Obviously, I wanted to do something STEAM-related with the book. I instantly came up with the idea for creating a digital cubicle space. This would be a great way for students to share their personalities, build relationships, and gain insight that can be used for building a culturally responsive classroom. As I started building a template, I knew I couldn't stop there - there were too many engineering opportunities that the story provided. A choice board was born!
I am not sure about you, but I am a HUGE fan of the television show The Office. I could watch season after season on repeat and still laugh, cringe, and tear up at moments. So when I heard that there was a picture book that was about The Office, I was all about it! I am all about a good picture book, and this one was definitely at the top of my list! It takes the characters, personalities, and icons from the show and puts them into an elementary classroom setting. I mean, Michael as the Line Leader and Dwight as the Assistant to the Line Leader?! :) Obviously, I wanted to do something STEAM-related with the book. I instantly came up with the idea for creating a digital cubicle space. This would be a great way for students to share their personalities, build relationships, and gain insight that can be used for building a culturally responsive classroom. As I started building a template, I knew I couldn't stop there - there were too many engineering opportunities that the story provided. A choice board was born!
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In teaching several STEAM classes this year, I have been able to get to know elementary students on a deeper level. On the first class of the school year with my 4th grade STEAM classes, I asked students to write their name on one side of a piece of paper and their favorite movie and activity/hobby that they like to partake in outside of school. I wanted to use this information to see what their interests were so that I could incorporate them into our STEAM activities throughout the year to make them more meaningful. Stemming from that simple interest inventory, I have learned how passionate my STEAM learners are about playing Minecraft, creating pixel art, coding, and having a chance to express themselves in creative ways that are meaningful and personal to them. The activities that we have done in class so far that have been tied to their interests (and the students’ reactions to them!) solidified my desire to keep providing them with learning opportunities that are driven by their individual interests and identities. Please enter Minecraft...
I knew I wanted to do something that would give my students a memorable learning experience, while being focused on areas of STEAM that we haven't spent much time on or at all yet. I wanted to give them a learning opportunity to explore how Minecraft is rooted in STEAM and can be a portal to their creative innovation, which can truly be limitless. In this unit, students will explore STEAM through the lens of Minecraft. The unit is designed with a centers-based model, with students having the opportunity to engage in eight centers over several weeks. The centers will provide students with learning opportunities that are of high-interest and incorporate content that is STEAM and literacy based, making it a culturally responsive teaching and learning opportunity.
Below is a button that links to all the materials I created for this unit. I tried to consolidate most materials into one file, so it is a big file! I included a link at the bottom of this post with all of the materials that I used to make this unit happen (some things I already had while others were acquired through grants). It took some time planning, but totally worth it!
Note: If you are teaching in a virtual environment, check out the virtual resources to facilitate this learning in when students are attending school virtually.
As students worked through each station, I marked off on their "Crafting Table" if they successfully completed the station requirements or not. I used these stamps to mark completion level when students were done at a station. They received a green stamp if they met the requirements on the station direction sheet, an orange stamp if the mets some of the requirements, a red stamp if they did not meet any of the requirements, and a brown stamp if they were absent that day. I chose to do this to give students an opportunity to self regulate their learning at subsequent stations, ask for help when they had exhausted their Computational Thinking prompts, and know that I am watching and looking for active participation and creation at all station activities.
At the beginning and end of the unit, I asked students to reflect on their experience at the station and how it fit in with the 6C Learner Profile that our district has adopted (based off the book, Becoming Brilliant by Roberta Michnick Golinkoff PhD and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek PhD). I wanted to know how students felt before they began the unit about some of the topics as well as their understanding of the personal "C" level. At the end I also marked the level where I feel students achieved a level of mastery. I really wanted them to be a part of the assessment and growth tracking process and have ownership in what they are doing instead of me just doing the assessing. The Content
At the beginning and end of the unit, I asked students to reflect on their experience at the station and how it fit in with the 6C Learner Profile that our district has adopted (based off the book, Becoming Brilliant by Roberta Michnick Golinkoff PhD and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek PhD). I wanted to know how students felt before they began the unit about some of the topics as well as their understanding of the personal "C" level. At the end I also marked the level where I feel students achieved a level of mastery. I put all of this information into a spreadsheet to help me track information, see trends, and see how students ranked themselves in their learning. I used the colored stamps that I gave them weekly to help me monitor their progress on a weekly basis.
Classroom Set Up
I set up the stations as indicated below. The only one that differs a bit from a traditional group center station is that of the reading station, as this was set up to be a comfortable space on the floor. To be honest, the creative person in me would have loved to have some fun Minecraft curtains or other decorations on the walls to really set the stage, but due to it being a shared classroom and the limited time I had to even set up the stations, it did not happen. Would the kids have liked it if I had? You bet! Did the like it even thought I didn't? You bet! There is always next time...
I created a presentation that I used to introduce the unit, as well as daily reminders and updates. I included the timers in this presentation so that I could keep myself organized instead of opening different tabs, but also to give students consistency in how our class time would be utilized. If you are unable to view the presentation below, please click here.
Station #1
At Station 1, students created a digital comic. They used the Comic Caption Meme Maker Lite app to a create comic using resources from the Minecraft Stop Motion Movie Maker kit. They used spinners to determine the WHO, WHAT, and WHERE part of their comic so that they could direct their energy in to creating the comic, and not trying to decide on what to include in their comic. This worked really well in focusing their energy in the right direction and keeping everyone on task. Most of the groups had about 4 students, so I had them work with a partner in the group to make their comic. This meant that everyone was actively building, creating, and designing instead of watching someone else do the work. I have to admit, there was a bit of struggle with this station at first because it was something completely new. Once students used the spinners to get their storyline setup, they moved to the digital portion which actually took most of their time! Getting their shot framed right, adding speech bubbles, and other details were very important to them!
Station #2
At Station 2, students created items based on a Minecraft-themed Maker Mat. I knew that not every student was as knowledgeable as others about the intricacies of Minecraft, so I made sure to include simple pictures of the items. They, of course, created things that were beyond what I could have ever imagined and I heard so many stories about the items they were building and how they experience those items when playing Minecraft at home. Students were so proud of their creations and thought the Pix Brix were a perfect building material for this station. "Miss! They are just like building blocks in Minecraft so what I am building looks just like the real thing!" We have done Maker Mats several times with different topics, but I have to say that what they created with the Minecraft Maker Mat was some of their best work I have seen! Their attention to details, colors, how pieces fit together, and overall aesthetics was top notch!
Station #3
At Station 3, students played pixel and Minecraft themed brain games. We have spent the previous weeks to this unit playing different brain games, so that when it came time for these, students knew that they had to read the directions to figure out their challenges and determine a strategy for how to solve them. These were a bit different from the other ones we have previously played, but the Code Master and Minecraft magnetic games were similar in their execution so students were able to identify and attempt to debug any problems at their table before asking for help from me.
Station #4
At Station 4, students used code.org to explore four different Minecraft coding activities. As a class, we had already done some coding on code.org as well as other block coding, so the process of coding was familiar to them. The students really enjoyed having options for coding and could move from one activity to another when they were done. I think a big factor in their engagement in this station was that they had choice in their learning. And they really seemed to enjoy all of the coding modules!
Station #5
At Station 5, students were able to explore a variety of Minecraft books. I have to admit, when I was organizing my thoughts and ideas for this station, I was nervous. I knew I wanted to incorporate reading (as it is one of the building goals as well as Reading Month), but also know that reading compared to some of the other stations would not seem as exciting to the students. I wanted to make this station an inviting space and one where students would want to explore. So, this station was amped up a bit with with blankets, pillows, and stuffies. Students were able to explore a variety of books and were even able to take home a special bookmark that I made.
Station #6
At Station 6, students explored pixel art through Perler Beads. We have previously built with Pix Brix and Station 2 actually had them building with Pix Brix from a Maker Mat, but wanted to give them a different representation of pixels. When we were learning about coding, we talked about everything being coded in ones or zeros and it was similar to that of a light being turned on and off. This was taking it one step further and turning that light on (a one) with color - as represented in their pixel art. As they only had 20 minutes per station, I gave them simple designs that they could work from. This allowed all students to be successful in building, even if they had not used Perler Beads before. As we were crunched on time during class, I had students place their completed designs (with a sheet of paper under with their name on it) on my desk and then I ironed them after class and gave them to their classroom teacher. This worked really well and I didn't have students hanging around asking for them and not making their way back to their classroom as they should be. I was really impressed how they took the designs I gave them and put their spin on it!
Station #7
At Station 7, students had a quick little review of multiplication facts. As I know they are well familiar with their multiplication facts, I selected some of the ones that sometimes trip students up to give them a little more practice. Once they completed their multiplication facts, the back of their sheet basically turned into a color by number. Once they colored in the squares on their sheet, they could use the Quiver app for augmented reality with their sheet. As one of the options on the front of their sheet gave them the option to color the background any color, most designs turned out a little different. Coloring styles, how dark or light they colored, and the colors themselves made for quite a variety of designs!
Station #8
At Station 8, students used how-to-draw books to decorate lunch bags. At the end of the unit, we are donating these to Kids' Food Basket for their sack supper program. I always tell my students it is important to show gratitude to others, even if you do not know who they are - and this was a perfect way to show gratitude for the work that KFB does for the community. Students decorated the bags with Minecraft-themed drawings and sayings. Several students were really proud of their creations and didn't necessarily want to hand it over to me, but a quick conversation about why I chose to structure that particular activity the way I did usually resolved any issue (and of course, taking a picture of it!).
Stamp
I love creating and sharing things with others as I know how much I enjoy when I can find something for free that I can use right away with students. This is the main thing that motivates me to share my own creations for free on my site here. I do ask that if you use what I share and really like it, please consider making a donation to my DonorsChoose or Amazon Wish List. I choose to do it this way as everything that is donated goes right into the hands of the students I work with, not my pocket.
One thing I did create and sell through my Zazzle shop (simply because I made it and purchased it myself through there!) is the stamp that I used to mark off completion on their Crafting Table sheets. Also, if you are interested in the hand stamp I used or my shirt, feel free to check out my Zazzle store. Resources
To see all of the resources that I used (with links to the items online), click on the button below. Like I mentioned earlier, this would not have been possible to implement as I did without grants and donations! I think the only thing that came out of my pocket was the stamp I designed on Zazzle, the green stamp pad (which my students told me smelled like an "animal enclosure"), and the paper lunch bags.
Speaking of donations, A HUGE THANK YOU goes out to the AMAZING team at Minecraft who heard about my unit somehow and sent some UNBELIEVABLE swag for our reading nook. I cannot even begin to put into words the impact that these items had on students. The Exploring Reading station was a favorite and students couldn't believe that someone cared enough from the other side of the United States about what we were doing here in our classroom to send these items.
THANK YOU for believing in my students. THANK YOU for being an advocate for STEAM education. THANK YOU for your generosity. THANK YOU for designing a platform that my students love! Welcome 2020! In 4th grade STEAM class, we are accepting you with a fresh start, new activities, and lots of learning. But, starting back to school after a couple of weeks off for Winter Break can be a bit rough at first. So as I knew this transition and getting back into routines and norms might be a little difficult, I did what I do best...shake things up a bit! I feel as though the concept of STEAM is something that I haven't really hit hard with my students in helping them understand what STEAM means in the real world and everyday applications. I know that this is something that I want to dig in with them, but depending on how it is presented, it might not be the most engaging topic to them. Soooo....why not use some outside the box thinking to make it fun! With games! I saw this as a perfect opportunity to welcome the Glow Games to our classroom. Before I launched into the Glow Games, I knew that many students would not have played all of the games that I was going to incorporate into the STEAM Glow Games. This provided the opportunity to introduce the games in a non-threatening way where all students were able to have common experiences that would build their background knowledge and confidence for when content was included. I am taking two weeks to introduce the games to students (I only see them once a week for one hour), spending ten minutes per game, playing four games each week. Students started at their normal tables and rotated through the next three stations during the class period. Spending the time to introduce, experience, and play the games was critical to everyone starting off with minimal barriers for them to be successful in the STEAM Glow Games. Each student knew how to play each game, knew how to self evaluated post-playing, and knew strategies for encouragement when playing games. This foundation was essential for me so that when we moved into the STEAM Glow Games, I was not spending time teaching the students how to play the games, but rather the games serve as the engagement component that supported the content. At the end of playing each game station, I asked students to reflect on their game playing experience and how it fit in with the 6C Learner Profile that our district has adopted (based off the book, Becoming Brilliant by Roberta Michnick Golinkoff PhD and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek PhD). I selected a "C" for each game and used that as the focus for my question. Classroom Set UpBelow is a snapshot of the room as I had it set up. I tried to separate the games that would have moving pieces (Basketball Pong/Station 5-Jenga/Station 1 and Perfection/Station 3-TENZI/Station 8) so there wouldn't be a bunch of crazy activity going on in one corner of the room. After playing the games, I feel that the strategic placement of the stations worked out really well and kept materials contained to their appropriate tables. Evaluation & ReflectionWhile students were rotating through the stations, they had a small packet that they had to complete after each station. Each station had three questions with the first one always asking if they had played the game before. The second question asks them to self-evaluate themselves on one of the "Cs" and the last being a more reflective question. One of my district's goals this year is focusing on culturally responsive teaching. I admittedly did not fully understand what it meant at the beginning of the year, but I have learned so much already and feel as though it has helped develop relationships with my students. The last reflection question for each station is a culturally responsive question as it helps students have ownership and validity in their identity and learning as well as an application to their life. As students were playing the games, I wanted them to also reflect on the kind of player they were when they were playing with others as well as how to exhibit good sportsmanship. On the back of each station instruction sheet, I included phrases to help students congratulate winners and encourage losers. This sheet also included the instructions for how to clean up and reset their stations for the next group. Station #1Station Materials & Setup: For this station, I had two games of Jenga set up for students to play. They could choose to play in partners or as a whole group of four. Each game had a gallon-sized zip bag to hold game pieces when not in play. Pencils were stored in the container so students would not lose track of them as they rotated from table to table. Station #2Station Materials & Setup: For this station, I had two games of glow in the dark tic tac toe set up for students to play. They could choose to play in partners or as a whole group of four. Each game had a quart-sized zip bag to hold game pieces when not in play. Pencils were stored in the container so students would not lose track of them as they rotated from table to table. Station #3Station Materials & Setup: For this station, I had two games of Perfection set up for students to play. They could choose to play in partners or take turns individually playing Pencils were stored in the container so students would not lose track of them as they rotated from table to table. Station #4Station Materials & Setup: For this station, I had four games of Barrel of Monkeys set up for students to play. They would play this game individually, so each person had a Barrel of Monkeys. Pencils were stored in the container so students would not lose track of them as they rotated from table to table. Station #5Station Materials & Setup: For this station, I had one game of Basketball Pong set up for students to play. They would each play the game individually. The container held the ping pong balls to use for the game. Pencils were stored in the container so students would not lose track of them as they rotated from table to table. This was the only game that I personally had to make an assemble. I simply used a foam board trifold - 36in x 48in (so much sturdier than cardboard!) as the base. I created the basketball hoops and then cut them out on my Cricut. I used neon index cards as the backboard and cut out black inserts on my Cricut for the center part of the backboard as well as the point values for each basket. Using my Cricut, I cut out the letters and dots and then secured the backboards, letters, and dots to the foam board with hot glue. I laminated everything so that it would be durable and hold up over time. I used velcro dots (2 dots per basket) to attach the baskets to the foam board so I could remove them and fold up the board for easy storage. Just kidding, well, kind of! I freely share the resources I use because I truly believe that as educators we are all in this together - making learning fun, meaningful, and relevant to students. They are our future after all! I share and don't expect anything in return, BUT if you like what you see, use it, and see the benefit, I will drop links here to my DonorsChoose page as well as my Amazon Wishlist. ;) All items go right into the hands of the students I work with to build enriching STEAM experiences that support the 6Cs to help them develop a love of learning and a desire to be a life-long learner. Station #6Station Materials & Setup: For this station, I had two games of dominoes set up for students to play. They could choose to play in partners or as a whole group of four. Pencils were stored in the container so students would not lose track of them as they rotated from table to table. Station #7Station Materials & Setup: For this station, I had two games of Connect 4 set up for students to play. Pencils were stored in the container so students would not lose track of them as they rotated from table to table. Station #8Station Materials & Setup: For this station, I had five containers of dice so all students could play at the same time. Pencils were stored in the container so students would not lose track of them as they rotated from table to table. Games In ActionWhat's Up Next?After we become familiar with rules and how to play the eight games, we are going to move into the the Glow Games: All About STEAM! This is where I am going to introduce STEAM content where students will have to answer task cards so that they can have a turn to play a round in the games. Stay tuned!
As the district I work in has a high Hispanic population, I wanted to make sure that I was working to work cultural responsiveness into my teaching, especially with the time of the year. For our STEAM activity this week, I made a Maker Mat for Dia de los Muertos. I personally do not speak Spanish, but many of my students speak it in addition to English. I worked with the high school Spanish teacher to develop a list of items to be represented on the Maker Mat and then she translated it so that I could have it represented in English and Spanish.
I was honestly blown away by how this was received by students. Not all of my students are Hispanic or celebrate Dia de los Muertos, but most are familiar with the celebration (maybe because of the movie Coco?). In one of the classes, there were literally cheers of excitement as I shared the topic of our Maker Mat. They were so excited and started asking about some of the items they could build. Many of them were already included in the Maker Mat, but I told them that selecting the Free Choice square was also an option to build something that was not included, but may be meaningful to them. This was the first time I heard a lot of Spanish speaking as the students were working, but I could tell they were talking about Dia de los Muertos and related things (from the translations on the mat). Several students commented on how they liked that this one had the Spanish translations and asked if I had that on other Maker Mats. So, I am definitely reworking my Maker Mats to include the Spanish translations from this point forward! Maker MatsExit Slips
At the end of the activity, I asked students to complete an exit slip telling me how they worked together, what building material they would like to use for their next Maker Mat and to do a short checklist of the items from the Maker Mat that they see in their homes or community. It was great to see their responses! I also learned they are desperately wanting to build with Legos again (we had used Pix Brix for this Maker Mat as well as our Halloween Maker Mat).
Student CreationsOver the summer as I was starting to think about the beginning of the school year, I started thinking about possibly putting on a STEAM Night. We have STEAM classes at the middle school and just added it for K-5, so I thought it could be a good opportunity to share with parents what STEAM looks like in the classroom. After thinking it over a bit and starting to formulate an idea for how it might look, I proposed the idea of a Family STEAM Night to our 3-5 principal and Assistant Superintendent. They were both on board, so the planning began! I had attended a STEAM Night in my own children's district last year, and really liked the format of the evening. It was set up "school carnival" style where you could easily move from room to room exploring different activities. This easily allowed you to try a variety of new things and revisit things that were already familiar - and you were not committing yourself to one room for the whole evening. So, I reached out to some of our teachers and coaches/specialists in the district and asked them if they would like to lead/facilitate a room based on their area of expertise. I filled in most of the remaining rooms in the building with a variety of activities that had been explored in STEAM classes. I also worked with our high school Spanish teacher (who leads the Spanish Club) to incorporate a culturally responsive room that was designed and led by the Spanish Club. Take a look below at some videos, pictures, and activity descriptions for what we incorporated into our first Family STEAM Night! VideosWelcomeI really wanted the Family STEAM Night experience to begin even before people stepped foot in the door. One simple way to do this was through chalk! I had students who were helping set up take a container of chalk outside and get creative. My only directions were to make sure it was appropriate and welcoming. They did a great job of using the space and making sure everyone was welcome even before they entered the building. We also had the night publicized on the digital sign out front, so between the chalk, sign, people, and cars, you could not miss that something was taking place at school that night! Another small welcoming sign that I felt was very important was a photo release statement. Basically, I wanted everyone know that they were welcome, but we also wanted to be able to capture the fun and learning that was taking place. We provided pink paper bracelets that people could choose to wear if they did not want to be on video or photographed. It was great for our student and staff photographers and videographers to quickly place themselves in a room to protect the privacy of others while still capturing the essence of the evening. Toy Story STEAM Mania - Andy's RoomThe Toy Story STEAM Mania rooms were an extension of the Toy Story STEAM Mania activities that I had been working on with my Young 5s, Transitional 1st, and 4th grade STEAM classes. For Family STEAM Night, I took it a step further to really set the stage to engage and did a room transformation. When you walked into the classroom, you had the feeling of Toy Story and being in Andy's room. It was great hearing the comments from people as they walked in to the room and were totally surprised by the atmosphere. The activities that we had in this room were:
Toy Story STEAM Mania - Pizza Planet The activities that we had in this room were:
CodingThis room was lead by EdTech Consultants Keith Tramper and Craig Steenstra from Kent ISD. We always love when they are able to come out and be part of events and help out with classroom needs - they rock! The activities that we had in this room were:
OzobotsThis room was set up so that kids and families could freely explore the world of coding through drawing. We set out calibration and coding direction sheets as well as some example sheets (from the Ozobots website) and then simply let the creativity flow! I saw a variety of designs from simply exploring with colors and then more elaborate designs with different coding algorithms. Picture PieThe activity in this room was led by one of our elementary art teachers and was based off the book, Picture Pie by Ed Emberley. Kids and their families used paper circles that they folded, cut, and then glued to make works of art. This was a great activity to combine fractions and art! Hoop FlyersIn this room, kids and their families had the opportunity to build Hoop Flyers. Hoop Flyers put a twist on the traditional paper airplane and use strips of paper to create hoops that are attached to a straw. Varying the kind of paper used, length of the straw, or adding weight (such as paper clips) changes how the hoop flyer will glide. It is a great way for kids to jump in to the design process and work through revisions so that it will fly. RoboticsOur high school Robotics Team lead this room with one of their coaches. They brought some of their smaller robots (not the large 8+ foot one!) for students to try moving, picking up blocks, and seeing how a robot works. They also shared information with parents with how the Robotics Team works, how they attend competitions, and what students can look forward to as they move towards high school. One of the really awesome things that they did was brought one of their tool sets, a bunch of screws and nuts, and let kids learn how tools work, how a nut can be screwed on to a screw, and how the different tools have different functions in building their robots. I am so grateful they were able to share all of their awesome work with the community! 3D PensThis was definitely a popular room throughout the evening for everyone (parents included!). I love 3D pens as it provides an easy way for kids to understand that in order for something to be 3D printed, it must be printed in layers. This helps them understand why some 3D printer jobs take a really long time to print. I saw many people using some of the templates we had, creating representations of their names, animals, jewelry, and even a fantastic Starry Night image! Storybook STEAMThe activities in this room were designed by some of our AMAZING ELL and Literacy coaches. The activities that we had in this room were:
Button Making and EngineeringWe were so grateful that our local library, the Kent District Library, was able to be part of our event! They are so awesome and we always love it when they can be part of our special events and promote literacy and the many resources that a public library offers. The activities that we had in this room were:
STEAM in Physical EducationAs I was thinking about activities for the evening, I wanted to make sure that we had some kind of activity that allowed kids to move around. Insert physical education here! I think this was great to show kids and families that something that might appear as just "playing around" actually involves a lot of science and math! I found some activities on the S&S Blog and I knew they would be the perfect addition! Our AWESOME elementary P.E. teachers were so gracious to oversee the room. This was definitely a hot spot for the evening! The activities that we had in this room were (as found on the S&S Blog):
Math GamesThis room was lead by our SUPER elementary Math Coaches. They came up with some great ways to incorporate math in a fun way (it was often heard from parents in this room that, "This is not math!"). Their activities were centered around geometric puzzles (tangrams, pattern blocks, 3-d shapes) in order to reach a large age range (a few puzzles will be quite challenging for adults while remaining accessible to young kids) and emphasize the critical thinking and trial and error parts of mathematics that often get overlooked. Mathematicians think long and hard about the problems they encounter and often have to look at it from a different perspective to get out of a rut. They also created a communal Sierpinkski Triangle (fractal) with each participant being represented in the whole piece by a tetrahedron they decorated to represent themselves. LoteríaThis room was a special part of the evening. In our district, we are working on being culturally responsive in our teaching and student learning, and as it is a district focus, I wanted to make sure that this was part of our Family STEAM Night. Our high school Spanish Club planned to facilitate two rooms of Lotería, a type of Mexican bingo that many of our families play when together with their extended families. Students in the Spanish Club led games throughout the evening and did an awesome job of decorating and facilitating the game so that it was fun for everyone - whether you play Lotería every week or have never played before! Glow GamesGlow Rooms are one of my favorite activities to do in the classroom, as it completely changes the environment with simply lighting. What is included beyond the lights really puts the learning in a new "light"! Based on survey results and from observations, this room was ranked the top as far as favorites. The activities that we had in this room were:
CircuitryI love when a complex topic such as Circuitry can be presented in a way that is hands-on and really help kids understand how electricity works. I have used these in STEAM classes and kids LOVE them! When setting up this room, we started with the resource geared towards younger students (Power Tiles Circuits), then moved to the Snap Circuits, and then the littleBits (geared towards upper elementary students). This allowed the people to take what they had learned and use that knowledge as they moved up in complexity across the room. Without a doubt, the Snap Circuits fan challenge is always a hit because when you turn off power to the circuit, it sends the fan flying into the air. Who wouldn't enjoy that?! The activities that we had in this room were: FoodLast, but DEFINITELY not least, we offered food for sale (the only thing throughout the evening that had a cost associated with it). We all know that food is love, and when an event at school falls during dinner time, we wanted to make sure that we were providing an option for families so they did not have to choose between having a meal and attending an educational event at school - they could do both! We sold authentic tamales (so delicious!), drinks, snacks, and candy. Last ThoughtsThis was the first Family STEAM Night that I had organized and implemented, so there are definitely things I learned that worked well and areas that need improvement for next time. We had a fantastic turnout and I was so excited that we were able to provide this learning opportunity for our community. This night would not have been possible without the AMAZING teachers, staff, and students who volunteered their time and talents. For the most part, students were running the rooms and quickly became experts on the areas that they were in charge of for the night. I am grateful to be surrounded by a community that made this evening possible - I can't give enough thanks to them for all they did!
Well, here we are already - the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year. It is crazy how fast the summer goes! This year my district is putting an emphasis on culturally responsive teaching. In a lot of ways, I think many educators are already doing some CRT as part of their daily teaching or part of their unit. One of my teacher besties recently completed her graduate program and wrote her thesis on CRT approaches and strategies. In sitting down and talking with her for a half hour, I had such a better understanding of what CRT might look like in the classroom and simple ways to start out using it to guide instruction and increase student engagement. The biggest take away that I had in our conversation is that "culture" does not necessarily refer to the culture of the student (Hispanic or African American for example), but rather the students' IDENTITY. Once it was explained in that way, something clicked and I knew I could start with something easy and small. When I met with my first 4th grade class of the week, I asked them to fill out simple quarter sheets of paper with their name, teacher name, and their seat number assigned to them. Then on the back, I asked them to write their favorite movie. By simply asking them this question, it shows them that I am interested in their interests and them as an individual. I told them this helps me get to know them, but also gives me ideas for things that we could do during STEAM time. They were all on board for that! The top ten movies from this class were:
With my second 4th grade class of the week, I asked them to fill out the same paper, but this time on the back I asked them to share what they would like to see in school and would make their learning fun. Their top responses were (in no particular order):
This was so insightful to me, especially some of the conversations I had with students later. Their desire to have games as part of their learning became apparent as well as their desire to be creative in different ways. I hope their STEAM time provides an outlet for them and I am able to provide different learning opportunities for them! The remainder of the class time we completed the Boats That Float activity. I think this is a great activity for the first STEAM time of the year as it allows me to move around and see how students interact with one another to complete a task. I frequently heard, "This is too hard!", "Can you tell us how to build the boat?", "Why does our boat keep sinking?!". It opened up some great dialogue as I was moving around and our wrap up at the end of class. I think they learned quickly that I am not going to give them easy tasks nor give them the answer. They were frustrated, but persevered! |
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