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Showing posts with label adaptations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adaptations. Show all posts

Gobbling Up Thanksgiving Science and STEM Ideas!

It is hard to fit it all in during the school day, and with holidays approaching you might want to even add a bit of fun...why not do both! I have been playing with the idea of every new holiday I can connect Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math within the confines of my lesson and still cover NGSS Standards!

Holiday and Science Connection #1: Buoyancy/Sink and Float

What a great way to teach sink and float while sharing with the students the story of the Mayflower. I like the visuals of this video, but I will be posing a variety of questions as we watch and not listen...for older students it is perfect, but for littles it is too hard to understand. It ties in history, which you can do on your own.

1. What do you see?
2. How is a boat long ago, different and the same as a boat we see now?
3. What else is different in 1620?
4. What problems might have occurred on a ship if you were a Pilgrim?
5. Why does a big boat float?
6. What other things might float?
7. Why would someone want to write on a boat? 
8. When would you travel across the sea? They left in September. Was that a good idea or not?
9. They needed to write down rules. Why was important to have rules?




Find items around your classroom that you can place in a bucket or on a tray. Set out buckets of water. Have students test the items. Have each person draw on a sticky note something on the tray. Each pick a different item. Use an anchor chart to show and display the pictures.

Holiday and Science Connection #2: Living or Non-Living with Scarecrows!

Scarecrows are a perfect connection to living vs. non-living. Scarecrows are used to help farmers ward off birds that might eat the plants in a field. They look real so it scares the crows! 

This can be an easy lesson in what is living: 
You can find pictures in magazines to make posters to share. You can give word cards to each child to see if they can figure it out using the definition of living. Then, how fun to create a scarecrow after reading one of my favorites: The Little Scarecrow Boy.
I give my students construction paper, straws, cups, toilet paper tubes, and popsicle sticks. I give them glue, scissors, and tape...but not too much tape!

Holiday and Science Connections #3: Traditions

My students come from a wide range of ethnicities. That means that not all of my students celebrate holidays or at least the ones that I do. So approaching the Thanksgiving holiday doesn't mean that everyone in our classes will sit down and eat the same meal we do or even celebrate that at all.

There are two ways to go about an activity where students make a Thanksgiving table. . You can tie it into the history of the first Thanksgiving and share what was served then vs. what we might eat now. Or not even share what we eat now...or you can say at a holiday you might celebrate what do you eat...or you can plain out ask, those of you that celebrate with families on Thanksgiving what is your favorite food or what do you even serve. My Hmong students typically eat rice and chicken. 

We love making a special table for a meal we can eat with our families. We use toilet paper tubes, tongue depressors, unifix cubes, and cardstock/notecards. I love having the students make their favorite food that can then fit on the table. Here is the free lesson for you to use in your classroom!

Here is the Thanksgiving Table Activity Ready for you as a fun freebie!


Holiday and Science Connections #4: Camouflage

One of the NGSS concepts that I now need to cover with my littles in how animals survive, grow and meet their needs. This is for our first grade friends. What a great way to show how animals are able to survive...Thanksgiving style! Turkeys do a great job camouflaging. Many of the activities out there are for turkey to hide...how does a turkey survive without building a hideout or dress in a costume? This is a prefect way to show what camouflage means, but also do some of those fun activities to make those connections!




How can a turkey survive playing hide and seek for survival? They are shades of brown and it makes them harder to spot. Try taking a coloring sheet of a turkey, have students color it to blend into their classroom as they blend in. Have a predator (school personnel)  come in and see if they can find the hiding turkeys within view  in your room! Give them one minute on the clock to see how many they can hunt and find!

 Want to join the fun with  Holiday Science and STEM? Thanksgiving Science includes connecting social studies, math, science, games, and STEM engineering projects with a sprinkle of tradition all in one spot to make it easier for you to print and go!
This pack focuses on Buoyancy with sink and float activities, Camouflage with the concept of how animals survive and protect themselves, as well as Living and Non-Living as we add some scarecrow activities to the mix! What a perfect way to tie it all together with each concept having games, activity sheets, and a STEM engineering project using simple supplies!


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STEM Reindeer Activity and Science Connections

When students think about the holidays they often think of Christmas trees, candy canes, and reindeer. Celebrate the holidays through activities that will connect a story book to a science topic...then add a sprinkle of STEM for a great hands on project!

This will allow your learners the opportunity to investigate adaptations that help reindeer survive in their environment as well as add a bit of holiday fun in a hands-on academic way!

Objective: Investigate adaptations of a reindeer to find ways that reindeer are able to survive in the tundra and then apply it by making a reindeer that shows those adaptations.

Materials: 

  • QR codes that show reindeer facts (included in my Reindeer Pack)/ reading material that show reindeer facts/watch a video that shares reindeer facts
  • toilet paper rolls
  • brown pipe cleaners
  • brown pom poms
  • masking tape
  • brown construction paper
I use the Epic Book Reindeer by Dee Phillips. Epic books is free for educators!

Lesson: 

1. What do you know about reindeer? Where do they live and what do you think they do to survive where it is so cold? 
2. Today, we are going to learn about reindeer and their adaptations that they have that helps them survive. An adaptation is a change in the body to fit a location.
3. Read the story Reindeer
4. Now, have them create an anchor chart that has them share what they learned. This is a great spot to introduce the STEM activity. 

If you have the pack...share with them the QR Code Reindeer Game. They will get time to Scoot around the room to find ways that reindeer adapt. This will help them when they create their reindeer out of supplies you will provide.  Give them the record sheet and have them collect information by scanning the qr codes for facts!

5. We then gather to add to our anchor chart. This is where I introduce the STEM activity. They will be creating a reindeer out of the materials provided. They must show adaptations that they learned and be able to provide evidence as to what they learned by drawing and labeling their STEM reindeer. 

6. After giving learners time to create their reindeer, we then share adaptations. We create a herd of reindeer for display in our classroom. If children get done early we have them create a habitat using a box display, cotton balls, green and brown paper, blue paper for water...

7. They each add a fact tent to the display sharing one thing from their facts they collected or what is on our anchor chart! 

I know tis' the season to add some fun STEM, but if you are like me...I am on evaluation and I want to make sure that if we are doing a hands-on STEM project that we are tying it into Science so that the academics goes hand in hand with the S in STEM! 

I have included the lesson and the STEM activity sheet! Sign up for my newsletter for more free ideas! Find it by following this link: STEM Reindeer Freebie...want more? QR codes, adaptation ideas, more STEM connections...find the complete pack here: http://bit.ly/SSYReindeerpack

This was a perfect time to integrate reindeer facts, an adaptation lesson, and STEM connection...on a side note...when I asked my second graders to share facts about real reindeer that live in the tundra before we read our story...each "fact" revolved around Santa and his reindeer. After reading our book and going through our QR code game...they really had a framework about other reindeer, not just Santa's! 
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Dandy...Lions and Fun in the Sun!

It is hot here in Wisconsin...our students have shut down....what do we do? We find a great way to take them outside and use the environment around them to get them excited to learn! The dandelions are out and the kids are checked out...until we found the dandelions that weren't cut in the field!  Here is a simple science lesson for you...

Plan:
1. What can dandelions have? What are dandelions? What do dandelions have?
2. I share my dandelion poster showing them along with a picked dandelion (root and all) the stem, root, leaves, bud, flower, clock, and seeds.
3. We then read our dandelion story
Cover art
4. Go outside with your station cards and sheets (found in my Dandelion Stations Pack at TPT)
5. Let them work on the activities...I do Adaptations, How Tall, Can, Have, Are...and Tap Roots.
6. I give them a set time to explore and do one sheet...then we meet up and share.

7. I send them back out with rulers...partners...sheets, clipboard...and a tray for a chair. They come back with the joy of learning! From one seed they grow!

Check out this fun end of the year...summer fun pack!

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Hey Peeps...It's Time For Easter STEM

It is the week before Easter and it is time to find a simple way to add STEM Easter Stations to your science time. Here is a simple way to add science concepts...

An adaptation is a process of making changes over a long period of time for survival. This can include changes in looks and in behavior. This concept is a great way to teach students how we adapt and change and so do animals!

For my bigs...we share an adaptation book from EPIC books called Animal Adaptations by Patricia Armentrout. We make a list of how animals can look different and a list of how animals behave. After the list is created I tell them that they are going to be collecting jelly beans, but they can not touch them with their hands. They must adapt to the task by creating something that will help them collect their food in the jelly bean patch!
Love all the different ways they try to adapt to not being able to use their hands!
Our winners...so cute and so proud!

Here is another fun version of the Peep Palace!
For this activity they can only use the items I provide at the STEM Store...our supply table. I give them time to build. Then, we set up the jelly bean patch and let the first person test their adaptations. The first team to collect and place the beans in the cup yells out Jelly Beans! We then modify if we need to and then try again until everyone gets a chance to collect their food.

Jelly Bean Patch Fun! Adapting to not being able to touch the jelly beans with their hands...

The second part of our hour was spent making our peep palaces. We discussed ways that animals protect themselves by building a special home. Some are way up high in trees. So I challenged them to make a home for the Peep rabbit that would be higher than anyone else's. The shortest home would have the predator eat their Peep first, going in order until the predator was full! We just learned about food chains so this was another perfect way to incorporate that review! Finding ways for STEM to fit in your classroom is just that simple...Here is the pack that I got those two activities from! Check it out in my TPT store...four fun Easter STEM stations that can bring holiday fun and science together!


Jelly Bean Picker and Peep Palace are just two of the fun activities in this pack!

Enjoy some Great Easter STEM activities! Happy Easter!
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Bird Beak Adaptations

We have been working hard in our first grade science rooms to learn about invertebrates. That concept alone is very hard for littles, but it is on our road map so why not make it real? This week, we finished up on birds. My little birdies enjoyed a story about birds and their adaptations. From feet... to beaks birds are pretty sweet! I once again used EPIC books for my projectable book: Birds Of All Kinds.
 
We followed it up by discussing how baby birds learn to fly and then find their own food. What will the baby birds need to know? What will they have to learn on their own? What will they need to have?

After we shared...my baby birds were able to learn about the food (station explanation) that they were going to find. I gave them their checklist...my way of giving them ownership for their time management...and let them fly the coop! Here they are working on their stations!!!!
My little robins digging for worms...

My little hummingbirds sipping nectar...

My little cardinals cracking seeds....

Check out the flamingo scooping krill...

The little woodpeckers are busy digging for bugs...

My little swallow getting ready to catch a bug mid-air...

Finally my birds of prey as they rip and tear meat!
This activity will allow them to have the background to create their own beaks next week! What a great way to add STEM into my classroom! Adaptations are part of the new NGSS science standards as well! Here is my Bird Beak Stations and STEM Connections Pack on TPT ready for your little birdies to soar in science!
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