First Grade Geologists

Can you believe it....we have finally been back to school for a full week!!! This is the first 5-day week we have had since before Christmas! Even with all of those snow days, we were able to buckle down and complete another unit in Knowledge as well as continue working through new reading skills! Our latest knowledge unit has been all about geology! We have had a blast learning all about the earth. Our firsties have been learning about the various layers of the earth (crust, mantle, inner core and outer core), as well as the various types of rocks and fossils that can be found in the earth's crust! Last week we learned about sedimentary rocks and all about how the layers in this type of rock are formed. We have talked about 3 very important terms that play a huge role in the formation of rocks - Heat, Pressure and Time. Our class learned that over time sediments get pressed on top of one another and they form layers. These layers (one on top of the other) become sedimentary rocks.

Last week, after learning about them, we spent some time reading about how rocks can be like desserts....they have layers! We decided that it was important to make our own sedimentary rock dessert, which was delicious by the way!

Try it yourself and make your own 'sedimentary rocks' at home!!

In addition to learning about rocks, we have been learning about volcanoes and geysers and how they are formed. We have learned a lot about how HEAT, PRESSURE and TIME play a huge role in the formation and eruption of both volcanoes and geysers. Last week Thursday we were able to go on a virtual filed trip through Learn Around the World with Brandon Hall from the geoshow. He brought us to Guatemala and we explored a few different volcanoes in the Ring of Fire with him.

We were able to hear about the factors that play an important role in the formation and eruption of these volcanoes. We heard about the difference between a volcano that is extinct, dormant and active and learned a lot about the active volcanoes that we were able to actually see!

Here, we heard from a geologist who was visiting and walking along the ridge of a volcano called Vulcan Fuego. This is a very active volcano and can erupt at any time. At one time, this volcano erupted every day for a couple of months straight!

The small building that is circled and off to the right of the screen is called the Lava Store. This is where locals sell lava rock and various pieces of jewlery that they make from the lava rock that is collected from the one of the volcanoes on our visit, Vulcan Pacaya.

We loved listening to all of the information that Brandon had to share with us. It was SO interesting and he was a very engaging speaker.

We even found out that there was dried lava, from an eruption at Vulcan Pacaya that took place 9 years ago, that was still hot enough to roast marshmallows!!

Throughout the field trip, our friends were able to come up and ask Brandon questions that they had about volcanoes and the information he was sharing with us. Zooey was wondering if the lava from a volcano could burn everything in the world. You can see below that Preston was talking to Brandon on our iPad, which was also being displayed for the whole class to see!

We can't wait to have more virtual field trips in the future!

After our VFT in the morning, we ended our volcano adventures in the afternoon with a chance to erupt our own volcanoes in our class. We had fun building our volcanoes the day before and letting them dry overnight. Then, Wednesday afternoon was spent with 19 friends and their awesome volcanic eruptions!

We had a great turn out and were so excited to see so many friends at school with their families for supper and Game Night a couple of weeks ago! It was so fun to see everyone and their families playing together and enjoying quality time with one another! I hope you are all enjoying your new games that you took home.

We are looking forward to partnering with you again this coming week with our First Grade Market Day! You should all have received your invitation and market money in your child's folder this week! Bring your market money with you on Wednesday morning and enjoy shopping for items! Our friends have been having so much fun learning about economics and are thrilled to be able to sell their goods to a school full of consumers on Wednesday! Remember you should have 30 individual items to 'sell' at the Market! When our market is over, our friends will come back and use their earnings to buy something from our first grade store!