Are You Scrambling for End of Year Resources?
I usually am. Well, don’t underestimate Super Teacher Worksheets wealth of resources. Did you know they have cute printable for saying goodby to your students OR super fun puzzles you can do to keep your children busy on those last few days when you are working on cleaning out your room. What about the “brain rot” that happens over the summer. Don’t you think your students’ parents might enjoy a summer fun packet? Look no further! Super Teacher Worksheets has all of this and more!
Try this Great Field Trip!
A few years ago I went on THE best field trip EVER! It is a place your wouldn’t think of going. We went to the water plant. We got to see how water was gathered, filtered, and sanitized. I know not everyone has the same water plant I have, but this is a great trip worth looking into for your area. We got to do a virtual trip this year, which was also great! I’m going to list several reasons why.
- Engineering Process. Even though we didn’t watch any engineers, we got to learn about the filtration process step by step. There is a lot of thought that goes into filtering water and treating the water with different chemicals. It moves throughout several pools to filter before chemicals are added. Very talented engineers had to design this process for it to be safe for us
- Chemistry. Students were able to learn about the chemicals chlorine and fluoride. They learned why these chemicals are important for the water that comes from our faucet.
- Measurement. Our students were able to see how large a pipe was compared to their size. They are about six feet in diameter.
- Appreciation. Students listened to the workers at the plant tell about how they watch computer screens on a 24 hour basis to see if there are any leaks that would indicate there is a problem. These workers have to work even when weather is bad to protect the water supply. This will make you appreciate what comes out of the faucet even more.
- Career opportunities. There are many, many people that work at a water plant providing many career opportunities for children to aspire towards. They can learn first hand from people who hold jobs in a career field they may be interested in.
Students said that this was one of their favorite activities this year–learning about the water plant.
Consider other overlooked places for field trips, also. Have you considered your local electric plant or recycling center? Sometimes learning about the seemingly ordinary and mundane can draw student curiosity.
Fun Mars Rover Helicopter Lesson!
We built these little helicopters a few weeks ago. Students were highly engaged. They are little helicopters that mimic the helicopters which will be deployed from the Mars Rover to obtain pictures of the more rocky terrain.
There is so much rich STEM information provided on the NASA website along with this very helpful video to share with students about the helicopters. Check out this free ready made lesson!
Make Homemade Paper for Mother’s Day
A while back, I taught an enrichment class about how people in the Far East make paper out of a certain kind of tree bark. This makes really soft paper from which you can make cards. Since Mother’s Day is soon approaching, what a fun activity to teach children! Children can make homemade paper cards for their mothers! I guarantee they haven’t done this before. You will need the following:
glass jar
large bowl
spoon
water
white vinegar (apple cider would be okay too)
colander or strainer
old cotton T-shirt or pillowcase
scissors
dried flower or seeds (optional)
First, cut up small pieces of paper and place as much as you can in the jar. Then cover the paper pieces with water. (Above is brown and white paper combined so you can see how it comes together.) Add a spoonful of vinegar to keep the mixture from molding or spoiling. Set the jar aside for about two days. In two days pour the water and paper mixture into a large bowl. After the two days or so, take the jar and it’s contents and put them into a large bowl. Now, put your hands into the bowl and mush up the paper even more. Break the pieces up into as small of pieces as you can. Now pour the goopy mixture out through a colander and drain off all of the water.
Next, dump the goopy mixture out onto the old T-shirt and place it in an area to dry. Flatten out the mixture and shape it how you want it to dry. If you are using optional pressed flowers or seeds, now is the time to place them onto the paper mixture so that they stick. If you are using flowers, you may want to add a little white Elmers glue to them so that they stick.
Let this dry for a few days on the T-shirt. When dry you may cut it to shape the paper. If you chose to place seeds into the card, you can write on it with marker to say “Happy Mother’s Day” or “plant me”.
If you would like a folded card, the paper may be ironed between the cloth T-shirt in a fold.
Team Building with Tools
Help your children understand one another while teaching analogies. Which are you– a screwdriver, a hammer, a tape measure, a paintbrush, a saw, sandpaper, or another tool? Why are you like this tool? What are the strengths and weaknesses of this tool? Discussing these things can help students talk to one another without hurting each other’s feelings because then they are talking about tool attributes instead of attacking a person. Below I have placed a worksheet to help you facilitate this discussion in your classroom.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
Teach your students the true story of St. Patrick. There’s more to it than just wearing green!
Are you looking for some great St. Patrick’s Day Activities? Look at the MANY activities that Superteacherworksheets.com offers!
Use Snow to Your Advantage: Snow Day Learning!
There’s no day like a snow day…in the South that is! We have had a great time for about a week and a half with a large amount of snow where I live, yet we were teaching virtually. I knew this was a losing battle. I mean if I was a child, I definitely wouldn’t be doing schoolwork when record snowfall is happening outside. I gave the kids these options, and do you know what?! I actually had some children participate!!
Here is what I assigned them:
Snow Experiments and Creativity
Do this OR pick two of the following:
Build a snow creation that no one else will think of (especially not a snowman or woman). Add extra details to make it more interesting. Give it an interesting name. You must use at least 2 snow tools to build your sculpture. I showed them 2 snow sculpture videos in which they used tools.
What tools did you use?
How did you use the tools? What did you build? Send me a picture.
1.Measure the snow in it’s deepest part with a ruler. Use inches. Where did you measure it? How deep was it?
2. Put a some snow in a jar or measuring cup. Mark a line to show how deep it was in the jar. Bring it inside and let it melt. Mark the new line. How did it change? Why do you think this happened?
3. Throw some crackers or breadcrumbs outside. Watch the birds. Feed them. How are they eating since the snow is so deep? What kind of birds do you see? What do you notice?
5. Do you have a thermometer? Take the temperature from your hands outside. Now put on mittens. Put the thermometer inside the mittens. How did the mittens affect the temperature of your hands?
6. Get some containers with a small spout like water bottles and fill them with very cold water. Add food coloring. Make a beautiful picture in the snow by pouring your colored water out on the snow. Send me a picture.
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The actual results of my activitiesI had some students measure the snow in a jar and melt the snow in the microwave. Over a zoom we figured out the fractional amount of water that was created after the snow had melted. We discovered that one-fourth of the water remained from the melted snow.
I had students who took their technology device outside to build their snow sculpture so that the other kids could be involved in what they were doing. The sculpture changed several times as it didn’t work out like the child had planned. I also had one child build a snow fort as she turned a tunnel into a structure where her father buried her.
Another student excitedly exclaimed that he had a book about birds for the bird watching activity! (I reminded children they could go inside to do this one and get warm if they got cold in the snow.) This same child seemed to delight in waking his mother up from a nap to ask for food coloring of which they had none.
Lastly, I had a measurement competition going in which children found the depth of snow at their house. Now, I couldn’t tell you if they were being honest, but at least they were pulling out a ruler and thinking about measurement.
I hope you get a chance to experience some of these activities with your students virtually, too!
Two Fun Valentine’s Day Activities
I always love doing this in February with my students. Students measure their kiss.
And, what Valentine Party is complete without Valentine Bingo? This is always a great time filler to any class party! Play with candy conversation hearts or red hots for extra fun! Snag this one at Superteacherworksheets.com
Passion Projects Part 2
As my students floundered to decide on a topic, I revisited the website I mentioned in then previous post–keepemthinking.com. I went back to use the book she suggested Junkyard Wonders. Whether this helped students pick a “passion” or not doesn’t matter. What does matter is that the book had a very powerful message about pursuing what matters to you and how it can pave the way for a successful future. I had planned to show it over two class periods because it is a long story, but the students really wanted to hear the second part, so I acquiesced.
The students made the connection from the book to the project without me saying much except for “why do you think I showed you this?” I used her idea for a project proposal. Finally the project started to take shape. Those students who wouldn’t commit to a topic before were now committing. The fact that I make them have everything laid out, that they have to create a “burning question”, and that we both sign off on it leads to their committal. Then when they think about changing ideas, they aren’t allowed to because we signed and committed.
I love the Wonderopolis website she suggests, too! What a wealth of curiosities to help students settle on a question. Make sure you check out this website!
I am sure that the author of this blog has a quality passion project unit. I probably would have bought it if I hadn’t already bought two other people’s resources. What I did like about the other resources, however, is that they had plenty of space for brainstorming. I also like that they had a place for students to check in with one another. Instead of all my students checking in with me, they are telling each other the progress they made. No one wants to tell someone else they accomplished nothing so this becomes affective. I love it!
