Six "Apple"ing Apple Science Connections

Apples this time of year can be an "apple"ing way to teach students about so many science related topics. I love to grab some apples from a the store or a local orchard, any way you organize it...I apple-aud you!

Here are just a few ways that you can add apple themed ideas to your science lessons...

10 Apples Up On Top

I use this really fun video to tie in math and STEM! I use toilet paper tubes, red pom poms, and green tongue depressors to have student balance the apples up on top of their tree that they make. Before we watch the video, we learn the parts of an apple tree! It is actually amazing that the students in kindergarten and first grade don't know words such as bark, trunk, stem, and leaves.

A fun tip is to have them hug their trunk, stretch their branches, sway their leaves, and wiggle their roots!

Apple Senses

Apples are a perfect way to teach the five senses! Not only can they look and observe...they can feel how wet and sticky they are...they can hear the crunch...they can smell the sweet or sour...and of course they can taste!

I love to give them options to even add some math for a quick survey! Do they prefer green, red, yellow, or a mix of color such as red and yellow?

                                 Here is a link to a free apple themed pack for you! 

Apple Layers vs. Earth Layers

An apple is a great way to teach the layers of the Earth! The outside skin is like the crust of the Earth. The next layer the pulp or the flesh is like the mantle, and the thin line that separates the flesh from the seeds is the outer core. The outer core can represent the inner core.  You can even connect the stem to relate to the axis.

Apple Perspective

I love this activity for older students...I get a jug of apple juice. I dye a pitcher of it red, a pitcher of it green, and a pitcher I leave plain apple juice. I then ask them to use their sense of taste and let me know what kind of kool aid the red and green are. Then I give them apple juice and ask them what this drink is. We discuss perspective because the color changes what they seem to taste.  This usually blows them away! This activity and apple perspective can be found HERE!

Apple Preservation

We use lemon juice, Milk of Magnesia, baking soda, lemon juice, and water to test how to keep an apple from turning brown.  We learn why apples turn brown through a fun controlled experiment! This is a quick way to teach variables and controlled experiments.

Apple STEM Connections 

Apples are great way to build structures with. I cut the apples into small pieces and give each student a cup of apples and some toothpicks. We look at objects and nature or how fall is represented: in hay bails, pumpkins, football...then they build that structure. Students then try to identify what someone built!

Another fun STEM connection is to make an apple picking maze on the wall with toilet paper tubes and  red/ green pompoms. The students must make an apple chute/maze to get the apples from the tree or top of the chute to the cup at the bottom for collection. They need so many turns and so many tubes.

This pack is ready for you! Find Apple STEM Connections HERE!

Flipping Over Apples

One of my favorite ways to teach lately is to use flip books. I use to feel that I needed to use every page of my flip books, but I love using two sheets printed out on one page to have students use as stations! I love that I can also use it through multiple grade levels and pick certain pages for a specific class to use, which allows me to utilize the apples on our school apple tree in a more diverse way!

I use to feel that I needed to use each sheet  with a class, but time is really valuable and I only have an hour per week with each grade level. Find this Flip book by following this link...

Together we can make Science Child's Play and much more...APPLE-ing!

0

Measuring Up In Science With Hands On Stations

At the beginning of each school year I like to make sure that my students are ready for using science tools by creating and sharing Science Center's geared around measurement. 

Not only does that help them understand how to measure, but it also will help them get ready for each of our FOSS kits that require them to measure with a variety of tools! For my older students,  I focus on the tools that will allow them to measure capacity such as syringes, measuring cups, and graduated cylinders. We focus on helping them measure length, width, and height with a ruler, tape measure, and meter stick.  Finally, we focus on mass or weight using a scale and a balance. Measuring the weight of something can be as easy as using cubes or as complicated as using grams. With my younger scientists, I focus on learning how to use a hand lens properly, how a balance balances and how can we fill capacity tools to a given line. Depending on the grade, the more I use a variety of tools that get them working hands-on.

We also focus on the universal way to measure things in science which is the metric system. That means working with centimeters ... grams... and milliliters! If you need to focus on Customary Standard Unit, do what is necessary for you. I use the metric system in our science room in all of my classes kindergarten through 5th grade. 

 What I love most about starting our school year off with measurement stations in science is that I can have my kindergarten through 5th graders be able to do Hands-On activities!  To get them started on the right track when we start our experiments is critical to saving valuable time especially when it is hard enough to fit science into a busy school day for my dear teacher friends. 

I want to share with you  ways to  to be able to set up stations so that you too can add measurement into your science lesson time making science child's play! 

Themed Stations Are the Way to Go!

It doesn't matter if it's kindergarten through fifth-grade you can set out tools and station cards and then go from station to station with guiding them on how to use the tools then you can release them to be able to try using those tools on their own. 

Finding a theme in measurement is a great way to get them excited about doing something that  isn't always easy for them. We don't spend a ton of time on measurement so this is another way to tie science and math together. From Measurement Olympics to I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell which I use...creating themes allows those kiddos to be able to be excited as they learn the tools along the way. 

I have them show me what they know. With the stations in place it also allows me to walk around the room and help students that are having a difficult time. While others are busy, I can reteach and support struggling students. 

So grab those hand lenses... those balances and scales...a handful of rulers and even those syringes as well as timers and you are set to go. If you want to save time setting them up, grab these Science Measurement Review Packs! 

Find these Packs {HERE}

0

Back To School STEM Starters

For many teachers it is time for back to school. A time when you prepare your classroom for a new group of learners. You start planning your lessons and creating new ways to inspire your class!

We each come back to school with new passion for our positions, new goals set, and along with that you want to find ways to get to really know your students right away.

I love starting the year off with STEM challenges! Not only do they allow me to see how my students work in groups or teams, I can see their personalities shine through when given a challenge!

When starting the year, we often search for great ice breakers that can also allow us to see if our students have the growth mindset that will allow them to persevere and problem solve when faced with challenges.

A STEM challenge can do all of that in a very short period of time. Although going through procedures and expectations are a must, an engaging STEM challenge can be the perfect insight into getting to know your new kiddos!

Here are a few tips to get your STEM Stations ready for back to school!

Tip 1: Supplies

Get organized by finding bins or buckets that can store your supplies. I was able to get plastic tubs donated from a local hospital to keep many of my STEM and science supplies in. Shoe boxes or even pencil cases make great STEM storage supplies more organized.

Tip 2: Designate a Spot

I like to designate a spot in my room for STEM and science supplies. When it is time for your students to get materials, they always know where to go. I call it the STEM store. I assign numbers each time they come in the room. When it is time to get supplies, they know where to go to get them, and then when it is time for clean up a student's number is called to return any supplies that can be reused. It cuts down on waste, time wasted, and it help you stay organized especially if you have back to back classes like I do!


Tip 3: Ice Breakers

Starting off your year with a team builder is always a great way to kids actively engaged! I love this free pack from Smart Chick. Can You Save Fred?

 I love creating my own activities, but this activity was one I used when I started six years ago so I guess it is my go to for getting my students working together, however as we progress into our back to school challenges, I love my differentiated back to school  lessons for my K-5th graders!

For kindergartners and first graders and first graders I use Jenga or the blocks from the FOSS Tree unit. Perfect for little hands! As the students get a bit older I add other supplies for them to create with!

Tip 4: Free Supplies

Often, I get asked how you can find cheap or free supplies for your STEM stations. I first create a box for outside my door that says donations. We are an 82% poverty school so those supplies might be egg cartons, toilet paper rolls, empty boxes, or even newspaper. I have a list for you to hang up for your donation box!

Free Donation Sign

Tip 5: Activities For September

I like to have all of my activities for my STEM lab set to go before I get back. I love that we can readily find apples and I can usually find apple donations for our STEM labs. I created some fun free apple activities to help my K-2nd grade teacher friends found {HERE}.

If you are looking for more STEM-tastic ideas...Check these Apple-ing theme packs {HERE}

Whether you have been in school...already back...or preparing to go back...the Science School Yard can help you make Science and STEM child's play!

0

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

0

Apple Time in Science Class!

Our school is getting bigger next year. We are adding sections of Pre-K and 4 other classrooms onto our existing school building. We also purchases some land that will be used for a road for a new pick up system. The good thing is...we have five apple trees to use that is on the newly purchased land! The sad news...the trees will be cut down this year to make room for the road.

I am all for opportunities! I asked if I could take as many kids as I could over to the next lot to use the apple trees as a learning tool! My principal said yes! All Kindergartners and first graders have been able to learn about apples this week. I started off with some great freebies from TPT, but I needed to make it my own.

 I have one hour to teach a ton! I want every moment to count. My kinders are learning about the five senses....so I needed to get them to write or draw very simply!

 I want them all to do a taste test. I want them to all find treasures for our "treasure tray!"  This was a great idea to have the little put the fun things they found on the ground in one place and then share it all together inside!

Here are the sheets that I redid to work for my kiddos! Here is are the apple freebies for you!

I hope these ideas are "apple"ing to you! I also hope it helps you see how science can be simple! Grab a bag of apples...print a sheet...read a great book like Apples by Gail Gibbons...and you are all set to go! Make moments any time you can! ( I even snuck some new vocabulary in the mix...tart is a fun word to comprehend...just give them a Granny Smith...!)

Here is the whole Apple FREEBIE pack ready for you to download with even more activities!

0

Apple Time Science

I love apple picking time! Each September, one of my favorite memories was when we would take our kids to the apple orchard with my grandma. We would pick apples, take a hay ride, eat an apple dumpling or turnover...YUM, and even feed the goats. I miss that tradition now that she is gone. When I taught little kids the apple theme was always a way to tie everything together, but there was never much for our older students to actually do that was interconnected. Now there is. Check out my Apple Time Science For Intermediate Classrooms.

Apple Time Science For Intermediate Kiddos...I can't wait for September!

0

Harvest of the Month...Apples

My Farm to School Friends... this week is apple week here at Jefferson. Our kiddos are learning about apples by doing different science activities. We counted the number of seeds in different types of apples and read an apple book.  We also made an apple art project and made a graph of our favorite type of apple. We have an apple farmer coming into our after school program to share facts about apples and what he does for a living, and he is bringing apples to serve in our cafeteria. Here is a sheet that our kids used to make a bulletin board for our lunch room. Have at it.

Talking Apples

0