This Years First Unit For Each Grade

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My job last year was to create a science curriculum for the Lower School (1st-4th) that would excite and engage our students. Having been a elementary classroom teacher for over 16yrs, a science teacher for 2yrs, an engineering/design teacher-science coordinator for 2yrs and a STEM/MakerSpace Teacher for 4yrs, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do.

With the start of the 2019-2020 school year, all the work I put in get's to be put into practice. Here is how we started each grade this year:

The first day for all the grades was the same...the "Welcome to our new lab" speech, going over the rules (in all the years I have taught, I have only had two rules...Be safe. Be kind. I tell my students, before you do anything, ask yourself "Is it safe? Is it kind?" if the answer is yes to both, then you can do it. If the answer is no to either or both, don't do it. No need to have a lengthy list of dos or don'ts on the wall...keep it simple), explore the class and make your name plaques.

Day two is again the same for each grade, but there is a slight twist. First they put their names on their folders. Next we go into a thinking routine from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education's Project Zero - Agency by Design. We do this at the beginning of the year to get the students in the mindset to look closely at things. I always start with "Parts, Purposes, Complexities" but the object each grade level looks at is different. First grade looks at a piece of paper, second uses a ruler, third grade examines a pair of scissors and fourth observes a pencil. If you are not familiar with thinking routines or Agency by Design, go to Agency by Design.

Follow along as we implement a new science curriculum this year.

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