Happy Holidays!

Posted on December 20, 2019 by elysevanetti

In Social Studies, we have been learning about various winter holidays celebrated in different cultures. We learned about Kwanzaa and made mkekas, which are woven mats used on the table at a Kwanzaa feast. We also learned about Hanukkah and practiced matching various Hanukkah symbols to their names. Next we learned about Las Posadas, which is celebrated in Mexico. We made 3D paper poinsettias, which are traditionally associated with this holiday. Then, we had the opportunity to learn about St. Lucia from our very own Ms. Svedlund. Click here to read a post from last year about this special Swedish celebration.

Finally, we learned about Winter Solstice. First, we read “The Shortest Day: Celebrating the Winter Solstice” by Wendy Pfeffer. Here’s a description from Amazon: The beginning of winter is marked by the solstice, the shortest day of the year. Long ago, people grew afraid when each day had fewer hours of sunshine than the day before. Over time, they realized that one day each year the sun started moving toward them again. In lyrical prose and cozy illustrations, this book explains what the winter solstice is and how it has been observed by various cultures throughout history.

We noticed as we read that many winter solstice traditions, such as decorating with evergreen plants and decorating with lights, have been adapted to other winter celebrations.

We made lanterns to light the darkness of winter in our own way. These lanterns are fun and easy to make. All you need is:

a mason jar

tissue paper scraps

clear-drying mod podge

a flameless tea light

Students can use these lanterns as comforting night lights.

Happy Holidays!

We are movie-makers!

Posted on November 20, 2019 by elysevanetti

After learning about the concepts of culture, immigration, and heritage, the first grade students completed their first big social studies project of the year. Each student selected a person to interview about that person’s family history. We worked together to write and select interview questions, and then the students and their families got to work contacting their subject and conducting the interview.

We compiled each student’s research into a paragraph or two and practiced reading them. The stories they gathered were fascinating! One student’s grandmother grew up in North Dakota, but spent her middle and high school years in Ethiopia. Another student’s grandfather worked closely with Ronald Reagan. Yet another’s ancestors escaped famine in Russia by eating bread that had been secretly sewn into the lining of their coats! Our class is so lucky to have several multi-lingual families, as well, who have lived in several different countries. Once we were comfortable reading our paragraphs, each student was videotaped relaying the information they had learned. We also asked our interview subjects to send in pictures to accompany the interview information.

Today, we took a very special field trip to the Apple Store. When we arrived, we were given fun Apple field trip t-shirts to wear. With the help of lots of parent chaperones and instruction from our favorite teacher at the Apple Store – Mr. Vanetti – we put together our video and pictures to make movies! Next, we added maps that show the paths that our interview subjects took on their journeys. You can see Mr. Vanetti setting up this element below:

Finally, we added titles and music to make their projects extra special.

In the coming weeks, we will have a special celebration of our work in the form of a movie screening party. At that time, students will also receive a flash drive bracelet with their own movie to share an enjoy. Thank you to our interview subjects and parent helpers, and congratulations to our first grade movie-makers!

St. Lucia

Posted on December 18, 2018 by elysevanetti

We are finishing our unit about winter holidays from different cultures this week. Yesterday, we were treated to a special lesson about the Swedish traditions of St. Lucia by our very own Ms. Svedlund. Did you know that Ms. Svedlund has Swedish heritage and that she even speaks Swedish?

Ms. Svedlund shared that every year she participates in a celebration of St. Lucia with her local Swedish women’s group. She explained the themes of the celebration for our class, along with giving the reasoning behind the holiday:

Ms. Svedlund shared that the story of St. Lucia tells about St. Lucia bringing food to people hiding in underground tunnels in winter. Her hands were so full of food that she wore candles on her head to light her way in the dark tunnels. For this reason, each year, one young lady is selected to play the part of St. Lucia in a procession. She wears a crown of lit candles and walks slowly and carefully. She is followed by other women, girls, and boys as they sing various songs. You can see a procession and learn more here:

A traditional St. Lucia celebration includes saffron buns and cinnamon buns. Ms. Svedlund was kind enough to bring some saffron buns to share with us! They were received with mixed reviews, as saffron isn’t a common ingredient here, but most students gave them a try.

Ms. Svedlund also shared some pictures from her own St. Lucia celebration. Can you find her below, with her daughter, Wren?

Finally, as we listened to a medley of St. Lucia songs, we created pomanders! This is an easy holiday craft to make. You will need:

oranges or mandarins (mandarins are easier to work with)

whole cloves

twine, ribbon, or string

To create these beautiful and delicious-smelling ornaments, simply press the cloves into the peel of the fruit in concentric circles or whatever design you like. Tie your ribbon, string, or twine around, and hang wherever you like! The cloves will help preserve the fruit so that you can enjoy your pomander for a long time.

We made movies!

Posted on November 12, 2018 by elysevanetti

The students and their families have been hard at work on a special social studies project. After learning about what a culture is and how cultures can be different and the same, we learned that many families in the United States can trace their heritage back to different cultures. For some families, we don’t need to look that far, and for others, we go back several hundred years before finding ancestors from other parts of the world. Still more families have Native American heritage. We learned a little bit about the processes that our ancestors may have gone through to get to the United States, including sailing on ships and passing through Ellis Island.

Then, each student chose a friend or family member to interview about that person’s heritage. We brainstormed interesting questions to ask, including, “What did your ancestors wear?”, “What was school like?”, and “What jobs did they have?” After completing the interview, we turned the information we learned into a short script. We made videos telling about our interview subject and asked them to send pictures for us to use.

Meeting Mr. Vanetti

Today, we took a field trip to the Apple Store! When we got there, we met… Mr. Vanetti! He is a “Creative” at the Apple Store. His job is to help people learn how to use Apple products, and today, we were his students. Mr. Vanetti gave us special Apple Store field trip T-shirts to wear. Then, we combined our videos and pictures with music, titles, and maps showing where our interview subjects’ ancestors came from. It was a lot of work, but it was really fun!

Getting our shirts

Starting on our movies

In the coming weeks, we will have a movie screening where we will get to share the movies we made with our families and each other. At that point, each student will receive a certificate of completion and a flash drive bracelet containing the movie they made.

We owe a big “thank you!” to all of the friends and parents who supported the process leading up to today, and to those who were able to join us on our field trip and collaborate with our first graders as they created their movies. Thank you to the Apple Store and Mr. Vanetti as well for helping us make these great projects!

Are we really different?

Posted on January 23, 2018 by elysevanetti

Yesterday during social studies, I told the students that we would become scientists to do an “egg-speriment.” We discussed how a scientist’s job involves carefully observing things and recording his or her observations. I gave each student a recording sheet, told them I would show them two eggs, and they should carefully record their observations about each egg. We inspected egg #1 and noted that it was white, kind of bumpy, round, cold, and had some yellow spots on it. Then we inspected egg #2 and noted that it was tan, round, cold, mostly smooth, and had some brown spots on it. We noted that the eggs were a similar size, shape, and temperature, but that they were different colors and slightly different textures.

Then, I asked the students to make predictions about the insides of the eggs. Some student predicted that they might contain baby chicks, feathers, yolks, or even confetti! Some students thought the insides of both eggs would be different, and some thought they would be the same. I gave each student another recording sheet and asked them to carefully record their observations as we cracked both eggs open.

When I cracked egg #2, the students saw that the insides of both eggs were…about the same! Both contained a white and a yolk. There were some small differences, including the size and color of the yolk, but we agreed they were basically the same. Nobody could agree for sure on which yolk came from which egg, once I swirled them around a bit in the bowl.

“But Mrs. Vanetti, this is like science! Our schedule says it’s time for social studies!”

Yes! This opened up a discussion about how the eggs can represent people: we come in all different colors, shapes, and sizes, but on the inside, we are very similar! We have the same needs and similar wants. Everyone hurts when they skin their knee. Many people like chocolate ice cream, but some don’t. Some people like roller coasters, and others feel sick to their stomachs just talking about them! (We ended the roller coaster talk quickly when someone mentioned this!)

I told the students that we would be learning about the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. Many students were familiar with the basics, and we shared what we knew about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s work and how the laws went through changes during that time to become more inclusive to all people. We discussed how silly it is to treat people differently because of the way they look — “Nobody can choose the color of their skin or eyes or hair!” The students were surprised to learn that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. didn’t fix all the problems and that, once the laws changed, everything wasn’t automatically equitable, but that they were important first steps in the right direction.

We finished the lesson by reading the book, “Freedom Summer.” Here’s the summary from Amazon: Joe and John Henry are a lot alike. They both like shooting marbles, they both want to be firemen, and they both love to swim. But there’s one important way they’re different: Joe is white and John Henry is black, and in the South in 1964, that means John Henry isn’t allowed to do everything his best friend is. Then a law is passed that forbids segregation and opens the town pool to everyone. Joe and John Henry are so excited they race each other there…only to discover that it takes more than a new law to change people’s hearts.

I told the students that next week, we would learn about how an actual first grader was part of the Civil Rights Movement! They were very excited to learn about how a person their age could have a big impact on our country.

Feast of the Seven Fishes

Posted on December 7, 2017 by elysevanetti

We are studying winter holidays from various cultures right now in social studies. First, we learned about the traditions associated with celebrating Kwanzaa. We made paper mkekas, which are woven mats used on the table at a Kwanzaa feast.

This week, Miss DellaValle taught us about a tradition her Italian-American family includes in their Christmas celebrations: the Feast of the Seven Fishes. In this tradition, her family has a multiple course meal which includes… you guessed it, seven different types of fish! Their menu changes yearly, but Miss DellaValle shared one example with us.

She also shared some photos of her family’s celebration throughout the years. Miss DellaValle also brought a couple of special treats to share!

The first was some Italian stuffed bread that they always include in their feast. She brought two varieties for the students to sample.

The second treat was a very special guest: her father, Mr. DellaValle! Part of their family tradition includes a reading of “The Night Before Christmas” by Mr. DellaValle. He agreed to visit our class and share his reading with us!

Finally, we made a fun fish puppet craft, in which we traced our hands and added sparkly details.

A big thank you to Miss DellaValle and her father for teaching us about the Feast of the Seven Fishes! We love learning about different traditions and holidays, so if you have one to share, please contact me! We’d love to have you!

First Grade Movie Premiere and Multicultural Feast

Posted on November 30, 2017 by elysevanetti

Yesterday, we celebrated the wonderful projects the students made on our Apple Store field trip! Families joined us, bringing special dishes to represent their own respective heritages.

After the students introduced their projects, we settled in for our movie premiere. The movies included titles, music, clips of students talking about their heritages, pictures of their families and ancestors, and even maps showing where their families came from*!

An example of a map graphic used in our movies

After our movie premiere, we headed outside. Each family introduced the dish they brought and explained its origins. The students did a great job of trying a little bit of everything, and families happily joined in.

Thank you so much to our room parents for providing cups, plates, napkins, and utensils, and thank you to ALL of the families for supporting this amazing project. Congratulations on a job well done, first grade movie-makers!

*Due to the personal nature of the movies, they will not be posted publicly. The first graders each received a copy of their own movie to share as they see fit. Thank you for your understanding!