Dr. Seuss Connections in Kindergarten through 5th Grade!

Read Across America week and do we have things planned! My Media Specialist and I have come up with some clever ways to integrate Dr. Seuss into library and science time! Teaching K-5th grade science allows me each and everyday to see the rotation of grades...so each day I see bigs and littles.

Sometimes, my bigs come in (3-5th grade) and they see all of the projects with art connections that my little are doing (K-2) and they get a little jealous...funny I also think my littles get jealous of the fun science activities that my bigs are doing, too!

I decided that I would challenge myself to find a Dr. Seuss book and idea that fits into what we are already doing!

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Milk Makers: Changing Liquids to Solids

I love opportunities to help my students learn a little bit about the jobs provide us with products that keep our community in the spotlight. The Dairy Industry helps our own community as we have several cheese factories as well as Dairy farms even just a mile down the road.

The dairy cow is our state Domestic animal. We see them as we drive in the country…However even if you are NOT a dairy state this lesson is a great opportunity  for you to do an easy and quick lesson on how butter is made.

Literally, all you need is a jar with a lid, whipping cream, and a bit of salt! Get your kiddos in a circle and shake. Two minutes later or two times around the circle and you have yourself butter! I love all of the other connections we can make. We use math by creating a survey and vote on if we like butter or not. Seriously…it is so tasty and after the kids get a taste on a cracker…they are hooked!

Here is what I do:

1.     I ask them what are things we get from a cow. We make a list on an anchor chart

2.     I ask them if they know how milk is produced. I  then proceed to share with them that we will be learning about milk makers. We make mammal connections, but we discuss specifically that we will learn about dairy cows.

3.       I show an old Reading Rainbow that reads Milk Maker by Gail Gibbons, but it also does a               great  job adding lots of great details about cows.

4.       I then share with them how we will make butter.

5.     We make butter and then before we taste test we write the process of how to make butter.  A           bit of inspiration in order to taste test…work first then eat!

6.     When we are through taste testing we make a dairy cow art project.

7. We follow it up with our math connection graphing! If you are interested in making butter in your room and need some help…check out my Milk Maker Let’s Make Butter Pack!

Find the Milk Maker: Let's Make Butter Pack HERE

Help butter them up with fun and engaging activities that can teach a bigger concept...Changes in Matter! 

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IPad Adventures and AirDropping

This year, each of our over 400 students at our school received an Ipad to use at school. This adventure was something my Encore coworkers were ready for. Our Encore is made up of our PE, Art, Music, Media, and Science Specialists!

It wasn't an easy start, but we had to figure out what programs we could use, lessons we would need to teach (we had some regular ed. classroom teachers not ready to dive in to allow the students to utilize the Ipads in their own rooms let alone the specialists' rooms) so we worked as an ENCORE team to help everyone!

Our district controls all apps that are placed onto the student Ipads, so we needed to figure out what we had to work with. Here is what we focused on first:

1. How can we use Explain Everything in and out of the classroom?
2. Is there a way to make the Ipads replace some of my many science worksheets?
3. How can we easily upload those images so that the students don't have to?

Our amazing Media Specialist started with teaching lessons on the apps that we chose to focus one...most importantly Explain Everything so that we could create folders for each one of us.

To deal with the second goal on my list, I wanted to find a way to use the Ipads for assessment, uploading worksheets, and go more paperless.

In the last few weeks of this quarter, I am now savvy enough to make some fun, interactive activities that work along with our FOSS kits. Where some people use Chrome Books or laptops and can have movable parts in their activities, I have learned that with Ipads that doesn't work. What can we do with our Ipads?

Discoveries:
1. I can Airdrop all sheets that I save as a JPEG/PNG to the students!
-swipe the bottom of your screen to open the Control Center
-Tap on the button that says AirDrop
-Chose one of the options (off, contacts, everyone) I always choose everyone when I airdrop to my students. Your students will now need to accept the photos by pressing the accept button.

Now that they have the photos that I airdrop...it's time to upload those pictures. Some of my friends use PicCollage which is a great free app that could be used instead of Explain Everything.

2. Let's get into the app your kiddos will use to work on the sheets. Explain Everything...PicCollage...The airdropped pictures can be found in Photos. Follow the rainbow...
3. They can then open up Explain Everything, go to + button, go to the top add a photo (we say go to the mountains).


4. They need to now go to see the rainbow on the mountain (okay the photo key) Here they will see the pictures that were airdropped.

Have them pick the one that they want to add to their page. Once it is picked, they will need to press the bottom corner DONE button. The picture will now be there for them to use. Often I have the older students lock in the background.

5. If students want to lock in the background, we go to the i with the dots around it. I say, "Press the I...I want to ...now touch the picture...want this picture....now press the set as background...I want this picture as background...I want this picture...touch the picture again... and say to work with while you press the finger at the top.

           Check out what we are doing to integrate technology!

Find Digital Science Resources HERE!

Want to try it out first? Here is a JPEG for you to upload to your iPads using the directions above to see it in action! I used this with my first graders for our rock unit. We did a "How do we use rocks?" scavenger hunt around the school. We inserted pictures into each box to share how we use rocks in our school! They loved it! You can see one of my firsties using it above!

Rock Scavenger Hunt Freebie

Let me know how it goes! Digital Science Lessons are a great way to add engagement to your school day in a whole new way!

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FOSS...Matters

We use FOSS in our district as our core means to teach science. It is now time to switch over many of my boxes and kits to new ones. One of the kits that I (let's just say...don't care for as much) try hard to love is Solids and Liquids for our 2nd graders. Beans and seeds everywhere, words they don't ever remember...

I needed to work on each grade level...for my PPG/SLO...or I might be SOL. I was under a ton of pressure...(put there by myself)...to finish  a new pack for my second graders by...

Next week! I did it! And I kind of am excited about the fun that will be had with FOSS as the basis. I made a lapbook for them to study...and fun connections for my classroom teachers to do. I only get them once a week:( Here is what I am starting next week!

FOSS Lapbook connections will help my 2nd Graders with Vocabulary

We took the test today and I previewed the packet with them...they are SO excited!

Check this pack out at The Science School Yard's TPT Store! Don't forget...everything this Saturday and Sunday is 20% off!

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What's the Matter?

So, today is a "cold" day and I mean it is cold here in Wisconsin. It's -23 right now. BRRRRR! I had a little more time last night to create something fun for the FOSS Solids and Liquids unit. Making FOSS more fun is my game. I made there stations...

STATION 1: Making root beer floats. Who wouldn't love making root beer floats and reviewing solids, liquids, and gases. Solid= ice cream....Liquid=root beer....gas=fizzes. Students will also write the how to which helps with Common Core.



STATION 2: Who doesn't love making volcanoes, but here is the twist. Students will add

Baking soda  +  vinegar = gas   and pop goes the weasel. Students will predict and observe as they review matter.

STATION 3: What's the Matter With Frosty the Snowman. After reading the story or watching the quick video clip, students will watch the teacher collect "Frosty" and mark the tape measure. The class will record what is happening to Frosty as he joins the students in class. The solid Frosty, will soon be the liquid Frosty, and as time goes on Frosty will evaporate into a gas.

Here is the quick story of Frosty as the song is sung. Students can use their deductive thinking as to what happened throughout the story.

Check it out at What's The Matter...Science Stations.

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