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Hi Kelly,
Hands on activities are a way to increase engagement and excitement about science. As you search for interesting activities, consider what Matt said in his reply to you: contextualize them within NGSS at a level that is appropriate for the grade level, the phenomenon, and the storyline. A good guide for this are the SEP progressions. These show you the level that is expected and appropriate for each grade band.
Really focus on those SEPs as these are some of the most common practices that scientists use in order to make sense of the world and of the phenomena they observe. Some teachers mistakenly believe that science = experiments. Yet, that is only one small portion of what scientists do. Scientists ask questions, make observations, develop and test models, use math, read and communicate information, etc. Find ways for your students to engage in all these practices as that is what science is about. And as you will discover, there are so many ways to do this!
There are tons of cool things to do with first graders. They are absolutely curious about their world. Give them tons of opportunities to explore, make observations, and ask questions. It's amazing to watch them discover, wonder, and figure out. When they ask questions, help them figure out how to answer those questions using the practices. Sometimes it will be an experiment (e.g. does a steeper hill make a ball roll farther?) sometimes it will be making a model, sometimes it will be reading. Scientists gather information and evidence in a variety of formats. It's all about making sense of our world.
I wish you the best as a 1st grade teacher!
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