Celery Experiment

To demonstrate that stems carry water from the roots to the leaves, we conducted a celery experiment. We placed stalks of celery with the leaves still attached in water with red food coloring. The students observed the changes in the celery over a few days to see the celery stalk, or stem, and the leaves change colors.

Wind

In science we went outside to learn more about wind. We talked about what it looks and feels like when the wind is calm and when it is windy. The students experimented with the wind's movement with objects like streamers, luau necklaces, and plastic bags.

 



Terrariums

All of the first grade teachers taught a combined lesson on how to build a terrarium. The lesson was a part of our study on the interdependence of plants and animals. Each class built a terrarium out of a 2 liter coke bottle. Student volunteers filled the container with soil, followed by the flower plant, followed by more soil, and then water. Last the teachers assisted the students in placing the top on the terrariums. The terrariums are being kept in the sunshine of our science lab. The students created foldables to draw and write about the steps they took to create the terrariums.

Ocean in a Bottle

In Science the students created "Oceans in a Bottle" to model how the ocean gets darker the deeper it gets. The students first poured in sand, followed by oil, and then water. Last they added blue food coloring. After making their bottles, they completed an "Ocean in a Bottle Lab Report." Fellow teachers, you can download the lab report from my TpT store.

Describing the Wind

To help the students understand the difference between windy, breezy, and calm, we went outside to experiment. The students first observed the flags to see what direction they were blowing. During this time, we reviewed directional words from Social Studies. We discussed that the direction the flag is moving lets us know the direction the wind is blowing. As we observed we talked about if the flags were moving slow, fast, or not at all. They they experimented with plastic bags and streamers. They discovered that it was a very windy day that day.

Ordering Temperatures

The students felt of there different unseen objects to see which one was the hottest and which one was the coldest. One object was an ice pack, one was hand warmers, and the other was a crumpled paper towel. They recorded their findings and then discussed with a partner which was hottest, coldest, etc. Then as a class, we recorded objects in our homes that are hot, objects that are cold, and objects that are room temperature. They then drew three objects in order from hottest to coldest.

Magnetic or Non-Magnetic?

We recently visited the Science Lab to experiment with magnets. The students had a variety of objects to test. They recorded their findings and discussed which objects were magnetic and non-magnetic. They then experimented with putting like ends of a magnet together to feel how the magnets push away from one another. They also experimented with putting opposite ends together to see how they attract.

The Little Red Hen Sequencing and Planting a Garden

On Tuesdays and Thursdays our class is fortunate to have an intern, Mrs. Sanford, from Dallas Baptist University assist in our class for a few hours as a part of her coursework. Today she taught a fantastic integrated Language Arts and Science lesson to the students. Mrs. Sanford started her lesson by greeting the students at the door and having them choose an animal card. The animal cards correlated to the book she was going to read during her lesson. She red The Little Red Hen by Byron Barton and as she read, the students sequenced the events in the story using picture cards and the Follow the Yellow Brick Road Retelling cards from The First Grade Parade.

Mrs. Sanford then had the students transition to the Promethean Board where they reviewed, wrote, and repeated the defition of sequencing. At the board, they reviewed various transition words that can be used to make writing more interesting. They then decided which transition words to use on the class Flow Map. After deciding this, students built their own garden in a large container. Mrs. Sanford explained how to plant seeds and the needs of plants. As she explained the steps, the students followed the multi-step directions. With each step, the students used interactive writing to record the steps they took on a Flow Map on the Promethan Board.

After planting the miniature garden and sequencing the events on a Flow Map, the students wrote the events using complete sentences on a flower template. On the petals of the flower, the students wrote transition words. The students were engaged the entire lesson. Mrs. Sanford and the students did an excellent job!

Celery Experiment

In science, we created a Brace Map to identify the parts of a plant and their functions. We discussed how a plant is a system and that the parts are dependent upon one another. As a grade level, we conducted a celery experiment so the students could visualize the function of a stem. First the students had to identify that the celery stalk was the stem and that there were leaves at the top of the stalk. They made predictions about what they thought would happen if we placed the celery in cups of water. Most students predicted that the celery would suck up the water because plant stems carry water to the flower and leaves. We discussed the function of roots and asked the students if they thought the stem could suck up the water, like a straw, even though there were no roots. We also asked them to make predictions about the level of water in the cup: would the level stay the same, increase, or decrease? In one cup we used plain water and in the other cup we added blue food coloring. We asked the students what they thought would happen in the cup with food coloring and some predicted that the stalk, or stem, would change colors. When we asked about the leaves, it took a little thought but then most predicted that they would change colors also because the stem carries water to the leaves. It is so nice having teammates that like to teach lessons together!

Oceans in a Bottle

As a part of our thematic unit on oceans, the students created their own ocean in a bottle during science lab. They first added sand to the bottom of the bottle. They then added water to the bottle followed by vegetable oil. Before adding the oil, they made predictions about if the two liquids would mix together or stay seperate. Once they added the oil and discovered that they did not mix, they added blue food coloring. They then shook the bottles up to disperse the food coloring. Once they settled again, we discussed how the darker part of the ocean is at the bottom (the water in our model) and the lighter part (the oil) is at the top. We then talked about how the oil is actually heavier than the water but because they do not mix, it stays on the top. They then turned the bottles to the side and made waves with them. Following the lab, they completed a lab report to take note of their findings.

Ordering by Temperature

To help the students understand the differences between cold temperatures, hot temperatures, and room temperatures, we conducted an experiment. Hidden under black cloth book covers, the students felt of three objects to identify which one felt the hottest, which one feld the coldest, and which was was a normal temperature. Under one of the book covers were hand warmers, under another was a gel ice pack, and under the other was a bean bag. The students recorded the order they thought the were in using letters to match the labels on the book covers. The students then illustrated objects found in their home ordering them from hottest to coldest and then from coldest to hottest.

Mayflower Experiment

After learning about the Mayflower and the Pilgrim's voyage, the students created their own Mayflower using a walnut shell, playdough, a toothpick, and a paper flag. The students then predicted if their boats would sink or float. We created a quick bar graph about their predictions. The students then tested their boats in a container of water. They found that the Mayflowers created with the least amount of playdough were the ones that floated. It was a great way to explore the concept of heavy and light.

Soil Demonstration

My teammate, Mrs. Timms, did a demonstration for all of first grade last week over the attributes of soil. She started with an empty container and asked the students what was in it. At first they said "nothing" but then some said "air." She then added large balls and then marbles to demonstrate that there are large and small particles in soil. She then asked what was between the particles and the students said "space" and "gaps." She explained that was still air in the gaps. She explained that this could also be called "pores" in soil. She then had the students make predictions about what it would look like if she added water to the container. After the predictions, she added the water and discussed how the water fills the gaps where the air had been.