Oobleck...Solid or Liquid?

What a busy week, full of science experiments, book publishing and more. The fun continued as we began to wrap up our science unit about the properties of matter. Earlier this week we read Dr. Seuss's book Bartholomew and the Ooblek. Then, of course, we had to make our own ooblek to investigate whether it was a solid or liquid. We mixed a solid and a liquid and got a...??? Things got a little messy, in a good way. Students had different points of view, and were able to defend why they thought it was a solid or a liquid. Ask your child to tell you...solid or liquid? And why!

How-To Book Authors' Celebration

Thank you so much for being at school to celebrate your child's writing today. The students were proud to share their work with you and shine in the spotlight as authors. If you weren't able to join us, don't worry...your child's books will all come home in the portfolio at the end of the year, so you will soon have these treasures to keep. After you left our celebration today we wrote reflections about what we had learned as writers during this unit. Enjoy some snippets of these reflections in the photos.

Visit from Author John Coy

First graders had the chance to do a writing session with visiting author John Coy. Mr. Coy guided the students through a series of "quick-writes" (3 to 4 minutes long each) to practice zooming into a small moment and telling more and more details. Students described every detail they could remember about having dinner the previous evening...from what they ate to who was there and what the conversation was about. And the first grade teachers agreed with Mr. Coy's message that in writing there's no such thing as "I'm done!" Ask your child how many years and how many letters to publishers it took for Mr. Coy to publish some of his books.

Area

One of the ways students showed the concept of area during our math unit on measurement was by painting. Students did their best to completely cover a section of newspaper from edge to edge. They then practiced explaining area in their own words.

From Milk to...Ice Cream

This week we made ice cream. We took solids and liquids and TRIED to make a new solid, by...dancing. We had to shake our bags of ingredients to make them solidify, so what better way to do that than to music! Some mixtures did turn into solids, which were promptly eaten with spoons...others remained liquid, so those were drunk with a straw as milkshakes. Who would have guessed that the weather would be so cool this week, so we had to warm our bodies up by doing some more dancing afterward. Ask your child to tell you more about the changes that happened in this experiment.

Weight

The most recent phase of our math unit about measurement has been weight. Students have compared the weight of different objects and learned to use a balance to find objects of equal weight. Next we will sequence groups of objects from lightest to heaviest.

Racing Drops

In our science unit about the properties of matter, we have been learning new vocabulary to help us talk about solids (flexible, rigid, rough, smooth...) and liquids (transparent, opaque...) We have practiced observing and comparing the properties of matter, exploring objects in class and jars of various mystery liquids. Students have used Venn diagrams to organize their descriptions, finding what is the same and different about two objects or substances. We even explored the viscosity (resistance, thickness) of different liquids by playing a game called Racing Drops. Ask your child to tell you about the winning and losing drops of this race!

Publishing Our How To Books

After drafting, writers go back and reread their work. We have learned several strategies for making a successful How To Book, and students are doing their best to apply these to their writing. They write, revise, share with a partner and revise some more! We are looking forward to sharing our published books with YOU next week.

Practicing our How To Steps

Writers are hard at work getting ready for our Author's Celebration with you next week. Over the last several weeks we have gathered ideas, practiced telling steps and drafted them in writing.

Capacity

This week students have continued various types of measurement, including area and capacity. We investigated the capacity of different containers, filling them with sand, beans, gravel and water. Students are beginning to understand the importance of using the same unit of measurement each time and the importance of measuring consistently.

Making Playdough

Recently students made playdough to investigate some of the ways matter can change. They mixed solids and liquids to make a new solid. Ask your child where the energy came from to create the new mixture and cause the changes in matter!