Measuring Up In Science With Hands On Stations

At the beginning of each school year I like to make sure that my students are ready for using science tools by creating and sharing Science Center's geared around measurement. 

Not only does that help them understand how to measure, but it also will help them get ready for each of our FOSS kits that require them to measure with a variety of tools! For my older students,  I focus on the tools that will allow them to measure capacity such as syringes, measuring cups, and graduated cylinders. We focus on helping them measure length, width, and height with a ruler, tape measure, and meter stick.  Finally, we focus on mass or weight using a scale and a balance. Measuring the weight of something can be as easy as using cubes or as complicated as using grams. With my younger scientists, I focus on learning how to use a hand lens properly, how a balance balances and how can we fill capacity tools to a given line. Depending on the grade, the more I use a variety of tools that get them working hands-on.

We also focus on the universal way to measure things in science which is the metric system. That means working with centimeters ... grams... and milliliters! If you need to focus on Customary Standard Unit, do what is necessary for you. I use the metric system in our science room in all of my classes kindergarten through 5th grade. 

 What I love most about starting our school year off with measurement stations in science is that I can have my kindergarten through 5th graders be able to do Hands-On activities!  To get them started on the right track when we start our experiments is critical to saving valuable time especially when it is hard enough to fit science into a busy school day for my dear teacher friends. 

I want to share with you  ways to  to be able to set up stations so that you too can add measurement into your science lesson time making science child's play! 

Themed Stations Are the Way to Go!

It doesn't matter if it's kindergarten through fifth-grade you can set out tools and station cards and then go from station to station with guiding them on how to use the tools then you can release them to be able to try using those tools on their own. 

Finding a theme in measurement is a great way to get them excited about doing something that  isn't always easy for them. We don't spend a ton of time on measurement so this is another way to tie science and math together. From Measurement Olympics to I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell which I use...creating themes allows those kiddos to be able to be excited as they learn the tools along the way. 

I have them show me what they know. With the stations in place it also allows me to walk around the room and help students that are having a difficult time. While others are busy, I can reteach and support struggling students. 

So grab those hand lenses... those balances and scales...a handful of rulers and even those syringes as well as timers and you are set to go. If you want to save time setting them up, grab these Science Measurement Review Packs! 

Find these Packs {HERE}

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Science Incentives and Positive Behaviors For Specialists

Discipline is never easy, and after 26 years of teaching it still isn't, but I am hoping to focus this year on a new way to encourage making good choices! My biggest challenges always come in kindergarten and first grade so I am hoping to find a way to get even our struggling readers motivated to make good choices for the good of the team!

Here is how it works...
1. You will notice the K-5 yellow cards. That shows the grade level.
2. The colors are coordinated by the day of the week I have them. I have four regular ed. Science classes on Day one or red cards featured on the top lines.
3. The yellow poster above the grades shows our core values at our school which are Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe.

I made faces that have a smiley on one side and a frown on the other. There are three faces clipped to each core value...because they get three strikes before the class is out! That is what the three boxes on the bottom...

When a negative behavior occurs, a reteach happens. I always refer to our behavior chart as I do that. If the same child is causing the whole class to be unsuccessful three times, that child is not able to participate in group activities and their job is to watch for what respectful, responsible, and/or safe behavior in our room looks like. They may join the group after a conference and at times may do the activity at a table by themselves.

Now, what happens if the class gets through a whole science hour long class without getting three strikes? I place a smiley face on the first letter of science. Each week, they can add a new letter to science until they spell the whole word! Once the word science is spelled by a particular class, they get a STEM reward! Sneaky enough, I will tie it into something we are doing!

Whether it is a STEM reward or a fun activity that is ready to go when they reach their goal, working together as a team to help ALL students achieve is a goal that I am sure that we all have. In the regular ed. classroom your chart is different than a specialist, but working with over 15 different classrooms allows me to find ways to help our classrooms teachers, too. Having students learn positive ways to be respectful, responsible, and safe is good for EVERYONE!

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Getting Ready For Back To School With New Resources!

You know when you are almost ready to head back to school, as I know some of my teacher friends are already there, you start planning what your bulletin boards will look like... you start buying supplies to fill all your needs, and you start thinking about curriculum...at least that is what this week entailed.

I met with my lovely friend, both of us lost sections of science, so both of us are in the same bind...we need to create a program that will be data driven, teach science or STEM, engaging, hit second through fifth grade and is completed in 40 minutes. That is a lot to muster, but I was up for the challenge.

Then, I started thinking isn't that a problem that we all face? Lessons that need to be:
1. Fun
2. Data driven
3. Hit standards
4. short enough to fit in to a 40-60 minute block
5. And seeing that I need to do four classes, one of each 2-5...differentiated. (otherwise I am prepping for 10 lessons each week, no thank you)

Goal 1: Digital Assessment for my FOSS units

Time to get crackin'. My first thing I had to think about was that I need to create some digital science activities because my first graders and second graders need more assessments that are easy to grade and have them be part of their learning! The thing that drove me was our FOSS kits. First grade themes I worked on were: DAY and NIGHT, SOUND and LIGHT, INSECT and SPIDER, and VERTEBRATE. Second grade focuses on: PLANTS, HABITATS, WEATHER, and MATTER!

                       Find them for first grade {HERE} and for second grade {HERE}.

Goal 2: Grade 2-5th Grade resource for my Science/STEM enrichment classes

Now, I have to create four packs for my third through fifth graders. Using our iPads is one of our key goals for use in assessment this next year. I am also on Evaluation so I set this as a goal of mine. I am hoping this can help you, too!

My second goal was to find a way to not have to prep for 10 science lessons a week...yes a week. I needed to find a way to differentiate a pack that includes science and STEM as well as ways to gather data, focus on NGSS, and be engaging. Yikes. That is a handful!

I focused on NGSS themes that were cross cutting! I created STEM Quick Picks because I needed to use them quickly within the 40 minute time period that I work with them each week...above and beyond the hour they get with their own class.

How I will use the pack: first week...introduction of the NGSS concept, then reading connection, followed by small science activity. Second week, review of concept, interactive notebook and vocabulary review...followed by STEM lesson and then task card review.

Friends...I have 10 weeks to do so that means I have three more to make! I am on it though...they take a long time, but they will be worth it! Find the STEM Quick Picks {HERE}.

Goal 3: STEM Connections for After School Classes, Extensions, and our new STEM Lab in our Library

Each fall, when our after school program starts, our students love STEM stations...but that is not the only reason I worked hard to create new STEM activities...

This year, we are creating a STEM lab in our library! We were able to get some funding for some great resources, but that is never enough. I was able to utilize the Makerspace packs that I made last summer by printing them off and putting them on ring clips ready to go this year. I also created Seasonal School Box STEM packs so that our Library/Tech teacher can have interchangeable activities that can be featured each season! Find Seasonal School Box STEM Packs {HERE}

I might have another few packs up my sleeve this next week before I have to go back to school! I will post about them next week along with a new freebie! But for now...here is a free Seasonal School Box STEM bonus for stopping by and getting to the end! {HERE} 

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Digital Adventures and Lessons Learned

I am all about learning new things. Five years ago, I jumped into a new job after 20 years of teaching. Talk about learning curve...but that is what I need to do in order to stay excited and creative!

Last year, our school went 1:1 with iPads and as a science teacher and not a regular ed. classroom teacher I needed to find ways to incorporate digital activities as we embraced this new technology. I have to say, at first it was a bit overwhelming. Many districts, allow their teachers to download free apps or use Google Classroom...our district has a lot of restrictions on us so we had to use the apps that they allowed us to use.

All students were given the app Explain Everything as well as See Saw. Two great apps, however instead of Google Classroom, we were expected (still are) to use something similar, but certainly not the same, called ItsLearning. Because of that, it limited me on what I could make for my students...where I see teachers able use movable parts for activities...I have to use activities that are more locked into place. Using Explain Everything, I can then airdrop the activities that I make so that allows me to easily get a digital worksheet, digital slide activity, or even a quiz or test that can be housed in our ItsLearning site.

What were the biggest struggles?

I work with kindergarten through fifth grade...so I saw it all! Here are some of my top struggles...

1. When I started with the littles (K-2) I had to find age appropriate terms to refer to what they needed to do to get the sheet I needed them to download or get airdropped. I had to go very slowly, talk slowly, and walk around and reteach over and over...but it is worth it now...they will have background knowledge coming into this year. Slow and steady wins the race. I love when kiddos can help each other, they love taking ownership of what they know.

2. I had to teach them to airdrop and sometimes it doesn't always connect or their name doesn't always come up for them to get the drop. So, I taught them how to airdrop to each other. They were always willing to help and show what they know.


To go with that...we do a lot of picture taking. Let them take photo opportunities. It allows for them to have visual clues as to what they learned.

 Let them do an activity or take that picture then let them share what they did by airdropping their sheet to each other, walk and talk, find phony facts...all great ways to share what they did and to be held to accuracy!

3. When we used Explain Everything, I had to teach them how to find their airdrop in camera roll, upload it, resize it, and lock it as a background. So here is what I had to say..."Go to the plus button on the left. Find Existing Image/Video (which is now a red mountain , they fixed that so it is now color coordinated!), find the picture that was airdropped and now resize. Press the blue done button on the top. Now to lock it in so it doesn't move...find the i with dots around it. Press the picture you want to lock, go to the last thing to do, which is set as background. Press that and now you are done!" For those of you that have used Explain Everything...it is different now. The buttons are easier with less steps!

4. Littles don't always remember their email address...the folder they made for Explain Everything...

How do you fix it? You can use labels with typed out email address that I placed on each of their science folders. You can also place them on the back of each iPad. Email addresses can also be put on a ring binder with email address as well as passwords to other apps and sites.

5. Kids can't always remember where they put things. Use icon pictures of apps that can be on magnetic strips on your board, use the icon of the app on a smartboard, or even model it with your own iPad. If you are using Google Slides for example...have the Google Slides picture up on the board...or show them your iPad for help. They new visual clues.

6. As a specialist that has iPads brought to my room from over 22 different classroom settings...Do not tech sabotage your kiddos because it is something new or hard to learn. Find others that can help you learn one thing at a time, ask questions, or have kids help you! I knew exactly what teachers weren't using their iPads because their kiddos were not tech savvy or they could not follow the instructions as well as other classrooms. They spent too much time remembering each week how to use an app.

7. Make sure you have a system for charging your iPads! Often kids from certain rooms came in with their iPads not charged. We want kids to remember, but we have to also check for them, assign a charger coordinator as a class job, and have a system for organizing them. Whether that be in buckets per table group, dish racks, or a special container your district was able to get you...make sure you have an organized system for keeping them charged and ready to go.

8. Do not use them as punishment. Yes...I said it. Some of our teachers were taking them away if a kid talked, taking them away if they weren't focused, taking them away to teach a lesson about charging them...then we as specialists were punished when they student came in unprepared. If a child uses them inappropriately (bad site, inappropriate pictures...)then have a system in place to take it away unless they are monitored or have a buddy watching that they are on the right site. We now have a guided access app that helps us keep kids on specific sites as we work in class.

9. Find ways for your students to show what they know, share what they learned, or even create projects for class. Kids love to use ChatterKid, Book Creator, Scribble Press, Stop Motion, and Garage Band which are just a few fun apps to consider! I love SeeSaw for parent communication! Kids take pictures, write a caption and share with their families! You will need parent permission to have kids do that though.

10. Last but not least...find great activities and resources that help you continue to use your curriculum, but use digital resources to help be a vehicle for your standards and lessons! Last year, I made over 20 resources to help me in my science classroom! This year, I am focusing on stations, assessments, and activities that can check for understanding on their own after we do a science lesson! I will be making resources for everyone of my classrooms kindergarten through fifth grade so follow me on my TPT store to find out when I post a new Digital Science Resource!

Take a look at the Digital Resources in the Science School Yard {HERE}

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STEM Road Trip Tips!

July is like the Saturday of summer! It is also a time to enjoy a great road trip with your family and friends... but it can also lead to "Are we there yet?" 
There are many ways we try to keep our kids occupied along the way, but you can only play the alphabet so many times.

Here are some engaging ideas that can help you pack for an easy car ride. 

Road Trip Tip 1:

Straws, Masking Tape and Scissors. These items are a great way to contain some fun have them build on the top of the plastic lid and you have an easy display.

Road Trip Tip 2:
Use an Altoid or 10 container to cut and place pipe cleaners inside. You then have a small little compartment for an easy and quick hands on engaging activity. 

Road Trip Tip 3:
Legos are always a fun and a great hands-on way to build something that they see out the window. gain In order to build it you can always use a lid of a box that you can bring along with a baggie of Legos. 

Road Trip Tip 4:
Another great activity to do is to bring along Beanie Babies that  they just had at McDonald's and some cubes. You can build something for those beanie babies inside that lid and then share it with the people sitting in the backseat with you. 

Now for the fire works! The finale...how about some stick pretzels and small marshmallows!!! Not only can you build with them but when you're all done building you can have a yummy snack.

 These are just a few quick and easy STEMtastic ideas for your next road trip! not only can you keep them from saying "hey are we there yet?" but you can also see how exciting it is for their brains to be working, thinking, and engineering along that way. 

Check out my FREE fourth of July Pack for engaging July activities for at home, on vacation, or in the car!

FREE FOURTH OF JULY ACTIVITIES PACK

Let's celebrate...this Fourth of July EVERYTHING in my store is 15% off!
Happy 4th of July!

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School Gardens In The Summer: Tips For Maintaining

Our school has had a school garden for fives years! I am the lovely facilitator of that garden...I say that because it is not MY garden...it is the children's' garden! I often get asked how we can maintain a garden and second how it can last that long. Often times, schools want to get on the school garden bandwagon and then after a year find out that it is hard to maintain. If you are remotely interested in starting a garden at your school then here are some quick tips to get you "growing"...

Tip 1:
You NEED to have one person (or more if you are lucky!) that is truly dedicated to maintaining and advocating for your garden. That is me at our school. You then need your administration and your maintenance crew on board as well. Our garden has changed from its original state due to the garden beds being too hard to mow around...the herbs were placed in metal cans which can be unsafe (but we wanted to contain them so that they didn't get out of control...they can do that you know) We as a team, find ways to make sure that our district policies are being followed and yet still hold true to what our vision is.

You need your administration to be on board and part of your team. Whether that is support of your plan, seeing academic benefits, or getting down and dirty along with the kids as they learn how to garden, you truly cannot do it without them on your team!

And let's just say when your administration sees it as a benefit they can find ways to fund the project and sustain it for years to come. (I will get to that next)

Tip 2:
You will need to find funding, grants, and donations. Each year, I have been able to find "free" money that helps support our school garden. Whether it be the Anthem Watch Us Sprout Grant which provided us this year with soil, books, hundreds of free seeds to distribute to our families and students, as well as amazing banners that we display in our lunchroom that supports healthy eating habits!

Find a local greenhouse that might be willing to donate. If you have a composting business close by, call them to see if they can give a deal to a local school garden. People LOVE the idea of kids growing and may be excited enough to donate or give a product at a reduced price!

Tip 3:
Find ways to integrate the garden into the curriculum. We have a unique situation at our school...I teach each and every student. That means over 400 students come to me for Science, STEM, Gardening. You name it...I teach it! The beauty of this model is that I then can work with each grade level to take part in gardening. (Watch for this week's series for ideas on how to grow plants with kids!)

Kindergartners plant a kinder"garden" which is pumpkins, zucchini, and gourds.
First Graders plant flowers to learn about insect pollination. Sunflowers are great to grow as well as daffodils.
Second Graders plant potatoes and then gold mine for them in fall to tie in Social Studies and the Westward Movement as well as lettuce, spinach, kale, and peas. We use the FOSS Plant unit to start us off, but then I deviate.
Third Graders plant an egg roll and coleslaw garden. We plant cabbage which is sponsored by Bonnie Plants (free cabbage plants for the annual cabbage contest. Find the Link here: http://bonniecabbageprogram.com/ ) We also plant carrots for our coleslaw and egg rolls!
Fourth Graders plant the Three Sisters Garden which ties in native american history. That includes Beans, squash, and corn.
Fifth Graders plant a victory garden as they learn about WWII. They plant kohlrabi, tomatoes, peppers, and anything else we want to stick in the ground.

I know that this may not be how your school teaches science so here are some ideas....
-each grade level can be assigned special vegetables and an area to plant them in
-someone that is interested can have a container garden that they watch and learn from
-facilitators can teach lessons, plant seeds, start them at school and send them home
-interested teachers can work together to grow a school garden, it can be part of an after school program, or even a summer school class.

Tip 4:
Just do it. I cannot tell you how many people I talk to that want to start a school garden and then just sit and wait for everything to fall in place just perfectly....nothing is ever perfect. We learned from our mistakes, changed them as we went, and continue to learn as we go!

 Your team, whoever it is that is part of your plan, can find an area for your garden, create a design, decide what to plant, figure out who waters, weeds, picks, and shares the harvest.  (In this week's series, I will share with you different ways to use your bounty!)

Tip 5:

How do you keep it growing? Summer weeding, watering, and picking and then what do you do with it? All things to think about. In the past I have tried a lot of different methods. Here are a few ideas for you...
-Americorp volunteers. They always need hours.
-United Way. If they weed and pick ...they can keep some of the harvest.
-Parent and Family volunteers. I used Remind 101 after a digital sign up link went into our school newsletter. It is sometimes hard for them to remember to I send a reminder with this app.
-I use my summer school program to tie gardening into the STEM based curriculum that I developed. We use STEM Little Red Hen to teach teamwork and hard work come first before the reward. We then weed and then eat!
-I have an underground irrigation system that I wrote a grant for...so watering is not an issue for me, however utilize your helpers, custodians, school programs that can help with this chore.

This week, I will be sharing more tips, epic fails you can learn from, as well as celebrations! I will always say...a seed is magic. You just have to get "growing" to find that out!

This pack has been worked on for over three years. I now use this pack for my kindergarten though third graders.

Here is a link to a free portion of this pack...Let's just call it a "FREEBEE"! FREE-BEE For You Found HERE!

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Summer STEM Station Fun

Is it summer yet? Many teacher friends are almost done. Some of my teacher friends are all the way around the world and the cold weather is approaching! Where ever you are...whatever is slowing your kiddos down from that 100% effort that you need them to still have.

As I watch my kindergarten through fifth graders come into the science room, I can see their focus dwindling, so to help them get excited for learning again, I have an instant cure....STEM!

Third Graders learned about Food Chains knowing that they were going to be able to create a frog catapult to connect how frogs protect themselves from predators!

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Digging Dinosaurs In Science

Kids really DIG building and creating! I love to try to find ways then to add STEM activities.

We just finished our first grade FOSS kit Pebbles, Sand, and Silt so it was time for a STEM connection! We learned about Paleontology and Fossils and now its time to build our own dinosaurs!

Let's set up a STEM lesson to see how easy it can be for you, too to add some STEM to your day!

First, Grab a Picture Book!

 I started with this great interactive book where we get up and do hand motions for each of the pages. Dig, dig, dig those dinosaurs...This is a quick book to get them remembering what Paleontologists do as well as what a museum looks like!



Next, I ask them a question to get them thinking. 

I asked them what types of characteristics did dinosaurs have that helped them survive when they lived on Earth?

We made an anchor chart that helped us write our ideas down before and after the book.

We are going to take a look at another book that will help us see the adaptations that helped both herbivores and carnivores survive.

This is a great book that shows how dinosaurs were different sizes and how they compare to animals that they know. I make sure that they are constantly looking for ideas to build their own dinosaur.

It also shows how herbivores and carnivores lived as well as how they defended themselves.
The students are able to see the spikes, clubs, plates...to add to our list of adaptations.

I share with them the supplies that they can use to make their dinosaur. I ask, "can you see how to make a dinosaur that has legs to stand on and ways to protect themselves or survive? Remember all the adaptations that they can have."

I show them toilet paper tubes, cubes, ten frame, 100 frame, and 1000 frame blocks, masking tape, construction paper, and pipe cleaners.




Once you share the items and your anchor chart  list is complete it is time to follow the Engineering Design Process! 

1. Ask
2. Imagine
3. Plan
4. Create
5. Improve

I send my dear students back to their iPads where they open up their Science Notebook in Explain Everything. They start to design and plan what they will create!

Once they have a labeled diagram, they can go to the supply table, get a bucket, and fill it with what they put on their supply list.

Now it is time to create! Sometimes they get stuck. I try not to do anything for them, but I do give them ideas to try. I really want them to problem solve!

When time is almost up, I let them know it is almost time to share. They must share what items on our anchor chart they incorporated into their design. This gets them thinking about the list again which helps them remember what adaptations are.

Time to SHARE!

Sharing is a key component to the engineering design model. It allows your learners to put into words what worked and what they could modify. It also is a chance for others to give compliments and advice!

This is our favorite part. You can do this with partners, table groups or as a large group. We then set up a museum for everyone to come and see.

Kids love learning about different types of dinosaurs...did you ever worry that you said one of the names wrong? Here is a quick video that does a nice job explaining the names and what they mean.

If you are looking for a fun song to share with your kids as they work...here is a fun little ditty...

Need these lessons all laid out with writing connections and STEM activity sheets. Check out my new line of STEM products, STEM Let's Build...

Finds LET"S BUILD A...DINOSAUR PACK HERE

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No Prep Google Is Snow Much Fun!

In the time of the digital age...where everyone of my 400 students that I teach comes to me with an iPad...I needed to figure out how to use them and FAST! Should I use Google Classroom? Does my district expect me to use a certain app. My district's expectations is that I use Explain Everything and put many of my ideas and lessons into itsLearning.

In your own classroom, I can just see it...you might have each child able to use a Chromebook...go to the computer lab...or have their own device for them to work with! The learning curve is HUGE! I have an amazing team of specialists that help each other and so as a team we have been able to figure this out together!

There are lots of great resources to help you with this process. Whether it is unit for science...a reading activity that can be used from Google Classroom...even a great Math interactive for your computers...check out #nogoogleprep on TPT for ideas and products that can help you make this transition easier. 

Check out the many teachers ready to share what they have learned...

Search #noprepgoogle on TPT today!

 

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