart using our "schema"
(what we already knew) and what we learned after reading
the book. Then we saw what were misconceptions we had
about penguins. I got this idea from a well known teacher,
Deanna Jump (I want to be her someday!!)
