Reflecting on our Science Inquiry

So the egg shell on both the control egg and the fluoride egg were completely dissolved in the vinegar after a couple weeks. The membrane was still intact so the eggs still maintained their egg shape. First graders being first graders wanted to poke the egg to see what it was like inside after they had a chance to feel how soft and springy it was to the touch. So of course we did! We found that the egg inside looked just like a normal egg when you crack it open. The yolk was intact too. Sooo cool! The delicate membrane was more protective than the hard shell. BUT that wasn't all. Then we looked at the cup that had water and table salt in it. The water had evaporated sitting in the window. The salt remained, but...it was above the line where the water had been. How did it happen? We decided the salt must have been deposited there as the water slowly evaporated. But the best observation we made (I have never seen this myself)was that in the bottom of the cup, there were cube-shaped chunks of salt. How did it happen? There were literally cubes and we only used table salt. Did you notice that every time we get an answer, we get more questions? Scientific investigation is sooo much fun, and an amazing avenue for learning. I LOVE it and so do the students.

Worms, Worms, Worms

So Thursday we filled in a KWL chart for "worms". We KNOW a lot about worms. Everything we knew was in one of he books we read. We had some great WONDERING questions, but we could only answer a few with the books we had in class. We need to use more resources. We LEARNED some very interesting things, too. Did you know their are over 1200 kinds of worms, an average yard has about 1800 worms in it, and a worm eats 1/3 of its weight in a day? Also, worms can live to be 10 years old, but on average only live a year. Well, I decided it was time to add a new tray to our vermicomposter Friday morning with so much interest in our worms. The students decided that the worms are like our pets since we take care of them. While showing the students what the previous two trays looked like,we discovered young worms which I think is exciting. That means we are taking GOOD care of them. It made me curious about the worms life cycle, so I did some research. Now I just want to take a second look to see if I can find worm eggs to show the students. I guess I'll just have to wait till Monday.

Thinking Like A Mathematician

To finish our spectacular day, we did some pumpkin exemplars. Since we are working hard on our knowledge of fractions this year, we added a fraction question to each exemplar. These students sent me to the moon and back. They were up to the challenge and worked together to solve each question they were given. "The farmer has 12 pumpkin seeds and he is going to plant them in rows, but the rows have to be equal in number. Find all the ways the farmer could plant the seeds. Then identify the the planting pattern that splits the seeds in third." Ask my students, they can tell you...and it isn't just because they are rural children.

Visit to the Frog Bog

It was a beautiful day to visit the Frog Bog. We took a class picture at the outdoor classroom, toured the trail, gazed upon the bog and cattails. So many interesting questions. Curious minds want to KNOW. The students were amazed that the trail looped around to where we started and wanted to know if we could go back the other way. What's a person to say? YES, we can! and we did. Then the most amazing thing happened. My bucket overflowed as they started saying..."Thank you." On top of that, when I asked them if they could think of any experiments/explorations we could do at the bog, they suggested awesome ideas. We could test the worm tea. We could make a home for the animals and watch them to see if they like it. We could make crafts from the nature things we find...leaves, twigs, seeds...to share with others. Aren't they sweet?

Pumpkin Exploration

Hooray! Another chance to think like a scientist. Today we started by looking at the KWL chart we started yesterday. We Know a lot about pumpkins already. We Wondered some interested inquiries. We worked together to answer the questions from what we Learned. Did you know some pumpkins grow big enough for an adult to sit in them and float like a boat. We found that pumpkins do float, but then we wondered why? It isn't just the air inside because the seeds and pulp floated when we put them in water, too. We sorted, ordered, predicted, measured, counted, tasted (toasted seeds), and voted on the face to be carved. We even voted on which pumpkin would last the longest and how long the pumpkins would last. Lots to do and lots of fun.

Force & Motion STEM

We participated in our first STEM activity today. We started by discussing what STEM stands for. The E was hard, but we had some good ideas...experiment, explore, education. For those that don't know, E stands for Engineer. Yes, the 1st Graders became engineers today. Their challenge was to design and construct a ramp by collaborating with a partner. When the ramp was built the students made a clay person to ride in the truck and tested their ramp. They wanted to try to make the toy truck go further than others, but the person couldn't fall out. The students worked well together and made modification to their ramps after testing. Then, we went to the gym to compete. The winning truck traveled the length of 25 pieces of paper. We can't wait for our next STEM challenge. WE CAN DO ANYTHING WE SET OUR MINDS TO DO!

Experiment in Working Without a Target

Sooo...I told the students we were going to do something different. I told them to hold a paper plate on their head so they couldn't see it. I told them shapes to draw with specific color crayons, but I didn't tell them what the outcome should be when we finished. When they finished I asked them if it looked like a jack-o-lantern. Of course, it didn't look anything like a jack-o-lantern. Then we discussed why. 1. They didn't know what we were working toward. 2. Without knowing the goal, they couldn't make a plan. and 3. I took their tools (sight) away from them. THEN we did it a second time: 1. They knew our target was to make a jack-o-lantern with geometric shapes. 2. They could plan how it would look. and 3. I let them use their eyes and a pattern block template for shapes. Quite a difference in the results. NOW that's something we can make connections with in the future.