STEM + Art = STEAM

Creating Connections between Science Curriculum and Families

~Creating an NGSS-aligned science curriculum for Betterlesson.com has inspired me to truly involve my first graders' families in our learning!~

Aligning with the NGSS Life Sciences standards for first grade, my unit revolves around external features and patterns of behaviors of birds.  Check out my unit on Betterlesson.com (coming November 2014).

At the beginning of this unit, I sent home a packet of bird-themed activities like recipes, art projects, and more, that families could make at home.  Here's a link to the free packet, on www.teacherspayteachers.com.  http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Bird-themed-crafts-1518188

Here are some sample pages and crafts from the packet.  I pulled together most of the ideas from Pinterest!  Plus, some were ones I have fond memories of completing as a child~ like the peanut-butter-covered pinecone bird feeder.

It was so exciting as parents started emailing pictures of their children working on bird feeders and crafts at home!  Here is some of the astonishing work that came in!

STEAM projects also make personalized, meaningful hallway displays that students are proud to show off!

To create a hallway display, I first hung a branch with fishing string.  Then, I hung some of the unique bird creations, which truly "fly" when people walk by!

Next, I photographed and printed pages from student Science Journals.  I created a bulletin board that incorporated both the artwork and the science curriculum ~ a STEAM project!

This project was so meaningful to me because I love connecting with families!  I hope to work with a local nature center next and plan a birding trip on an upcoming weekend for first grade families!

Schema and the Common Core!

I had a major AHA! moment about schema and the Common Core today.  Like many educators, I reflected at length about the Common Core and how it relates to what I believe works for kids-- namely, metacognition strategies!  I looked to Debbie Miller for guidance and found this great interview.  And, I spent a lot of time reading and re-reading the first grade ELA standards to see how they fit with the various strategies.  

It really bothered me that schema was just not there!  I find schema-- connecting to your background knowledge-- to be such a valuable tool for understanding both fiction and nonfiction texts.  The ideas of what makes a meaningful connection have always been pivotal for first graders!  Meaningful connections help us comprehend what we are reading!

Here's the poster I have always used to show meaningful connections:

Today, my objective was, "We will use schema to describe the characters, setting, and major events in the story."  Here was the AHA!  How does schema help us?  Schema helps us understand the characters and events-- how they are feeling and what they are doing.  Schema helps us understand the setting!  It turns out that I've been teaching Common Core ELA standards all along:  CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3 Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.  Schema helps us master the standard!
Here is our final poster (after Day 2) of reading The Art Lesson by Tomie de Paola.

Here are some meaningful connections that helped us understand and describe the character, Tommy.  We made meaningful connections to our school art teacher, Mr. E, how we love to draw and paint at home, how we practice things to get better too, and how we always do our own work and don't copy.  :)

We made connections to the events too!  We made a text-to-text connection to a story called "Nat and Sam."  We connected to the character feeling disappointed.  And, we connected to making deals (don't we all make deals at home... if you finish your dinner, then you can have dessert!).

Finally, I feel like I am truly able to merge schema and give it focus by using schema to understand story elements.  This kept our schema more focused, so that we aren't having little firecrackers (connections that do not help us understand).  Success!

What did you do today, darling? "Nothing!"

I love having volunteers in the classroom, but it's simply not an option for some families.  Instead, I am sending videos and photographs to help them feel like a part of our day!  I also try to suggest conversation starters related to our classroom.  Here is a copy of today's email to families.

Dear Families,

There are just so many reasons to love first grade!  Here are a few of them!

We sing every day!!!  Here we are signing our poem of the week:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYcenmwHrmM

We are creative!  Here is our hallway display for City Mouse & Country Mouse!  (PS—We also had to learn the word “suburbs.”)

We love learning!  Attached is the PDF version of the bird crafts.  Julia brought in the cutest hand-print paintings… and I hope more of you have a chance to make bird crafts at home too.  J 

We are scientists and engineers!  (No one knew what an engineer did—so talk about this career at home!)  Here is Scientist Carson going back to the magazine to help him spell “flamingo.”  Ask your child—why do birds have different size and shape beaks?  Which bird “beak” worked best in our experiment—tweezers (like a woodpecker), chopsticks (like a stork), or a spoon (like a pelican)?

Best wishes,

Mrs. Yablonski’s darlings

Children must have at least one person who believes in them.
It could be a counselor, a teacher, a preacher, a friend.
It could be you.
You never know when a little love, a little support,
will plant a seed of hope.
~Marian Wright Edelman~

City Mouse and Country Mouse

In early October, we are working on the Elements of Fiction.  We're especially hitting Common Core standards of identifying and describing characters, settings, and events in a story.  Here, students listened to a read-aloud version of Country Mouse and City Mouse.  What a great story, since the characters and settings are ripe for descriptions and comparisons!

After reading, students chose which setting to write about-- the city or country.  They cited text evidence as to why they liked that setting the best!

Here's the amazing hallway display that a fabulous parent helped me put together.  Thanks, Mrs. Shedwick!

PS-- The story was a little challenging, though, because my school is in a suburb!  I introduced the WOW word "suburb" and we watched a Brainpop Jr. video to help us identify our place in the world.  :)

Student-centered emails

In true Charlotte Danielson fashion, the first grade team is now working to make our parent communications more student-centered!  Students contribute to the emails and tell their parents what we've been up to!  Pictures and video clips are included too, to really help parents become part of the classroom.

Here's a sample email my class sent in October!

Dear First Grade Families,

We are “fall”ing in love with science!  Luke A. enjoyed observing mealworms.  Did you know mealworms have antennas?  And Asiyah adds that they have 6 legs, which we debated a lot.  We have stereoscopes in our classroom and will watch them as they turn from mealworms to pupas to darkling beetles.  Zymal liked making models out of play-doh.  We made models of animals and labeled the external body parts!  Jacob S. shared that we made models because we are scientists!  Jacob L.’s favorite part was when we took pictures of our models with ipads and voice-recorded how the body part helps the animal survive.

Payton says that in reading we shared our thinking and connections to the wordless book, WAVE!  We made connections to visiting the beach.  In reading, we also read-to-self, went to the writing center, or read-to-someone.  Akirah’s favorite place to read is with a comfy pillow in a quiet corner of the classroom.

In math, Gracelyn explains that we learned part + part = sum.  London enjoys playing Compare Dots and Five in a Row Bingo.

We also had visitors from the Baltimore County 911 center.  We need to learn our addresses!!!  We can also practice making calls with you at home.

Here are some video links to our learning!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k-ztjFEMNs&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYyjCjvhWJw

Have a great weekend.  Hope you come to the PTA Movie Night, tonight at 6:30!

Best wishes,

Mrs. Yablonski’s class