The idea for mini summer wonders was inspired by a conversation I had with my second graders on our last day of distance learning this year. When I asked the question about their favorite second grade memories, almost every single one of them was an inquiry or STEM activity that we had done throughout the year. That alone inspired me to continue providing opportunities for these students and my incoming 2nd graders.
Distance learning was weird ya'll. I tried my best to give families resources to liven up learning on Google Classroom (science experiments, weekly challenges, etc.), but that's a lot of pressure to put on parents who are probably working and just became co-teachers! The amount of resources out there is overwhelming.
The death of George Floyd reinvigorated my passion for including diverse authors and books in my classroom, and an idea was born. BIPOC authors and characters, let me introduce you to all my teaching passions--we'll call it--Mini Summer Wonder!
Each Mini Summer Wonder will link a book with BIPOC authors or characters with learning and activities across many subject areas--STEM, reading, writing, art, physical activity, etc. The only subject area I can't promise to hit is music because truly, I wouldn't do that to you guys! We can't be good at everything, folks.
I get it. Standardized testing and state or common core standards can be like shoes to an ant (*squash*), but if you look for the time, I promise you can find it! I connect many of my work with STEM challenges to our literacy block and we use it as a culminating activity on Fridays. Each unit of our math will *eventually* have a great STEM or PBL activity to go with it as well. But honestly? Most of our STEM work is independent! Students work by themselves or with their centers groups to crush these STEM challenges while I'm doing guided reading. I usually witness their magic through Seesaw, Google Classroom, or, if I'm being honest, their shouts across the classroom.
This is my favorite topic to debate! When given the right coaching and materials, kindergarteners are just as capable as other elementary grade levels to work with coding, robotics, and other STEM areas. My kindergarteners use Google Classroom, Chromebooks, coding products, iPads...you name it! Sure, it takes time and training, but when given the opportunity, their little creative minds will THRIVE. If your students aren't too scared to try it, you shouldn't be either!
To start off, find an older buddy classroom who might be willing to do some STEM challenges with you throughout the year. Start with some approachable challenges and build your way up to more intricate challenges. Breakout EDU boxes are a great way to kick things off with your new buddy classroom.
Looking for some good entry points into STEM challenges or coding? DM me! I love to swap ideas.
This has been a debate since the introduction of Daily 5 in the early 2000's. It seems obvious to state that you need to do what is going to work in your classroom for your age level, but I'm on team centers/rotations! Here's how I justify it...
Centers is not a bad word. People hear the word centers and immediately think preschool. Relax, people! The word centers just refers to a position in your room that holds certain supplies and a time of day when you work with them. Call them stations, rotations, or a workshop if it makes you happy!
I can do things at centers that I can't do in Daily 5. Daily 5 has a very specific structure that restricts teachers to certain subject areas (literacy and math). I've found that this really eliminates a lot of opportunities for STEM and creativity!
Both can be meaningful and data driven. It's all in the design!
Centers are hands-on. I haven't seen a lot of passion associated with the Daily 5. Ever seen a student cheer as they skip to their bin to grab their word work packet? I haven't. I bet they'd be skipping to a center where they were designing a forest scene out of letter of the alphabet though!
Centers build more social skills. I want my students to forget directions, make mistakes, or struggle. Why? It gives that student the opportunity to be a thinker and problem-solver and allows other students the opportunity to offer help.
My students know the steps to take if they need help or something isn't working. Confusingly, this varies by what they're doing and where they are, and there's really no getting around that (think about the difference between asking for help during a test or your headphones not working during a literacy rotation). At centers/rotations, my students have specific steps to follow when they need help.
#1 Read the directions. I provide picture directions at each center regardless if they're playing the game Uno or navigating the Raz Kids website.
#2 Ask your group. Typically someone in the group is able to offer some help and advice whether it's not knowing what rhymes with the word "man" or not knowing a password.
#3 Consult the QR help desk. Many centers have a QR code that students can scan to see an example of a student completing the task. For example, at a center where they are reading a book and doing a book review on WeVideo, my picture directions would show those three steps, but my QR code scan would contain a video walking students through the video design on WeVideo.
I also have QR codes hung up next to where computers, iPads, headphones, and our Seesaw iPad are stored. These QR codes solve simple problems like, "I can't hear anything" or "My screen is black."
#4 Find the helper. One of my students will wear a lanyard that says "Ask me" during centers time. This student is someone who always follows directions and is a reliable source of help. This is not a position I feel I need to rotate very often! I get very few chances to let the students who earn it day in and day out without any prompting shine, and this is one of them. The need for this tech helper varies by what grade I'm working with. I find that K-1 students need to know who to ask, but by 2nd grade, they know which students will have the answers.