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My Favorite Lessons & Activities
The most dangerous phrase in the language is "We've always done it this way." - Grace Hopper
WeWillWrite
WeWillWrite
I love trying new strategies to engage kids in learning. WeWillWrite was a Beta Program and is now a paid program. The kids loved the secret competition and I saw gains in their writing abilities. It was something they often begged me to do with them!
Robots
Robots
To practice our engineering skills and after reading the book Wild Robot with the whole school, we made some mini robots of our own.
Adding and Subtracting Decimals with Checkbooks and Shopping!
During math, adding and subtracting decimals in 5th grade, we practiced some shopping while writing checks and balancing our checkbooks. Here are some samples of the checkbooks we created together.
Food Web & Chain Diagrams
Food Web & Chain Diagrams
In science, 5th graders create food web and chain posters to show what they have learned. They utilize the ecosystem knowledge that they have previously researched.
Food Webs
Food Webs
We built food webs and discussed what would happen to the animals if some died off.
Physical & Chemical Changes
Physical & Chemical Changes
In science, we made pancakes and wrote an essay about what physical and chemical changes we observed while making pancakes.
Student leads a math problem on the board (above). Students work as a class team to pass a plate with marbles around the circle at a Valentine's Day Party (below).
Glow in the Dark Fall Activity
Glow in the Dark Fall Activity
Spooky glow in the dark math for our fall party was a ton of fun. Students practiced their skills of adding and subtracting decimals in a write the room task card activity that include blue lights and invisible pens.
Using our iPads to practice our reading words skills while playing a fun game of Connect Four with Partners! We love to play word games to practice our skills on testing days! It gives us a nice little break from our hard week of work!
Below, we used connecting cubes, flat shapes, and pom-poms to work as a class team building Truffula Trees for Read Across America Week! The class created 13 trees (still standing) in 5 minutes!
Kindergarten students play Head, Shoulders, Knees, Toes, and Phonics as a Team Builder with Phonics built in. I am lucky to teach in a community that blocks off time in the morning for SEL. On Fridays, we do team building activities and games. They loved this morning activity, and it warmed up their brains for the school day!
WRITING
WRITING
Kindergarten sharing their writing with partners.
STEM
STEM
Kindergarten building snowman using only marshmallows during our STEM party station.
SCIENCE
SCIENCE
Kindergarten using box models to figure our solutions like engineers to build a Pinball Machine.
STEM Snowflakes
STEM Snowflakes
During SEL Team Building time, we used marshmallows and toothpicks to build our own snowflakes!
Fifth-grade students working to solve one of the challenges within this ELA Escape room.
ELA Escape Room
ELA Escape Room
Fifth-grade students working to solve one of the challenges within this ELA Escape room.
Claws in the Classroom
Claws in the Classroom
We use our hermit crabs in the classroom to teach a variety of skills in all subjects. For example, I created a real life volume related question for 5th-graders to figure out how much sand would need to be bought to fill the hermit crab tank half way. Additionally, we have compared humans' nutritional needs to the needs of the crabs. In science, we use the crab tank to observe the environment and weather within the tank.
Students take turns helping feed, change water, and sometimes even holding the crabs. This helps kids learn responsibility skills needed to be a successful citizen and has given some kids in my class a real purpose.
I am part of the Claws in the Classroom Program, which helps me keep my crabs healthy through sending me food and necessities needed for their environment.
What If World Podcast in Writing
One of my favorite create writing activities that I have done with 3-5th graders is from an Episode of the What If World Podcast. Utilizing Episode: Bruno Asks: What If Dinosaurs Were Alive Today? Following the podcast, students write their own story using a Fun Thing, Safe Place, Strange Place, and Lesson. The stories are creative and students always enjoy sharing their ideas.
Story Pirates Podcast Activity
Another Podcast related activity that I have held is encouraging kids to write creative stories to be submitted, with permission of parents/guardians, to the Story Pirates Podcast crew. Students are much more interested in writing, and try with more effort when they are invested in the outcome.
Someday, I hope to create Podcasts with my students to help them publish their own writing in a multitude of ways!
5.W.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
5.W.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
5.W.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, drafting, revising, editing, or rewriting.
5.W.6 With guidance as needed, use technology, including the internet, to enhance writing.
a. produce and publish writing.
We used Plus Plus Blocks during our feelings and emotions lessons when learning about how our brain works - Amygala.
I teach my students how their brains work in order for them to understand that their feelings, sensations, etc. are normal. Also, when kids can recognize where they are emotionally, they can then learn how to self-regulate and be better citizens.
Throughout the school year, my class has adopted a cow through the Discovery Dairy program. We started the program with a gender reveal party. Additionally, thanks to this program, students learn more about farming and the dairy experience. The class took a couple different virtual dairy field trips, wrote a letter to their farmer in writing class, compared the calf's height to classroom items, completed crafts, made dairy healthy treats, built an enclosure for the not so real calf, and got monthly updates on their locally raised calf and it's growth.
In 5th grade, we built little homes for our cow (left).
I love teaching students about their brain, how it works, and how their brain helps them feel. For one of our social/emotional lessons, we read the book Hey Warrior by Karen Young and then watched a video of how a oppossum freezes when it senses danger. We then had a group discussion about our own Fight, Freeze, or Flight responses, what survival means, and what if feels like. Students then drew how their body feels on an ANS graphic.
Service Projects
Service Projects
We once made tie blankets to donate to another facility similar to ours at Children's Home Society. This place was in need of blankets. It was a great way to start our day and the kids practiced their measurement skills! Many kids learned how to make knots that day and everyone learned what it feels like to be able to provide for someone else in need. After we created the blankets, we had a discussion about how we felt during the service project.
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