Creating a class cookbook takes more than one day to complete. Each student can bring one or more recipes to school that can be organized into categories. These categories can include appetizers, beef dishes, vegetarian dishes, pork dishes, desserts, and any other relevant categories. The teacher can include a picture of the school as a cover design or have a contest amongst the students in which the winner's design will be the cover. The teacher must also choose a printing company, while also encouraging the students to take orders amongst their family members to cover the cost of printing. The teacher can involve the students as much or as little as possible. For instance, each student can have a drawing published in the cookbook. This first grade project makes for a great keepsake because each student has her name printed next to the recipes she contributed and the final product is the result of her creative input.
Bugs may be annoying to some, but they are very educational in that they serve a purpose within the ecosystem. Students can search the school grounds in the spring for different types of bugs. They then observe the characteristics of each bug, its living environment, communicate their findings with other students and sort and categorize the insects based upon their similarities and differences. The Internet can be used for the teacher to identify each bug, allowing the students to see enlarged still images of the insect they have chosen to observe for that given day. This class project involves elements of science, English language arts and even mathematics.
Planting a class garden teaches teamwork and also requires the care by each student in order for the garden to survive. The garden can be planted inside or outside on the school grounds. An inside garden can be planted in a container such as a small child-size swimming pool that sits inside of a larger pool to allow for drainage. It will be heavy due to the soil, especially when moist, so the floor or a stable table will need to be used. Each student can then plant a seed within the small garden, whether inside or outside, and watch as it grows into something beautiful. In order to make it grow, students must ensure that their plants are receiving six or more hours of sunlight, are weeded if outside and are watered at the appropriate times. This class project for first graders teaches teamwork, advanced planning and responsibility.
Art projects are a staple in the first grade project agenda. However, it is good to liven them up with an art show. Rather than restrict students to drawings on paper, students can be encouraged to create sculptures or anything that they feel is artistic to them. This allows the children to use their imagination. For example, one student may wish to do a painting, while another may wish to do a clay sculpture of her cat. There are many possibilities, especially when giving the students a choice. Their creations can then be displayed in a hallway in the school, complete with tables to display the sculptures.