Teaching Science in First Grade: How to Get Kids Thinking Like Scientists 318

From One Tired Teacher With Trina Deboree 2026-10-26 · 15:03

Show by Trina Deboree

𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐲, 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬. What if students actually had opportunities to think like scientists—observing, questioning, investigating, gathering evidence, and figuring things out for themselves?In this episode of 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐞, I'm sharing a simple structure for teaching science in first grade that turns science lessons into investigations.𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬.Instead of beginning a science lesson by explaining the concept, students begin with something they need to figure out—a mystery, an unusual photograph, something that changed, or a question they can't immediately answer.𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬:🔎 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐞 — Give students something worth figuring out.🕵️ 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 — Observe clues, notice patterns, and ask questions.📖 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬 — Use nonfiction reading, vocabulary, books, or videos to gather information.🧪 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 — Observe, test, compare, sort, and collect evidence.📝 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞 — Make a claim and support it with evidence.🔨 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 — Apply the science through a simple STEM challenge.I'll walk you through an example from my first Little Science Detectives investigation, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐧𝐢𝐜, where first and second graders investigate living and nonliving things.Students begin with a mysterious picnic scene and eventually use observations, informational reading, hands-on investigations, and evidence to figure out what happened. The resource itself is structured around introducing the mystery, examining evidence, researching, investigating, solving the case, and engineering a solution.But you don't need this resource—or an elaborate detective setup—to use the idea.A science mystery can begin with one photograph, one observation, or one question:Why did this happen?That's enough to get kids wondering.And when we're teaching science in first grade, that's what I want to protect: opportunities for children to participate in science instead of simply receiving information about science.Give them something worth investigating.🔎 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒: 𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 & 𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Living-and-Nonliving-Activities-1st-Grade-STEM-Mystery-Little-Science-Detectives-17506444?utm_source=OTT%20YT%20318&utm_campaign=nonliving%20things🎃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐘𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐋𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐔𝐌𝐏𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐒: 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐂𝐄 & 𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/trina-deboree-teaching-and-learning?order=Most-Recent&utm_source=OTT%20YT%20318&utm_campaign=most%20recent%20cat🧪 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 & 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐒𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 + 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐒https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/trina-deboree-teaching-and-learning/category-8205-science-materials-99503?view=gridview&utm_source=OTT%20YT%20318&utm_campaign=science%20catThis episode wraps up our October series about Protecting Childhood—making room for children to make, play, wonder, investigate, and think for themselves.Children deserve to participate in their learning.Use what fits. Leave the rest.Support the showNeed fully developed sub plans for any time of the year for 2nd grade? 👉 Monthly Second Grade Sub PlansSubscribe and Review:Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. Click here for iTunes.Now, if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review. Click here to leave a review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.” Thank you!

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