Space PBL

For our first PBL project, we dove into our Space PBL and learned about our solar system.  Students learned all about the patterns of the sun, moon and stars.  We took a field trip to the OCC Planetarium as our starting event. 

The phases of the moon can be tough for children to understand.  I made this tangible foam board (found on Pinterest) for students to see the Earth's view of the moon at each phase.  They put their head in the middle and rotate it.  It helps show how the lit part of the moon is the side that is facing the moon.  They would help each other rotate, they loved this!  

We also used Oreo Cookies to show what the moon looked like at each phase.  They had so much fun turning the cookies into moons.  They were so precise with their crescent, gibbous, and quarter moon shapes!

For the final product, students worked in groups to create their own planet.  They gave their planet specific characteristics; size, climate, colors, number of rings and moons.  Individually, they wrote a paragraph describing their planet and illustrated the design and colors.  In the Art Studio, groups made a model of their planet out of paper mache.  They also made a Flipgrid video talking about their planet and its specific characteristics.  At Open House, the models will hang and families will be able to scan the QR Codes to see the group videos! 

These are some of the fun mini-projects we did as part of our PBL.  The students loved making the Fan Books.  Each planet had it's own page with the planet facts.  They loved coloring the planets to match the actual planets of our solar system!  We also integrated our Spanish and Art classes into our projects.  In Spanish, students made these flip books.  In Art, students worked in their groups to create a paper-mache model of the planet they created!

Hands-On Math

My school uses Bridges for our Math curriculum.  Bridges is different from a lot of other curriculum.  The lessons are very engaging and have lots of hands-on practice, which is great!  It really helps students gain a deeper understanding and build a strong number sense.  Using Bridges has been a big adjustment for me.  The TE's are difficult to follow and the online component is tough to navigate.  Bridges also has very little workbook pages.  I'm constantly pulling other resources to give students more written practice.

Some of the lessons are Work Places, which are little "games."  I'll use continue to use these during Math Rotations.  While I'm doing the lesson with one group, other students will work on their Chromebook or review a previous lesson with a Work Place.  In this Work Place, students draw a card with a ten frame and given number.  They have to find how many more to 10.  This is meant to be a partner game where they verbally tell their partner the missing addend.  After playing this with a partner, I made a recording sheet so they could play independently and get some practice writing the equations.

K-1 IPSF Summer Enrichment Academy

This summer is off to a great start!  I'm thrilled to be teaching 2 classes in IPSF's Summer Enrichment Academy.  I am teaching "Fly Into First Grade" in morning and "Kinderfun" in the afternoon.  I'm using animal themes to guide instruction. This first week was all about jungle animals; our read alouds were about jungle animals and our writing/math activities were centered around jungle.  The next week is farm animals, and the last week will be ocean animals.

I wanted to do a fun activity on the first day so students would have fun and feel comfortable in their new classroom.  I also wanted a stress-free activity to allow me to talk with them and get to know them individually. 

 

We made July calendars for our new month and dot-painted fireworks.  I did this activity with both classes and changed it slightly to adapt to their developmental needs.  The first graders wrote all the numbers in the calendars and cut out their stars.  The kindergarteners traced all the numbers and used star stickers.

We also do a lot of writing to get students ready for the school year.  My first graders have a journal and each day, we write a response to the read aloud.  We check our writing with the checklist on the bottom of the page to ensure that we used an uppercase at the beginning, finger spaces, etc.  Self-checking is a great skill for students to make a habit!  My kindergarteners are working on handwriting and drawing a matching picture. 

Open House (1st Grade)

I've always had a love for Open House and the excitement that it brings.  This year was extra special for me.  Can you believe that I've never done my own Open House?!  In my first few years of teaching, my schools in DSUSD didn't do an Open House.  And as a long-term substitute, the Open House that I "hosted" was mostly done by the actual teacher.  This was my first time planning the activities, and arranging the classroom the way I wanted. 

 Here is a panoramic shot of the whole classroom.  I hung student work on every inch of the classroom!

Fact Family Jellyfish and Dr. Seuss art hung from the ceiling.  Our Fraction Robots hung on the window blinds.  On the left Math wall, I displayed a project the students did on Google Slides.  Each desk has students' Timeline project and a folder with their work.

I hung plastic table cloths to make a smooth surface over the cabinets.  The students' Symmetrical Portrait was a family favorite.  I also hung a shape project students did on Google Slides.  The right cabinets have students' final writing piece for our Opinion Writing unit.

The ELA wall is where our anchor charts usually hang.  Last minute, I needed a small activity to fill the space.  Students wrote about why school "rocks" and showed off their best dance move!

The Shape Monsters were a fun project to wrap up our shape unit.  Students created their own monster and then wrote about its' attributes.  Last, they recorded a FlipGrid video where they showed their Shape Monster and read their writing.  The QR code on the wall took parents to the FlipGrid videos!

These were projects from our Architect STEAM project.  We researched famous structures around the world and students worked in groups to build models of them!

Plants PBL (1st Grade)

Our school requires 3 PBL's each year, 1 in each trimester, and we did a plant PBL for the 2nd trimester.  The Essential Question was about parent vegetables and their similarities/differences with the offspring vegetable.  Each group had their own bell pepper seeds that they planted.  After the seeds started sprouting, we transferred them into bigger pots.  We studied bell peppers, planted the seeds, and tended to the plants until they sprouted into new vegetables that we could study and compare to the parents.

 

Throughout the trimester, we studied plants through various experiments.  In the picture below, we planted Lima Beans and were able to watch the process of the beans sprouting through the "greenhouse" sandwich bags.

We also incorporated Writing and Math into our Plant PBL.  Students did an opinion piece about their favorite vegetable.  Students also collaborated with their groups to create a vegetable garden.   They were given a garden space and had to figure out where they could 6 tomato seeds, with 6 inches of growing space.  They used the tables to sketch out their plants, then transferred their design to a poster.

  

This was one of my favorite PBL's because the students were so engaged throughout the entire project.  Students were so curious and really learned to worked together (we had a few lessons about taking turns and how to be a good teammate).  And it was cute to see students take ownership of our class plant; making daily observations and taking turns watering it at recess!

Storms Research Projects (1st Grade)

To wrap up our weather unit, we did a research project that studied the different types of storms.  Students worked in groups of 3-4 students to gather information about their assigned part. Each student was assigned a specific question; what causes a storm, where do they happen, etc.  They typed their findings into a matrix via Google Classroom.

I differentiated by providing different research materials.  For my students who needed extra support, I gave them an outline that listed facts for each part, so they could research in simpler terms.  For my students who needed a challenge, I gave them online articles and informational texts, so they could research their part on their own.

After students completed their part of the matrix, they presented their research via FlipGrid.  Each group recorded a video where they read their research.  At Open House, parents read students' research (the completed matrix) and scanned QR codes to watch their child's presentation video.