Science Fair

On March 3rd our school hosted its annual Science Fair. As a first grade teacher I had to come up with a project for my entire class to participate in to showcase what they had learned. My students favorite chapter was over animals and their habitats. So I divided my class into three groups- Ocean, Forest, and Desert. Each student had to make a shoebox diorama about the group they were in. So first came the painting which was a messy ordeal but they lvoed it. From there they had the backgrounds and animals to color, cut, and glue/stand up. The next step was going to the playground and then beach to get materials that can be found in that habitiat to add to their diorama. I had a helper with me and I was so nervous that some kid would jump into the ocean but they were so into what they were doing they were on their best behavior. So they gathered seashells, rocks, sand, sticks, and grass to add to their boxes. From there they added the final touches of what they had found to their boxes and they were finished. This whole process took about 3 weeks. The entire school was a part of the Science Fair night and 3-8th grade were judged and they earned prizes if they were the winners. On the night of the science fair Grant and I helped tally up all the points for the other grades to help determine the winner along with the other teachers. From there I had to go to my room to be able to greet the parents and families who came to visit. It was basically a large open house so people were coming in and out of the room constantly. By this time in the year I know all of the parents and it was great to see how excited they were to see what their child had done. There were also parents from other grades seeing what my class had done. I had a slideshow of all the pictures I had taken this year and the parents really enjoyed seeing what the kids have been doing in class this year. Grant was able to walk around and visit all the rooms and take pictures of the night. He was a great support to me and came in to check on me ever so often. :) It was a long long day but it was worth it to see the final product and to be able to showcase their learning. The best part of the project is they did it all by themselves and I want to teach them to be more independent everyday. Overall it was a great time for everyone!