I had recently seen some teachers create some awesome incentive/reward activities in Google Slides. It totally inspired me to create one of my own! I took the theme of a potato head, where students can individually or as a class earn pieces to add to the body. Just a fun way to add some spice to a distance learning classroom!
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Over 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!
As we brought our Toy Story STEAM Mania unit to a close in 4th grade, we ended by making a bridge for Slinky Dog and a ramp for Toy Story cars. As usual, I gave the students their jobs and then explained the task(s) for the day. I wrote all the table assignments on the board so that students could reference them as they were working, as they would switch tasks after one was completed. This was our first time trying this out, and I learned I definitely need to give a bit more clarification in the task transition. So it was definitely a learning experience for students and myself alike! I try to vary the resources I use and the type of tasks I ask the students to complete. This was their first time using the planks as well as the Slinky Dogs and cars. This was the first time I witnessed a significant amount of frustration from multiple groups in working together and forming one cohesive idea. I think that is one of the great benefits of STEAM in how students can learn some of the super important skills of working with others and learning to compromise. I learned that next week, as a class, we need to step back and revisit how to appropriately agree and disagree with one another as well as share ideas politely. Anytime is a good time to revisit these things! The first task was for groups to build a bridge for Slinky Dog. I gave them the oh-so-technical measurement of "across ONE table/desk." Due to the different sizes of tables and desks that make up the groups, I simplified that measurement and instead asked them to make sure that it was at least 5 centimeters high. This turned out to be a bit difficult for them in making sure that it was raised as well as reaching the desired length - mission accomplished! I always tell them that I give them difficult challenges because I want to give their brain a workout and really challenge them with something difficult. They wouldn't learn as much if I always gave them simple tasks and challenges after all! For the second task, I gave the challenge to build a ramp that was at least 30 centimeters tall and a car could be launched from the top. If I were to do this challenge again, I would definitely reduce the height to 15 or 20 centimeters. They started running out of planks to reach the height for their design, and spent a lot of time in the redesign phase where frustrations started to boil over in some groups. It was a great lesson in how we need to stop and step back sometimes in order to move forward. And re-emphasize the ramp direction and not the launch part. ;)
For our last Toy Story STEAM Mania activity, in Y5 and T1 we started off with reading the book Toy Story 2. The students have really enjoyed the Toy Story stories we have started with before our activities. After reading the story, we built towers to keep the aliens safe, like how in the story Woody's friends tried to keep Woody safe so that he wouldn't be sent off to Japan. I kept this activity simple and had to review what a tower was so students knew to build their structure up, instead of wide across the floor (next time I think I would show them some pictures of different kinds of towers - this seemed a bit confusing for them). Students became quite creative and we had hot tubs at some towers (thank you blue planks!), full bedrooms, and even dining room tables. They really enjoyed building with a partner and coming up with a structure together. I bet they will be a bit disappointed that next week we are moving on to something new - which is a great sign of engagement! As I was thinking about activities for my Y5 and T1 classes for our Toy Story STEAM Mania unit, I wanted to have some activities that had manipulatives they were familiar with, but then paired with a good critical thinking challenge. I have done pixel art with Legos in the past, and students have really enjoyed it, but thought it might be a little too frustrating for my littles. In looking around online, I found these Snap Cube Math Centers and knew that was the perfect direction for my idea! I adapted the format a bit as I am working with young kiddos. The Y5 kiddos struggled a bit with the pixel art, but worked through it even when it became real difficult. Conceptualizing based on a picture drawing was probably the most challenging part, but I heard some great counting, trouble shooting with peers, and LOTS of complements from one another. That made it a win in my book right there! Tinker a New (Tinker) ToyFor STEAM time today, I broke the activities up into two different centers. One being the pixel art, and the second being toy design. I asked the students to use the Tinker Toys to create a toy (like Bonnie created Forky in Toy Story 4). Some students built things that they were familiar with (as no one had used Tinker Toys before), and others came up with something completely new! I can tell our work with sharing materials and working together is starting to sink in, because I was seeing much more positive sharing and appropriate building.
I feel like I can't say it enough. I love Maker Mats! They are easy to create, allow for student voice and choice, provide direction to students to create under a theme, and allow for students to have room for creativity. To fit this Maker Mat with our Toy Story STEAM Mania theme, I picked just a couple of items from Toy Story and then let then the students start creating! When using Maker Mats, I have students work in pairs or as a group of four and then they have to select one item on the mat to build together. After they are done building, they have to show me what they made, and then I check it off on their mat before they can move on. This adds a bit of accountability with what they are building and sometimes I have to send them back with direction to add a little more (because I know they can!). They usually respond really well and come back with something even better. I have to say that I was really impressed with the claw machines that the students built - many of them built some functional claw machines and spent a lot of time adding little details to their machines. I know pictures don't do it justice, but they were pretty awesome! This week in 4th grade STEAM class we had an awesome time building LEGO mazes as part of our Toy Story STEAM Mania unit. The kids were so in to this activity! I gave them pretty simple and straight forward directions - their task was to use one baseplate to construct a maze in which a marble could travel from one side to the other. I asked them to keep in mind the size of their workspace and make use of the whole space. We talked about ways they could use the space so their marble wouldn't simply travel in a straight line (dead ends, twists, ramps, etc.). The students came up with so many more great things that I hadn't even thought of - archways to clearly mark the entrance and exit, having some of the maze that had a "roof" over it (so you couldn't clearly see where your marble was), ramps that would jump you to the next part of the maze, and building a staircase entrance. I was so impressed by their creativity and perseverance when they asked me to test their maze and I sent them back with feedback and ways to improve the complexity. Every single student stepped up, made the improvements, asked for more feedback, and then had their table partners test their maze. It was awesome how each maze was different students incorporated so many elements into their design. This was truly a test of not only their creativity, but also critical thinking. They all wanted a maze that would make me have to work to solve it - and I was okay with that! This week our Toy Story STEAM Mania in Y5 and T1 brought us...outside! We read the Toy Story 4 book and talked about the lost friends in the story. I shared with the students that I had some lost friends of my own (in a bag next to me where they couldn't see what was inside). They were quite excited to see who my friends were, but I explained to them that we needed to take care of the friends and build them a house so they wouldn't be lost anymore. So, we gathered ourselves and the bag of lost friends and then headed outside. At this point, they still hadn't seen who my "lost friends" were...and I didn't show them until they had collected some materials they had found in the outdoor learning area to build a house. Then I selected a lost friend for them so they could begin building their houses. This started off with a challenge for the students to build a house for their lost friend, but honestly, I left it pretty open to see what they would come up with and how their play would steer their building. For some activities, I have structure and expectations that I would like to see with outcomes, but other times, I like to give a loose challenge and see where the students take it (especially with the younger students). Some of the students took right away to collecting and building a house, some wanted to explore the outdoor learning area, and some were a bit hesitant on where to begin. It was a great opportunity for the students to learn to work with one another to build something, share resources, and be creative. Plus, we had some beautiful weather, so it was the perfect time to get outside, get a little dirty, and do some serious learning! Play is work for children. In order to learn how to work, they need to play.This week was Rock Your School Week, and boy did we rock out our kickoff to Toy Story STEAM Mania in our STEAM classes! I am planning on doing a Toy Story STEAM Mania theme over the next couple of weeks with my Y5, T1, and 4th grade classes, so this was a perfect week to kick it off! In 4th grade, I set up a room transformation for Pizza Planet. I only teach in the STEAM room a couple hours a week, so I couldn't set everything up the way I wanted to, but for a 45-minute set up, I would say it wasn't too bad! The reaction the kids gave when they walked in and saw the lights off, laser lights on, and the decorations around the room was great. It is amazing how some lighting, poster board, and a giant pizza float can change the environment. For the STEAM challenge, students had to complete Lookout Tower Missions. They had to build towers with popsicle sticks and then see how many items (aliens, army men, or monkeys) could balance on their tower. They had building requirements for each mission (base shape/height), and that seemed to be the most challenging part of the activity. The struggle was real for awhile before students began to have many forward fails in how they could stack the clothespins. Once the got the hang of it, it was simply meeting the height requirement and then trying to balance the objects on the tower without knocking it over. This was definitely a challenge for them, but so worth the productive struggle! This week was Rock Your School Week, and boy did we rock out our kickoff to Toy Story STEAM Mania in our STEAM classes! I am planning on doing a Toy Story STEAM Mania theme over the next couple of weeks with my Y5, T1, and 4th grade classes, so this was a perfect week to kick it off! In Y5 and T1, we started our Toy Story STEAM Mania off with some Potato Head Math. We started off with the Toy Story book and then practiced some of the number recognition and number correspondence skills that Y5 students were working on. We used the Potato Heads to practice some of those skills, and it was a hit!. Students were partnered up and then had to roll a dice, identify the number, match the number to a chart to find out what body part to add to their Potato Head, and then select the appropriate part and put it on the Potato body. We are really working on how we work with partners, use our words to share ideas, and how to share materials, so this was a perfect opportunity to practice some of those skills. We even had some time at the end to have some free play and design whatever Potato Head they wanted. In T1 we did the same activity, but then took it one step further to incorporate some of their math skills - patterns. After the number recognition activity, I told the students that they could build whatever Potato Head they wanted to - and they came up with some great creations! I told them that they were now the teachers and their Potato Heads were now their students. It was their job to teach their Potato Heads about patterns by building patterns with pattern blocks and explaining why it was pattern. The students really seemed to enjoy mixing something that was normally "play" with learning - and it was so fun for me to see what they came up with they had the opportunity to be creative. EnglishSpanish |
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