Our school is quite fortunate. We have a lovely woodland area and flower garden behind the school. In my location, we just have to step outside our exterior door and walk a few feet to be surrounded by plants, seeds, and native creatures. So while science concepts are delivered via textbooks and videos, there is a lot to be said for being “in” science and “doing” science to discover and better understand the world around us. I try to have a good balance between hands-on, discussion, and research. Often times that means that we don’t cover as much of the yearlong content because we spend so much time digging deep. When the kids have questions or misunderstandings, we have to investigate, right? Plus, I like to include math and writing skills when appropriate, and that is worth the additional time.
science
Scientist of the Week
Each week (October-April), one student in our class is the featured scientist of the week. This is an optional challenge, but most students jump at the chance to pick their own experiment and present it to their peers. The scientific process is our guide and I provide students with kid-friendly websites for ideas. Safety is essential. I pre-approve age-appropriate investigations (no fire or strong chemicals) and ensure we don’t have duplicate experiments on the docket. On the day of the presentation, parents or other family members are welcome to come assist or watch. The third-grader takes the lead and manages all questions. Sure, I offer support as needed, but the students come prepared and handle inquisitions with confidence. Even if they are unsure, it’s great to see their honesty. Science is complex, so if an eight-year-old doesn’t understand all the ins and outs, we get it! What a great opportunity to build confidence and interest in science!
Got Wordle?
Wordle, www.wordle.net, is a website for creating word clouds. Simply type in a series of words using commas. The more often the word is included, the larger it will appear in the final word cloud. Then customize the themes, fonts, and colors. Use the SMART camera tool to take a picture and add it to your SMART file. There are a variety of classroom applications. Ask your students to write down five words to describe a character from a story, a scientific concept following the unit of story, or an upcoming holiday. This can be an individual or small group task. Or create a Wordle on a topic of study and use it to preview the chapter. Students can view it and make connections to prior knowledge. Or type each of your student’s names to create a class word cloud that can be an image on your classroom website or your classroom computer’s desktop background. TIP: Type your words in a Word document and paste them into the field on the site. Because if you decide to “go back” and add, delete, or change words, you will be sent back to the home page. Your work is not saved on the site. Also, for two words that you’d like to stay together such as United States, put a ~ between the words (United~States).
Pete’s Presentations
Phillip Martin has outdone himself with his collection of sites offering educators FREE PowerPoint presentations, education websites, and clipart. The main site, Pete’s PowerPoint Station, has links to numerous resources. I’d recommend viewing all of the themes and topics at Pete’s Presentations because you can look at all of the possibilities. Sub-sites include Gretta’s Game Station and Hannah’s Homework Help Station. Don’t miss the clipart link. Mr. Martin’s unique, colorful cartoon style appeals to all children.
As long as you use it for your classroom (newsletters, website, interactive whiteboard lessons, self-made worksheets, etc.), these amazing resources are yours at no cost. He does ask that you tell someone else about the site. I’d say that is the least we can do to thank Mr. Martin for his outstanding artistry and organization. This is a teacher’s jackpot!
Pete’s Presentations
http://www.pppst.com/themes.html
Gretta’s Games
http://games.pppst.com/index.html
Hannah’s Help
http://resources.pppst.com/index.html
BrainPOP
Let Tim and Moby escort you and your students on a topical adventure! Use these approximately two- to five-minute animated videos at BrainPOP to enhance your reading, writing, English, math, science, social studies, art, music, technology, etc. lessons. The best feature is the ten-question multiple-choice quiz that follows each video. Get all of your students involved in responding to these comprehension checks! Activity ideas and worksheets accompany each topic as well. This is one of my favorite sites to support the skills and topics of study I teach. While you’ll need to purchase a subscriptions to fully take advantage of this site (and its partner sites BrainPOP, Jr. and BrainPOP, Espanol), there are several free videos. Click on “Free Stuff” to see it all. BrainPOP, Jr. is intended for K-3 grades and BP is geared toward 3-12 grades. Preview the video you think you’d like to show before airing it. Sometimes the vocabulary and content is too challenging for my third graders, so not all videos are appropriate to show. You’ll also want to register for the free “BrainPOP Educators.” Gain access to all of the activity pages, various graphic organizers, ideas for using BrainPOP in your classroom, and a lot more!
Kristen Foley 