Science Fair: The First Grade Way!

Happy Weekend to all my friends here at Class*y!
I have been MIA for a short while...Off getting married and honeymooning in Italy!  (Which was absolutely incredible by the way!)  I'd like to throwback a very amazing treat that inspired me to start a NEW tradition in my first grade classroom this year.

In previous years, I have always finished out the year with a Fairytales Unit and Reader's Theater Play.  This year's class voted to do something completely different.  I was so proud of the kids when the votes were tallied and the winning project would be a class science fair!  I immediately got online and searched for ideas and of course, found this fabulous freebie on TPT to get me started.
 Click here or on the image below to grab it!
 

I found some Pinterest-inspired sites that referenced first grade science fair ideas so I made a list of about 20 ideas and had each student choose which project they wanted to research.  The parents received a copy of the above-mentioned student guide over spring break in April and had the entire month of May to work on the project.  
We held our science fair over the last three school days (8 to 9 students presented each day).
Of course, I was lucky enough to have the empty room next door to set up all the projects.
I was absolutely blown away by the excitement, anticipation and effort put into these awesome science projects!  Take a peek!

Hazel's LIVE ACTION video feed:

I did take points and assess three major areas of each project. (Oral Presentation, Materials, and Scientific Method). I then created these cute Young Scientist Awards that included the final grade for each student.

I made this document editable so if you'd like to use it, click here!

It was an incredible first grade experience to have a science fair this year!  I am definitely putting it on the agenda for next year and many more to come!
Have a fabulous weekend everyone,

Fabulous Freebie Find on Insects!

Happy Friday Friends!

I am planning a unit on insects and of course, I love tying in great literature to go along with all my first grade science units.

Some of my favorite buggy books are- 

 

 

I was poking around on the Scholastic website and to my amazement, found a 52 page insect unit for FREE!

YIPPEE!!!

This huge file has everything you need for a two-week cross-curricular unit on insects.

Oh, did I mention it is Common-Core Aligned!

Click HERE to grab this fab find!

In the center of the page, 

scroll under "News and Free Resources" and click on the

 "What are Insects?" pdf icon.

ENJOY and have a great weekend!

 Julie 

Growth and Changes in Plants! And a Sale that Starts Today!!

Hello all!

It's me, Beth, from Thinking of Teaching.

I posted my newest product on TPT this week and I'm super excited. I've been blogging for over three years now but only recently opened a store on TPT so every time I upload a product I get a little giddy!

This product is correlated to the Ontario Science curriculum but I have a deal for all you non-Ontario teachers!

First, my set will be on sale (15% off) from Wednesday, April 9th to 11th this week to celebrate my newest product.

Second, if you want to know if your science curriculum is represented in the learning goal contact me and I'll let you know....but the best part? If you would like a certain expectation/learning goal added then I will make you a card free of charge to go along with this set!

How's that sound??

Click on the image below to see a list of the contents included in this set. 

Here is a sample of the Big Idea cards.

And the individual Learning Goal cards!

You will notice that each card has a Specific Expectation number on the bottom. These correspond to the Ontario curriculum and if you are not an Ontario teacher and would like them removed, please contact me and I will start working on a set without the numbers. 

Individual Learning Goal cards that can be glued into your students' notebooks, journals or on assessment tasks and activities.

Best of all, I have included three different self-assessment tasks that can be used with this curriculum and the individual  Learning Goal cards or with any Science curriculum you may teach!

Click on the image below to head to my TPT store to check out this great product and all my others too...remember, I'm new at this so my store is small!

And don't forget about the sale, 15% off everything from Wednesday, April 9th (today) to 11th!

Gardens, Seeds and Plants! Oh my!

I don't know about you all but I am dying for Spring to get here! Where is the sun? Where is the warmth? Where are the flowers?

To celebrate the coming of Spring (because it is coming....) my daughter and I spent some time at the bookstore yesterday looking at books about gardening, plants, seeds and flowers. We are planning to build a garden as soon as it warms up so we can grow our own food this summer. It also helps that plants and soils are a part of the Grade 3 curriculum here in Ontario and so I'll be able to use this opportunity to make plans for when I return to work next year!

Here's a sneak peek at the books we purchased.

I'd love for you to stop by Thinking of Teaching and read more about these great books. I'm also looking for TPT product suggestions about plants, seeds and butterflies. You have a great product, let me know!