Grade 1
1st Grade Architects Design Structures
In combining a study of Frank Lloyd Wright, geometry and the rhythms of the city, first grade children design and build structures out of a variety of materials including toothpicks, gum drops, foam boards, and blocks. They later measure and record the dimensions of their finished structures. Testing materials for durability, discussing building strategies and examining geometric shapes, symmetry, and balance in structures are daily occurrences during this unit in first grade. An architect from the Bear Creek community leads activities with students that enhance their understanding of how materials and laws of nature compliment each other in the design of structures.
Students love listening to how Frank Lloyd Wright played with blocks when he was young and found out that big shapes are made from small parts and that everything is made from basic geometric shapes. They learn that Wright believed that the structure in a musical composition is like the structure of a house. He saw that harmony and the combinations of several melodies in music were the same as the harmony and combinations of colors and building materials used to make a house.
Reading and reciting the poem, “City, Oh City,” with its “thunderous sounds” leads to identifying sounds of the city. Students then create their own city sounds using musical instruments to complement our featured poem.
Students also create a multimedia project in the computer lab using the software program, KidPix. After designing a cityscape, students write a poem describing their creation. The project is available for parents to view in a computer slide show format. The FOSS kit on “Balance and Motion” is integrated throughout this study.
Viele Lake: An Outdoor Science Lab
A crisp fall day at Viele Lake gives first grade students an opportunity to learn in one of nature’s science labs. In preparation for the trip, children complete several lessons on the importance of observation in the study of science. Focusing on their five senses, small groups of students travel to different stations throughout the morning. They explore the lab habitat, read science books about the five senses, and share a healthy snack. After walking back to Bear Creek, the children write poetry based on their observations at the lake. They also make watercolor interpretations of George Winston’s composition, Autumn. Patterns observed in music are compared to the patterns students observe in nature.
Students Learn to Be Pattern Detectives
First grade children are busy all year exploring patterns in music, math and science. Students discover that patterns permeate all content areas. Detecting patterns allows them to make sense of information and predict outcomes. Through numerous experiences they learn that patterns are predictable, can be translated from one medium to another and are represented in different dimensions. The concept of patterns is first introduced through the mathematics curriculum.
Using physical learning materials, students identify and create patterns and then transfer these patterns from one material to another. Once students understand the concept of patterns, they can use this knowledge to aid their learning across the curriculum.
Examples of patterns explored include:
Math: making patterns with manipulatives, predicting “What will happen next?,” checking these predictions, translating the patterns from one material or symbol to another (e.g., a pattern of letters to numbers), identifying numerical patterns (in a calendar, a 100s chart and counting in different ways), and identifying types of patterns (repeating, growing).
Science: exploring systems in the natural world makes children aware that patterns occur in plants, animals, organisms of all complexities, the seasons, and the earth’s composition (e.g., the layering of the rocks or the ripples of water).
Music: translating mathematical patterns into musical patterns and stating examples of patterns in musical terms (e.g., melodies, pitch, tones, rhythms, dynamics, and tempo.
As each new content area is explored the children develop an awareness of how pattern applies to that subject. Students learn to expect patterns and to be alert for pattern differences and similarities when analyzing information.