Science Weekly Digital and STEM Fun!

My week begins on a Tuesday...yes not Monday...Tuesday. Why? Well we are on a day one through five schedule not day of the week schedule. So it is Tuesday and I wanted to share with you what my week looks like! Getting ready for the kiddos this weekend! I love using digital resources to help my littles show me what they know!

Kindergartners:

We are starting our first week of wrap ups on our five senses. To use all five senses we are using popcorn to do that! I will be starting with them at the carpet as I review our senses we already used. (I have the popper started!) All of a sudden we hear something! Then...smell something. By that time they figure out what we are making and we then go to the table that is a safe distance away from touching something hot.

While we wait for the popcorn to cool down we meet at the carpet area to use our popcorn slides as a review. They love being able to come to the board and move the pictures to show what sense we use when we see a magic word such as hot or salty.

Popcorn Science and STEM Pack With Digital Slides Found HERE

When they are done, I send them back to their desks to get a cup of popcorn after I salt and butter it. We start with one sense at a time...with tasting being the last sense! As they use each sense I write down on our anchor chart the property words to describe each one.

I give them a popcorn shape to draw one or more ways they use their senses when it comes to popcorn! I play popcorn music as they work!

We finish up with a short story by Frank Asch called of course...Popcorn!

First Graders: 

This week in first grade, we continue to work with vertebrate. We are learning about Amphibians! My favorite thing to do is find a song that we can learn or listen to that will help us retain information! The amphibian song is one of my favorites...but before we start that we talk about what makes us a mammal. I show them pictures of amphibians and I ask them to tell me what they see. Do the animals have fur or hair...give live birth...Then I show the fun song...

We then create the beginning of our anchor chart. What animals did we hear about in our song? We then move onto our non-fiction book, What is An Amphibian? from Epic Books...free for teachers! We then play a game...Is it an amphibian? If it is...they hop like a frog!

We follow it up with a writing and assessment sheet found in my Animal Classifications Pack that is continually getting updated as I add more ideas and activities!

Animal Classification Pack: Mammals, Amphibians, Reptiles, Fish, and Birds!

When we get done we color a salamander pattern that I found on line!

2nd Grade:

We are using our FOSS Air and Weather Kit. I need to follow a road map that indicates which lesson I should be on at a given times so that our eight other Science Educators and I can cover the same "Big Ideas". At times, I can find ways to add some STEM activities that tie in what we are learning about such as last week's parachute lesson and a Jack and the Beanstalk connection...however this week is air pressure. Not quite as exciting for an hour long class. So, sometimes I just can't make my own extras I call upon the help of Ms. Frizzle! I found a perfect video...Goes On Air... and sheet from Scholastic along with our FOSS syringe lesson. This is okay for me because they can't watch videos in their rooms due to the strict road map they are on for virtually everything. I am glad that I have that flexibility!  Here is the link for the video: Magic School Bus Goes On Air. Here is the Scholastic Classroom Activity Site: Scholastic Magic School Bus Activity Page.


3rd Grade: 

Once again FOSS gets me...we are using our mock rocks to learn about crystals. I brought in a crystal for them to see...we read a crystal book from Epic Books called What Are Crystals...ok I just skimmed and paraphrased for them. That is the beauty of using the smart board to project stories. (As a science teacher with no transition time, I can even put on the read the book to me button at times, allowing me to set up supplies on tables).

Once we are done with an intro to crystals, we review what a geologist is and what they do. Geologists use different experiments and techniques to break apart rocks or look more closely at what they are made of. We share how our mock rocks are used to compare what geologists do to real rocks and then we look at our vials to see what ingredients I might have put in our "recipe". I stress the idea of a recipe so they know that rocks are more than one ingredient and minerals are only one ingredient...just like a recipe.

We discuss evaporation, which I taught last year. We then do the FOSS lesson, but we use our iPads to take pictures and not draw the vial. Once done with the writing, this helps me get them finished...I then let them come to the crystal table which has hand lenses set out as well as the identification chart. We need evidence as to why I put in the ingredient I did! How do you know...is the big question of the day!

We celebrate our learning by eating a bit of rock candy and writing in our crystal ball! Here is the sheet that we used! Enjoy the quick and easy freebie I use with crystals to check for understanding. I take a picture of this with my iPad, then air drop it to them. They put it into Explain Everything!

Free Crystal (Ball) Facts Sheet

Fourth Grade:

We just finished up on our FOSS lessons with magnets. This week, we are reviewing with magnet stations! I set up eight stations that I made in my Magnet Pack using all of the supplies from my FOSS magnet kit, however I also use other supplies that I have for this unit to add some added magnets and magnet toys. Once they are done reviewing they assess their effort and then we review the answers. This helps them focus on getting a certain amount done in the time they have to finish the stations and it also helps my lower level learners understand and review what they might not know yet. Take a look at the stations in action!

I love these Magnet Stations Found HERE! They keep our FOSS magnet lesson more engaging and allow for more assessments!

Fifth Grade:

We are learning about life boats so what a perfect time for this History minor to teach a history lesson! I give each fifth grader a steerage ticket that I made as they walk in the room...of course to the Titanic Theme Song as an instrumental.

I let them pick from my hand to get their fate. First class has nice cushioned chairs and a glass of water. I get them their supplies all ready as well and they sit up front. My second class ticket holders sit at tables away from the front and get pencils, and the third class passengers sit on the floor in the back and share a few pencils between them. They love it!

I use the Book National Geographic Titanic to read to them on the smart board, which once again is from  Epic Books! Once done, we discuss what a life boat is and what capacity means. We share what we know about boat size and capacity! I get them all together and we watch a quick video on what happened on the Titanic and the capacity of the life boats that were launched. It is a perfect connector!

I then share that we are making our own life boats using a controlled experiment model.  I give them each a piece of aluminum foil the same size, the variable how they build and form the boat. We then test how many "penny passengers" fit in the life boat. What a great STEM lesson to tie it all together!

Next week, our FOSS life boat lesson and another STEM project found in my Titanic Pack!

Find the STEM Titanic Pack HERE

So that is my week in review. I didn't mention yet that I am also teaching an after school STEM class...that will be another post this next week!

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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!

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Wooly Willy Magnet Activity

This week, we are reviewing the magnet portion of our FOSS unit. We took a quick quiz and then we get to learn with iron filings. What if you took the same old lesson and twisted it so that you could use a toy to teach the same thing..."How do iron filings react with iron or steel?" This isn't just your paper plate inside a baggie with filings...take a look!

A question was posed...can iron filings move with a temporary magnet? Well...let's find out!!! We could see induced magnetism! Our two vocabulary words from last week! Awesome connections!

Our own Wooly Willy toys were a real hit! We learned the same content, but in a fun way! Simple Science in action!

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Measuring Up The First Day Back!

What a great first day of school. Working with every Kindergarten-fifth grader in our school is amazing. It may be a bit of juggling as I transition from a 5th grade class that is followed right away...not a minute between by a first grade, but I am up for it! Today, was called hit the ground running! Because I know all of them!!!! I can get started with not too much review!

My fourth graders worked on things that help our learning STICK! Then we worked right into magnets! See the transition! We did a KWL followed by them getting to just explore and play!

I love watching them figure out the balls...the magnet chips, and the magnets. I then add the vocabulary words attract and repel on the board. I ask them to show and tell their team what each word means. It is amazing that each student can show what they know! I then gave them a bag of items to test. This year...we are doing FOUR OUT THE DOOR! They must show me what they give themselves as a self assessment on my rubrics with four being the best! I have included the rubrics for you. One is for content...one is for writing, one is for analyzing, and the last is for effort.

                           Science Rubrics Download...FREEBIE

We use FOSS so we did a quick FOSS sheet and then I read a book from EPIC books about magnets! We learned about Iron and Steele and how they attract things that are magnetic! Great quick read and a free sight for teachers!

I also taught my firsties about scientists tools! The kiddos loved the stations! I had them using scales, thermometers, rulers, and timers! The hands on activities helped my little ones get through a whole hour with not too much fuss!

Third graders are also doing similar stations as they learn the metric system! Get them up and moving...get them working as a team! Get them self-assessing! Science=Success!

Happy Back to School! Happy Classrooms!

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Wordless Wednesday...The Magic of Magnets freebie

Teaching isn't always magical. Each lesson doesn't always spark our little kiddos and get them in awe of learning, but...this week...this week...I saw magic...awe...excitement!!!! All due to a magnet. My little kinders are learning push and pull so I decided to add magnetism to the mix.

I showed them two magnets that pull toward each other or attracted. We did hand motions and the whole bit. The first time they saw the power of magnetism they were in sheer awe. Then, I showed how magnets repel or push away. Again squeals of excitement. It was the magic of magnets. After repeating and explaining what the magnets were doing with scientific explanation, I gave them some magnet balls and let them "play".  I walked around to see the thrill of learning and was explained countless times how they push and pull or attract and repel.

Here is a Magnet Freebie For Kinders for you!

We don't do that too much in our busy, focused day...but I love science was said a bunch of times and the hugs I got when they left made a tear come to my eye.

                                                   Magic!

What science activity do you do that gets kids excited?I am linking up with Sugar and Spice. Check out Miss DeCarbo's Site for other great pics and blogs.  So, stop on over and check out some other great pictures that say it all!

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