Blog - Teaching the Stars

5th Grade Matter Unit & Fun Activities

Fun ways to teach matter!

Wow! What an exciting day. We finished up our Unit on Matter with a “Cookin’ Up Chemistry” Breakfast. It was a fun and yummy way to end our study of matter.

Over the last four weeks, students have explored, discovered, and questioned matter’s phases, physical and chemical changes, and the properties of matter. Through this exploration students gained an understanding of how matter can be described by its physical properties. Students took notes and went through labs learning about the different properties of matter.

5 Tips For Using Robots in Your Classroom

I love using Robots in my classroom! I teach fifth grade and my students get so excited about learning with robots. Here are a few tips I have found useful!!

Tip #1 How to Get Robots for Your Classroom

I received most of my robots through grants from Donorschoose. If you are not familiar with this nonprofit grant organization, click this link to get started http://share.donorschoose.org/n7MnC

Tip #2 Types of Robots I Use in My Classroom

Dash https://amzn.to/2NJFqBG

Sphero https://amzn.to/2NdGh0r

Ozobot https://amzn.to/2Ndn92B

There are two different types of Ozobots and I have both. One type connects to your iPad and has Bluetooth, the other one is much cheaper and students can code on paper with it. I’m having a problem because I have several iPads that don’t have Bluetooth, so now I have more robots than iPads that they work on.

Tip #3 Give Students Time to Explore with Robots

Just like any new manipulative in the classroom, students need time to explore with robots. Giving students time to see how the robots work before giving them instructions is important. This saves time during instruction time, because students have already gotten the chance to “play” with them.

Tip #4 Activities for Ozobots

Students work in groups to create a maze for the Ozobots. Each person has a piece of white cardstock paper and designs a path with a different code on it. Students put their pieces together to create a huge maze.

IMG_5956

Tip #5 Making Time for Robots

Rainy Day Recess
STEM Stations- Rotating through different challenges
Early Finishers
Morning Work

I don’t want these robots to still be brand new at the end of the school year, so I need to find time to get my students using them. That is the million dollar question every teacher always asks! How do I find time? I have to be creative with this, so I find ways throughout the year to add in time for exploring with robots. Rainy day recesses in my classroom look more like STEM Stations. I have different stations set up with different activities. One station always has the Ozobots with a huge sheet of bulletin board paper. Students can work together to create a huge path for the Ozobots to travel. Another station has the Dash Robots and Sphero. Students can use the app Blocky to learn to code.

Learning with your students as they learn about robots is so important! As I continue to learn this year, I will update and add tips to my blog! Have a great year.

20 Things I’ve Learned in My 20 Years of Teaching!

20 Things I’ve learned in my 20 years of teaching!!

Wow! The saying is so true, “Time flies when you’re having fun!” I’m not saying teaching is easy or there hasn’t been days that I wanted to become a Wal-Mart store greeter, but when your passions meet your love you don’t feel like it’s work!! Whenever you love what you do, you don’t dread going to work!! Teaching is that for me! It’s my happy place! So thinking I have taught 20 years, scares the heck out of me! How can I be that old??? Is the next 20 years going to go by this fast? Will I get even crazier? So before I forget everything from my last 20 years, I thought I would journal about all the things I have learned. Here goes…

1. You can’t buy everything you want for your classroom! You will go broke, your kids won’t eat, and your husband will get really, really mad! So my solution has been to write grants. One of my favorites is Donorschoose.org. I’ve received LOTS of great resources from this non-profit site. Check it out! It’s easy, but don’t forget to write your thank you notes and take your pictures.

2. Ask~ASK! All people can say is no and that’s where you were to begin with. You’re not asking for stuff for you personally, your asking for your students. My husband always laughs at me whenever I start out by saying, “Hi, I’m Lisa Taylor and I teach 5th grade. I was wondering…” He knows what is coming next! I’m either asking for someone to visit my classroom to talk to my class or I’m wanting something for them!

Remember you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take!

3. Build Relationships: This was something that took me a little time to understand the importance of. I didn’t come straight out of college knowing this was the most important thing I could do as a teacher! Get to know your students, parents, co-workers, ALL school team members on a personal level. It’s hard but make it a top priority. Start school with “Get to know you activities!” Send home parent surveys, make note cards on your students, find out their interest, but also find out who they are. I love the writing prompt, “What I want my teacher to know about me!” It is so powerful!

4. It’s NOT an EASY Job! Duh! Understatement of the year! But it’s the best. Whenever I hear the words, “It will make your job easier,” I’m always a little uneasy about what suggestion is coming next. This job takes a lot of hard work but there are times we can work smarter not harder! Having an easy job is not my main focus, my students are!
There are some ways I have found to make my job easier:
Organization is the key: this doesn’t come natural to me, but I’ve found some ways that work. STEM tubs, with labels, this helps my students find materials and put materials back whenever they are finished. Clipboards: I have several for different purposes. One is for important papers that need my attention immediately (Before this I would lose papers that I needed to turn back in). Checkoff list: I have several sheets with my students names so I can checkoff whenever they turn papers in. I also have a basket on my desk, where all notes from parents go. This helps to not lose picture or field trip money. I also have a turn in papers basket at the back of my classroom. Whenever students finish their work they know exactly where to turn in their papers!

5. Be flexible: Which has been hard for me! I’m a creature of habit. My Christmas trees are in the same spots. I don’t move my furniture much, because I usually just move it back. So my first reaction to change is usually, “NO!” I back up like a cow in a squeeze shoot (sorry for my farm girl analogy). I have to sleep on it. Then I start thinking it over, reading about it and envisioning it in my classroom. REALLY thinking about it! I know this has been very frustrating to my administrators and teammates over the years, but they know me and are very patient with me. This job is full of change, and I would have to admit I would have missed out on some truly great things if I didn’t learn how to embrace change. I’m still a work in progress on this, but I know it’s important!!

6. Bring extra lunches of field trips: I really hate being hungry whenever someone forgets theirs!

7. Read Books: How will you recommend books to your students if you don’t know kid books? Become an expert on picking the right book for the right student!! Read and they will read too! Be excited about the books!!! It will rub off.

8. Keep Learning: Always keep current! Read and research! Know why you are doing the things in your classroom.

9. Your teacher worth isn’t in what others think!! You can be on top of the mountain on day and get knocked right off the next. You will never make everyone happy. You will make mistakes and you will get called on it (sorry but you’re human, even if most kids think you have superpowers!). You can receive awards, then all it takes is one email from an unhappy parent to make you rethink your career choice. You have to know, if you’re doing your best then you can’t do any more! Be YOU! “Don’t Let Anyone Ever Dull Your Sparkle!”

10. Good teaching is GOOD TEACHING!

11. Make learning fun: You make the lessons, add some fun into them. It’s ok for our students to enjoy learning. It makes them engaged in the material, which then makes them learn more. Make Memories: What do you want your students to remember about you!

12. Keep yearbooks and journals

13. Take time to recharge: Enjoy your time off!! Go to the beach, read a book, and learn to relax. (I’m still working on this one!)

14. Learn to breath: One of the best things I have done!!

15. Learn to Laugh at Yourself (because they will laugh at you!). Sing and dance! Be funny!! It’s a long day if you don’t throw some excitement into it!!

16. Always be prepared for the unexpected and the unexpected happens daily!! Roll with it! Schedules will change, things will come up. If you get upset about everything that comes up that you haven’t planned for, you will be upset a lot!

17. Create a classroom that promotes learning: Make it a classroom you would have wanted to be in! Make it a place that inspires your students to learn and be creative.

18. Be transparent: It’s ok to let your students see you fail. If I don’t know something, I tell them I don’t know. I’m not the Giver of Knowledge in my classroom. We all learn together and it’s always ok not to know. It’s never ok, not to try!!!

19. Be positive: Even if you have to fake it!! Remember your on stage, not all days will you feel the best. You will have to paint on smiles somedays, do it!!

20. Teaching is the best job in the world!!! What else would I want to be doing besides teaching and creating teacher resources?~ NOTHING! (at least until summer, when I can go to the beach) Enjoy everyday, because we truly do make a difference!! We are preparing the future. I totally learn this whenever I went into the dentist and learned that my dentist had been in one of my friend’s class. I thought, “I sure hope he knows what he is doing?” Well it’s up to us, to make sure our students become productive citizens! We are an extremely important job. So go and have fun, 20 years passes by quick!!

STEM Famous Landmarks Bundle~ Supply List

Hey if you are considering purchasing my STEM Famous Landmarks Bundle, you may want to check out the supply list before you buy! Remember these are only suggestions! My students usually blow my mind with the creative ideas they come up with. Have fun! Click here STEM Famous Landmarks Supply List Suggestions!

STEM Challenges for the Entire Year Bundle Supply List

65 STEM Challenges

STEM Challenges are a great way to engage your students. The Next Generation Science Standards has a great engineering component. Adding STEM to your classroom will get your students thinking critically, problem solving, and collaborating with their peers! Students will begin thinking more creativity when given STEM opportunities. My STEM Challenge Bundle is a great packet for beginning STEM teachers, or teachers who just want to incorporate more STEM into their classrooms. All of these challenges have been classroom tested! My students always amaze me with their thinking and their work. The directions in these challenges are open-ended, not step by step because that would make it a craft and not a STEM Challenge. There are suggestions, supply list suggestions, picture examples, planning sheets, and challenge sheets.

If you are looking to purchase my STEM Challenges for the Entire Year Bundle, you might want to see what materials are needed for the projects. Here is the list! STEM Supply for Entire Year of STEM Challenges

Enjoy your job! It’s the best there is! And always keep learning!!! It helps you not get old. (My 20th year)

Technology in Elementary Classrooms

How I use 1:1 Technology in My Upper Elementary Classroom

I’ve had the benefit of having 1:1 technology in my classroom for the last three years. In my classroom, we have a Smart Board, my students have Chromebooks, eleven iPads, 3 Dashes, 8 Ozobots, and 2 Spheros. So, learning how to use technology effectively, while still implementing “best teaching practices” has been a real learning experience. I have had several successes and a few failures, but I continue to learn!

Our district has provided a lot of training for teachers whenever we received our classroom Chromebooks.

It was important for us to understand that technology could just be a substitute for a worksheet. We had to still use higher order thinking activities, even when using technology. SAMR~ you know there is always an acronym! SAMR isn’t necessarily higher order thinking skills, but it helped teachers be aware of the differences technology plays in our classrooms. It’s extremely important to do all the levels!

Substitution: Technology is just a substitute. Your technology didn’t change the learning that is occurring. *This happens a lot whenever we are practicing skill reinforcement. Fast Math and No Red Ink saves WORKSHEETS and teacher time at the copy machine. It also tracks the skills each child needs to continue to work on. So really, it does help save teacher time by assessing students’ skills without a teacher completing a checklist on each student. It also differentiates students’ learning. Khan Academy is used daily in my classroom. When students are finished solving our class word problem (on paper or in their math journals) they get out their Chromebooks to work on their Khan Academy. Students that are struggling with grade level skills are assigned to 4^th grade or below. Everyone else is assigned to 5^th grade level. Students who are advanced at math, move quicker through the grade level skills and then advance to sixth grade skills.

Two other great websites we use are Newsela and ReadWorks. Both of these sites provide informational texts with comprehension questions!! AWESOME!! They are both very engaging and include Lexile Levels. **Note** Depending on your grade level you need to be aware that some of the text might be inappropriate for your age level, so Newsela has an option of hiding articles from students. (this was one of my learning experiences, some articles talk about making babies! Not a 5^th grade standard)

Augmentation: Technology acts as a tool substitution. We don’t have to pull out dictionaries, encyclopedias, or thesaurus. Every student has those tools at their fingertips! I feel like this saves a lot of our classroom time, fewer transitions. No longer is there a waiting list for the “W” encyclopedia or students who can’t find two resources for their research. Students now have the opportunity to use many great research websites to gain information! One of my favorite search engines is KidRex. Whenever we are doing STEM Challenges, my students can look up articles on the different topics. Wonderpolis is a site we use a lot.

Modification: Technology allow for assignment to be redesigned. (Videoing apps or Screen Castify App where students can record their thinking as they solve problems) My students use our iPads to video STEM Challenges or Sciences Experiments so they can discuss what happened. We use our Google Classrooms daily. Students can submit their work, resources can be shared, and students can even discuss and edit their peers writing. My students use Digital Reading Journals to journal about what they have read. Students list and rate their books.

My students use a digital conference portfolio for their student led conference. Students share their learning with their parents.

Redefinition: Technology allows for the creation of new tasks. Students wouldn’t even be able to do it without technology!

Coding.org and using the Blocky App with our DASH robots would be redefinition, without our technology my students wouldn’t be able to code.

The biggest things I have learned…

BALANCING pencil and paper to screen time! Students still need to move, change activities, and taught in different modalities. Don’t forget Brain Breaks!!

Just because they are using technology, doesn’t mean students are using HIGHER ORDER THINKING SKILLS!

Know what your students are on!! We have GoGuardian to help us supervise our students’ computer use.
Technology Jobs: I have two students assigned as Computer Techs. They check out Chromebooks and make sure they are all charging correctly.

Have a consistent schedule (a daily routine, so students know what they do next) This prevents students from wasting time with transitions. No one says “I’m done!” or “I’m finished” they go straight to what we do next.

Always look for programs that will differentiate students’ learning

Technology is always changing~ Roll with it! You will never know everything, so don’t wait until you do. Try it! Most of the time, I learn new apps with my students or they teach me! This happens a lot when we are coding and using our class robots!

Easter STEM Challenges

Wow! Spring Break is over and there are only 43 more days of school left before SUMMER!!! This year has been a blur! I always start wondering, “What will my students remember about being in my class?” “Will they remember worksheets or test prep?” I really hope not! Yes, I use worksheets (sometimes) and I prepare my students with the skills they will need for standardized testing, but I don’t want that to be what they remember about Mrs. Taylor’s Class! I really try to find ways to hit our grade level skills through fun and engaging projects. STEM Challenges not only hit many of my targeted math and science standards, but it also makes learning fun and memorable! STEM Challenges also teach many lifelong skills like problem solving, cooperation, critical thinking, and communication. Easter STEM Challenges and Peep Boat Challenges are a great way to engage your students in learning important math and science standards. I also have an Easter STEM Challenges K-2.

Students create Peep Puff Boats that can move across water. Students go through the Design Process as they work together to design a boat that can hold and float with a Peep! Students even name their boats! My students love this activity!!! I also connect some important economic concepts with this lesson. (productive resources) Students test out their boats to see if they float!!

Jelly Bean Tower Challenge: Students will plan and design the tallest jelly bean tower possible using only jelly beans and toothpicks. This is a great time to review different geometric shapes.

Egg Experiments

Students will conduct an experiment to see how eggs will react with different liquids.

Rubber Eggs

Students will conduct an experiment to see how eggs will react to vinegar over several days.

Easter Egg Tower Challenge: Students stack Easter Eggs to build the tallest tower. A steady hand and planning is very important. I purchase several different sizes of eggs to add rigor to this challenge.

March Madness in the Classroom

March is an important learning month! It also seems to pass by so fast, parent-teacher conferences, third quarter ends and the fourth quarter begins, Spring Break, and it’s about a month before standardized testing!!

SO, IT’S CRUNCH TIME!!

It’s important to make learning fun, but also purposeful. One activity I love using is my Basketball STEM Challenge, it’s perfect since college basketball is starting their March Madness Tournament. Connecting important skills to my students’ interests is critical in making learning fun and engaging. Students love shooting hoops and learning how
to record their data. A good book to connect is Crossover by Kwame Alexander.

St.Patrick’s Day STEM is also a great way to make learning fun, but also cover the
skills needed to be successful on upcoming assessments. There are 5 STEM March Challenges and within this
resource these skills are covered:
fractions, collecting data in a table,
averaging, writing, engineering, and critical thinking.

March STEM Challenges
include: Gold Coin Catapult Challenge, Penny Towers, Penny Water Drops
Experiments, creating a Leprechaun Trap, and creating a Leprechaun House. Also, available in K-2 St. Patrick’s Day STEM.

St.Patrick’s Day Coding is also a fun way to introduce students to coding. Coding is a skill students need to be familiar
with. In a workshop I attended last week,
an entrepreneur was asked, “What do educators need to make sure they teach their
students to be successful in the future?”The entrepreneur answered, “Coding, coding, coding, and coding!”

I got the point, coding is extremely important for our kids’ future. So, to get my students started, I have
developed STEM Coding Challenge in a School Box. Included in the resources are some coding
worksheets and some suggestions on how to make coding hands on. Students make coding bracelets or
garlands.

Other
Fun March Activities:

March Everyday is a Holiday: Everyday has a fun holiday.March is a collection of random holidays that occur in March.March’s Daily Holiday Cards are a great way to engage students in a fun way to learn about fun historical facts. Everyday is a Holiday! Did you know that March 3rd is Day of Unplugging?, or that March 4th is Grammar Day? Everyday is a Holiday Cards have an activity or a suggestion that will engage your students in a fun way to learn each day. Just copy and put on a ring! You will have an activity for each day of the month!

February STEM Challenges and Winter Games STEM Challenges

Valentine’s Day Fun: Some of my favorite STEM activities are
Valentine’s Day related. Students get
excited during holiday seasons, and there is nothing like keeping them engaged using a STEM activity.

7 Valentine’s Day STEM Challenges are
a fun way to engage students in learning. I love using Conversation
Hearts! They are cheap! It’s way too easy to spend too much money in the
classroom, so I try to find items that are easy to find and not too
expensive. Taking students through the Science Process while engaging
them in fun Valentine’s Day Activities helps them stay excited while somewhat
under control.

Get ready for the Winter GAMES!!! I love watching the Olympic
Games.

I also love bringing sports into my classroom! During the Winter Games,
I use a lot of the scores and times to write real word math problems. (They are great for adding, subtracting, and comparing decimals!) I also use the activities as STEM
Challenges. Check out my Winter GamesSTEM Challenge Bundle!!

Teaching the parts of Circles

I also use https://wonderopolis.org
to give students information about the Olympics and different winter
sports. This is a great way to bring in nonfiction text to your project!

Another
fun activity is Valentine’s Day Coding! Students work with binary coding as
they make Valentine’s Day word bracelets. This is a great activity to meet your Computer Science Standards.

5 Ways to Engage Your Students Before the Holidays!

It’s important to keep your students engaged
during the holiday season. Some of the best ways to keep your students learning
and to prevent behavior problems is to engage them in STEM Christmas
activities. Students love STEM Christmas
Challenges. Here are a few of my favorites,
they are easy to implement and my students loved them.

1. Christmas
Tree Challenge: Students will
construct Christmas trees using Spice Drops and tooth picks. Students will have a limited number of
resources and will have to make decisions while constructing their Christmas
Trees.

2. Christmas
Present or Snowball Catapults: Students
will design, create, engineer, and test a catapult that can deliver gifts to faraway
places.

3. Christmas Tree
Challenge: Students will build Christmas Trees using candy
canes.

4. Christmas
Tree Cup Challenge: Students will build
a Christmas Tree using small cups. The
goal is to build the tallest tree possible and to see how many pom-pom balls it
can hold.

5. Newspaper
Christmas Tree Challenge: Students will build the tallest Christmas Tree possible
using 5 sheets of newspaper and a limited amount of tape.

Click here to check out STEM Christmas Activities.

Christmas
Light Circuits:

STEM
Christmas Light Circuits is collection of resources that will help your students
experiment while learning about circuits. Students love exploring as they
learn.

Click here to check out Christmas Light Circuits!

ChristmasMath Worksheets

are a great way for students to reinforce their math skills and
review previous learned concepts. Students will work on place value, decimals,
multi-digit multiplication, adding and subtraction fractions, fraction word
problems, volume, and basic operations. These worksheets can also help prepare
students for standardized testing.

Upper Grades Christmas No Prep Packet will make the weeks before Christmas Break a breeze!!
Add some new Christmas songs to your poetry folders to increase students’
fluency. Also add some holiday flair to your math word problems for upper
grades. Students will enjoy learning while they are thinking about the holiday
season. Writing Prompts and “Make as Many Words” sheets are included. Click here to check out Upper Grades Christmas No Prep Packet!

ChristmasWriting Prompt Cards are a great resource for your writing center. Simply copy
the prompts on card stock and put a ring in the top corner. Place these cards
in your writing center to give students who struggle with coming up with topics
to write about a helping hand! There are 24 different Christmas themed writing
prompts that will help your students engage in writing while celebrating the
Christmas holiday!

~OR~

Christmas Writing Prompts are on lined paper. NO PREP! All you have to do is copy!!!
This is a great resource for your writing center or just to get your students
excited about writing about the Christmas Holiday. There are also 3 blank lined writing
sheets.