Welcome to Ms. Degelmann's Page!
Thank you for coming to discover what our Kindergarten class has been up to! Please scroll down to see what we have been doing during our project based unit on trees.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Last month we kicked off our project based unit, "Trees Are Us," by taking a Nature Walk. After reading the book Nature Spy we headed outdoors to take notice of the things we can see in nature around the school. We learned how to tell the difference between things that exist in nature and things that were made by people. When we returned to the classroom we made a class list of things we saw on our walk. Many observations were made about the trees we saw (and the snow!). This picture was taken as a bunch of our nature spies eyed a nest in a tree. What a find! |
Friday, February 27, 2013
Our investigation about seeds has begun. We spent our first science lesson on seeds making observations. The students first described the outside of the seed and learned the purpose of the seed cover. Then students were given a soaked seed and partners opened the seed to discover what was inside. Students were able to see the beginnings of a new plant inside the seed, leading them to learn that the job of a seed is to make a new plant. Students also learned that each seed also holds food inside to nurture the new plant. Here are some pictures of students making observations during this lesson. |
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Monday, March 11, 2013
Today we started the week by conducting an experiment with lima bean seeds. First students observed the seeds and recorded the observations in their science logs. When their observations were complete, students placed the lima bean seeds into a plastic bag that contained a wet paper towel. When the bags were sealed we hung them in the window to catch some sunlight (we hope!). In addition to the students' bags, we also made bags that had seeds with no water, or placed bags with seeds in a closet where they will not receive sunlight. Will those seeds grow? We shall see! |
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Two days after we prepared our lima beans in their bags, we observed the seeds to see if anything had changed. Below are some videos of student reactions. Hear what we observed from our seeds.
Two days after we prepared our lima beans in their bags, we observed the seeds to see if anything had changed. Below are some videos of student reactions. Hear what we observed from our seeds.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Today we learned about the importance of roots for a plant. We read a book and talked about how the roots help hold up the plant and how they soak up water from the soil. We then observed Spring Onion roots. The students drew pictures of what they observed and wrote what they learned about the purpose of roots. Take a look at some of our observational drawings! |
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Friday, March 22, 2013
After observing our lima bean seeds for over a week, we moved from the roots of a plant to the trunk of a tree. Our trunk study began by observing and discussing the bark of a tree. Students were able to observe a section of a tree trunk, compliments of Hurricane Sandy and my friends from New Jersey. They were able to look closely at the bark through magnifying glasses. Students were also able to look at and feel sections of new bark that began to grow under the flaking outer bark. We discussed the importance of the bark to trees and compared it to the skin on our bodies. |
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Today we moved from the outside of the trunk to the inside of the tree/branches. Using branch parts from a fallen tree, students were able to observe what the inside of a tree looks like. Students looked closely at the tree's growth rings and counted them to determine the age of the branch they had. They made observational drawings of their branch piece and recorded the importance of the rings in their science logs.
Today we moved from the outside of the trunk to the inside of the tree/branches. Using branch parts from a fallen tree, students were able to observe what the inside of a tree looks like. Students looked closely at the tree's growth rings and counted them to determine the age of the branch they had. They made observational drawings of their branch piece and recorded the importance of the rings in their science logs.