Entry 8 - Maple Syrup

MAPLE SYRUP 

           

Maple syrup is usually made from the sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in the spring. Maple trees can be tapped by boring holes into their trunks and collecting the exuded sap. The sap is processed by heating to evaporate much of the water, leaving the concentrated syrup. Maple syrup was first collected and used by the indigenous peoples of North America. The practice was adopted by European settlers, who gradually refined production methods. Technological improvements have further refined syrup processing since then. (CONTENT)

Having already discussed jobs of people from our community, we will discuss the task of tapping trees, collecting the sap and making maple syrup and other products from it.  We will watch a short video on You Tube called “How to Make Maple Syrup” by Ethan and Justin Spencer. Students will list and recall the steps. (DOK 1) We will then discuss that the process is still the same as it was long ago but point out that some of the tools have changed. We will then distinguish between those changes and compare the tools from then & now. (DOK 2)  We will draw conclusions as to why the tools have changed and the process is still the same.(DOK 3) We will hypothesize why maple syrup production is not the same each year and what the causes are.(DOK 3) Next we will discuss the different ways we can use the product and learn the steps to make maple sugar as we did at Somerset Historical Society. I did find that some people recommend using a Kitchen Aid Mixer to do this but I feel the students would enjoy doing it the “old fashioned” way. I would have students create a series of pictures showing the steps to making sugar and then write simple sentences to explain the process. (DOK 4) Finally students would actually make the sugar. (DOK 4) (Standards 1.4.1.B, 1.5.1.C, & 1.9.1.A)

Domains: 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 2b, 2c, 2d, 3a, 3b, 3c

Jobs in our community- then & now

PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY7

          

Who are the people in your neighborhood? Jobs and responsibilities people have in their communities have changed over time. Firefighters, police officers, and paramedics help keep community members safe. Doctors, nurses, and dentists help keep people healthy. Drivers and conductors transport people from place to place. The jobs of teachers, librarians, mayors, farmers, sanitation workers and more are all present time occupations that we see in our community.  In the past, community jobs were much different.  Blacksmiths, shoemakers, coopers, farmers and a tanners are all some of the important jobs held by people in the 1800s (long ago). I will explain to students what each of these jobs is and show examples on the smartboard using YouTube or another source.
(CONTENT)

The lesson will start by having a classroom discussion on present day jobs/professions.  Students will identify some of the jobs they are familiar with in their neighborhood/community. (DOK 1) (Standard 8.3.1C)  Read a book to inform students how jobs have changed over time (1800s to present day).  Students will compare jobs then and now and draw conclusion as to why some of the popular jobs from the past are no longer (due to advancement in technology)  (DOK 2 & 3) .  Students will also identify the jobs that are still being done but how they may have changed and why.(DOK 3)  Students could have a class discussion on what jobs they feel may become obsolete in the future and which jobs they feel will surely still be around.  They will also give reasons why.(DOK 2 & 3) Culminating activity to follow will be having students create a foldable of “THEN and NOW”.  (DOK 2 & 3)  Students will demonstrate understanding of how life has changed for people over time in each of the following four categories: 1) transportation 2) clothing 3) jobs and 4) school.  Students will illustrate the changes on the foldable. (Standards 8.3.1.C, 1.4.1B) (CREATIVE ACTIVITY)

Domains: 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 2b, 2c, 2d, 3a, 3b, 3c

Transportation

TRANSPORTATION

Transportation refers to the means and methods of moving people and products from one place to another. This includes organized systems, such as public transport, or private use means, such as cars and private jets.  First graders are likely to have personal experience of various means of transport. This helps you create activities in the classroom presenting the history of transportation, specific uses and attributes of each means, as well as how people use transportation to reach their destination. Explain to children that man needed means of transportation to reach his destination faster or to carry goods more easily. How has transportation changed over time? Discuss with children. Explain that hundreds of years ago, people traveled or transported goods with the help of animals. They rode horses or carriages to travel. A journey across the country could take months of travel in uncertain weather conditions. After the steam engine was developed in the 1700s, people could travel faster and more easily with locomotives. Goods could be transported beyond just the local areas. The steam engine is one of the inventions that was a key player in the Industrial Revolution and helped develop economic growth. In the 1800s and 1900s, people began using gas-powered automobiles for transportation and soon cars were mass-produced for consumers, changing the way people traveled forever. Have children think about how cars from fifty years ago compare to cars today. Some children may point out that today's cars might run on electricity, solar power, or on both gas and electricity.(CONTENT)

I will begin the lesson by reading the students the book, “TRAVEL (Then and Now)” by Vicki Yates. The left-hand page of each book looks at what something was like in the past, and the right-hand page looks at what it is like today. It features fascinating photos of the past to bring history to life for young readers.  After the story students will be asked how they got to school. (DOK1) (Standards 1.2.1A) Upon completing the discussion, explain that people get to different places using various forms of transportation. Ask students if they know what transportation is. (DOK1) Explain that transportation helps us move from place to place and that there are various means of transportation that have changed over time. Ask students how people traveled long ago before there were cars and planes.(DOK 1) Students will then organize the types of transportation into three categories : land, water & air. (DOK 2) (1.2.2 B) Compare and contrast similarities and differences in travel from then and now. (DOK 3) (Standards 8.3.1C)  Students will be given the option, based on their ability level, to show understanding of how transportation has changed over time. Students may either create an illustration or write a journal about what it would be like to travel to a faraway place then and now. (DOK 4) (Standard 1.5.1A, 1.4.1B)  Students will write a logical journal entry predicting what transportation will be like 100 years from now based on the progress transportation has made from the past. (DOK 2, 3 & 4)  This may be done in a group depending on the time of year and ability of students.

Domains: 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 2b, 2c, 2d, 3a, 3b, 3c

Entry 7- Simple Machines

SIMPLE MACHINES

Students will learn that a simple machine is a tool that uses force to make work easier.  An inclined plane, lever, pulley, and a wheel and axle are examples of simple machines.  Children will learn how these machines make work easier.  While machines have many moving parts, a simple machine has none or few moving parts.  A force is a push or pull that can change the way something moves.  Any push or pull is a force. Review with children that heavier objects require more force to move.   Some objects are so heavy that people need machines to use them. A simple machine can change the direction or significance of a force in different ways to make work easier. It can change the way a force is used to make it more effective.  A ramp, or inclined plane, is a simple machine with a slanted surface. It helps people and things move between higher and lower places. A lever is a simple machine that consists of a bar that rests on a fulcrum, or a point that does not move. A lever can also help lift up heavy loads. A wheel and an axle work together to make a simple machine. Explain that a wheel turns around a rod, called an axle. A wheel and axle can help move things faster or easier, and also help things turn. A pulley is a simple machine that has a rope or cable that goes over a wheel. A pulley helps people lift things up and change the direction of their force. You pull on a rope to make the load go up. You can also connect pulleys together, creating a combined pulley that requires less than half the force otherwise needed to lift up a load. Combining simple machines can also help to make work easier (CONTENT).

After reading, Simple Machines from our Reading Street series at school, we will discuss the simple machines that we have encountered in everyday life. Examples might include a slide, flagpole, stapler or pencil sharpener.  Students will identify and list or draw simple machines found around the classroom. (DOK 1) Students will classify the simple machines by type. (DOK 2)  We will also discuss that these are not “new” inventions but that people have been using this technology for thousands of years.  Being that we have discussed transportation from “then & now” we will learn how the Allegheny Portage Railroad used these inventions to drastically reduce the travel time from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh.  We will then identify the simple machines used for the railroad (DOK 2).  Upon completing our content and discussions, students will then go through 3 stations where they can make their own simple machines.  Constructing the simple machines and adjusting them to meet needs. (DOK 3 & 4) (CREATIVE ACTIVITY)(Standards 3.2.1.B1, 3.2.1.B7, 8.1.1.B, 8.3.1.C)

Station 1: Ramping Up – Students will create ramps using books and building blocks.  They will then take cars and cylinders and roll them down the ramps.  I will ask them to measure the distance it travels and then ask them to change the steepness to see how the distance changes. (Revising - DOK 3) Students will share their findings (DOK 4).

Station 2: Pulley Message System – Students will make their own pulley.  They will take two small spools of thread and put a pencil through the center. Then tie the ends of a length of string together to create a loop.  Have two students hold the pencils and spools and spin them slowly to create a pulley system. Then have another student write a message and attach it to the thread using a paper clip.  Use the pulley to pass the message from one person to the other (DOK 4).

Station 3:  Give a Lift – Tape a pencil to a table.  Then place a ruler on top of the pencil to create a lever.  Place an object on one end of the ruler and press down on the other end to lift the object up.  Try using objects of different weights.  What happens? (DOK 3)  Is it easier or harder to lift heavier objects?  Then have your child move the ruler so that the fulcrum is closer or farther away from the load.  When does it become easier or harder to lift the load?  Does the load ever become too heavy for the lever, and if so where is the fulcrum? (Investigating, drawing conclusions and creating - DOK 3 & 4)

                                    

Each station will provide students with the opportunity to create and apply the basic concepts of the simple machines. (DOK 4)

Domain 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 3a, 3b and 3c

Simple Macines

Students will learn that a simple machine is a tool that uses force to make work easier.  An inclined plane, lever, pulley, and a wheel and axle are examples of simple machines.  Children will learn how these machines make work easier.  While machines have many moving parts, a simple machine has none or few moving parts.  A force is a push or pull that can change the way something moves.  Any push or pull is a force. Review with children that heavier objects require more force to move.   Some objects are so heavy that people need machines to use them. A simple machine can change the direction or significance of a force in different ways to make work easier. It can change the way a force is used to make it more effective.  A ramp, or inclined plane, is a simple machine with a slanted surface. It helps people and things move between higher and lower places. A lever is a simple machine that consists of a bar that rests on a fulcrum, or a point that does not move. A lever can also help lift up heavy loads. A wheel and an axle work together to make a simple machine. Explain that a wheel turns around a rod, called an axle. A wheel and axle can help move things faster or easier, and also help things turn. A pulley is a simple machine that has a rope or cable that goes over a wheel. A pulley helps people lift things up and change the direction of their force. You pull on a rope to make the load go up. You can also connect pulleys together, creating a combined pulley that requires less than half the force otherwise needed to lift up a load. Combining simple machines can also help to make work easier (CONTENT).

After reading, Simple Machines from our Reading Street series at school, we will discuss the simple machines that we have encountered in everyday life. Examples might include a slide, flagpole, stapler or pencil sharpener.  (DOK 1) We will also discuss that these are not “new” inventions but that people have been using this technology for thousands of years.  Being that we have discussed transportation from “then & now” we will learn how the Allegheny Portage Railroad used these inventions to drastically reduce the travel time from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh.  We will then identify the simple machines used for the railroad (DOK 2).  Upon completing our content and discussions, students will then go through 3 stations where they can make their own simple machines.  (CREATIVE ACTIVITY)(Standards )
Station 1: Ramping Up – Students will create ramps using books and building blocks.  They will then take cars and cylinders and roll them down the ramps.  I will ask them to measure the distance it travels and then ask them to change the steepness to see how the distance changes.  Students will share their findings (DOK 4).
Station 2: Pulley Message System – Students will make their own pulley.  They will take two small spools of thread and put a pencil through the center. Then tie the ends of a length of string together to create a loop.  Have two students hold the pencils and spools and spin them slowly to create a pulley system. Then have another student write a message and attach it to the thread using a paper clip.  Use the pulley to pass the message from one person to the other (DOK 4).
Station 3:  Give a Lift – Tape a pencil to a table.  Then place a ruler on top of the pencil to create a lever.  Place an object on one end of the ruler and press down on the other end to lift the object up.  Try using objects of different weights.  What happens?  Is it easier or harder to lift heavier objects?  Then have your child move the ruler so that the fulcrum is closer or farther away from the load.  When does it become easier or harder to lift the load?  Does the load ever become too heavy for the lever, and if so where is the fulcrum (DOK 4)?

Domain 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 3a, 3b and 3c

Entry 4

LEWIS & CLARK CONTINUED

This is a first grade lesson that will follow my previous lesson on Lewis and Clark/journaling. President Jefferson asked Lewis to be his secretary.  President Jefferson wanted to train Lewis for an exploring mission.  Thomas Jefferson was very curious about the WEST.  He wanted to learn about the land, plants and animals and about the people (Indians) that lived there.  William Clark was assigned to be Lewis’s partner in command.  Together they would explore the unknown land of the United States that had just been bought from France—it was known as the territory of Louisiana. The two men took soldiers, scouts, and boatmen with them on their journey. One of the most valued members of the group was Sacagawea, a Native American woman, married to one of the scouts. Without her help, Lewis and Clark's mission would have been far more difficult for she knew which nuts and berries to eat, and how to cook and stew meat. She also knew how to communicate with the Native Americans they encountered on their travels. Lewis and Clark created maps, explored rivers, collected and documented plants captured and drew animals such as buffalo, bears, and jack rabbits. Jefferson wanted Lewis and Clark to establish relationships with the Indians and prepare for trade with them.
(Content)

Build a classroom timeline of the Lewis and Clark expedition. We will string a clothesline across the room. Use clothespins to clip cards onto the clothesline; each card should include the date and the event you're adding to the timeline. Add events to the timeline as you learn about them. Recalling, listing and labeling events from the expedition. (DOK 1) Combine the timeline with a map to document the travels of the expedition. Collecting and displaying this info on the map. (DOK 2) Place pins in the map at the locations of significant events. Draw in the path of the expedition as you learn about it. These two activities give the first graders a visual reference for the facts they learn about Lewis and Clark (DOK 1 & 2). As an extension of this activity I will ask students to design a timeline of important events in their lives with the help of their families. (DOK 4) (Standards 8.1.2.a)

Domains: 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 2b, 2c, 2d, 3a, 3b, 3c

Entry 3 - continuing the expedition

LEWIS & CLARK CONTINUED                                             

This is a first grade lesson that will follow my previous lesson on Lewis and Clark/journaling. President Jefferson asked Lewis to be his secretary.  President Jefferson wanted to train Lewis for an exploring mission.  Thomas Jefferson was very curious about the WEST.  He wanted to learn about the land, plants and animals and about the people (Indians) that lived there.  William Clark was assigned to be Lewis’s partner in command.  Together they would explore the unknown land of the United States that had just been bought from France—it was known as the territory of Louisiana. The two men took soldiers, scouts, and boatmen with them on their journey. One of the most valued members of the group was Sacagawea, a Native American woman, married to one of the scouts. Without her help, Lewis and Clark's mission would have been far more difficult for she knew which nuts and berries to eat, and how to cook and stew meat. She also knew how to communicate with the Native Americans they encountered on their travels. Lewis and Clark created maps, explored rivers, collected and documented plants captured and drew animals such as buffalo, bears, and jack rabbits. Jefferson wanted Lewis and Clark to establish relationships with the Indians and prepare for trade with them.
(Content)

Read the story “Seaman’s Journal:  On the Trail with Lewis and Clark” by Patricia Reeder Eubank, (Standards 8.3.1A, 8.2.1A) Have the students recall facts from the story and answer questions. (DOK 1) (CC 1.2.2.B, 8.5.6.B) Provide students with a map of the United States depicting the route of Lewis and Clark's expedition. Ask them questions about the direction Lewis and Clark were traveling (which was previously learned). The students will draw conclusions as to the role that bad weather, illness and rough terrain may have played a role on the long expedition.(DOK 3) (Standards 1.1.1.D) Have students compare/differentiate with details and examples how traveling through the West at that time might have been difficult for Lewis and Clark compared to how it would be now for travelers. (DOK 3) (Standards 7.4.1.A, 8.3.1A)  Lewis and Clark made lots of maps while on their expedition. Let the kids create their own maps of more familiar territory, such as the school, their home or the neighborhood. Focus on adding the important landmarks in the area. Let each child make his own map or have the children work in small groups to create the maps. (DOK 4) If students map different areas of the school you could then have students use the maps to get to a destination. Students could also use a non-standard unit of measure to measure the distance of their routes, maybe a book or toy.  Students could make predictions of the distance first. (DOK 2) (Standards 7.1.1A) (CC 8.6.6.B) (CREATIVE ACTIVITY)

          
Domains: 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 2b, 2c, 2d, 3a, 3b, 3c

Entry 2 - Lewis and Clark

LEWIS & CLARK

President Thomas Jefferson asked Meriwether Lewis to be his secretary.  President Jefferson wanted to train Lewis for an exploring mission.  Thomas Jefferson was very curious about the WEST.  He wanted to learn about the land, plants and animals and about the people (Indians) that lived there.  William Clark was assigned to be Lewis’s partner in command.  Together they would explore the unknown land of the United States that had just been bought from France—what is known as the Louisiana Purchase.  During their journey they recorded information about plants and animals they discovered along the way, they recorded maps and kept their findings in a journal.  CONTENT

                                                                               

After reading the book “Seaman’s Journal:  On the Trail with Lewis and Clark” by Patricia Reeder Eubank, we will ask students to draw a picture of their favorite Lewis and Clark discovery. Recall information from the story. (DOK 1) (Standards 8.3.1.a, 8.2.1.a)  Students will summarize what they learned and explain what the author’s purpose was for writing the story. (DOK 2 & 3) (Standards 1.1.1.a)  Students will take their own expedition on the local nature trail and then create their own journal entry with illustrations and map. (DOK 4) (Standards 1.4.1.a) (CREATIVE ACTIVITY)

Domain 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 3a, 3b and 3c