Ola Jachtorowicz

Enrichment activity commissioned by the PTA and delivered to all 1st graders at a Massachusetts elementary school. Aligned with NGSS . Requested to return in subsequent years.

Project Synopsis

During hybrid schooling, students did not have access to many of the field trips and traveling enrichment providers. The PTA approached my employer, BASEC, about development a series of science enrichments to be delivered across grades 1-4.

For the first grade, teachers communicated that they wanted to help students organize their thoughts around seasonal change. Students had been making observations about the weather and day length all year, but the teachers wanted a way for students to synthesize these observations into a final understanding at the end of the year.

Learning Objectives:

• Students will be able to make predictions about seasonal patterns of change
• Students will be able to make connections between their place on the planet and seasonal changes such as temperature and amount of sunlight.
• Students will be able to describe the three of the four factors of weather: temperature, wind, precipitation, and sunlight & clouds.

Massachusetts Science, Technology/Engineering Learning Standard:

1-ESS1-2. Analyze provided data to identify relationships among seasonal patterns of change, including relative sunrise and sunset time changes, seasonal temperature and rainfall or snowfall patterns, and seasonal changes to the environment. Examples of seasonal changes to the environment can include foliage changes, bird migration, and differences in amount of insect activity.

Design Process

First, I considered some developmental aspects of 6- and 7-year old learners:

• They like to collect, organize, and sort things
• They learn best through active involvement with people and materials, but still need a lot of structure
• They are very interested in “real” objects, rather than representations

According to Piaget, many 7-year-olds are starting to enter the “concrete operational period,” where they begin to reason logically or justify their thinking. However, these thoughts are still limited to actual physical objects rather than abstract concepts. They are also becoming less egocentric and start to consider other people’s opinions.

I decided to design a way for students to collectively build a visual representation of the seasons in a year.

I researched seasonal changes specific to New England that students could make connections based on past experience or recall discussing in class. I picked 3-dimensional objects such as bird models that students could manipulate, as well as several “real” objects:

• Maple syrup
• Acorns
• Sunflowers
• Raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries
• Live crickets

I also created visual representations for average precipitation, temperature, and day length.

Next, I created tags for each object with context and hints:

I took an existing carpeted trifold that had been used for art shows and created a seasonal calendar. I attached velcro to all the props so they could be stuck on to the calendar:

• [10 min]

  Welcome, Introduction, Expectations, and Vocabulary Definitions

• [15 min]

  Students are broken into small groups with equal amount of props. (Each group also has a teacher or aide to help facilitate discussion and read hints.)

  Students are asked to:

  1. Discuss where on the calendar they think their props belong,
  2. Put their guess on a post-it so they don’t forget
  3. Select a volunteer for each prop. The volunteer will place the prop on the calendar when instructed. 
• [20 min]

  Calendar assembly

  1. Instructor calls for each season
  2. Groups send up volunteers to stick prop onto calendar wall. Groups explain why they think that event belongs there. 
  3. Instructor confirms or adjusts, elaborating on each event
• [10 min]

  Elicit student ideas:

  Why do we see higher temperature and longer days during the Summer months in New England?

  Why do we see low temperatures, short days, and snow during the Winter months in New England?

  Demonstration of Earth’s tilted axis and Earth’s revolution of the sun with inflatable globe and strong flashlight.