1st Grade

STEAMsational

STEAM Education is an approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking. Students will create connections between literary pieces of work and hands-on projects.

STEAM exposes students to the creative process, offers meaningful connections, increases critical thinking, and offers a unique way to problem solve.

STEM challenge: Paper Chain

Our first day of QUEST was all about planning, problem solving, creativity, and most of all practicing our Habit of Mind on persisting (not giving up!). The challenge was to create the longest chain using only 3 materials, paper, scissors and glue.

Ozobots & Sequence of Events

We combined robotics and literacy! First grade QUEST students learned how to code Ozobots with markers and how the different colored patterns affected how the Ozobot traveled. We also learned about sequence of events and applied it to various stories. Finally, we combined our knowledge of sequence of events and coded the Ozobot to show the sequence of a story.

Kaya

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Christian

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ONCE UPON A Time...

We've integrated fairytales and STEM!

STEM lessons foster creative play, problem solving and enhance literacy skills.

The Three Billy Goats Gruff:

We read Three Billy Goats Gruff and discussed the story elements, focusing on character, setting, problem and solution. Then they planned and completed the Lego Stem Challenge.

Challenge:

The Three Billy Goats Gruff need to get past the troll and over to the other side of the river.

Build a bridge for the goats to cross over and high enough for the troll to fit under.

First we identified the story elements.

Kaya created a plan, built her bridge, and tested it.

Christian brainstormed a plan, built his bridge, and tested it.

What is a fairytale?

This lesson focused on the elements of a fairytale. We read Hansel and Gretel and identified the story elements, focusing on good and bad characters, magic and recognizing the happy ending. Then they planned and completed the Stem Challenge.

How to Catch A Turkey

This lesson focuses on sequencing events from the story, How to Catch a Turkey. Students created a turkey out of pine cones, felt, & googly eyes. They also designed and made a "turkey hideout" so the turkey couldn't be caught for Thanksgiving.

TURKEY HIDEOUT: Kaya and Christian created their turkey hideouts with the LEGO Story Starters. Can you spot their turkey?

How TO CATCH AN ELF

1st grade QUEST students read How to Catch an Elf by Adam Wallace and continued to focus on sequencing events and STEM.

Kaya C.

Christian Y.

Character Traits

This lesson focused on identifying character traits. We started out by recognizing our own character traits.

Then, we focused on character traits from the fractured fairy tale, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs.

This weeks STEM activity was to design and create a sturdy house for one of the three pigs out of toothpicks and 12 gumdrops. We tested if the structure was sturdy by having the "wolf" try to blow the house down.

Compare and Contrast

Before the next lesson started, QUEST students made sure that they understood how to identify similarities and differences by completing a compare and contrast venn-diagram about themselves.

Fractured fairy tales

A fractured fairy tale takes a classic fairy tale or children's story and adds a twist, changes characters, or makes it more modern.

After reading The True Story of the Three Little Pigs! by A. Wolf, we determined that it was a fractured fairytale and discussed the similarities and differences between the original story and this one. We then read Cinderella and CinderElly and completed an anchor chart together as a group where we were comparing and contrasting the two stories.

Then, they chose their own fractured fairy tales to complete a venn-diagram on.

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