Grade One Science

​Students will develop an understanding of five general units: Creating Colour, Seasonal Change, Building Things, Senses, and Needs of Plants and Animals.

• Scientists
• Class activities
• Teacher Resources

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Children’s early experiences shape what they imagine to be possible. Study after study has shown the value of exposing children with positive role models. Representation, including in the hours spent consuming media within the classroom, shape what they imagine to be possible for people who look like them, live where they live, or come from where they came from. Simply put, kids determine what they can be based on the examples around them. Therefore, we highly recommend you take 2-5 minutes everyday in your science class to introduce scientists of colour. We've made this easy for you by creating a presentation that you can use with a slide a day to showcase a new scientist of diverse background. You could do this on a daily, weekly, bi-weekly or during a certain month. You could also make your own presentation and encourage this representation. 

K-6 Scientists of Colour by Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation

Creating Colour

Aboriginal science education
The following resources were developed by student teachers in the Aboriginal Teacher Education Program (ATEP) from the University of Alberta. This was part of an EDEL 330 assignment to incorporate Aboriginal perspectives. They represent sample student lesson plans which utilize an Aboriginal science point of view.

• Curriculum connection:
  - 1.4: Colour changes
• Suggested use: 
  - Resource provides background information and lesson plan
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal and hard of hearing. Additional accommodations may be required for visually impaired students

Seasonal Change

Kujo's Kid Zone -Snow!!
In this episode of Kujo's Kid Zone, Kujo invites David Phillips, Senior Climatologist from Environment Canada to tell us all about how snow is different than rain!

• Curriculum connection:
  - 2.4: Seasonal Change over time/Identify human preparations for seasonal change and identify activities that are done on a seasonal basis.
• Suggested use: 
  - Resource provides background information and lesson plan
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal and hard of hearing. Additional accommodations may be required for visually impaired students

The Learning Circle
Produced to help Canadian educators meet the growing need for Elementary-level learning exercises on the Indigenous population in Canada. Composed of six themes, each unit contains its own activities.

• Curriculum connection:
  - 2.4: Seasonal Change over time/Identify human preparations for seasonal change and identify activities that are done on a seasonal basis.
• Suggested use: 
  - Various lesson plans and resources to teach about seasonal change that teachers can use and adapt
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal (accommodations required for discussions) 
  - Visually impaired students may benefit from a read aloud that includes descriptions of visual components of the story
  - Additional accommodations required for hard of hearing students

Chinese Dragon Boat Festival (Song and Website)
The video is a fun song in which addresses the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival. Students can sing and dance while learning, as the website explains the Dragon Boat festival and has activities that can be incorporated into the classroom. Here is a website with activities.

• Curriculum connection: 
  - 3.1: Use a variety of materials to build a variety of structures
• Suggested use: 
  - Incorporate into the building things unit to demonstrate diverse traditions involving building boats; research more about dragon boats and create their own designs
  ​- Use as part of a larger boat/building inquiry. Introduce the Chinese dragon boats as one way that boats are used in cultural traditions. Students can research and gather information on many other ways that various cultures and communities are connected through boats
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal and hard of hearing. Additional accommodations may be required for visually impaired students as descriptive captioning is not available​

Indigenous Boats 
This website shows the different boats used within Indigenous cultures, the materials collected to build, and where they were most commonly used. This video shows the history of various boats.

• Curriculum connection: 
  - 3.1: Use a variety of materials to build a variety of structures
• Suggested use: 
  - Incorporated in the building things unit to provide diverse ideas for traditional materials and methods used to build boats
  ​- Students can experiment by building their own boats from similar materials, or testing the materials shown in the video (wood, bark, and other natural materials found on the land).
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal (accommodations required for discussions) 
  - Visually impaired students may benefit from a read aloud that includes descriptions of visual components of the story
  -Additional accommodations required for hard of hearing students

Senses

Kujo's Kid Zone MiniEpisode 3 "Slime"
Kujo shows kids how to make slime.

• Curriculum connection:
  - The child demonstrates curiosity, interest and a willingness to learn about the environment and community
  - The child uses materials in the environment and community and becomes aware of how others use materials
• Suggested use: 
  - Guide for a classroom slime experiment and experience
  - Students can engage in the scientific process by making predictions first about what materials are needed to make slime or how it might look, feel and smell. Then, watch the video to attempt the recipe together
  - Slime centre with versions of slime that include various colours and textures with descriptive word cards. Combining slime with loose parts or letters & numbers (i.e. beads, gems, stones, letter beads)
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal and hard of hearing. Additional accommodations may be required for visually impaired students as descriptive captioning is not available 

Needs of Plants and Animals
​
Autumn Peltier I am Indigenous 
Twelve year old Autumn Peltier speaks about the impact of corporations on the Earth's water supply.

• Curriculum connection: 
  - 5.3: Identify ways in which living things are valued
• Suggested use: 
  - Use in combination with other resources that introduce the concept of children and young people engaging in advocacy and activism in Canada and around the world (i.e. Malala Yousefzai, Bellen's Crayon Project, etc.)
  - Inspire a class discussion around concepts such as environmental care, Indigenous ways of knowing, fairness and equity, activism, the needs of humans, animals, and plants, empathy, community, and identity
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal and hard of hearing additional. Accommodations may be required for visually impaired students as descriptive captioning is not available

Traditional Maasai Food: Blood and Milk
Article discussing the diet of the Maasai tribe. 

• Curriculum connection: 
  - 5.3: Identify ways in which living things are valued
• Suggested use: 
  - Class research project on various groups and communities and how they use plants/animals
  ​- Compare the Maasai diet to our diet and how we use plants/animals
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal 
  ​- Accommodations may be required for visually impaired students and hard of hearing as descriptive captioning is not available

Elephants and the Maasai Culture
Article discussing the importance of the elephant in the Maasai tribe of Kenya. Grade 1 science curriculum discusses the role of living things in society, whether it be for food or as cultural symbols. The elephants play a big role in the symbols of the Maasai tribe.

• Curriculum connection: 
  - 5.3: Identify ways in which living things are valued
• Suggested use: 
  - Class research project on various groups and communities, and how they use plants and animals
  ​- Art project on the elephant and students label why it is important and how it is used by the Maasai tribe
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal 
  ​- Accommodations may be required for visually impaired students and hard of hearing as descriptive captioning is not available

Sacred Cow Facts
Website page describing the importance of cows in Hinduism and how cows are honoured in India.

• Curriculum connection: 
  - 5.3: Identify ways in which living things are valued
• Suggested use: 
  - Class research project on various groups and communities and the animals they value and use
  - Art project on the cow. Students draw and label why it is important to Hinduism
  ​- Extend study to investigate and read tales of the Hindu goddess, Bhoomi
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal 
  ​- Accommodations may be required for visually impaired students and hard of hearing as descriptive captioning is not available

Ryan Learns about Carnivorous Plants
A 6-minute video where Ryan and his mom learn about the Venus Fly Trap and the needs of carnivorous plants to get their nutrients.

• Curriculum connection: 
  - 5.9: Animal and Plant adaptations for survival
• Suggested use: 
  - Introduction of carnivorous plants. have a class discussion about the adaptation the plants went through to become carnivores, why is this not more common?
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal 
  ​- Accommodations may be required for visually impaired students and hard of hearing as descriptive captioning is not available

How to make Color Changing Celery- Science Experiments for kids
Ryan and his mom teach about plant transportation through coloured water and celery.

• Curriculum connection: 
  - 5.9: Animal and Plant adaptations for survival
• Suggested use: 
  - Have students do this experiment in class, the following day have a discussion on the transportation of water
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal 
  ​- Accommodations may be required for visually impaired students and hard of hearing as descriptive captioning is not available

Yes I Can: A Story of Grit
Jada’s working on her science project. She’s finding out whether plants grow best in water, milk, juice, or soda. There’s just one problem she keeps getting interrupted! From her cousin texting and her friends stopping by to her little brother playing with the plants, Jada runs into one obstacle after another. Find out how Jada relies on grit to keep on going.

• Curriculum connection: 
  - 5.9: Animal and Plant adaptations for survival
• Suggested use: 
  - Class read aloud and follow-up experiment as a class to see how plants grow using different variables around the classroom (in water, away from sunlight, in a closed space, etc.) 
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal 
  ​- Accommodations may be required for visually impaired students and hard of hearing 

Miscellaneous
​
3 States of Matter Science DIY Educational For Kids
A 9-minute video where Ryan explores the differences between a solid, liquid and gas. He and his mom explore the different states of matter, and find out what state of matter Oobleck is!

• Curriculum connection: 
  - Students will show growth in confidence in personal ability to explore materials and learn by direct study 
• Suggested use: 
  - Introduction to states of matter. Have students sort objects around the classroom into solids, liquids, or gases
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal and hard of hearing; auto-generated captions 
  ​- Accommodations may be required for visually impaired students as there is no descriptive captioning 

Implementing Meaningful STEM Education with Indigenous Students & Families
There are a set of strategies teachers can use to intentionally incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing into STEM learning environments—both in and out of school, and in relation to family and community.

• Suggested use: 
  ​- Use this document along with Alberta Science Program of Study to create meaningful lessons
  

Steps to create an Anti-Racist Science Lesson
Choosing a meaningful and culturally responsive phenomenon is the cornerstone to teaching an equitable, anti-racist science lesson.

• Suggested use: 
  ​- Use this document along with Alberta Science Program of Study to create meaningful lessons