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Showing posts with label Shelagh Maiorana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shelagh Maiorana. Show all posts

Friday, 22 May 2015

Day 157 - Vertebrates and Invertebrates visit our classroom - Mrs. Maiorana - Francis Wyman Grade 1

This post first appeared on Mrs. Maiorana's Blog

Wendy Pavlecik, from the Science Center, brought in some animals to help students understand vertebrates (animals with backbones), and invertebrates (no backbone, but have an exoskeleton). Our visitors are gerbils, Mongolian Hissing Cockroaches, and a crayfish. What types of animals are these? Vertebrates? Invertebrates? Ask your child, and in the meantime here are some photos to enjoy.

Tuesday, 24 March 2015

Day 120 - Science Study of MATTER - Mrs. Maiorana - Francis Wyman Grade 1

This post first appeared on Mrs. Maiorana's Blog 

Students learned that all things have matter. Matter is anything that has weight and takes up space. Solids keep their own shape. Liquids and gases take the shape of their container. Students also learned that solids can be described by their properties such as hard, soft, color, shape, and by the material of which they are made.


A favorite experiment involved inflating a balloon by securing a balloon on top of a bottle with vinegar in it. Students predicted what would happen when the baking soda that was inside the balloon was sprinkled into the vinegar. Baking soda and vinegar make bubbles which filled the balloons.

Students also compared the weight (or mass) of different classrooms objects. They used a balance scale to measure weight in grams. They added up the gram pieces and figured out what number was greater or what object weighed more.

Friday, 3 October 2014

Day 24 - Learning About The Farm - Mrs. Maiorana, Francis Wyman First Grade

In September, students harvested beans and cauliflower from the community garden which is at the back of Francis Wyman field. We wrote a brief description of what we did.


For our upcoming field trip to Davis Farmland we are learning about farm animals: what the animals need, what they give us or how they help us, and how baby animals differ from the adults. We are gathering facts and will be assembling our Farm Fact Books. 

In order to incorporate engineering into our science study of animals, students had the chance to create a fence for our "pig sty". Each student who attempted it used two Popsicle sticks and two pipe cleaners. They were surprised that no tape or glue would be allowed. The challenge was that their section of fence had to connect to someone else's. The "engineers" worked cooperatively as some helped others or were willing to change their own design to make sections connect. After trying to get the fence to stand up, we had to allow tape to support the base of each post (just like a post hole in the ground --and Mrs. Maiorana is not allowed to drill into the counter :)