Monday, June 25, 2012

Jupiter - Part I

A little background:  I teach year round school in California.  My husband retired and lives in Hawaii taking care of his mom.  So, I am able to spend all my breaks in Hawaii.  In March, my husband took me to the Ranger Station at Mauna Loa.  During this time Venus and Jupiter were really close to the Earth and to each other.  I told the Ranger that I was a teacher, so he hooked up my camera to one of the telescopes.


I was jumping out of my skin, I was shaking - I was so excited.  The ranger kept saying that we could do better, that we could get color and the bands of Jupiter.  It was really busy up there.  I kept telling him "No, it was fine, but kiddos would love it".  The ranger insisted on playing with the telescope, trying to get color.  I told him that I would come back another time and we would play with my camera and the telescope.
Now, the man next to me said, "It looks pretty da*# good to me".  I totally agreed.  My husband said that he could see me shaking with excitement. 

When I got back to school, I showed the kids - they thought it was great.  Mr. B came up to me a few days later and begged if we could learn about Space.  Now, Space is not a First Grade teaching standard.  So, I got on Teachers Pay Teachers and bought centers, and a couple of units.  I turned it into a writing standard activity that my kids loved (with a lot of support from TpT).  We spent 3 weeks on writing, making a Planet book.  The next thing I knew, Open House was in a week and I didn't have anything to show for it (well maybe a few things).  But, it wasn't my usual projects everywhere.  I was feeling very defeated.  So the kids got busy. 

To be continued....... 


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17 comments:

  1. Welcome to blogging. Love your design. I'm your newest follower. Barbara designed my blog too.


    ✰ Kimberley ✰
    First in Maine

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  2. I love space units! But it's not in our grade 1 curriculum either. That's cool that you found a way to fit it in!

    Barbara
    Grade ONEderful
    Ruby Slippers

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  3. Welcome to the world of blogging! That is a pretty awesome picture of Jupiter! I'm your newest follower now!

    imgoingfirst@gmail.com

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  4. Don't you just love it when you can "sneak" things in! I'm a new follower too.
    Tammy

    First Grade @ Klinger Cafe
    dtklinger@gmail.com

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  5. Found you by way of Grade ONEderful....L-O-V-E your blog design! How exciting that you spend your breaks at such an awesome destination!! I'm excited to hear part 2 of your Jupiter/Space experience:)

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  6. Hi Terri,

    Fantastic pic of Jupiter! My class always loves learning about the solar system, and now it is a part of our first grade science curriculum. The kids eat it up like candy!

    Just found your blog, so now I'm a new follower.

    Dee

    First Impressions

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. The kids loved it. Send me your email and I will send you a copy of the pic, if you would like.

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  7. Just found you through Barbara! I'm now following your precious blog! Welcome to Blogland!


    Laura
    Peace, Love, and First Grade

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  8. Just found your blog! Welcome to blogging!
    Come by and check me out at The Resourceful Apple.

    Tammy:)

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  9. I love that you taught them something that they really wanted to learn about! That's authentic learning and probably better tan anything they'd find in a basal!
    Patty
    2ndinline.blogspot.

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    Replies
    1. I was amazed how well they all did on the assessment.

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