Today the 1st graders tried their hand at climatology! They started the day by conducting an experiment where they filled a cup with snow and then guessed where the water line would be after the snow melted. At the end of the day, they found that it melted down a lot more than they thought it would because water is more dense than snow.

We then read a book called Snowflake Bentley that tells the true story of Wilson Bentley, the first person to photograph and categorize types of snowflakes. The students learned how snowflakes are formed in the clouds and then created a snowflake field guide to help identify weather conditions and snowflake types that they see this winter!

The 1st graders finished their day by answering two reflection questions on their digital portfolio: "What is something I am proud of or enjoyed doing in GATE so far this year, and what is something I want to learn more about next semester?" Going through their portfolio will help them lead a 5-10 minute parent-student conference at your convenience before the start of 2nd semester. I will reach out if there are any problems I am noticing with a student in GATE, but feel free to shoot me an email or call if you have any specific questions or would like to hear nice things about your child!

This was the last GATE class of the semester. I'm excited to start our new work in January! Thank you for a great first semester!