Water Cycle Ideas and Diorama Freebie

Sometimes it's nice to just take a break from the experiments and all the set up of activities in order to stop and make connections in a completely different way. Water is essential for life on earth and learning about the water cycle through a diorama is just the way to show what they know. Follow this simple activity and grab your free resource at the end!

Four Easy Steps to the Water Cycle Connection!

Step 1:

Gather your materials. All you need is:

• paper: green (grass/land), brown (the ground/earth), yellow (sun), blue (water and rain), white (clouds and snow)
• a box such as a shoe box...I use empty juice box boxes that we have at school for breakfast and after school classes
• string or fish line to hand the clouds or precipitation
• cotton balls if you want them to make puffy clouds
• Sheets from my Water Cycle Freebie! Would love for you to rate it if you like it:)

Step 2: 

I like to start off by teaching about the water cycle. I use a great video linked below.

When finished I have them learn the six major words we want to see in the diorama. I have hand motions to help with those kinesthetic thinkers. 

1. accumulation (hands move around in a circle with fingers down)
2. evaporation(fingers wiggle up toward sky)
3. condensation (hands go together to form a cloud shape, hands folded together)
4. precipitation (fingers wiggle down)
5. run off (fingers flow from high spot to low spot)
6. ground water (fingers are moving down as if playing a piano)

Now...a bit of a trick question...which word starts the water cycle? There is no beginning or end! So as you teach it pick one and make sure that you go in order 1-4 from above. There is an order to it. 

Step 3:

Learning the vocabulary is very important so we then work on our vocabulary sheets after playing a game. 

How to play the game:

1.  Gather blue cubes... a ton they signify precipitation/rain
2. make cloud finger puppets

Literally, the best game to see the water cycle in action. We have some kids have their hands be the clouds with the finger puppet clouds on. The other kids gather the cubes placed on the ground. It is their job to pick them up and put them into clouds hands. They will fall. You now have the four key words. As they pick up it is evaporation, in clouds condensation, falling is precipitation, and on the ground accumulation.

Step 4: 

Diorama time! I assign numbers on each table. 1's do accumulation, 2's do condensation, 3's do precipitation, and 4's do run off. We then have them finish and then work on something off of this list...sun, evaporation with arrows, labeling and gluing. This helps everyone focus and be part of the team effort!

Find the water cycle freebie HERE! Want to find more water cycle lessons and packs? Let me help you!

Water Digital Interactive Activities Pack
STEM Water Pack
Water Extensions and Review Pack

5 Snow Themed STEM Activities That Are Sure To Engage

Winter is now upon us here where I live  and as we prepare for more snow and even a possible snow day...we can anticipate those white flakes falling down from the sky!  I know I am not the only one watching the weather forecast as we prepare to head to school or curled up under a warm blanket and spend the day sipping hot cocoa and watching the snow fall.

Snow Themed STEM Activities

There is nothing so thrilling to watch beautiful snowflakes that fall from the sky. The ones where you put out your mitten and catch on to see the fascinating shapes that the one little snowflake reveals.  Here are my top five activities that I utilize in my classroom as well as in my after school STEM club!

STEM Idea #1: Snowflake Building Station

Supply Suggestions: 

*white buttons
*white cubes
*white pompoms
*cotton balls
*white straws
*packing peanuts

Book Connection: Snowflake Bentley

Snowflake video connection:

STEM Idea #2: Symmetry Snowflakes

Supply Suggestions: 

*Cotton Swabs set on a blue sheet of paper (or white cubes on a blue sheet of paper)
*or rubberbands and geoboards (we use the app geoboard which is great)

I give them only one supply...I suggest cotton swabs or white cubes

I like to play this powerpoint video that shows different beautiful examples of snowflakes so they can generate ideas and have  relaxing music as they work.

Snowflake Video Connection:

Book Connection: The Story of Snow

STEM Idea #3: The Shape of a Snowflake 

Supply Suggestions: 

*each student gets 25 small marshmallows that have been set out for a day...not so sticky!
*each student gets 25 toothpicks

Book Connection: Curious About Snow










STEM Idea # 4: Snow Day Fun 

Supply Suggestions:

Snow forts-toothpicks and marshmallows (I like to reuse supplies that I already have from the last activity...to use them in a different way is always fun!)

Sled-straws, cardboard, popsicle sticks, egg cartons, and masking tape

Snowball Launcher- rubber bands, popsicle sticks, bottle tops or the bottom of cups, hot glue

Book Connection: Snow Day (favorite book ever! Perfect for teaching point of view because it's the teacher that wants a snow day and the kids don't get that until the last page!)



STEM Idea # 5: The Tallest Snowman

I love this challenge because the book shows that even if you are small you still can do BIG things! This challenge is fun to watch as the students work together to create a 3-D snowman...but the challenge is to make the tallest, best snowman!

Supply Suggestions: 

*two pieces of typing paper
*18 inches of masking tape
*brown for arms, black for eyes and mouth, orange for nose...

Book Connection: The Biggest, Best Snowman

How To Build A Snowman Video Connection:

The beauty of using seasonal STEM activities is that you can integrate reading, writing, social studies, science, and math into your school day, keeping "fun"...academic.

Want to get these activities and sheets all in one spot? Here are the links!

Snow Day Winter STEM Pack
Snowflake Science and STEM Pack

Grab this resource this week for free (1/26/20-1/31/20) before it goes on sale on my TPT site!

Follow the link to this  snowman science and STEM resource HERE!

New Year...New STEM Ideas

Happy New Year's Eve eve! I hope you are busy soaking in the last few days of 2019. I'll make this short and sweet so that you can back to enjoying your much deserved break. I have been taking some time to breath this break. I have watched a ton of Netflix and played many games of scrabble. I even took some tests to see how the new year will go for me! I am a rooster born in 1969 and they say 2020 is going to be my year! I also learned on another test that I am a type 2 on my enneagram test which means I am a supportive advisor...so I guess that means I am going to help my teacher friends a lot this new year! So let's get started!

I have a bit of time right now to plan for Thursday, back to school. I thought I would share some New Year STEM ideas to get you ready for the new year!

New Year STEM Idea 1: Confetti Thrower/Popper

Suggested Materials: 

• balloons
• toilet paper tubes/cups
• rubber bands
• little papers for their resolutions
• things to decorate the tubes such as markers, stickers, pompoms...

Book Connection: Squirrel's New Year's Resolution



Big Idea:

Students can build shooters in order to fling their resolutions to a circle, where each resolution gets picked up by someone else and read out loud. This gives them an audience and gives others great ideas for the new year!

New Year STEM Idea 2: Ball Drop

Suggested Materials:

• different types of paper
• string/yarn/fish line
• cardboard tubes
• binder clips/paper clips
• dowels/rulers
• tape, scissors, glue
• variety of small balls or have them create their own

Big Idea:

Teams create a new year's eve ball drop after learning about the history of the ball drop. This is also a perfect time to talk about traditions in your classroom after students come back from a break and often have just participated in a tradition. 

Video Connection:

New Year STEM Activity 3: Noise Makers

Suggested Materials:

• rice/dried beans/popcorn
• toilet paper rolls
• popsicle sticks
• egg cartons
• plastic spoons
• paper
• glue/tape/markers/crayons

Big Idea:

Sound science lessons can fit nicely here. Each student creates a noise maker using the supplies set out after generating a list of instruments they use in music class or have seen being played. 

Book Connection:

A great book that shows all of the cultural celebrations that New Year's brings. I use black-eyed peas to signify good luck like the book!

New Year STEM Activity 4: New Year Hat

Materials:

I will only let them use paper and glue this year...last year we used way too many pipe cleaners! You have to say we all can learn! I think they are amazing out of pipe cleaners though...your call.

Big Idea:

I teach cycles and patterns in our universe for a science lesson. This is a great book to talk about new beginnings and about how cycles of events continue to come and go. This book can be read all year long!

Book Connection:

All of these ideas can be found all in one place! Grab the New Year STEM pack this week for a great hands on way to add science and STEM to your first week back! 

Grab this engaging New Year Pack Here!

My whole store will be on sale to ring in the new year from January 31st-January 1st! Perfect time to get it on sale and to also grab the Chinese New Year Pack for January 25th!

Christmas STEM Wish List Ideas

I am trying to be better prepared this holiday season because traveling between two schools my friends stinks...bad! I set out my supplies, teach a half a day, pack up and drive to my next school over 20 minutes away...to unload, and teach in the afternoon, packing it all back up and starting all over at the other school the next day. I do that two times a week. When it was just one school I could set out everything and it just stayed there ready for kids and lessons. Now, I share a room with another teacher and dragging everything with me is so not fun!

So, as I plan, I started to think about all my teacher friends out there that struggle with just one science or STEM lesson per week. They worry about finding supplies...worry about fitting in an activity that is meaningful. We worry that school isn't quite as fun as it use to be at times...

I compiled a list of packs that I am using this December to not only make our time together a bit more memorable and fun, but I just love when I can tie in what I am teaching in Science to a STEM activity.

Here is a list of activities that I am using this month to bring a little holiday fun into my Science and STEM classroom as well as my after school classes that you can put on your wish list!

Wish List Item #1: STEM Christmas Stations

Activities: 
*Packaging Presents
*Gumdrop Chimney
*Treat Table For Santa
*Mystery Bag Toy Making

These stations I use with my kindergarten and second graders. When we learn about solids in second grade, I love adding the mystery bag toy making activity where everyone makes a gift for someone and we do a secret snowman exchange! My kinders love gumdrop chimneys!

Wish List Idea #2: STEM Elf Adventures

Activities: 

*How to Catch an Elf...Elf trap

*Elf Adventures 

I love this activity and I will be doing this with my after school classes, but I have done this activity with 2nd through 5th graders for many years. I love seeing their elf traps!

Wish List Idea #3: STEM Christmas Tree Challenge

Activities: 

*Christmas Tree competition

*Building a Christmas tree

*creating a Christmas ornament

This pack I use after I teach about conifer and deciduous trees to make some fun connections with holiday trees! The kids love building the trees and making an ornament to hang on their tree at home. It's a great way to make something for families!

Wish List Idea #4: STEM Candy Cane Challenge

Activities:

*a "tacky" red and white chained garland

* candy cane sleighs

* a device that picks up candy canes!

I love this pack for my after school classes because I can then send a fun candy cane treat home with them! I can't always do that when working with over 60 students or more per grade level. We use the garland on our tree in our hallway and the sleighs are taken home as an ornament or present!

Wish List Item #5: Metric Math Christmas Connections Pack  and Digital Christmas and STEM Pack

Activities:

*14 cards that students measure along with an answer key and record sheets

*12 slides that review metric units such as mass, volume, and length, record sheet and answer key

as well as STEM volume activity

Every year, I have to work with a grade level on their SLO, this year again I am helping our third graders with their measurement chapters in their math book. I tie in STEM along with measurement, but it isn't always easy to do. Around the holidays, I have a bit more flexibility to be able to tie in a different theme. My students all love the digital activity and when their done with the cards and digital activity they can focus on the STEM connector! 

Wish List #6: Holiday Block Building

Activities:

*16 cards for building with blocks

*3 STEM connections

*1 writing connection

This pack is used with my kindergarten and first grade students the last week right before break. We learn about shapes and seasons and even tie in some special traditions that our friends might participate in!

Want to find all of these wish list ideas and more? Head over to my TPT store right this way... and watch for more ideas in my next few posts that will show you how to set these Christmas ideas up and what they look like in action! Happy December!

Scarecrows and The Science of Living and Non-Living Things

The book the Littlest Scarecrow Boy by Margaret Wise Brown, is a great way to add Science into your day! How? You might ask? Well, by teaching what living vs. non-living is. At first, kindergarten and first grade students aren't always able to comprehend what is living or non-living, but don't worry, I have you covered.  Find a free resource page that can help you give them the information they need to ask the right questions.

Book Connection: The Littlest Scarecrow Boy

STEM Connection: making scarecrows and corn or crows...something living and non-living

We use toilet paper rolls, straws, popsicle sticks, paper, glue, and tape. We used blocks, but they wanted to take them home so I kept it simple.

Science Connection: Living vs. Non-living

We focus on asking the questions to figure it all out...
1. Does it need food, water, and shelter?
2. Can it move by itself?
3. Does it grow and change?
4. Does it need air?
5. Does it reproduce? Create a new one?

When we ask these questions we are able to figure out if it is living or not. We then make generalizations about plants and animals...they are all living at one time. We use cards I made with pictures of living and non-living things. I throw some harder pictures in there such as a balloon because it needs air, and it grows and changes...

Find a copy of the book here...this is an affiliated link. 

This activity is part of a bigger Thanksgiving Science and STEM pack, if your interested in adding even more Science and STEM check it out here!

Want to try this activity? Here is a free resource to get you started! Grab your lesson plan and Living vs. Non-living poster HERE.

Cranberry Ideas For Science and STEM Fall Lessons

It's fall and cranberries are being harvested here in Wisconsin! November brings to the stores those amazing tart berries which are perfect for connecting science and STEM. Here are some great connections for you and your students!

STEM Activity #1: Cranberry Towers

Cranberry towers are perfect for reviewing measurement as they try to build the tallest towers. All you need are fresh cranberries and toothpicks. I also use cranberries and toothpicks with kindergartners to review shapes.

STEM Activity #2: Cranberry Bog Boats

One of the NGSS focuses is to make observations to construct an evidence-based account of how an object made of a small set of pieces can be disassembled and into a new object. This is a perfect opportunity to use the cranberries and the toothpicks again. We design and build bog boats...yes bog because that is where the berries grow and are harvested. This is perfect for connecting a bit of cranberry information.

We use the following video to connect our boats and find that not all boats will float. We then make observations and gather evidence as to what floats best. (it also gives some really great information about the plant and we tie it into native american lessons along with pemmican which was eaten by Wisconsin First Nations)

Science Idea #1: Sink or Float for Littles and Bigs

First off, our students eat craisins at breakfast fairly often, so I figured when I showed them a cranberry they might know immediately what I was holding...was I wrong. Here, we live in a state that produces more cranberries than everyone and our students don't know what this native fruit is. I heard grapes and raspberries, but not one said cranberry. We predicted what would happen if we put them in water, then I demonstrated. We then opened them up to see why they floated. They have air pockets! We then tried a variety of different fruits and vegetables to test their buoyancy .  This concept is great for any age! Cranberries can be a perfect fall springboard!

Science Idea #2: Cranberry Juice and Chemical Reactions 

I found this video a few years back and I have been using it every year during our FOSS Mixtures and Solutions Unit every year since. Using Cranberry juice as well as vinegar and lemon juice can create a perfect activity to talk about acids and bases. 

Want to find all of these activities along with sheets, links, record sheets, lesson plans and more engaging cranberry Science and STEM ideas? Find everything you need HERE!

Just in time for that Thanksgiving week lessons...both fun, engaging, and educational!

Those of you with free educator EPIC book subscriptions, the book Cranberry (Watch It Grow) is perfect for your lesson as well! Happy Thanksgiving!

Day of the Dead Traditions and STEAM Connections

This year, our school is focused on finding ways to celebrate our diverse cultures at my city school. Out of our 300+ students we have a large Hmong and Hispanic population, as well as African American and Native American students as well! I love the rich diversity that our school represents in our district, which mind you is the absolute opposite at my country school. This is what makes our district so unique. This is what makes my job so unique!

In my after school STEM club, it allows me to find creative ways to celebrate the variety of traditions that our students celebrate! Each week, I have focused on a new tradition that came from our survey that we asked students and families at the beginning of the year. From pumpkin patches and corn mazes which traditionally are visited in our town, to finishing up with the Hmong New Year in November we are finding ways to bring in ways to show how we are all the same...yet we are all different.

This week, we are celebrating Dia De Los Muertos in STEM club! We created tables and marigolds.
The tables were made simply from blocks, Jenga, 10's sticks, and tongue depressors. We created tissue paper marigolds and learned through a great video that that reminded us of the movie Coco! This is a great springboard to share this tradition with your students.

Grab the Day of the Dead STEAM Pack to add a little tradition and cultural diversity to your school day!

This week...$2.00 for four STEAM Stations! Find the Day of the Dead STEAM pack here!

Enjoy your October traditions!