ThursdayNext Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 What 9 things would you teach in 1st grade? So I've finally decided to put together my own 1st grade science. I looked and looked for a science curriculum, but all the ones I liked were $$$. Like Nancy Larson or Noeo. (We will be doing Noeo Chemistry next year, found a deal on used books.) I didn't want a fill in the blanks workbook. I want this to be fun, but more of an extra than a core thing. I'm also not good at getting to everything, and with how much time math takes, I want the flexibility to do a little or a lot of science. I'm thinking I'll do a topic a month, and get books from the library, nature study, and 1 or 2 experiments. What 9 areas should I cover? Anatomy, botany, entomology, weather, animals in our state, mammals, major ecosystems, what is science... I would love your thoughts and ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendyroo Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 You could look at the Table of Contents for Mr. Q Life Science. His text has 9 units, so that could give you some ideas. Wendy 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RKWAcademy Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 I bought RSO Life for my first graders but we haven't bothered with it yet. So far, we just pick up books from the library on topics that fascinate the kids. I like your list. My top choices for my kids would be weather, human anatomy and some nutrition, reptiles and amphibians (DD's passions right now), mammals, entomology, and space/planets. Raise some bullfrog tadpoles and butterflies. Make an insect board - pin dead ones with labels. They help with the fish tank responsibilities. That sort of thing. I'm sure I'll eventually pull out the RSO life but for now, it hasn't been a priority even though we all love science! I hope to add a microscope soon, too. I have a lot of slides and they currently use a pocket scope occasionally. We did a magic school bus germs/yeast/mold kit. Now, every time I let the bread grow mold, I show them that I was doing science and they get excited. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 We did animals and plants. We just read library books, observed nature, sketched, and did some easy "experiments", watched some Nature and Wildkratts. It was a good year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAtoVA Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 We studied insects, amphibians, reptiles, and plants. We had planned to also do a general study of the human body but did not get to it yet. We probably will start the upcoming year with that as DD doesn't want to skip it. Then we will go into the next year's study which will be weather, earth science and astronomy. We read books, did simple experiments and watched Discovery streaming videos as well as Bill Nye and Schlesinger media DVD's. We also got butterfly and ladybug larvae from Insect Lore and raised butterflies and ladybugs. I do have the Nancy Larson curricula 1, 2 and 3 but bought them all used for very good prices. Check out Ebay and homeschool classifieds for deals. I used Nancy Larson as a spine (for insects and plants) with supplements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAtoVA Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 We studied non living and living things, insects, amphibians, reptiles, and plants. We had planned to also do a general study of the human body but did not get to it yet. We probably will start the upcoming year with that as DD doesn't want to skip it. Then we will go into the next year's study which will be weather, earth science and astronomy. We read books, did simple experiments and watched Discovery streaming videos as well as Bill Nye and Schlesinger media DVD's. We also got butterfly and ladybug larvae from Insect Lore and raised butterflies and ladybugs. I do have the Nancy Larson curricula 1, 2 and 3 but bought them all used for very good prices. Check out Ebay and homeschool classifieds for deals. I used Nancy Larson as a spine (for insects and plants) with supplements. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 This is such a fun age. Honestly, I think what they take most from it will be the hands on things. A chrysalis farm, an ant farm, a goldfish, going to the zoo and reading all the posts--this is a GREAT age for those things. National Geographic kids is a great start for this and if you have a spine you probably don't even need to read the textbook--just look up books about the thing and draw it, copy a paragraph. I think at this age my daughter's teacher had her compose a book about different animals, over the entire year, from copywork. Drawing, copy text (very short paragraph, like three sentences), and that was it. And of course they had a class pet. I really think at this age you can get so much from the hands on and they are still so excited about it. That's a better foundation than anything in a book, which they will cover again in 4th or 5th and then middle and high school anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 All are great suggestions. I wanted to add a couple of things. I apologize if they have been mentioned. While we were hiking, the kids would try to find something that began with the letters of the alphabet. Or something that looked like that letter. We were stumped on the letter x I think. So, I found to sticks that looked like the letter x. I took pictures and put the pictures on poster boards to hang on the wall. I like it. :) I've also made 4 notebooks for them for each season. Each notebook has a picture as the front cover that will correspond with that particular season we are in. I'm going to let them draw what they see. I am going to the same place multiples times during the season, so they can draw many pictures. Hopefully, they can reflect back on the notebooks and see the differences in each season. Have fun! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThursdayNext Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 You could look at the Table of Contents for Mr. Q Life Science. His text has 9 units, so that could give you some ideas. Wendy Thanks everyone for the ideas and encouragement! I'm thinking about doing the free life science vs just doing my own thing. On the one hand, the Mr. Q life science would be all laid out for the year. It would teach things like the scientific method, which I'm not able to do without a guide. I'm not always good at getting to things, so this might help. On the other hand, it would be nice to be able to do a little or a lot. We already enjoy learning about plants and animals, studying things in our backyard and reading nonfiction. If I planned a booklist in advance, I could get most of those books from the library in time, and the 1st of the month would help me remember. I really want this to be fun, and to follow our interests. But I also want to get it done. Also, any recommendations for science movies/tv that are on Prime? My daughter's favorite shows are Wild Kratts and Annedroids. We are creationists, and prefer not a lot of evolution references. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 My first grader is doing Creek Edge Press Life Science task cards. It's been perfect for him and his 3rd grade brother. It has different tasks that include reading about different animals (you can help with this if the child isn't reading well yet), sketching, observing, etc. I just let them go at it, and they may just do a little bit or they may do a lot more if the subject is interesting to them. I've been very happy with this set. It's $20, plus I bought some science encyclopedia type books to go with it. I wrote on the back of each card which books my library has that would work well for that task card, and I put those on hold a week or two before we need them. I really think "library book science" is excellent for elementary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Do you like crafty stuff? I did lapbooks with kids this age when we studied the different animal kingdoms. We were able to observe an animal in each kingdom and several more in depth studies of popular cute mammals! Go to the zoo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Here's what we did/used for Life Sciences in first grade. http://bluehouseschool.blogspot.com/search/label/Life%20Science - You'll need to scroll way back to read from the beginning. We did have a curriculum change after a couple of weeks...from RSO to ScienceWorks. I believe we divided into anatomy, animals (including insects) and plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momontherun Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 For science, we like Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding by Nebel. The k-2 book is affordable and thorough. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinivanMom Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 I have always tried to cover: -basic Biology -habitats -zoology -human anatomy & health -botany I also try to incorporate as much real-world biology as possible: -lots of nature walks -zoo/aquarium trip -farm/state fair trip -apple picking/pumpkin patch/strawberry picking trip -raising caterpillars/tadpoles -growing plants/gardening Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.