Stimulating Science Simulations

K.P.1.1  Compare the relative position of various objects observed in the classroom and outside using position words such as: in front of, behind, between, on top of, under, above, below, beside. Interactive website - great for a SmartBoard or other interactive whiteboard Positional Word Bingo - requires an account but you can sign up for a free standard membership Looking for some active learning. Try these games and activities from ehow Pathways lesson   Positional Words Practice Game from lilbookchompers    Assessment worksheet   .

When we return from the winter break I give every student a die cut footprint. This is a tradition that began with my 4th grade classes about ten years ago. I ask each student to set a goal and write a statement that explains very specifically how they will achieve that goal.  These are written on the feet and turned into a great hallway display with the title "Put Your Best Foot Forward in (new year) 2013". As I encourage my students to put their best foot forward, I thought I would model the practice here.

I have created some posters with essential questions that can be used in grades K-5. Stop by and download the ones that you need. Please leave me some feedback. What other tools would make it easier for you to teach science and/or math?  What do you wish someone would make so that you don't have to? Maybe I can make your wish come true. Get your essential questions posters here....

The North Carolina Association of Elementary Educators annual conference begins today.  I will be presenting two sessions tomorrow. Here's the info. if you are going to be at the conference I hope you'll stop by and visit with me in between sessions. Don't forget to tweet about your experiences to! #NCAEE12 Date:  Monday November 5 2012 Time:  10:30am-11:45am Room:  Pebble Beach max 64 Your Session Title: Stimulating Science Simulations Session Abstract: Does teaching science scare you? If you don’t absolutely love teaching science but find yourself stuck teaching it anyway, this session is for you. Inquiry based science instruction is a key component to the Essential Science Standards. This session provides resources for the reluctant science teacher. Date:  Monday November 5 2012 Time:  4:00pm-5:15pm Room:  Colony A max 60 Your Session Title: All Teched Out Session Abstract: Make technology work for you. This session focuses...

Last week it finally happened! The wireless router's were installed throughout our building. "Oh the places we can go and the thinks we can think" now! I am just giddy.  I don't even no where to start.  How about with the wireless laptop cart? First things first, a sign out calendar is a must since we share one cart with the whole school.  As soon as I made the calendar, I signed up. (of course) Now, how to put this tech to good use? We had already used it with jump drives and Vernier probes prior to going wireless. With wireless, we can make good use of Edmodo to differentiate instruction and increase independent learning. This really couldn't have come at a better time.  Fifth grade is working on 5.P.3.1 and 5.P.3.2 Since students come to my class in a team blocking schedule, investigations that take longer than 30-45 minutes to observe changes are less than ideal and we're seriously limited in the types of heat sources allowed in our elementary classro...

One of my favorite classroom tools are the data probes from Vernier Technologies.  During our 5th grade unit study of motion, we used the Go! Motion sensor to detect student motion including speed and velocity. You can see the level of concentration in my students' faces as they collected their data using laptops and probes.  In addition to collecting the data, students developed an understanding of how speed can be represented on a line graph.     I highly recommend the use of data probes such as these.  Grant sources such as DonorsChoose and Bright Ideas are great places to secure funding. After completing this investigation, we analyzed various line graphs representing speed. Check out our notebook entries.

I love using Page Keely's books "Uncovering Student Ideas in Science".  The probes are written at an 8th grade level but with a little adjustment they work great with 5th grade students.  One of the probes is called "The Cookie Crumbles".  This is an excellent example of a probe that can engage students in a topic via critical thinking and discussion followed by the exploration as they re-enact the probe themeselves. Last week, I used this probe to introduce the concept of Conservation of Mass. Watch the video of one student pair as they explore and learn. Conservation of Mass - 4 min. video

One of the ways I am trying to engage students in science includes linking the learning to the real world.  Greater focus is being geared toward STEM related careers.  If we are going to prepare students for STEM related careers, wouldn't it be important to know what some of those career choices include? Here is a great website from Science Buddies that lists a huge variety of careers in science.  There are tabs with lists that include careers in math, engineering, and technology too! Let me give you an example of how this site can help.  During a physical science unit there are many options for careers that link.  Some you might think of and others you might not.  Instead of just having students build paper airplanes to experiment with force, motion, lift, and drag; challenge students to pretend they are the pilot who needs to fly the plane for a set distance or time in the air. As they modify their paper plane, they will begin to learn about the effe...

I have been using the 5 E Lesson Plan model to teach science. (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate)  To help students understand their role and as a reminder to myself of my role as teacher in each phase, I have developed a set of posters.  You can grab your set from my website .  Click to get your 5 E Posters PDF file. These look really good printed on 8x10 glossy photo paper.

In a recent post, I said that I was creating lesson plan templates for 1st through 5th grade. They are all finished.  You can grab a copy of the grade level you teach and spread the word to other North Carolina Teachers.  The templates are for the entire 2012-2013 school year.  They have the Essential Standard and Clarifying Objectives filled in, as well as Essential Questions. The rest of the template is blank for you to fill in as you see fit. If you use these, I would love for you to leave me a comment about them. Thanks! Click here to get to the templates.

I'm working on some Lesson Plan Templates. My favorite site for creating Lesson Plans is TeacherEase.com All of the Common Core Standards and Essential Standards are already stored in drop down list format eliminating the tedious job of re-typing or cutting and pasting.  You can even customize the lesson plan template which I have found useful since I wanted to use the 5 E model.  I'll be posting about that more soon. Check out their site by clicking the button on my website .

Where to begin?  This has been an amazing trip!  My husbands sister and her family live in North Pole, Alaska.  We flew out here on July 6th and planned to stay for one week.  On the way to their house from the airport, we saw a moose crossing the road. They are HUGE! One of the first places we visited was the Alaskan Pipeline. The first three days we had beautiful weather and spent lots of time exploring the great outdoors of the Alaskan Interior.  They have two Rzrs (4 wheel ATVs) that were tons of fun for riding on the trails and playing in the big mud puddles. On one of our rides, we saw moose tracks and we even ran into some firefighters who were getting ready to make a cut line. Of course, I went into teacher mode and conducted an impromptu mini interview on the spot. Day three took a turn for the worse when our oldest son flipped a Rzr on its' side, resulting in a broken humerus and dislocated elbow. Two hours in surgery, two plates, and 8 scr...