Last week, the first graders reviewed and polished their inventions where they used the SCAMPER tool to help brainstorm invention alternations. They then practiced travelling through the Journey of an Idea from start to finish to create one final grand invention/creation. It was fun to see how every student really had the concept down. An idea starts with a spark of inspiration; it can build momentum with discussion and collaboration; it can gain vision when a diagram or plan is made; it can fail and change over and over again; and it can solve problems and help others!

This week, the first graders learned a new word that connects to their study of inventions: biomimicry. Using a Brace Map, we broke down the work to learn "bio" mean "life" and "mimic" means "copy." Biomimicry is when an inventor/engineer copies something they see in nature to make a better designed product. They played a matching game and learned about a lot of amazing engineering feats that were inspired by nature.

The first graders also go to start a unit about theater! They learned about how by changing your vocal tone, inflection, and volume, you can convey different meanings and represent different types of characters. As about the silly game called "I Love Noodle Soup!" They also learned about an acting secret called "cheating out," which is just when an actor makes sure that the audience can always see their facial expressions and hear their voice, even if it feels a little unnatural to the actor.