Science and Electricity Lighting Up Our Lives

Each year, with my fourth graders I work with the FOSS Magnets and Electricity Kit. It is one of my favorites I use with any of my Kindergarten through fifth graders. I love the discovery aspect of what each lesson can pose. I love the supplies that are in the kit, but I don't often love the lack of connections that it makes with the real world.

After attending the NSTA (National Science Teachers' Association) Conference last week, it reaffirmed the importance of story telling to make connections with our learners. Why are they doing an activity? What can they take away from learning a particular lesson? How can they connect to the information to retain it?

The electricity portion of FOSS is pretty good...we learn about circuits, but we add energy sticks to get a whole group participation and understanding of open and closed circuits...the small investment is big bang for your buck!

Letting students "discover" electricity is also an amazing ahaha moment in a classroom. Allowing them to find out how to light a bulb with a conductor, insulator, and source is key to their success in knowing how it all works! Let them "play" so that in the end experts can help novices and if you have an ipad it is also a great opportunity to have them video and record their results. We use Explain Everything App to do just that!

 Not only can they go back to see how to set up something they did the lesson before, but they can use it to study from. I also love the idea of using our iPads to review what we know about a concept.

When it comes to electricity, we use FOSS and my Electricity Unit and Resources Pack! I love the flexibility both give me to use the supplies in the FOSS kit, but utilize my sheets to teach the "BIG Ideas" such as parallel and series circuits, conductors and insulators, static electricity,  QR code game review, and electromagnets to just name a few topics we cover using both resources!

What I love is the new STEM activity that I added after going to the NSTA convention. I was inspired to make a story connect to what lessons we have to teach in our classrooms. I gave them supplies that I found in my car as I was camping...but I forgot the flashlight and I need something to light my way! What could I do to make a flashlight? What an amazingly fun STEM challenge and with their background in circuits as well as conductors and insulators they were up for building a Macgeyver like flashlight! This was perfect for a formative assessment of what they knew!

I have also found when I need to review a concept, giving the students the ability to work independently on a review by using a qr code and link on Google Slides helps them not only review, but check their work immediately.  I even found that if I want it to be used as a formative assessment check point I can put the slides on my smartboard and have them answer the questions by circling their answers and having me check their work.

Using all of these different hands-on activities such as the Digital Conductor and Insulator Review Pack has given me the flexibility to have my learners have multiple opportunities to show what they know! From discover...to experimenting...to assessing through QR codes or digital assessments their schema is building and that is what we want! Use  what you have to make those connections in any unit that you are working on...what supplies are available is the start... how can you make it make sense is up to you!

I would love to hear what fun activities you add to your electricity unit!!!

I Am Thankful For STEM!

For the last few years, I have been adding STEM to my FOSS science curriculum as well as teaching STEM classes at the local university and after school and summer school programs. I love watching my K-5th grade students having ah-ha moments, finding ways to problem solve, and using positive growth mindset! This year, we welcomed many new students to our school after boundary changes and as they were introduced to STEM activities my veteran STEM students were able to explain to them what they were about to partake in. Here are the top 5 quotes I am thankful for:
       

                                                 
1. "STEM stands for Science, technology, engineering, and math and sometimes Mrs. Heinrich even adds Art to make it STEAM!"

2. "It's okay if it doesn't work right away, you can go to plan B and that might just work!"

3. "That's a good idea, but if you tried having a bigger base it might be sturdier!"

4. "We never did STEM at our school. I love STEM!"

5. "Mrs. Heinrich makes Science fun!"

I teach an after school STEM class and on Halloween I had the pleasure of taking every student that showed up at our after school program (which ended up being 12 students out of over 100). I took four high school helpers to join us as well. I set up three competitive STEM challenges: first a pumpkin transporter only using string and a scissors...second candy carrier cars made from candy and had to carry candy...and third candy corn catapults. The students once again told them what STEM stands for when the high school helpers asked. The high school helpers also shared with the kids how lucky they were to be able to have fun in school because they don't get to do things like that and didn't when they were "young". I shared with them that it isn't just "fun"...but so much more. I asked them to step back and watch what they saw. They observed the way they were helping each other...they just fixed a problem by adding to their structure...they were even  trying to explain how it will work when their partner doesn't get it...and even getting the same supplies each group looks different!

 Since Halloween, the high schoolers have "volunteered" in my STEM class and rotate being able to "help". They had so much fun that they now fight over who gets to be in STEM class!

What does this say? That adding STEM is worth a try! That STEM is hands-on fun, yet can tie in academics, the engineering design process, and an amazing amount of reflection and problem solving. Learners are able to share what they made and be proud of their successes! It isn't just engineering and building, but so much more!  Now, time for you to be thankful for STEM, too!

My friends and I over at STEM Activities For Kids would love to share with you a variety of ways to integrate STEM into your November so that you students can be thankful that you did just that! Here are some STEM ideas that I do with my students in November...you will be thankful you stopped on by!

This month, our activities include:
                            Football Games in after school STEM class!

Oak Trees that hold acorns...(kindergarten and the parts of a tree)

Run Turkey Run Mazes...love this one because I used this with an older group and younger group and when the younger kids were done, the older kiddos finished what was started! Love that we focused on what was the structure so far... what needed to be done...and who was going to work on finishing it up! You can see the story line throughout the examples!

Scarecrow making...being taught through Balance and Motion and Language Arts!

All of these STEM Fall and Thanksgiving based ideas can be found in my Fall Into Thanksgiving STEM Pack! Get ready to engage your learners this November!

Pilgrim themed activities including boats...pilgrim hats...a shelter...and harvest holders are just around the corner! (fifth grade learning about history and science with after school STEM class connections). Stop over at STEM Activities For Kids to find even more Thanksgiving ideas from my amazingly talented STEM friends to find out ways that they are thankful for STEM, too!