Marvelous Magnets...FOSS...NGSS... and More!

We just finished up our FOSS Magnet portion of the kit that we need to cover in fourth grade each year. I love the activities and supplies that FOSS offers, but at times the fun of magnets is lost in the FOSS lessons. Our science standards that we are using in our city are based on 1991 standards from our state. This seems a bit outdated even though many of these concepts are seen in the new NGSS standards. Because our state has not adopted these new standards I like to take what we already have to do and integrate the new NGSS standards where ever I can.

The great thing about magnets also is that the 3rd grade NGSS science standards of Forces and Interactions fit perfectly within the FOSS Magnet unit. 3-PS2-3 has students: ask questions to determine cause and effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other. So for example you could have students take two permanent magnets and see the relationship between steel paperclips with one magnet vs. the relationship between two magnets and those same steel paperclips. FOSS gives you the magnets, but how you use them to cover other standards is the key.

You can also use the FOSS lesson of the farther apart magnets are the weaker the force...by testing and using the NGSS standards to prove the cause and effect relationships and how they culd show that the distance between objects affects strength of the force and how they orientation of  magnets affects the direction of the magnetic force.

Using what they know about magnets can help you figure out how to take the curriculum that you have and how you can add the NGSS standards to existing lessons. Here is what I did...

As I focused on creating extensions of our magnet unit, I focused on 3-P S2-4. I created one of the activities that students can create a simple game design that can solve a problem as they apply scientific ideas about magnets. Maybe they could make a game that uses a latch to keep something shut or create a game that can keep two moving objects from touching each other... this then takes once again the FOSS Magnet section and extends it with activities that tie in NGSS standards.

There is only one real way to teach them effectively with whatever standards you are working with...hands-on. Loving the magnets of FOSS, but not loving the lack of fun interactive activities...I made my own! When the students were done exploring the different lessons I had to do... such as permanent magnet interactions with a bag of objects to discovering the forces of attraction and repulsion there is so much more you can do with these concepts they could work on stations that were set up around the room.

What I loved to see was how they worked hard to make sure that their FOSS sheets were done (requirement before they got to pick a station in the room...) You might also see in some of my activities that we did...we used the idea that FOSS had, but made it more kid friendly and connected it with their lives. This connections help them understand the WHY of why they are learning about magnets! Check out the activities and stations that were set out for my students to choose from!

     Interested in this Magnet Unit for your kiddos? Find it HERE!

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!