In the past, Kelly McGee and I have found that improv activities are a total game changer in the STEAM activities that we do - it helps the kiddos get loose, comfortable, and their brains moving.  So whenever we can work improv into an activity, we definitely do!  For this activity, we played Heads Up, Heads Down, Wink Tranquilizer (name changed so that it is school appropriate, but same idea), and As One (the students start sitting in a group and then together ("As One"), without talking or using hand motions, they have to stand AS ONE, walk AS ONE, jog AS ONE, stop AS ONE, and then sit AS ONE.

This STEAM activity was actually a pretty simple one - perfect for the last days of school.  All we needed was Straw Builders (with connectors and wheels), yarn, and some masking tape.  Before the students came in, we taped off two lines in the Media Center.  Due to starting off with improv games, the students probably thought they were for where the groups to stand...but nope!

For this activity, we started out by giving them a bucket of straws and a small container of connectors and told them we wanted them to build the tallest FREE STANDING tower possible.  They got to work right away and came up with some great towers!  After about 10 minutes, I told them I "forgot" that their towers had to have wheels, so I gave each group 6 wheels.  I just told them that they had to use the wheels - no direction in how to use them though.  After about another 10 minutes, I told them that I "forgot again" that their structure must also be able to be pulled from one of the masking tape lines to the other, with them standing behind one of the lines.  So many groans on this "addition!"  This is where some serious redesign took place with wheels changing positions, towers being reduced in size, and calculations on where to tie the string to pull the tower.  This was a serious exercise in not only design, but communication, collaboration, creativity, and confidence.  It was so great to see the looks on the faces of the students who towers crossed the finish line!

Last year my co-worker, Kelly McGee, and I worked a lot with elementary teachers trying out some new "tools" that they could add to their "teacher toolbox."  We did a lot of improv and BreakoutEDU with K-2 teachers and we learned A LOT from our experiences!  So this year we decided to add another "tool" to the "toolbox" and are focusing a lot on STEM/STEAM and the design process that goes into these types of activities.

As referenced in one of my previous posts about Quickfires, I try to make each Quickfire leveled, so that as we work with different teachers, we can push the students a little more to help them activate higher-level thinking as well as the world beyond themselves.  This is the first time we will be doing a Quickfire with this 1st grade class, so I am starting at Level 1.  It is still early in the school year and the kiddos are getting used to many new things, so we want to make sure we are meeting them at their level all while having fun (and this also gives us a good benchmark of their critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills are so we can adjust for next time).

For this Quickfire, Kelly and I worked with a teacher that we have in the past (the awesome Carol Jewell!) and we were excited to try something new with her 1st grade friends.  As Kelly and I were talking about how we could incorporate some of the things we have found to be successful, we decided to start with a book.  In looking on Pinterest, I found a great activity on Preschool STEAM for apple tree engineering.  I thought it would complement the book, 10 Apples Up on Top.

For this classroom visit, we decided to make the STEM-themed-Quickfire (that is a mouthful!) part of a full lesson, not an isolated event.  We began our time with our first graders with Kelly reading the story, 10 Apples Up on Top.  He is such an engaging reader - the kids were totally mesmerized and engaged!  After the story, we wanted to activate their brains to start thinking quickly and creatively, so we did a short improv game with our 1st grade friends.  This can be an interesting experience for the teacher, but helps get the students moving, thinking quickly, and being aware of others - perfect lead in for a Quickfire!  Kelly led our friends through an improv game originally called, "Frog in the Pond."  He adapted the game so that it was apple-related.  Frog in the Pond is similar to Simon Says, where you need to listen to what the person is saying, not necessarily what they are doing.  The motions we did were (with kids starting in kneeling position):

• "Apples on the Ground" - Kids place their hands on the ground in front of them.
• "Apples in the Tree" - Kids place their hands on their shoulders.
• "Apples on My Head" - Kids place their hands on their head.
• "Apples in the SKY!" - Kids wave their hands above their head.

Kelly would say different phrases and the students had to do the action.  It was fun to watch as he went faster and faster!

It was a great day of learning this afternoon in first grade - and it was a lot of fun!