Natural vs. Artificial Sound and Light

In science we have been studying about various sources of sound and light. We recently went to the school garden to experiment with various sources. The students listened for natural and artificial sounds and light and recorded them on construction paper. They then illustrated at least one example of each.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

To practice retelling a story in order, our class and Mrs. Francis' class went on a "bear hunt." We went outside to the garden and read "We're Going on a Bear Hunt." After reading, we learned motions to go along with the story and acted out retelling the story.

Measuring in the Garden

To review measuring and comparing length, we took our math lesson out to the school garden. Using pop cubes, the students took turns estimating and then measuring the various heights of plants. They compared the pop cube lengths to one another to determine which plant was the longest and which was the shortest. While we were in the garden we reviewed the parts of the plants and how bugs and plants are interdependent upon one another.

Fraction Caterpillars

To review fractions and parts of a set, the students created Fraction Caterpillars. This idea originally came from The First Grade Parade. The students used dot stickers to create a caterpillar and then recorded how many of each color they had out of the set.

Fact Family Flowers

A former teammate of mine had a great idea to have the students create Fact Family Flowers. Each student was given a set of three numbers that would create a Fact Family. They had to decide what two addition sentences and two subtraction sentences they could create with those numbers. They recorded their numbers on the flower petals. Their flowers were added to the garden display along with their garden research and frog life cycles.

Garden Habitat Shared Research Writing

The students researched the garden habitat a while back. These are the final products for their shared writings over their research.

Sunflowers: Writing to Inform

Using PebbleGo, we learned about a specific type of flower: the sunflower. The students then used what they learned to answer various questions on a Tree Map. Using the Tree Map, they wrote a shared writing to tell what they learned about the flower. Shared writing, or interactive writing, is when the students take turns writing and give each other verbal help as they write. After writing, we had a mini art lesson on how to draw a simple sunflower.

Garden Research: Expert Guest

We are very fortunate to have a garden expert as a part of our school community. One of the grandparents at our school owns a local garden store and volunteered her time to come answer questions for our students as a part of their research. She brought in various plants for them to explore, explained the needs of specific plants, and then answered their questions. The students then went back to class and wrote down answers they found to their questions on their research handouts.

Garden Research: Non-Fiction Texts

In reading the students have been researching the garden habitat. The study goes along with our science lessons over the interdependence of animals and plants as well as the study of plant parts and functions. The students worked in small groups to answer various questions they had about either bugs in the garden habitat or plants in the garden habitat. They had to find answers using various non-fiction texts such as dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Blue Jays: Writing to Inform

The students used PebbleGo to research Blue Jays as a part of a lesson on writing to inform. They recorded various facts on a Circle Map and then used those facts to answer questions on a Tree Map. They then used the Tree Map to help them write their sentences. Each student edited and revised their writing, with the help of their teachers. Their final drafts, along with a colored copy of a Blue Jay, were added to our garden habitat display.

Rosie Sprout's Time to Shine

In reading we read Rosie Sprout's Time to Shine to work on comparing character traits. After reading the book the class created a Double Bubble Map to compare the two main character's traits and then they created a graphic organizer for one of the characters.

Interdependence of Plants and Animals

To assess their understanding of the interdependence of plants and animals, the students created posters to show how at least one animal depends on a plant in the garden habitat.