Celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd

I remember my first experience of Earth Day more than 30 years ago in my early college days.  I lived in San Diego and volunteered at a huge Earth Day festival in Balboa Park.  I was in charge of the Face Painting Booth with a friend of mine.  The irony was that I was not an artist by any means.  But somehow we came up with some simple designs for kids to choose from, such as little Earths, or colorful butterflies. 

Now, more than any other time in history, it's important for us to continue the message of Earth Day.  As populations sore, issues that negatively impact our Earth are compounding exponentially.  When I taught 5th grade, I remember doing a mini unit on the 3 R's.  Several of my students actually got their parents to start recycling from this unit, and I felt that I had made a difference, even if it was a tiny one. 

Some tips to get the Earth Day message out to your students this month:

*Gather information about local recycling resources
*Invite a guest speaker from your cities recycling program
*Engage your students in community projects designed to spread the message of Earth Day

I have a few products available in my store that can also help enlist the next generation of Earth Day activitists.  Check them out here:

Happy Earth Day Everyone!

Get Those Students Up and Movin'!

It's already the middle of February, and I'm finally getting a blog post going for 2018.  I've been inspired for this post through my job of supervising college students while they observe and teach in 4th-9th grade classrooms.  One thing I have noticed lately is how teachers are getting their students up and moving during the teaching and learning process.  This is another positive sign that student centered learning is becoming more of a priority in classrooms.  In one classroom, the teacher had 2 big signs taped to opposite walls of the classroom; one said True, and the other said False.   As she displayed some truths/non truths about water and water usage, the students moved to the side of the room with either True or False.  She then asked them to share why they chose what they did.  This was a great way to get kids engaged in the lesson, and get debate and discussion going. More importantly, it also helped to break up the monotony of information delivery.  In another classroom students were moving around the room solving math problems and discussing their answer choices with a partner.

The specific practice of student movement in the classroom is supported by research.  This article is one I have my college students read that reveals some of the brain science of our limitations for paying attention.  When you've got some extra time, this article is definitely worth the read.

This idea of getting students moving has inspired an idea for some new products in my TpT store.  These products are scavenger hunts with a mystery puzzle built in.

The teacher simply displays the problem and answer cards in pairs around the room.  As students solve a problem, they walk around the room to find the answer and then write down the mystery letter that corresponds with each answer.  They continue to solve all of the problems and collect all the letters that spell out the mystery word.  I think this is a much more engaging way for students to practice math skills rather than doing a boring worksheet.  They are up and moving, blood pumping, and fully engaging in the activity.  So far I only have 2 topics, but I plan to make many more.  Leave me a comment on what topics you would like to see.  I'd also love to hear some ideas on how you get your students up and moving throughout the day.   I encourage you to get those students moving;  they will thank you for it!

The Eclipse for Back To School

What an amazing opportunity we have for Back To School time this year!!! The Great American Solar Eclipse is only weeks away, and I couldn't be more excited! For me, the event falls on the actual first day of school, and to top it off, we are about a 45 minute drive from the Path of Totality.  Did you know that he last time a total eclipse was visible from coast to coast in the United States was 1918?  This event truly is a rare occurrence, and one you definitely don't want to miss!

 Even though I am teaching at the college level now, the buzz around this event is definitely picking up steam. The university where I work has decided to cancel all morning classes, and will host an Eclipse Party in the quad instead.

As teachers, it is our responsibility to teach something to our students about this once in a lifetime event. I've got a great product in my store currently that can help you do just that. I've worked hard to integrate math and language arts in to this engaging unit. Of course there are also inquiry science activities as well to help your students become pros on eclipses. Check it out here:  

Even if you don't go back to school just yet, I'm sure the eclipse will be fresh on students minds when they return to your classrooms. Use this amazing opportunity to get students excited about science!

Making Learning Relevant for Kids

I attended the American Educational Research Association's national conference recently.  There's some incredible research going on out there, but I often worry that these findings are not making it into the hands of teachers.  So I'm sharing some of what I learned in this post.

One interesting session I attended focused on Utility Statements.  Utility statements are statements that the teacher makes explicitly stating the usefulness for what the students are learning.  I equate this idea to relevance; letting students know that what they are learning will in fact be useful someday.  These perceptions can really increase learning and improve attitude.  What was interesting in one study was that the more teachers used utility statements while teaching, the more clarity students had on the utility for what they were learning.  In another study, middle school students wrote essays that were later coded for perceptions of utility.  What they found was that when teachers used utility statements directed at a specific student, the utility perceptions of that student increased dramatically.

My take away from this session is that we need to make a effort to EXPLICITLY share the usefulness of what students are learning.  Where will they use it? What are some examples?  What are some jobs that might need this skill?

I think the perfect way to teach with this idea of utility is Project Based Learning (PBL).  Students apply all sorts of skills in a useful way to tackle a project.  I've been a big advocate of PBL in previous posts, and I continue to create Project Based Learning products in my store.  The feedback I receive from buyers really shows that students are learning and highly engaged in these projects.

I've combined my current creations into one bundle so you can engage your students in Project Based Learning throughout the year.  Give it a click and see more details on the projects.  Each project is also available individually.

My first Practitioner Article Published!

I wrote last fall about the fun I had teaching in a local 5th grade classroom.  I had crafted an inquiry lesson on matter involving separating a mixture based on properties.  I submitted my lesson to NSTA's Science and Children, and I am happy to report it was accepted and recently published.   The good news is you don't have to be a member of NSTA to access the article along with the linked resources to teach this in your own classroom.  Here's the link and be sure to visit the resource link at the end of the article so that you can download the activity sheets and assessment. 

 http://static.nsta.org/files/sc1708_29.pdf

The students loved it and were really engaged throughout.  I think it can be helpful to read through someone else's experience of teaching a lesson.  Some things worked well, others I learned from.  If you get a chance to teach this lesson, please let me know how it went for you!  

Give Project Based Learning a Try!

It's been a while since I posted; a busy start to 2017 for me!  In an effort to spread the good word of Project Based Learning, I'm sharing a free download so you can give it a try.  Project Based Learning is such an engaging and relevant way for students to practice skills they are learning in school within a real life scenario.  This freebie is just a mini version of what Project Based Learning has to offer, but I thought it would give you an idea of what is involved.

In this particular project, I tried to incorporate a variety of math skills such as basic operations, measurement conversions, and time.

So enjoy, and Happy Valentine's Day!

There's More to a STEM Challenge than Meets the Eye

Engineering standards are a new part of science curriculum.  The Next Generation Science Standards include standards and practices specifically for engineering.  The challenge teachers are facing is teaching their students about engineering when they have not had much experience with engineering themselves.

Many teachers are turning to STEM challenges to get some engineering into their science curriculum. Unfortunately, many of the STEM challenges out there don't teach much about engineering or the engineering design process.

In engineering, there are several key pieces that teachers should consider when designing challenges for their students.  First, engineering addresses a problem.  Clients hire engineers to address a problem by designing something specific to solve a problem.  Clients often have a variety of constraints that must be adhered to.  Some common constraints include budget, materials, and time.  

Once a specific prob;em is identified, engineers go through a specific process called the Engineering Design Process.  This process involves several steps within a cycle.  The first step involves addressing the problem by asking a question.  Next, engineers use their creativity to imagine what a solution to the problem might be.  After they come up with an idea, they make a plan.  Often this step involves drawing or sketching ideas  on paper.  Once ideas are planned, it's time for the engineer to create a model or prototype.  This model or prototype can be tested out and then improved.  The process is cyclical, so engineers often go through several iterations of this process until they have a solution to the problem.  

One of my newest products includes an editable power point that offers background information on what engineering is, different types of engineers, as well as the steps in the engineering design process.  I also include teacher and student pages for 3 different engineering design challenges.  

Check it out: