Moon Day!

Moon Day

To start our Moon day we made Space Play dough. I had a play dough recipe and then as a class we turned it into" space dough". The students then  had to add their own stars, the sun, the moon, and the Earth. Once they finished this portion of the lesson we discussed orbiting plants and the Sun.

We discussed how asteroids create craters. The students got to help as we created this project. I started by first using a large round tray, I added flour to the tray and gave students turns creating mountains. They then were able to experiment using different asteroid sizes to create craters.

STEM resources

This week I was looking around and searching for STEM resources. I found a lot of great resources that students and teachers can use in the classroom. Here are the links:
PBS gives students the ability to participate in games that are STEM related. Bill Nye and How stuff works are great teacher resources that can be used to incorporate STEM into the classroom.

http://pbskids.org/lab/show/stem-video-game-challenge/
http://www.billnye.com/
www.howstuffworks.com/

STEM in Special Area

This week I was able to observe a class at a different school. I was observing a 1st grade class at a local school and I noticed that they S.T.E.M. block in their schedule. When I went and asked the teacher what this was they gave me the chance to go observe another class. This school hired a specific teacher to teach S.T.E.M. This is a part of their special area rotation. The students usually get to attend this class once per week. The teacher has all the materials needed in order to successfully teach STEM. The students were learning about how to make play-doh. They were given materials and magnifying glasses so that they could create their own play-doh and observe the process. It was interesting to see how involved all of the students were in this lesson and how engaged they were throughout the whole thing.

3D shape Lesson- STEM Finally!

I was able to meet my goal this week and incorporate some aspect of STEM into my lesson. My students were learning about geometry, 3D shapes to be exact. Once they had the concept of what a 3D shape was, they were given pieces to create their own. I gave the student toothpicks, Twizzlers, scissors, and a paper plate. The only direction they were given was that they must create a solid shape. I did not give them exact parameters because I wanted them to be creative.
Most of students stuck to the basic shapes they had seen in our math geometry books. I did have a few students step outside the box and create unique shapes. It was really interesting to see how they differed in their processes of thinking. I even had some students who used all of their materials and create multiple shapes. Once they finished they had to use an iPad to look up places that they might find their shape in the real world. Most of the students found at least one place they thought they could find their shape.

Pinterest Board

Today, I started researching some new lessons to incorporate into my class. I have been searching for lesson ideas that would be easy to incorporate into my lessons and still allow for me to meet the common core standards. I have found many new lessons on Pinterest: click here,  that I plan on starting to incorporate into my classroom.
Listening to other teachers talk in different grades, I am starting to hear a lot more talk regarding STEM education. I was excited to hear that so many teachers are using STEM. I can not wait until I can find a way to smoothly integrate it into my lessons!

STEM in my room

This past week has really made me look into ways to involve STEM into my classroom. While I was teaching my normal reading and math lesson I was constantly thinking of ways to change up my lesson to make it STEM. I have been making notes on ways to start incorporating it weekly. My goal is to try and make one lesson a week into a STEM lesson so that my students are getting the access to the problem solving skills and critical thinking that STEM education entails.
My goal this week is to involve STEM into my math lesson.

STEM Experiment

Today in class we got to participate in a STEM lesson. We were able to decide our own STEM question using bubble gum and then perform the experiment. My group decided to test the weight difference between chewed and non-chewed bubble gum. We chose 3 different types and tested the theory. During this lesson, it was evident that allowing students to create their own problem and solve it allowed them to use their own creativity to work through the different fields of STEM.

STEM in my room

       My idea of what STEM in a classroom should like has changed tremendously after today's class. When I walked into this class I had a vague understanding of what the word STEM stood for and what it could possibly look like in the classroom. Today, I learned that STEM does not always have to incorporate all components of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) but a combination of some of the components. I also learned that in the classroom it does not have to be taught in the science block (since I do not have a designated science time this was exciting) but it can be taught and incorporated into my reading block or my normal math lesson.
       This weekend's class also opened my eyes to why STEM is so important. We watched a video and discussed why it is so important to incorporate STEM into our classrooms. The fact that the number of people who are certified to work in the STEM field is decreasing and the fact that women are a lot less likely to work in the STEM field just shows me that I need to open my students eyes to the possibilities that the STEM field has to offer.
       My goal for this class is to find out more information on ways to incorporate STEM and still meet the standards that I am required to teach. I am hoping to learn more ways to make STEM fun in my classroom and to open other's eyes on how important it is in our schools.