Ping Pong Ball in a Cup Using Teamwork

 Starting out the year I try to use Teamwork activities to get the kids to think and talk to one another. Communication is very important and teamwork can accomplish tasks beyond their wildest dreams. We meet Molly the inventor in this amazing GE commercial.

After seeing this we talk about team work being important. I give them sheets of paper, a cup and a ping pong ball. They have to figure out a way to get the ping pong ball into the cup from a distance of 4 feet or six feet and even 8 feet away. It is funny to see them using trial and error to accomplish the mission. 

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work... #ottersmatter

Shelter Building

Hurricane Season is a very real thing here in Florida! My parents lost their house to Hurricane Andrew while my brother and I were at Florida State University. It was devastating to see what a hurricane can do to a home, a family, and a community.  There are so many things that are different for Floridians after Hurricane Andrew. I am sure STEM careers has something to do with that right?
Our study started with learning about hurricanes and the different levels. Next came the challenge to build a shelter to keep your family dry with limited materials with some choice. I introduced the materials with a $ amount attached to each. We formed groups to then brainstorm ideas of shelters but wait there was a budget of only $10. Collaboration in groups was an experience for the students. It is sometimes difficult to show your diagram to others, share thoughts behind the design, and then decide which pieces of each you will use for building. This is a process and teaching the students to go through this process takes time. Each grouping is different so there lies another opportunity to learn from another and grow as STEM student. I love watching the students grow throughout the years. Building seems to be the most fun time for students. They are eager to put their plans into action! Materials are flying off the carts and out of the boxes. Teaching students how to use tape is something I learned early on in teaching STEM. I cannot tell  you the number of times A student has used a 4 inch piece of tape to then apply in vertically rather than horizontal and waste tape. Some projects I limit the tape but this build I did not. Students could opt for wax paper, aluminum foil and color paper but those priced were for individual sheets. 

Well maybe the testing is the BEST part...To meet the challenge was to keep the family dry. Things to think about were yes you needed a roof but a floor for your shelter? way in and out? what materials to use? They knew I would use a watering can to create a "hurricane". I know the wind was missing but we talked about how that would look as well.  I do have some videos of the moments when we soaked the shelters. The reflection piece is what I should have filmed so you could see and hear their learning and maybe just maybe one of them will create something to help families during hurricane season.

4th grade Mystery Science Rock Study

The study of rocks in 4th grade includes erosion and weathering. Often there is confusion on the concepts and hands on activities prove to make experiences stick out in a child's mind. In comes Mystery Science! The start of the unit is "Could a Volcano Pop Up in Your Backyard?" I love to see their faces when the question is posed and the video launches in to the story of Paricutin. We take a poll and they are pretty sure it could never happen but soon doubt creeps in and then you have them! Partners are  picked and they must graph volcanos around the world and put the maps together.

This is a great activity and the discussion that comes from their observations is the best part. The lesson is so well organized and fits the time frame perfect.  The next lesson deals with volcano classification and we experiment with thin vs thick lava.

Here they are in action.

They are so engaged and working with one another to test out the samples.  Again the conversation that happens is my favorite part of the lesson.  If you haven't tried out Mystery Science you can give it a free trial and then see for yourself how well likes the lessons are for all age groups.  

The third lesson leads students to wonder will a mountain last forever? Just watch...

Needless to say we had fun finding out!

Penny STEM

Reading Molly Lou Melon is one of my favorite books to share at the beginning of school. She is spunky, loves her grandma, and uses her strength to her advantage. How many drops of water can you drip drop on the top of a penny? How high can you stack pennies? Have you ever made a penny spinner? All in learning our STEM room procedures for following directions, clean up, and even assigning jobs. It is a great get to know you activity and class building exercise.

LEGOS for Education-Simple Machines

Each year FUTURES Foundation allows teachers to apply for mini-grants to support programs in the classroom. Simple machines is a unit within our science curriculum.  After some research Lego Education produces kits with step by step directions creating a variety of builds using collaboration, problem-solving and teamwork. Partners again were programmers and builders and switched half way through the steps. This allowed students opportunity to learn the pieces, where they were located, and where to put them when finished.  It is important to have procedures in place when working with Legos. 

Things I learned to have procedures for: 

• How to store the Legos
• where to store the Legos and the building manuals
• taking off the lid-without the pieces flying everywhere
• building in the lid to contain the pieces
• only taking the top tray out when retrieving a piece from the bottom 
• programmer uses the book and gets the pieces for the builder
• builder can ask for help at any time and work together
• switch roles halfway through the building steps

Our 45 minute class sessions went by so quickly and they students begged for more time.  We started with vocabulary clock-wise, counter clock-wise, rods, 2x3, flats, cranks, etc. I would leave them with a question to find out during the build. They needed to talk to one another to have an answer and demonstrate the concept of the build. Once they called me over they could add to the build and even experiment by trading gear sizes or extending pieces. There were so many "Aha!" moments I got to see from the most amazing students. I am so grateful we have organizations like FUTURES Foundation that provide the means of having these experiences for our students. Sofia Walker co-wrote the grant with me and all of 3rd grade benefited from the materials and lessons. She is the BEST!!

Keyboarding is for everyone

I wanted #CCEstem to include technology for everyone K-5. To be honest the first year there were so many apps I taught in my 1st grade classroom that I wanted to share with the rest of the school so I used them in a variety of ways. Then I started to think there has to be a sequence and I needed to develop one for the grades. Our school district uses Microsoft and Office 365 products.  I wanted 3rd grade to use Word and 4th graders use PowerPoint and 5th graders to use Excel.  I thought those are the BIG topics but where and how do I get there? Typing and keyboarding weren't taught and they needed the skills so I set upon finding resources to use to teach what I so took for granted.

Thankfully we had a CTE learning group that I became a part of and soaked up every thing they were doing in their classroom.  We had meetings in each others' rooms and I took photos.  I wanted to learn how they were planning to make their students successful using technology. Years ago we could auto log in students with a generic password but that process went away and students had to learn an alpha code and their 8 digit birthday to log in to any computer on campus. Yes the imagine of 20 kindergarteners trying to find letters on a keyboard, yelling where is the 1? and timing out because they could not find the keys quick enough. I learned the hard way that does not work. You need to model and practice and find activities that are engaging and interactive for them to learn and practice with a partner before they go solo.

YIP skip I found Brittany Washburn's large keyboards. My mom helped cut out letter cards and arrange all the velcro dots. Whether you have 2nd graders or kinders this was a puzzle to put together and they loved racing one another. We could even do it as a quick start or end to my lesson when we had time. I made sure to have a few extras for the students that wanted to work by themselves even. I noticed it helped with our ELL learners as well to learn the names of letters and where they were on the keyboard.  

 Yes, that is B. Washburn's giant keyboard on the wall that I reference often.

 These keyboards were an unplugged activity to help students learn so we could move to the ipads and laptops to use Typetastic! Hands down one of the students favorite things to do and it is free for students and teachers to use! These kidners are using Typetastic and I know I have more photos to upload. Typetastic gives a game like format starting from piecing the keyboard back together to problem solving to find letters on the keyboard to working with and training home rows keys. Did I mention the kids cheer when there is time for Typetastic?!? I will tell you one VERY helpful hint use 1 ipad and Air Drop Typetastic to each ipad in the room. *You will need to teach them how to press Accept and not Decline but wow what a time saver-not having to type Typetastic out or them for that matter. You will need to click Start Learning at the top> then K-2 Elementary> Unit 1.  They should start at Unit 1-level 1 because they are multi-level and it does get harder as you move along. Soon I would allow 1st grade to select from level 1-2-or 3. Level 5 Ducky Trouble is tough but end of 1st graders can figure it out to be successful. Unit 2 moves to working with Home Row keys and 2n grade gets to this level and become experts.  Besides being free and fun, Typetastic works on laptops-touchscreen or traditional or iPads. The students want to use it at home and I do have it marked on my class Google Site. More to come on keyboarding and tips to help that I learned along the way...