Comparing Living & Non-Living

We have begun our Needs of Plants and Animals Unit! This week we are focusing on what it means for something to be living. 

We brainstormed ideas about what makes something living. Then we thought about something we knew for sure was living, such as a dog, and crossed off ideas on our list that didn't fit with what we knew about dogs. We also did this for other things we knew for sure were living, including a plant! 

To reinforce what makes something living, we enjoyed a clip from our pal on Sesame Street:

Then we studied a few examples using our criteria for what makes something alive:

To conclude our exploration of living and non-living, students tackled an an up-close, hands-on observation! Our extremely excited scientists compared gummy worms and earthworms! We were able to see many examples that demonstrated that the earthworms are indeed living and gummy worms are non-living:

Now let's hunt for examples of living and non-living things with a photo hunt at home!

First, give your child a camera (your phone would be perfect!). Have them take some pictures of things that are living and non-living.

Then, to share your photo(s) and/or comment on our "wall":

(a) Double click on our Living and Non-Living wall below

(b) A box will appear. Type in a comment. Upload a picture. Ta da! 

(c) Marvel at our learning!

(or just email me your photos/captions and I'll make it happen)

We will check this wall often next week to see the pictures that we all post!

Living and Non-Living!

We are beginning our Needs of Plants and Animals Unit! This week we are focusing on what it means for something to be living. 

We brainstormed ideas about what makes something living. Then we thought about something we knew for sure was living, such as a dog, and crossed off ideas on our list that didn't fit with what we knew about dogs. We also did this for other things we knew for sure were living, including a plant! 

To reinforce what makes something living, we enjoyed a clip from our pal on Sesame Street:

Then we studied a few examples using our criteria for what makes something alive:

To conclude our exploration of living and non-living, students tackled an an up-close, hands-on observation! Thrilled beyond measure, our scientists compared gummy worms and earthworms. We were able to see many examples that demonstrated that the earthworms are indeed living and gummy worms are non-living:

Now let's hunt for examples of living and non-living things with a photo hunt at home!

First, give your child a camera (your phone would be perfect!). Have him or her take some pictures of things that are living and non-living.

Then, to share your photo(s) and/or comment on our "wall":

(a) Double click on our Living and Non-Living wall below

(b) A box will appear. Type in a comment. Upload a picture. Ta da! 

(c) Marvel at our learning!

(or just email me your photos/captions and I'll make it happen)

We will check this wall often next week to see the pictures that we all post!

Living & Non-Living

We are beginning our Needs of Plants and Animals Unit! This week we are focusing on what it means for something to be living. 

We brainstormed ideas about what makes something living. Then we thought about something we knew for sure was living, such as a dog, and crossed off ideas on our list that didn't fit with what we knew about dogs. We also did this for other things we knew for sure were living, including a plant! 

To reinforce what makes something living, we enjoyed a clip from our pal on Sesame Street:

Then we studied a few examples using our criteria for what makes something alive:

To conclude our week examining living and non-living, students tackled an an up-close, hands-on observation! Thrilled beyond measure, our scientists compared gummy worms and earthworms. We were able to see many examples that demonstrated that the earthworms are indeed living and gummy worms are non-living:

Now let's hunt for examples of living and non-living things with a photo hunt at home!

First, give your child a camera (your phone would be perfect!). Have him or her take some pictures of things that are living and non-living.

Then, to share your photo(s) and/or comment on our "wall":

(a) Double click on our Living and Non-Living wall below

(b) A box will appear. Type in a comment. Upload a picture. Ta da! 

(c) Marvel at our learning!

(or just email me your photos/captions and I'll make it happen)

Thank you for not mentioning names as well as any other identifying information. 

We will check this wall often next week to see the pictures that we all post!

Egg-citing Week!

Let the adventure begin!

This week we carefully placed 22 beautiful eggs into a warm, humid incubator. We can't bring hens into the school, so the incubator acts as a mama hen, turning the eggs while keeping them warm and moist. Each day we monitor and record the temperature and humidity.

These eggs didn't come from the grocery store, they came from Mrs. Junck's family farm! Mrs. Junck is guiding our learning and hatching. Each week we are looking forward to a virtual lesson from her. This week, we got a tour of her farm, met her many animals, and even heard a story! We got to see "broody" hens, which are mama hens who are sitting on eggs. Our favourite part was hearing the sounds of the farm! Boy, are those roosters loud!

We noticed that the eggs in our incubator were many beautiful colours. They didn't all look the same. Mrs. Junck gave us extra eggs from her hens and suggested we crack a few open to see if the different colours mean the insides are different. We cracked open a brown egg and a white egg, and noticed they looked the same inside. Then we had a really powerful discussion about how WE all look different on the outside, but on the inside, we all have a heart and want to be loved.

We are only three days in and have already learned lots! Who knew a 22 eggs could be so exciting? This is sure to be a wonderful journey as we experience new life first hand!

It's Alive!

We are tackling our Needs of Plants and Animals Unit! This week we are focussing on what it means for something to be living. 

We brainstormed ideas about what makes something living. Then we thought about something we knew for sure was living, such as a dog, and crossed off ideas on our list that didn't fit with what we knew about dogs. We also did this for other things we knew for sure were living, including a plant!

To reinforce what makes something living, we enjoyed a clip from our pal on Sesame Street:

Then we studied a few examples using our criteria for what makes something alive:

Partnered with our grade 5 buddies, the boys and girls began working on a digital presentation to share their learning! Using Google Slides, the students shared examples of living and non-living. 

To conclude our week examining living and non-living, students tackled an an up-close, hands-on observation! Thrilled beyond measure, our scientists compared gummy worms and earthworms. We were able to see many examples that demonstrated that the earthworms are indeed living and gummy worms are non-living:

Now let's hunt for examples of living and non-living things with a photo hunt at home!

First, give your child a camera (your phone would be perfect!). Have him or her take some pictures of things that are living and non-living.

Then, to share your photo(s) and/or comment on our "wall":

(a) Double click on our Living and Non-Living wall below

(b) A box will appear. Type in a comment. Upload a picture. Ta da! 

(c) Marvel at our learning!

(or just email me your photos/captions and I'll make it happen)

Thank you for not mentioning names as well as any other identifying information. 

We will check this wall daily next week to see the pictures that we all post!

Amazing Animal Reports!

Now that we have wrapped up our Needs of Living Things Unit in Science, we have spent the last week researching an animal of our own choosing!

Students were tasked with drawing a detailed, labeled drawing of their animal and writing three facts, complete with accompanying illustrations! We used the San Diego Zoo Kids site to gather information, as well as a really neat function through Google, called Read and Write for Google, that actually READ the text to us! Cool, huh?

Although students researched their own individual animal, they worked in teams on the Chromebooks. This partnership allowed them to troubleshoot issues on the computers, gather information from challenging text, and collaborate to write strong sentences. 

This was a challenging project, but we rose to the challenge! Students shared a computer with a peer. They gathered information and put it into their own words, wrote complete sentences, and illustrated with detail. 

Please watch for your child's report in his or her Kanga this week, along with a little reflection for you to complete and return. 

Awesome job, kids!

What's "growing" on in grade 1?

After we said goodbye to our chicks, our Science Unit on Needs of Living Things shifted... to plants!

Our room has looked a little like a green house lately. We've had things growing all around the room!

Did you know we eat seeds all the time? We did a little "seed surgery" and examined seeds in several fruits and veggies:

We had lots of fun observing our very own bean seeds as they sprouted roots, a stalk, and leaves!

We wanted to determine what a plant needs to grow, so we carried out several experiments. When conducting an experiment, we learned to keep everything the same, and just change ONE thing. Here are our results:

One plant lived on our sunny little windowsill, and one stayed in a dark cupboard. Plants sure need sunshine!

We watered one plant, and didn't water the other. As many predicted, plants do need water.

We observed how water moves throughout the whole plant when we put celery into coloured water. So cool! And holy moly, does it happen fast!

Grass seeds were planted into four homes; sand, dirt, rice, and cotton. Look! It did really well in dirt and sand ... and cotton? We were surprised!

Armed with their knowledge about the needs of plants, the students set to work on their culminating project today, fairy gardens! Using soil mixed with grass seed, the boys and girls had so much fun creating their little gardens! We can't wait to see how they will look when the grass grows!

Turns out plants also make lovely jewelry! 
Thanks, kids!

Worms, Word Clouds, and ... Cookie Monster?

We've wrapped up our Seasonal Changes in Spring mini-unit! Check out our word clouds! We included words that describe Spring, including what people do, how plants and trees change, what animals do, and the weather in Spring!

Here is a close up of a few of our fantastic Spring word clouds:

Thanks a million to Miss Smith and our patient, amazing Grade 5 buddies for helping us out! You rock!

This week we dug into our Needs of Living Things unit, and began by comparing living and non-living. We listed our ideas of what makes something living. Then, thinking about things we knew to be living (like a puppy and a plant), we crossed off ideas that didn't fit. 

Just to make sure we didn't miss any ideas on our list, we looked at a few more examples of living things from Kathryn Warner. We discovered we needed to add "It reproduces" and "It needs food and water". 

While we ALL agree Mrs. Beliveau is the bee's knees when it comes to effective teachers, there are some lessons best left for Cookie Monster to teach:

Then we double-checked our list to ensure what makes things living was accurate:

Today, to really compare living and non-living, we examined an earthworm and a gummy worm! The boys and girls were ecstatic! 

Comparing a gummy worm with an earthworm gave us a hands-on, real-life example of what makes something living!

We are ready to hatch chicks next week! The students are thrilled to prepare for the arrival of eggs on Wednesday! Please keep us in your prayers as we explore the miracle of God's creation. Watch the blog for daily updates, and please feel free to drop in to learn alongside us!

"Chicken littles" aren't so little anymore!

This past April we had the amazing experience of hatching chicks in our class (check out here, here, here, here and here). Today the children were in absolute disbelief when they saw pictures of them now!

Can you believe our teeny, tiny, fluffy little puff balls have grown into chickens?

Thank you to the family who generously offered their home to our feathered friends. Hatching chicks continues to be an incredible learning experience! 

Isn't God amazing?

How do we know something is living?

This week we have begun our Needs of Plants and Animals Unit! In preparation for the arrival of our eggs next Monday, we are focussing this week on what it means for something to be living. 

We began by gathering any and all ideas about what makes something living. Then we thought about something we knew for sure was living, such as a dog, and crossed off ideas on our list that didn't fit with what we knew about dogs. After going through the list, considering a tree, elephant, child, and snake, we were pretty sure we determined what makes things living:

To ensure we didn't miss any elements of what makes something living, we looked at a few more examples (courtesy of Kathryn Warner) and realized we needed to add "It can reproduce" to our list. Reproduce means it makes more like itself.

To reinforce what makes something living, we enjoyed a clip from our pal on Sesame Street:



Then we double-checked to make sure our list of what makes things living was accurate:

Today an up-close, hands-on examination was necessary! Thrilled beyond measure, our  scientists compared gummy worms and earthworms. We were able to see many elements demonstrating that the earthworms are indeed living and gummy worms are non-living:

We enjoyed eating the gummy worms, but were careful to to throw out the ones used in the observations and eat fresh ones.
No "germ worms" for our tummies!

To conclude our week examining living and non-living, the students will be using the computer program KidPix to sort clip art of living and non-living things. Watch your child's Kanga for this activity!

We are ready for Chick Week! The children can hardly contain themselves as we prepare for the arrival of our eggs on Monday! Please keep us in your prayers as we explore the miracle of God's creations. Watch the blog for frequent updates and pictures, and please feel free to drop in and learn alongside us!



Elements of the lesson were inspired by Kathryn Warner's lessons at Kindergarten ... kindergarten.... Mrs. Warner, thank you for sharing your creativity!