That is a wrap on our Digital Citizenship Shark Week (even though it was actually two weeks long)! I have to say, I am so glad that I poured a lot of my creativity into this unit and made Digital Citizenship something that students will connect with a fun theme. I absolutely love the Common Sense Media's Digital Citizenship Curriculum, but I knew deep down that the simplicity of the presentation would not be something that would engage my students. This is not about students needing to be entertained 24/7, it is about presenting content in a way that is relevant and meaningful to them. Sharks were definitely the way to go! We were able to read several stories with sharks, connect them to our content, and even work in STEAM and Computer Science concepts into our activities. It was so much more than sharks and Digital Citizenship - it was a culturally responsive approach to teaching! For our last day, we had our second Fun Friday choice board. I offered Nitro Type and STEAM websites again, but had seven new options for them to choose from. Be Internet Awesome has become a quick favorite among students. It is always interesting to me to see where students gravitate towards and their unique personalities that come out when they are given choice. This school year is so different that what they have experienced in the past and although we are distanced, masked, and not able to share resources, we can still find different ways to learn and have fun along the way. Is absolutely exhausting for the teacher? 100%! It is also 100% worth it to see the ah-ha moments and excitement among students!
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Our second STEAM activity turned out to be even more interesting for students than I thought it would be! I shared with them that there are threats that sharks face every day in their daily lives of simply surviving (found in the book, Sharks: A 400 Million Year Journey). The students seemed so surprised as we had previously talked about how sharks are apex predators and there are not many other species that feed on them as prey. I introduced five (5) facts that sharks face - longlines, nets, shark finning, pollution, and habitat destruction. Some of these were new to students in that they hadn't thought they were something that affected sharks (nets, pollution, and habitat destruction) and some were new as they had not heard of them before (longlines and shark finning). I knew that the shark finning could potentially be a sensitive topic for students, but I was absolutely blow away by how seriously they took that particular threat to sharks and passionate about finding a solution to stopping it.
After discussing the different threats, I explained to the students that they would be working as scientists and engineers that day. We were going to use the Engineering Design Process to engineer a scientific solution to one of the threats that sharks face. I let each student choose the threat that they would like to explore further. They had opportunities to research more if they needed to, ask me any questions (we often researched together based on based on our conversations!), and have lots of creating, testing, improving, and sharing. We used LEGOs as our prototyping material (in the presentation I have digital Plus Plus blocks for my remote learners) and created so many cool things! Some of the solutions that students came up with:
As I sit here and wish for winter to actually hit Michigan with some snow, I figure I am better off settling for a good winter book instead. What better book to share with my littles than one from the Skippyjon Jones series! Skippyjon has been a favorite at my house for years and I love how Judy Schachner weaves Spanish words into the story. So, this week we read Skippyjon Jones SNOW WHAT. After we read the story, I introduced students to a Maker Mat. With the Maker Mats, I let students choose an item from the mat to create. As this was the first time using the Maker Mat with this age level, I had students work by themselves so they could get used to self-selecting and independent building based on their choice. The items that I selected for this Maker Mat were based off of Spanish words that were in the story. I put the English words under the Spanish words so students could make connections between the images, the Spanish words, and the English words. Students loved the story and used Plus Plus blocks to build creations from the Maker Mat. After we were done with our Maker Mat activity, we had some free build time and they wanted to see what I could make from the Maker Mat. I tried my best at Skippyjon Jones! This week is our last week before Christmas Break and let me tell you, the struggle is real. I think everyone (teachers and students alike!) are ready for the much needed break. Sleep is definitely high on my priority list and I can't wait to not have to set an alarm! So this week was perfect for a Maker Mat - Christmas/Holiday style! As my students are very familiar with these, I like to change up some of the constraints and resources to keep them fresh and exciting. For this Maker Mat, I introduced students to Plus Plus blocks. Much like when I introduced the Pix Brix, there was a bit of a learning curve despite the simplicity of the building tool. I knew it would be easy for students to build creations that were flat and pretty much two dimensional. So, as part of their Maker Mat building with the Plus Plus, they had to build three dimensional objects. This proved to be more difficult than I anticipated! Students would build a flat object and had a hard time giving it dimension. We talked about how the pieces can be manipulated in different ways to build their flat object into something that can stand on its own and can be viewed from different angles. It is great when I saw the ah-ha moments after a period of struggle! Thanksgiving Maker MatToday in 4th grade it was Thanksgiving Maker Mat day! I think the kids know when one is coming now (before holidays or breaks), but they are great for keeping students on task during days that are filled with this, that, and the other thing. I focused on Creativity with their building, and even let them build alone to see what they could do by themselves. It always amazes me that how many groups ask if they could build together instead of working by themselves. There are also students who thrive when they work by themselves, so I try to change up the structure of how we work together. Before they began working today, I went through their exit slip that I had posted on the board. Each student had a small post-it note with their name on it and they had to place their sticky note in the appropriate column for how they feel they exercised their creativity today. As this was a Thanksgiving Maker Mat, I also worked in thanking those who served as inspiration as part of their self-reflection. I told them that no level was a "bad" level and it only shows them areas that they might need to work on to grow as a learner. The Night Before ThanksgivingIn Y5, we read the story, "The Night Before Thanksgiving." I had pre-select six different items from the book and put them on a Maker Mat. This was their first experience with me and using a Maker Mat, so I wasn't sure how it was going to go. Usually I have students work on building collaboratively, but for introducing Maker Mats, I wanted to see what they could create individually. I gave each student their own Maker Mat and they showed me their item they created before moving on to the next one. As it was the week of Halloween, I wanted to do a fun activity with my Y5 and T1 kiddos. Insert Glowie Mats here! We started off by reading the book "What Was I Scared Of?" under black lights (as it has glow in the dark elements of the story). I had found some free Halloween printables for the Glowie Mats, and they were a perfect companion for the story! We practiced tracing different Halloween objects, writing our names, and doing some free drawing. This was great for fine motor practice and perseverance - and the kids loved it! When we were done with the Glowie Mats, we explored neon Plus Plus bricks and glow in the dark Magnet Tiles. It was a perfect activity for on Halloween especially, as costumes were lit up in a fun way and gave a whole new appearance to their Halloween look. In continuing the STEAM component as part of our 3-5 elementary building's school-wide PBIS celebration, I have more activities to share! One of the teacher leaders requested to have a Breakout game, but as the celebrations only last 20 minutes, I knew I would have to do some modifying to make it work. Listed below are the activities that were an option for each grade level. 3rd GradeActivity: Thanksgiving Crack the Code (A simplified version of the game I did with 4th graders.) Materials:
Task: Students will complete one task at a time and turning in their completed clue before moving on to the next one. 4th GradeActivity: Trap that Turkey! Materials:
Task: Students will use Brain Flakes and a string of yarn to build a pulley system to trap a turkey. 5th GradeActivity: Fall Maker Mat
Materials:
Task: Students will use Plus Plus blocks to build objects of their choice on the Maker Mat.
For this activity, I gave each group a bin containing one type of resource. They had to use only that resource to create their objects - they could not mix with the resources from other groups. I had two bins of Plus Plus blocks, two of Brain Flakes, and two of pattern blocks. Some groups appreciate having a bin of one resource to use, while others share that they feel the challenge would be much easier of they had one of the other resources. With both groups that I did this activity with, I made a point to share that it might seem easier with one of the other resources, but each resource has it's highs and lows for the challenge - some of the tasks are easier and some are harder and it is not the same for each resource. For this challenge, I told the students they could work as a group at their table (no more than 4), or they could choose to work in two groups at their table. The students have done really well when given this option because they know that they cannot work by themselves, but they have choice in how they work. Most times they actually choose to work as a whole table! After they had selected how they would work, the students could choose any square on the mat to begin their work. I told them it didn't matter to me which one they chose or which order they went in, but they had to decide as a group and they had to have a teacher sign off before they moved on to the next square. I was a little nervous with how they would work together after several weeks of snow days here and there, but they did really well and created some great things! I love when students share their stories behind their creations. When I do activities like this with a class, I tell the students that they need to check in with a teacher before they can move on to the next building task. This has really helped them with thinking through their designs and not just throwing something together to move on to something else. Sometimes it is so hard to capture the thinking and demonstration that goes in their designs with just a picture. They each bring their talents and ideas to the table to work with their peers to create something new and there is such a special dynamic when you watch it all play out and see an object that has a fantastic story behind it. These STEAM and Maker opportunities may not always be tied directly to the curriculum content, but the creativity opportunity it provides opens news ways of thinking and working with others when the content comes in to play. I have to say, I am very lucky to work with amazing teachers who provide students with these learning opportunities!
Cup Stacking
Plus Plus
Wooden PlanksResources Needed:
Straw Builders
QubitsResources Needed:
Brain Flakes
Glow STEAM in ActionAt the end of the hour, we asked students to clean up their stations and reset the classroom for the next class. Some classes were able to do this quickly and we invited them to use a highlighter to write what they loved about the day. You can tell some students were completely worn out from the fun (and heat!), but they had some great things to share.
I try my best to be as environmentally conscious as I can be on a daily basis (I am a big fan of recycling and reusing!), but sometimes we all could use the reminder to do a little bit more to protect our planet. I know I have been making an effort to no longer use plastic straws when dining out - it seemed weird and awkward at first, but the more I do it, it doesn't feel that way. I believe it has been said that it takes 21 days to form a habit...I don't eat out that often, but it is getting easier to simply move the straw to the end of the table and drink straight from the glass. Sometimes Earth Day is that gentle reminder each year that we can do better as long as we choose to do better about our environmental decisions.
As Earth Day fell on a weekend this year, I asked the teacher I usually work with on Fridays if an Earth Day STEM activity would fit in to anything they were doing. She told me they were actually studying animal adaptations, so it fit in well with what they were learning. I found this video that we watched about kids taking action against pollution found in the oceans. The video was very powerful and the students definitely had thoughts to share on the issue!
When the classroom teacher and I were planning this activity, we had originally wanted them to do some brainstorming before building. When I arrived for STEM time later in the day, the teacher informed me that they have spent over 3 hours that day doing state testing, so we decided to not do our brainstorming worksheet and let their brains just create. And to be completely honest, I think it was the perfect decision for the end of a Friday after a long week of state testing. They needed to explore (we hadn't used Brain Flakes, wooden planks, or Plus Plus yet in STEM activities) and have some confidence in doing what they do best - create!
I am so proud of what these kiddos came up with knowing how brain-drained they were at this time. They had so many great ideas! Some of the conversations I had with students included:
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