Ten Apples Up On Top STEM and More!

This year has been a bit of a challenge with our classes of kindergarten that come into science this year. Roughly 1/3 of the kiddos already have an IEP... the majority of them are late birthdays so they are just 5...and academically they are very low. That poses a challenge in science because I so want them to start working on the NGSS standards and start learning basic concepts. I have had to really pull out of my bag of tricks to find ways to use my 30 minutes I have with them each week to first of all change up what I am doing every 5-6 minutes or I am losing them to wandering...giving up...not paying attention...interrupting. (Let's just say this 25 year veteran teacher after 15 minutes with them the first few weeks of school was sweating 15 minutes into the lesson...)

I am happy to report that I am starting to figure things out with this new group of kiddos! Not only do I use their reading program Super Kids to tie in the characters of the reading program, I also find ways to have them using STEM activities to get them actively engaged. Here is what we packed into 30 minutes this week!

We started off with a short story from EPIC books called I Eat Apples In Fall written by Mary Lindeen. Great book for kinders! It works on shapes, colors, senses, property words in a very simple format!

We then follow it up with this great song and video based on the book Ten Apples Up On Top! I am now singing it in my head at night after listening to it for five days in a row! Kids love it...I do, too!

The kinders got up and we snapped and clapped. Then we used our fingers to show the amount of apples up on top! 

STEM time! I placed in a bucket toilet paper tubes, tongue depressors, and red pompoms in different sizes. I even added extra tubes and depressors so that if they wanted to be creative with this activity they could! I told them that we were going to make trees with 10 apples up on top! I asked them to share (by raising their hand...and waiting to be called on) what the parts of a tree were. I pulled out the TRUNK... the tube...

the BRANCHES...the depressors...

and the APPLES...the red pompoms in different sizes! 

I sent them to a table where the buckets were setting out and let them build!

When they were finished they counted the apples up on top! Engineering and Math!

When finished...I gave them about 10 minutes, we went back to the carpet for a senses activity. I showed them the different shapes of the apple by cutting the apple in half to show them the circle and star. I cut little pieces in the shape of triangles. We then talked about our five senses. 

Not eating the apple slice yet...they shared what they smelled...saw...felt...and then I got them excited about being very quiet to listen to what an apple sounds like when we bite it! We then bit it and shared what we heard and what we tasted. I love when you ask how it tastes with suggestions such as sweet and tart and  every time someone says it tastes like an APPLE! 

Time for a quick graph! Did you like the taste of the apple? 

Yes...No...Kind Of

We color and place our vote on the graph as we line up at the door. We count the apples up on top of each heading~ in 30 minutes you can really teach many different science concepts!

From senses...to graphing...

shapes...to counting....

and my favorite STEM!

Grab a freebie here! This lesson is pretty "apple"ing!

10 Apples Up On Top Freebie

Scientific Process and M & M's

Teaching science is such a great job! I get to create, explore, discover, build and so much more every day along with my students! One of the most important concepts that I need to cover to start off each year with success is to teach the scientific process.

It's hard to believe that we are over a month into a new school year, but this time I had to plan for a new group of students to join me in my NEW science room! This year, I wanted to create something that could start off my FOSS Variables Unit that would capture their attention...help them discover new vocabulary...and get them thinking!

Why teach the Scientific Process at the beginning of the School Year?
The scientific process or scientific method is the foundation of science and what all content that you teach builds off of. Take for example my first FOSS Magnetism and Electricity lesson. The students explore and learn what a magnet is and what it is attracted to. By using the scientific method...we ask a question...(What is attracted to a magnet?)  Scientists are naturally curious about the world around them. Let the students then form questions! Once they do that they can form a hypothesis...conduct and experiment, and then analyse the data and draw conclusions!  Presto! You have the process laid out for them!

Again, this sets the foundation for all of your questions and experiments that follow!






What are the parts of the Scientific Process?
1. Purpose/Question: State the purpose or question you want to answer.
2. Research: Find out more about the topic.
3. Hypothesis: Predict the outcome of the problem/question.
4. Experiment: Develop procedures to test your hypothesis.
5. Analysis: Record the results of the experiment.
6. Conclusion: Compare the hypothesis with your results and come up with a conclusion based on your results. It is always a bonus to share what others have found out as well!

How can I help my students to understand the process?
There are some great ideas out there. I love Pinterest, but here are some ideas that I implement in my classroom:

• post the scientific process in the room to refer back to it every time there is an experiment.
• have students post the scientific process in their notebooks to refer back to.
• a "hook" lesson to get them excited about learning the process!
• QR code review game to check for understanding
• a video that shares the vocabulary that we are learning (I included the video I use in class below)

Where can you get your M & M pack? Follow the link right here to help you teach the scientific process or to add to your Variable Unit today!

Need Science Ideas? Go Back to College...

Did I get you? Hope I did! Are you looking for some hands-on science fun? Look no further than your local universities! There are some amazing opportunities to use theme based science trunks filled with an array of amazing educational material and props! From puppets...to specimen...puppets...to lesson ideas your local university might be a great place to start.

Just a few fun and batty finds in the Bat Trunk!

Living here in Wisconsin I didn't realize that the UW-Stevens Point has some amazing environmental science trunks for teachers to check out to utilize in their classrooms...until this year!

When I received the trunk, I couldn't wait to dive in to see what my first grade bat lesson might be able to add to make it even more hands-on. My students love the "real" brown bat that they can get a closer look at. Is it a mammal? It has fur, it feeds its babies milk, it breathed air...but most importantly we can see it up close and personal!

The books that are included have found our way to a station in our room for students to enjoy them in the bat cave!

I even decided to use the lesson idea books to create a pack to include as my little gift for letting us borrow the kit for free! YES...my teacher friends these kids found at universities around the country are most often free to use if you are an educator!

Not only does our own UWSP have a bat trunk, but you can also check out the bear trunk, bird monitoring kit, energy trunk (that one is mine in May), Watershed (aiming for that when we do FOSS Water with 3rd grade), Fishing For Fun Backpack, and a ton of fun forestry kits that I can't wait to check out when our 5th graders go to our local school forest overnight!

If you are here in Wisconsin and want to check out these amazing tools to use in your classroom, go to UW-Stevens Point Educational Trunks and Kits or their direct site at http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/wcee/library/Pages/trunks_kits.aspx to book your trunk or kit today!

I also included in the trunk a free bat pack for teachers here in Wisconsin can use. Not able to utilize this fun BAT themed trunk...no worries pick up your  Science-Based Bat Unit here!

What can you do to go back to college to help teach science without even having to take a course? Check out your local universities by calling or searching in their library catalog for trunks for kids for educators. You might be pleasantly surprised!

Mathletic Measurement Events

At the beginning of the year, as I welcome our new third graders into my science room, I start off with a metric measurement mini unit. This review is very important as we dive into our FOSS Earth Materials unit which has the students needing to measure circumference, width, height, weight, and more!

The Common Core State Standards for Math as well as the NGSS Science Standards both emphasize a need for our students to become proficient in measurement.

The fundamentals include:
-length
-mass
-volume
-time
-temperature
-perimeter and area
-graphing/reading a graph

This pack covers everyone of those key components except for temperature.

As we help them focus on SI or International System of Units (otherwise know as the metric system) as well as customary standard unit here in the US, we can find fun ways to add math into other areas of their day...such as science!

Take a look at my Mathletes as they participate in the metric measurement stations!

Get your mathletes actively learning metrics...Find it HERE on TPT!

I love how the kiddos are measuring volume. They are measuring the water that they squeezed out of a sponge. Practicing how to measure in milliliters is a fun way to learn math!

The standing long jump has them working as a team as they measure distance in centimeters. Once they jump three times they average!

One of my favorite mathletic events is the weight lifting station! Grab those marbles kids! Then measure the weight in grams!

What Did The Fox Say? Science!

How To Teach Students About Mammals

Each year, we start our first graders off by learning about animals with a vertebrate. I make a fun pack last year that I am using for my assessment. You can find it here: Animal Classifications Pack.

This year, I wanted to add a way for my students to walk around the room (now that I have a REAL classroom!!!!) to locate information that would help them remember what makes a mammal a mammal.

Every year I read the book Is A Cammal A Mammal?. This book gives a multitude of mammal expamples and it is in the Cat In The Hat's Learning Library. When we are finished, this year we reviewed with a smartboard review followed up by a quick circle the mammal activity! It got the students making the connections that they needed to make and it added a bit of an assessment. I will bu using those sheets to call up each student individually next week as they work on BAT Stations! Stay tuned!

With our littles, I love to add music, art, writing, reading, and science! What a great way to find time to add science into your day! Check out the What Does The Fox Say Stations in Action!

My firsties are moving from station to station on a Fox Hunt! They are looking for the missing word to fill in the blank.

They work alone or with partners...I even underline the magic word for them to match the number on the station to the number on the sheet!

What does the Fox say? I use the 5 characteristics that we learned about for their writing activity connection and the real fox helps them out! 

.

When they are all through, they work on a simple art activity!

What does this fox say? I learned about what makes a mammal a mammal! 

You can find these mammal stations here: Mammal Stations: What Did the Fox Say?

Classroom Reveal: New Room...New School Year

Wow! It has been a long wait. For the last four years I have shared a library to teach science as well as used the teacher's lounge to teach over 400 students. The little box I called a classroom was barely large enough to fit 6 round tables in. I would have the students come in and have to sit in one spot because their wasn't enough room to move around.

Over the summer, our school has taken on a renovation transformation! We added a whole new wing making us the largest elementary school which houses Pre-K-5th grade. Throughout the summer, I could go in to school to tend the school garden, but my room wasn't ready to really work completely on until a week before school started...a week before open house. Phew...I made it.

Makerspace area in my room with supplies that are labeled and special tables for meeting with kiddos when they need my help! Didn't have that in the teacher's lounge!

After hours of work at home readying bulletin boards, making my own letters, filling makerspace buckets and keeping them in the car and sneaking them in when I could...I was able to get a few things done when I went into the garden. I just took a bit of a detour.

DOK posters! I went to a conference last summer and I figured it was about time to implement what I learned!

With a new addition comes new rules...nothing hanging from the ceiling...no curtains...nothing on the doors...no class pets...pillows must have tags (notice one of my benches has no pillows, I had to take them home because they were missing tags) the list was pretty long.

It's not much for flexible seating, but the kids love it. There are my empty bench seats. My pillows were missing tags and I had to take them home. Finding replacements this weekend!

I also worked over the summer on some new scientific process posters and activities for the first week of school. I love how colorful they are and how they look!

Love this bulletin board. I will be referring to it all the time! 

Flexible seating is being used throughout our school: from couches to bouncy balls...cushions to beanbags. So, as a science teacher, I thought I would give it a shot. I found a simple table and covered it with Target's contact paper. I created some bench seating for around our carpet area. We also have extra tables for students to sit at and ample floor space to use the carpet squares. Most of our work is done in teams, but if an experiment lends itself to movement these kiddos have options!

At the door we have different areas as well. An area to pick up sheets...a place for our brag bracelets...and a shelf for this week's worksheets. However...we are a 1:1 school this year. Each one of our kiddos have I pads that they can use. I have buckets ready to go for each table to put them in so they are safe from our activities. We will be using Explain Everything to help us keep a folder so we can explain everything and keep it in one place.

Can't forget my Science Brag Bracelets! You can find them in my TPT store. I can't wait to get to use them!

Our room would not be complete without Mr. Bones. My husband is a health teacher and some naughty high schooler stole his arm, so I got Mr. Bones for our room a few years ago to teach the Human Body. He just stayed and now is a permanent line leader and door greeter.

Thanks for stopping by my 2016-2017 Classroom Reveal! I still have to label some things, and I can't find where I put items away in the cupboards, but when this week is over, I am going to add it to my to do list! It's not much...but it's my little piece of heaven for my students! I can't wait to keep adding to it as I get more time to add the finishing touches!

Cha...Cha...Cha...Changes: Life Cycles Freebie

Each year, in our FOSS Insects Unit, we raise butterflies in our science classroom. It is always an amazingly wonderful experience for the students to watch the Painted Lady Larva transform from larva...to pupa...and then to an adult butterfly!
This lesson helps students learn about life cycles as they observe a metamorphosis, bringing them closer to nature and the common standards that we must cover during a given school year. We tie picture books with writing activities...add in some science inquiry...and maybe a little math graphing. Whoa-la...we have integration!

At a recent conference, many of the teachers received a life cycle of a mosquito and life cycle of a worm freebie. I heard several winners say, "what am I going to do with that?"

Let's Take A Look...

Big Ideas:

• Organisms reproduce, develop, have predictable life cycles, and pass on traits to their offspring
• Organisms and their environment are interconnected
• Changes (whether caused by nature or by humans) may effect the other parts of a system. 

Essential Questions:

• How can we use models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles, but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death?
• How can we analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variations of these traits exist in groups of similar organisms?
• How does one's environment influence these traits? 
• How do an animals traits help them survive, find a mate, and reproduce?

Thinking About Outcomes:

• By bringing in worms or mosquito larvae can students learn about the needs of living things?
• By starting a worm bin and learning about composting, or by looking outside for examples of stagnant water, can students learn about an animals' environment and how they survive?
• Can students learn to observe, measure, chart, graph, and record with drawings, writing, and interpreting data though a life cycles lessons?
• Can students learn about interdependence between animals and plants through worms and mosquitoes? (any animal for that matter)
• Can students learn about the hazards facing us or an animal? 

Whether it be NGSS or TEKS...state standards or your district's standards, life cycles are the core ideas of each and every standards based curriculum at one point in K-5.

One of the latest classes that I took this summer to help me develop as a science educator was using the book Inquire Within. Inquiry based science is student-centered in approach. Set out the plastic life cycle pieces and see where the inquiry takes you. Let students lead the discussion. Bring in samples and show them what you have. Start with an I wonder...see where the process takes you!

We are always seeking to motivate students what better way than to use life cycles tools and real animals to get them excited and enhance learning for all different learning styles. Life cycles may be our students first experience with biology! By having students identify different species students are able to see the process that living things take and learn to appreciate different animals. In the spring, we study insects. You can take a look at my Insect pack HERE.  I mean all different insects and their life cycles...crickets...darkling beetles...ladybugs...butterflies...bees...I even get pond water with tadpole eggs to compare different animals. (Lenard the Frog was just released this week after taking him home and watching him through his changes!) From there my friends...bring out some seeds and grow! Another spring board to watching a life cycle, but this time plants!

For those of you checking out my blog this pack is free here! Enjoy!

Back To School Maker Space

Going back to school is an exciting time for teachers and students. During the summer, teachers like myself, often take classes or research new ideas. At the end of the year, last year, our Library and Media Specialist and I started diving into the idea of having a Maker Space in the library or in my new science room (I have been in the teacher's lounge for three years).

So...this summer...I have had time to develop a Maker Space Area (it is in the making...our school is getting added on to and getting into our building is a bit hard...) I did not do this alone however...Brooke Brown from Out of the Box and Wendy and Cheryl at Get Caught Engineering have been so helpful! I am also so excited that I met a wonderful Father/Daughter duo from Brain Brigade! They have wonderful resources and ideas for what a Maker Space to them was all about! Here is what I learned and developed for my upcoming Maker Space Area in my Science Classroom...

What is a Maker Space?

A maker space is a common area within a classroom or media space where children are able to engineer, explore, tinker, and discover through creative building opportunities.

It is a DIY space where children can gather to create… learn…explore…and invent!  This space may include apps, software, tools and craft supplies found in your art cabinet, recycle bin, or by donations. Maker spaces can include 3-D Printers, Lego sets, K’nex, blocks…however a maker space does not need expensive items to be a place to create.

 Where Do I Put a Maker Space?

Your maker space can be on a book shelf loaded with craft and art supplies, on an open shelf with labeled bins, or a dedicated open area in your classroom. Whether you let students create in a whole group method, task card or station method, or when students have extra time and want to explore…a maker space will allow students to thrive as they find their inner engineer, designer, artist…the sky is the limit!

Suggested Materials: (free, cheap, and expensive)

Paper, foil, egg cartons, dowels, pompoms, legos, Keva blocks,  Jenga blocks, tools, glue, cotton balls, cardboard pieces, cups, yarn, tape, scissors, pipe cleaners, toilet paper rolls, ipads, plastic utensils, paper/styrofoam plates, straws, popsicle sticks, index cards, k’nex, assorted blocks, baggies, empty plastic containers, paper clips, binder clips, empty milk containers, empty water bottles, wheels, fabric and ribbons, card stock, rulers, plastic wrap, bubble wrap, Snap Circuits, magnets, Makey Makey, LED lights, batteries, Goldiblocks sets,  Scratch, Qubits, Dot and Dash, Playdough and Squishy Circuits…Just to name a few.  Use what you can get and what is affordable to you.

Here is what I made to help my after school Maker Space Classes that will start up in late September. I will be co-teaching this with my wonderful media specialist!

STEM/Maker Space Task Cards:

There are a lot of very effective and engaging ways to use these task cards.

You can use these cards for whole group as an introduction to your new unit or at the end for an exit ticket. You can use them in a center as students finish their work or even in small differentiated groups as you work with them or they can work with them independently.

Task Card Differentiation Approach:

Students that need help can work with you in a small group with the record sheet so that they get your guidance or prompting. If this group needs help you are there to guide them.

Another group can be given the exact supplies that you would like them to use so that they are guided by you just a little bit. The students in this group will be completing their sheet as a group or independently. If they have questions the group members can problem solve together.

Your independent group will not only work in a small group, they will use the materials in your STEM Store or Maker Space to develop their own plan to create the end product. They can use the record sheet or by using the scientific process they can also create their own record sheet.

In any case, all students will share out at the end of the time. Discussing modifications, how it works, and giving compliments, and suggestions.

Done Early Station/Center Approach:

Sometimes my students are done early. We have all been there. What a great way to help students use inquiry based science strategies and their creativity to use their time wisely.   It keeps them engaged instead of wasting valuable

learning time.

To use this as a center/station, students can come to a designated spot in the

classroom where the task cards are located. The supplies needed can be

laid out or placed in labeled buckets and the students can choose what materials they would like to use. I often set aside numbered boxes for the supplies they start to use and if they don’t finish in the given time, they can always come back to it. In this way, what they are working on is valued.

I also place a generic record sheet for them to use. (included in this pack.)

Task Card Set Up: 

I cut down the middle and hole punch the corner, connecting them with a

ring. You can also put them separately in a bucket or hung up on a board.

If you are interested in starting your own Maker Space in your classroom...keep following along as I continue to create my Maker Space. Until then...here are the bulletin board letters and labels for you to have! Maker Space Freebie!

And don't forget the Teacher Pay Teacher Sale on Monday and Tuesday where everything in my store will be 28% off including the Maker Space Task Cards! Stop by my store to start your Wish List!

Plugging Into Environmental Education

 I was asked last week about the importance of environmental education and why I spend the effort in my science classes teaching students about the outdoors.  We have an extensive farm to school garden and are recognized as a Green and Healthy School. Environmental lessons are key to helping save our planet.  My answer was simple...

Having nature based activities not only meets many of the new NGSS standards, but it engages both boys and girls in a hands-on way! Here are some other key components to why we need to add environmental education into our school week.

Sustainability Lessons and Activities

1. Connections
Environmental Education connects students to the outdoors and disconnects them from their virtual worlds that this generation of students is living in.

2. Service Learning
Service learning is defined by the National Service Learning Clearinghouse as "a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities."

Whether that be a neighborhood clean-up and recycling effort or helping a local wildlife organization with fundraising efforts students can learn the value of the needs in their community outside of their own lives.

3. Stewards of The Earth
Let's admit it...we have done a pretty good job messing up the Earth lately. Landfills are filling...we are using our fossil fuels at a rapidly growing rate...we are going to need the help of this generation to come up with some viable solutions!

Teaching our students about the outdoor world outside of their classroom walls will help to improve their understanding of the world around them. From planting a school garden, to composting...teaching  about renewable resources or taking pond samples to test the alkaline levels...it is our responsibility to help our students learn to use and protect our natural environment through conservation and sustainable lessons and modeling positive behaviors.

Aldo Leapold once said, "We abuse land because we see it as a commondity belonging to us. Wehn we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect." 

              Stop back to learn more ways to include environmental education into your Science School Yard!

Science Brag Bracelets

We use PBIS for our positive behavior plan. We implement "Jaguar Paws" when we see students showing our core values of work...respect...be safe. As a specialist, teaching science to everyone of our K5 students, I only get to see my 400+ students one hour per week. After being at the same school for four years now...I have build great relationships with my students...however...

Our state has also implemented Teacher Effectiveness and with being a "specialist" I can't always create the parent communication and the motivation from my students allows them to work toward their academic and behavioral goals each week, not to mention the retention of scientific information.

As a mother of four, with two in college, I can't always spend a ton of money on prizes and treats and I don't really like the idea of "buying" good behavior. So, going back to Teacher Effectiveness...I needed to find ways to continue to make connections...motivate my scientists...and create positive communication!

What are brag bracelets?
Brag bracelets are a positive incentive system that will be used to create an inexpensive reward that will celebrate and promote positive academic and behavioral classroom goals.

How will students wear the bracelets?
After earning a brag bracelet that focus on:
1. teamwork
2. problem solving
3. STEM
4. kindness (yes, kindness is one of our biggest issues when students work in teams...)
5. science star
6. doing their best
7. observation skills
8. team leader

I will be watching for positive behaviors as well as encourage students to focus on our goals. When I see a student exhibiting something to brag about, I will take a bracelet and place it on their wrist. You can either glue or tape it on. It is important to share with everyone why the student earned the bracelet!

Will you keep track of who earns a bracelet? 
I will not be keeping track of who gets one. Our school is at 82% free and reduced. Many of our students need all of the positives they can get. They also need to be motivated as well as find ways to motivate themselves. Just like any behavior plan, at times some students need more encouragements while our leaders also need to be celebrated, too! Keeping track of over 400 students with only having one hour with them a week could use up way too much of my time when I need each and every minute for teaching.

Things to think about:
I am storing them in a word chart. Each bracelet fits perfectly in the pocket.
I am printing up quite a few so that I am ready to go the first day of school.
I will not give any student a bracelet if they ask for one...just like we don't give any student a PBIS behavior ticket if they ask.
I thought about why this method will work better for me than the coupons that our PBIS team wanted us to give out...bracelets have a better chance of getting home so that parents can see how they are doing in science!

Ready to try science brag bracelets?

Here is a free copy of my brag bracelets that will be for sale in my TPT store. Enjoy getting your students motivated in YOUR science school yard! Let me know what you think...leave a comment to share the love!