THERE IS A STRONG CONNECTION BETWEEN FOLGER 1st GRADERS AND THE OUTDOOR CLASSROOM GIVEN THAT A MAJOR COMPONENT OF THIS OUTDOOR LEARNING AREA, THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN, BEGAN WITH 1st GRADE STUDENTS. THEY PLANTED THIS GARDEN UNDER THE DIRECTION OF ARLINGTON ECHO. BUT THEIR GREEN SCHOOL EXPERIENCES DON'T STOP THERE - INSTEAD THEY ARE AS VARIED AS THE WINGS OF BUTTERFLIES. BELOW IS A SNAPSHOT OF THE 1st GRADE EXPERIENCE.
butterflies
Here at Folger McKinsey first grade students enjoy a myriad of lessons based on the life cycle of the monarch butterfly. This starts with students planting milkweed seeds to harvest for the following year as the habitat for the caterpillars. The students then collect the caterpillars and place them in the observation nets to keep in the classroom. Watching the insect transform into the chrysalis and then slowly emerge into a butterfly is an exciting time in our classrooms! Students measure and record this growth in a journal and when the butterfly emerges, it is identified as male or female, tagged and released. Of course, this occasion is to be celebrated and so, once the monarchs are ready, 1st graders proceed to the courtyard to celebrate the life cycle where the butterflies are let go into the wild. Tracking the process from start to finish affords the children time to engage in lessons across curricula, from completing many charts and graphs in math, to creating illustrations, to science labs and lessons, as well as to reading both fiction and non-fiction and writing their own stories about monarchs. This unit is as abundant with real-world learning opportunities as our butterfly garden is with beauty and variety.
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exploring plants
Watching plants grow is an integral part of the first grade learning experience. By keeping a variety of plants inside, students can observe and care for them while learning how important it is to show appreciation for the natural world. By going the extra mile and adding plant care to everyday instruction, we are giving our students the experience of tending to plants, which is a dynamic part of being green.
One day, students were shown an amaryllis bulb and they each had the opportunity to touch, smell, and see it. Following this, students completed an “I see, I think, I wonder” activity, making predictions on how it would change. Over the next two months, students measured the growth of the plant using nonstandard units, and recorded their findings on the data chart. Once the flowers were in full bloom, a primrose was added to the classroom to compare and contrast the two plants. Again, green lessons often cross-curricula, as there are incredible opportunities to expand thinking and add a green element from math to language arts and everything in between! |
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Sound & Recycling
What better use is there for discarded trash than to turn it into creative instruments! A unit about sound would not be complete without music. Students collected used tissue boxes, paper towel rolls, oatmeal cans, cereal boxes and many more recyclable objects and transformed them into musical instruments. Creativity abounded! This was coupled with a lesson on the importance of recycling and how different materials are recycled. Students also discovered how to re-purpose trash into something new. By constructing and decorating instruments the students were able to feel accomplished in two ways: feeling good about recycling and helping the earth, and also promoting and celebrating creativity through art and music. Taking another green step forward, they enjoyed a musical concert outside to showcase their talents!
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