The first day of spring, also known as the spring equinox or vernal equinox, is an important day to discuss with first grade students. It marks the beginning of the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere and provides a perfect opportunity to teach students about seasons, weather, plants, animals, and other spring-related topics.
When is the First Day of Spring?
The spring equinox usually falls on March 20th or 21st in the Gregorian calendar. However, the exact date shifts slightly each year due to the differences between the calendar year and astronomical year. In 2023, the spring equinox will occur on March 20th specifically.
On the spring equinox, the length of day and night are nearly equal. This is because the sun shines directly on the equator, and the Northern and Southern Hemispheres receive equal amounts of daylight. After this date, the daylight hours become progressively longer as the season transitions to summer.
Signs of Spring
The spring season brings many changes that are easy for first graders to observe. As a teacher, you can guide students to notice the signs of spring emerging in nature. Here are some common signs to look for:
- Warmer weather – Temperature gradually gets warmer as spring arrives.
- Melting snow – Remaining snow and ice from winter begin to melt.
- Rain showers – Spring often brings increased rainfall and thunderstorms.
- Budding trees – Leaf and flower buds start to emerge and grow on trees.
- Flower blooms – Crocuses, daffodils, and tulips begin to bloom.
- Bird migrations – Birds like robins return from their winter migration.
- Animal activity – Bears, snakes, frogs, and other animals wake from hibernation.
- longer days – The daylight hours visibly become longer each day after the equinox.
Tracking the first appearances of these signs of spring makes for a fun science activity. Have students make predictions about when they expect to see each change and record their observations in a nature journal.
Spring Science Activities
Incorporating interactive science lessons and experiments is an excellent way to teach first graders about the spring season. Here are some engaging science activities to try:
- Plant seeds – Let each student plant fast-growing seeds like beans, radishes, or marigolds in individual pots. Have them care for the seedlings and observe changes as they sprout and grow.
- Make rain gauges – Use a plastic bottle or jar to craft a simple rain gauge. Place outside and measure rainfall over time.
- Conduct weather experiments – Use spring showers to explore concepts like evaporation and condensation.
- Study life cycles – Raise caterpillars or tadpoles in the classroom to observe metamorphosis firsthand.
- Compare season length – Mark the equinox date on a calendar, then have students add equal length to estimate when summer starts.
- Graph daylight – Track and graph changes in daylight hours before, during, and after spring.
Spring Math Activities
The spring season also presents many opportunities to incorporate math lessons and practice skills like graphing, measuring, counting, patterns, and more. Here are some spring-themed math activities to try with your first grade class:
- Measure plant growth – Have students regularly measure seedlings’ height using rulers and track growth on a line graph over time.
- Count flower petals – Pick different spring flowers and have students count the number of petals on each.
- Graph rain accumulation – Using the rain gauge data, tally and graph the inches of rainfall per week or month.
- Practice telling time – Use seasonal daylight changes to reinforce learning to tell time. Mark times of sunrise, sunset, equinox, etc.
- Compare temperatures – Record and post daily temperature data. Have students compare yesterday’s temperature to today’s using math symbols like >, <, and =.
- Find patterns in nature – Identify patterns like symmetry, spirals, and repetition in flowers, leaves, seeds, egg shells, etc.
Spring Reading and Writing Activities
The spring season is a great opportunity to incorporate literacy skills too. Here are some spring-themed reading and writing activities:
- Read spring-themed books – Share fiction and nonfiction books about spring, plant/animal life cycles, weather, gardening, etc. Discuss new vocabulary words.
- Start a nature journal – Have students record observations, draw pictures, practice writing prompts, or write poems about spring changes.
- Conduct author studies – Read various books by authors like Kevin Henkes, Eric Carle, or Laura Numeroff who often incorporate spring themes.
- Write acrostic poems – Use the word “spring” or “equinox” to write spring acrostic poems.
- Practice reading comprehension – Choose age-appropriate articles on spring science and nature topics to reinforce reading skills.
- Research animal life cycles – Help each student research and write a simple report on a spring animal life cycle like frogs, butterflies, or chickens.
Spring Books for First Grade Read-Alouds
Reading aloud engaging picture books is one of the best ways to teach first graders about spring themes and topics. Here are some excellent spring-themed read-aloud books to share with your first grade class:
Book Title | Author | Spring Themes |
---|---|---|
Planting a Rainbow | Lois Ehlert | Planting flowers, color recognition |
The Tiny Seed | Eric Carle | Life cycle of a flower |
Waiting for Wings | Lois Ehlert | Butterfly life cycle |
And Then It’s Spring | Julie Fogliano | Signs of spring, patience |
Spring is Here | Will Hillenbrand | Season changes, melting snow |
Thunder Cake | Patricia Polacco | Spring thunderstorms |
The Very Hungry Caterpillar | Eric Carle | Metamorphosis |
Growing Vegetable Soup | Lois Ehlert | Gardening, making soup |
Spring Crafts and Activities
Simple crafts and art projects also make enjoyable springtime activities for first graders. Here are some crafty ideas to try:
- Decorate flower pots – Have students paint terra cotta pots to use for planting flowers or seeds.
- Make melted crayon art – Draw spring designs on paper with crayons, then lightly brush watercolor over the top.
- Create rain sticks – Use paper towel tubes or mailing tubes to make musical rain sticks.
- Make umbrellas – Craft simple paper bag or clothespin umbrellas.
- Fold origami birds – Guide students in folding origami paper cranes, ducks, or songbirds.
- Assemble spring wreaths – Decorate hula hoops or rings with artificial flowers, leaves, and other spring-themed items.
- Dip-dye coffee filter flowers – Fold coffee filters into flowers, then dip into liquid watercolors.
The Spring Equinox and Daylight
One important spring concept for first graders to learn is why daylight hours get longer after March 20th or 21st. Here are some tips for explaining the spring equinox and increasing daylight:
- Use a lamp and globe to demonstrate how direct vs. slanted sunlight impacts the amount of light different parts of the Earth receive.
- Draw simple diagrams showing the Earth tilted towards or away from the sun at different points in its orbit.
- Show animations or video visualizations of the Earth’s tilt and orientation creating seasons.
- Have students spin and tilt a globe as you shine a flashlight on it to mimic seasonal sunlight changes.
- Construct a shadow clock outdoors. Mark where the tip points at noon each day before and after the equinox to track sun position.
Relating the increasing daylight to students’ own rising and bedtimes can also help make the concept more concrete. Emphasize how the earlier dawns and later sunsets allow for more daylight playtime in spring and summer.
The Four Seasons
The spring equinox offers the perfect opportunity to teach students about all four seasons and the seasonal cycle. Here are some tips for teaching first graders about the four seasons:
- Define seasons as spring, summer, fall (autumn), and winter. Explain that each season lasts about 3 months.
- Emphasize that seasons are caused by the Earth’s tilt and orbit around the sun.
- Have students act out the Earth orbiting the sun and tilting on its axis as it travels.
- Provide examples of how weather patterns, plant/animal behaviors, and human activities change with each season.
- Incorporate songs, chants, movement, and rhymes to reinforce season names and sequence (“Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter!”).
- Assign a different color to represent each season, then have students color, match, and sort items by season.
- Take students outdoors often to observe seasonal changes firsthand all year long.
The Four Seasons and Weather
Understanding characteristics of each season’s weather is an important science concept for first graders too. Try these tips for teaching students about seasonal weather patterns:
- Create illustrated weather symbols to represent types like sun, rain, snow, wind, lightning, etc. Use these to exemplify typical weather in each season.
- Gather and post photos depicting seasonal weather like autumn leaves, winter snow, or summer sunshine.
- On a seasonal weather chart, have students color, draw symbols, or post photos to match with spring, summer, fall, and winter.
- Graph daily temperatures over a calendar year. Discuss patterns students notice in seasonal highs and lows.
- Record weather daily on a classroom calendar. Frequently refer back to compare/contrast weather from season to season.
- Provide real weather data. Have students practice analyzing simple reports, charts, and graphs.
- Incorporate children’s books, songs, and dramatic play to reinforce identifying seasonal weather conditions.
Conclusion
The spring equinox provides a fun opportunity to engage first grade students in interdisciplinary learning about seasons, plants, animals, weather, and more. Simple science experiments, math activities, literacy lessons, and creative crafts all help make spring themes come alive. By providing hands-on experiences, you can build students’ observational skills, knowledge of nature and science, and excitement about the changing seasons.