This year we have adopted a new science curriculum called Project Lead the Way. We are very excited to dig into these new units and get students involved in learning about our new topics! As I shared on curriculum night, we are departmentalizing with Science and Social Studies a bit this year, so at some point your student will be learning Social Studies units from another first grade teacher. I am teaching only Science this year.
The new science curriculum gives us access to new technology for our classrooms - tablets.
Later this week we will begin science by talking about what science is and what a scientist looks and acts like. Then students will have the opportunity to use the tablets to explore some of the applications we will use with the science activities.
The way the modules are set up are to explore and gain information and then apply that information to complete activities and solve problems. The learning is cooperative and students will be working in groups of 2-4 to complete modules.
Our first unit in first grade is called Animal Adaptations. In this module, students are presented with the problem of preparing an ideal traveler for a visit to an extreme environment and designing the ideal shoe for this traveler to wear in this environment. Students apply what they learn about plant and animal adaptations to guide them as they make choices about how to create their shoe. Students will learn what it means for an organism to be adapted to its environment and how different adaptations can be categorized. Through various investigations, students will explore an example of adaptations for protection, camouflage, food, and locomotion. They will complete an inquiry investigation to explore how different beak shapes are best adapted for gathering different foods. They will then investigate organisms that live in an extreme environment and document the variety of adaptations that each of these organisms display. Students will combine all of their knowledge of plant and animal adaptations with their understanding of the extreme environment to prepare their traveler and design their shoe.
Throughout the unit students will be working on a whole host of skills from science to technology. I will share these learning outcomes/goals in smaller chunks week by week. The essential questions we will begin with:
1. How can I sort animals into different groups?
2. What is an adaptation and what is the purpose of adaptations in nature?
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