First Grade Blasts Through Science

by Megan G.

In 2013, Mrs. Sarabeth Gordon teaches interesting science to first graders. The children tell their teacher she is the best teacher ever, but that might be due to the science experiments involving ice cream and Halloween candy. Mrs. Gordon did many experiments with the girls.

In science, the girls are now learning how to be an astronaut. In the past, they have learned about kitchen chemistry. They tested many things, including what yeast needs to make carbon dioxide (CO₂), the chromatography (the separation of colors) of Halloween candy (mostly m&ms and skittles), how to make play dough, and about temperature by making ice cream.

In Mrs. Gordon's point of view she says “Kitchen chemistry is fun, but I always worry about food safety. The girls and I will not eat anything in class. The exception was ice cream. We did not even eat the Halloween candy. I am also excited about learning to be an astronaut because space is such a wide field.”

The first graders say, “Our favorite part about science is making ice cream, and we all like science because we get to make stuff.”

Mrs. Gordon chose these topics because it is a great way to learn about collecting data, following procedures, and making great observations. Mrs. Gordon says, “These are all things that scientists need to learn.”

Mrs. Gordon has two daughters, Megan (11) and Audrey (9) that go to McGehee, and a son named Jack (7).