Ms. Myers Grade 1

Welcome to our Science page!  This site will be updated as the units we study change.  On this site you will find information as to what we are learning about as well as activities and links.  Any new link will appear on this page as well as the "Links" page.

October 10, 2009

Our current unit of study in Science is Understanding Earth Systems: Daily and Seasonal Changes.

In this unit, students will be learning about daily (day and night), weekly, monthly, and seasonal cycles.  We will be discussing and learning about what they look like and feel like, plus demonstrate and  assess the impact these daily and seasonal changes have on living things, including humans (I.e. in Fall we need to put on more clothes because the temperature is getting cooler, we may not be playing outside as much as we used to, more indoor activities, birds begin to fly South to migrate towards the end of Autumn and beginning of Winter. 

Students are expected to be able to discuss and identify these changes and list the cycles in order as they happen.

Beginning the week of October 26, 2009, we will be conducting a daily experiment in class to look at temperature and how it changes throughout the day.  We will be doing three test times, 9:00am, 12:00pm, and 3:00pm in class.  Students will also be extending this experiment at home to see what the temperature is like early in the morning (before school) and late at night (before they go to bed).  Students will need to be able to explain: Why is it colder in the morning and late at night than during the middle of the day?  How did our activities change throughout the week based on temperature? How did our activities change throughout the day? etc.

October 27, 2009

This week in Science, our primary focus is on the sun: what it does for us (I.e. oxygen, make food grow, give us day and night and the seasons), what it looks like, protection, etc.  We have also been doing a weather graph in class at three times, 9:00am, 2:00pm, and 9:00pm, to see how temperature changes throughout the day. The reason for taking the temperature three times per day is also to show how when the sun is not around (morning and night time) the temperature tends (not as a rule) to be cooler.

Some things you can do with your child at home is talk about how, due to the weather being so nice and warm this week, the change in weather affects the things we do.  For example, a lot of children are not wanting to wear their coats outside!!  Although my rule in class is if your parents send it, then you have to wear it!! it is a good opportunity to talk about how in nicer weather, even though just 2 weeks ago it was much colder, humans do not need to wear as much clothing outside.  Also, maybe you have turned the heat off or stopped having fires? Maybe you have brought out the bbq tongs again!!  Any change in routine that you may have done in your families life is a great way to extend, and reinforce what we are learning about at this time.

I ask that for just 2 days this weekend, you look at the weather with your child at these three times and write them down so we can continue our weather graph for one whole week (starting Monday morning at 9:00am).  I will also be doing this at home to ensure a complete graph in class.  We are using a thermometer mounted outside the classroom window to see the temperature, however, I have also been using the Weather Network"s website to verify (and correct!).  Feel free to use either in your home project!

November 29, 2009

The next strand in Science we will be exploring is Structures and Mechanisms - Materials, Objects, and Everyday Structures. Some of the expectations from this strand are as follows:

• investigate structures that are built for a specific purpose to see how their design and materials suit the purpose, 
• demonstrate an understanding that objects and structures have observable characteristics and are made from materials with specific properties that determine how they are used.

• I.e. wood, plastic, rubber, cotton, etc.  Where do they come from? What are they used for? Why are they used to make those products?

• Describe objects as being made form more than one material and compare them. I.e. a chair at home vs. a chair at school - what is it made of? What is its function?
  
• Describe the function/ purpose of the observable characteristics of various objects (texture, height, shape, colour) using information gathered through their senses.