Stimulating Science Simulations

Today students partnered up to work on communication and engineering design skills during a challenge that required one student to give verbal directions to the other in order to replicate a model made from K'Nex.  The partners really rose to this challenge and by the end they were asking each other questions for clarification and being very specific in their directions which resulted in successful rebuilds. We also finished the timeline that was started yesterday and played some more Smartboard games. The morning goes by so quickly!

I love using Edmodo with my students. It has many benefits. I am seeing more and more people using it all the time and thought maybe I should share some of my tips and ah-ha moments. Tip # 1 Using Groups - The group feature is great for differentiating student assignments. I have a group called 5th grade. Within that group students are re-grouped into groups A, B, and C. This enables me to post assignments specific to the needs of each group of students. I also work with a group of students competing in Science Olympiad. These are 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. I created a Science Olympiad group and gave them each the join code. There are 18 events and only 2 students participate in each one. I use the group feature to create small groups under the Science Olympiad group and am able to send information specifically to each partnership based on their event. Using the grouping feature allows for a wonderfully customized experience. Especially when combined with other tools like the libra...

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...