STEM/STEAM Introduction

This blog post has been planned for weeks.  It feels amazing to finally get it typed.

This summer I researched and planned ways to incorporate STEAM Education into my media curriculum.  STEM education, now commonly referred to as STEAM, is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math.  Its focus is to  educate students through an interdisciplinary and applied approach.  Rather than teach each discipline separately, STEAM integrates them into a cohesive learning situation based on real world problems. Students engaging in STEAM projects will demonstrate critical thinking, curiosity, adaptability, and initiative while developing as leaders and supporting one another through collaboration and team building.


The students will have design challenges throughout the year that will relate to what I am teaching or their classroom teachers are teaching. Students will use the Engineering Design Process to complete the challenge: Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Improve. Hanging in my room are the posters I made, and the students will work through the process with my worksheet. (both freebies right now, click the pictures below)

Before even discussing STEAM or the Engineering Design Process I read the book "Rosie Revere Engineer" by Andrea Beaty illustrated by David Roberts to the students.  Each class I started with, "This book is written by an amazing author and illustrated by an amazing illustrator so we must have an..." and students responded with "amazing book!"  Students shared their ideas about what an engineer is and I filled in the holes.  This book is truly amazing!  The lesson of perseverance, never giving up, and confidence is told through lyrical rhymes and detailed illustrations.  

"Your brilliant first flow was a raging success! Come on, let's get busy and on to the next!" She handed a notebook to Rosie Revere, who smiled at her aunt as it all became clear. Life might have its failures, but this was not it. The only true failure can come if you quit.” 

Since we will be doing design challenges throughout the year I wanted projects to introduce each grade to the design process.  My goal was to have each challenge be hard enough to teach that it was okay to fail but easy enough that they could focus on and learn the design process. 

Fourth grade: to build the tallest tower out of 20 pieces of spaghetti and 30 marshmallows

I put my own twist on the spaghetti tower challenge.  The tape and string I thought would be a bit too confusing and take away from my main goal.  The students learned failure with falling towers but every team had a tower that stood in the end, some not so tall. 

Third Grade: save Freddie

I found the Save Freddie activity from these free lab sheets i found here. (I wish I know who made them.) While I didn't use the sheets I used the activity.  Freddie was in his boat, the cup, when it capsized.  Unfortunately Freddie is not a good swimmer, but he safely made it to the top of the boat.  His life preserver sadly did not, it is under the capsized boat.  Using 4 paperclips and nothign else, students had to save Freddie.  Groups came up with many ways to save Freddie.  Some tried to get hi in life preserver while others tried to turn the boat over and put Freddie back in.  It was a great way to introduce STEAM.

Third Grade: to build the tallest cup tower

Students were given cups to build the tallest cup tower.  I cannot recall a single group that stayed with their original plan.  It was a perfect introduction to the design process.

First Grade: to build a tin foil boat to hold the most pennies
With this younger group I told them the question to ask and we looked at the book "Boats" by Gail Ginbons.  I showed students the different sides, shapes, and bottoms of different boats before I had them plan and create their boats.  Also, I showed students how aluminum foil will hold a fold and will rip easily in case they had never worked with tin foil before.  The students had so much fun and were not upset when their boats sank, they quickly pulled them out and rebuilt.

Yes, Let's- An Adventure Picture Book

"Yes, Let's" by Galen Goodwin Longstreth is a picture books about a family that spends the day adventuring in the woods by a river/lake.

 

 (Click the cover to head)

I don't think I have come across a picture book that tells a story of a family adventuring out on a hike like this one does. It is fun with its rhymes and while it looks simple it is far from it.  As I read the students were able to relate to one of not many characters in the story; they could even connect their own family members to characters in the book, including the dog.  There is family affection as they do things such as play a game of cards or take build a moat and even hidden details if you look close such as squirrel thievery or the trail mix with a lot of chocolate chips. 

The comic styles illustrations by Marie Wicks help make this book what it is.   The little details on each page help encourage students to keep reading and reread.   I adore books that encourage students to reread and learn and discover new things each time.   Take a look at the picture on the camera screen, a minor detail that my students wanted to look at.

The images are from near the beginning of the book and near the end of the book.

This is the middle and the only page with no words.

Almost Summer Book Reccomendation

My school may be one of the last to get out.  June 26th! Yep, there are still 4 days and 3 half days of still left but who is counting?  Thanks to 10+ mom volunteers this morning my library looks amazing and is ready for next school year already. NO ONE can touch the shelves... just kidding...kind of.

While scrolling through Instagram I came across Ramona Recommends' IG page and she had this great idea for Linky party. Since school is still in session, I'm not traveling, but I am on the hunt for a good book to read to get the students excited for summer and of course, summer reading.  I decided to hit up my library and find something new, something we did not have in our school library and I found "Beach" by Elisha Cooper.  This will be on my purchase list for next year. It is also a great book for Mrs. Jump's We Love Books linky.

The beautiful watercolors in this book help tell a great story of a day at the beach.  Anyone who has spent time at the beach can easily relate to this book.  A reader who hasn't spent time at this beach can quickly get the feeling of being there with the clouds, waves, and sand; its like you can almost feel the breeze in your face.  Throughout the book you read and see events that occur throughout the day such as sandcastle building or playing in the waves.  The book ends with the day ending and everyone having to go home.

I cannot wait to start reading it to the students and share beach stories. Our summer reading theme is summer is Rock, Roll, and Read.  Hopefully this will help get them excited.

Book Trailers (updated)

Third grade students have been working on book trailers.  When I introduced Battle of the Books (post here) I showed some book trailers and they really enjoyed them so I thought, let's create some.

Each student had freedom to choose any book that was at their reading level.  They wrote a little bit about the book first.

(click the image to download the guide)

Then used Photopin (http://photopin.com/) to find pictures to show what they are going to discuss. Photopin is a great site for finding photos. Photopin uses Flickr to search Creative Commons photos so I know we can use all the photos the students find.  I had the "Let's be mature" conversation with the students in the beginning but we had NO incidents. If they couldn't find what they were looking for, they could use other sites I had collected: http://edu.symbaloo.com/mix/picsforprojects.

After I had students edit at least one to to fit into their project.  Many students add character names but other got really creative.  We used the site BeFunky, http://www.befunky.com/ . The website allows you to do basic editing, exposure, brightness, resizing, etc, but it also had fun filters, borders, and allows you to add cool text features.  There is an undo and redo button which is convenient for these elementary age students.

Before and  after


Students then took all their photos and put them in iMovie.  We added a title sequence, sound effects OR a song, and transitions.  They turned out awesome.

Here are 4 examples:

Illustrators

It is nearing the end of the school year and schedules are crazy.  For a variety of reasons I wasn't going to spend a lot of time with my Kindergartners so I wanted to have interesting lessons that would keep their attention.  For two weeks we discussed the job of an illustrator.

First we read some Pigeon books by Mo Willems and developed our own, "Don't Let the Pigeon ____" sentences.  Students then used instructed drawings from Heidi Butkus, here, to draw our Pigeons in Tux Paint.  The students loved it. They thought it was cool that Mo Willems drew the pictures and wrote the story.

The next week to watched and listened to Pete the Cat . We reviewed why some books are more fun to "watch" from our units on ebooks.  Then we draw Heidi Butkus' instructed drawings for Pete the Cat, here, and wrote the sentence "Pete the Cat is ______".

The students loved listening to the other books while they worked and compared who hard it was to draw Pete vs Pigeon.  I loved that each class asked if that was why there was a different author and illustrator for the Pete the Cat books unlike the Pigeon books.

These were great quick lessons that the students definitely enjoyed. They picked up on so many little lessons here and there throughout the two weeks that is definitely something I would do again.

Mother Reader's 48Hour Book Challenge

This year I wanted to be a part of Mother Reader's 48Hour Book Challenge.  The theme, diversity is really what inspired me to read this weekend.  So often I find books that I read, purchase for the library, and recommend for my students have mainly white characters.   This was the perfect opportunity to get some multicultural reading in and many of the books I read this weekend were already on my "to-read" list.

http://www.motherreader.com/2014/06/ninth-annual-48-hour-book-challenge_8.html

Unfortunately, life also happens and recently I've made sure to know what my priorities are.  This weekend my brother, sister-in-law, and 4-year old nephew were in from out of town.  They took top priority.  My health has required extra sleep recently and today I slept until 11am! The third and last thing that kept me from reading, my better half.  We had some yard work to do with this beautiful weather and he wanted to watch Orange is the New Black season 2 released on Netflix this weekend.  I did find a good balance.

In the end I read mostly middle grade books as I teach in a K-4 school.  I read:
7 books
1,555 pages
Since I read sporadically here and there it was hard to keep track of times but I read about 20 hours.

Not what I would have wanted if I read all weekend but family and health comes first.

Inside Out and Back Again
Thanhha Lai

 This was probably my favorite read this weekend.  This book written in verse and told from the heart was so moving.  The chronologically told story was easy to follow and and easy to connect to the character.  While it is a story of the immigration from Thailand it is truly a story of the struggles of immigration of any young student to a new country.




Saint Louis Armstrong Beach
Brenda Woods

This story is about an 11 year old boy, Saint, and the neighborhood dog, Shadow,  who live in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.  The story builds a nice relationship with Saint, an all-around good kid and good musician who loves the dog.  When the Hurricane comes Saint makes some bad decisions and story becomes a bit... underwhelming.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Sherman Alexie

The hype around this book is well deserved.  Not for the "inappropriate issues" it brings ups but for the way the character is written.  The ability for the reader to understand the tragedy, emotions, and loss that the character is going through alongside the moments of true happiness.
(This is the one of the books I read this weekend that I cannot add to my school library but I've been wanting to read it for awhile and I'm glad I did.)

One Crazy Summer 
Rita Williams Garcia

The main character Delphine is far beyond her years here.  She is strong black female character who is smart, brave, and acts older than her 11 year old self.  The non-traditional/bad mother and not so perfect happy ending are and important part of the book.   While I loved the main character and her relationship with the sisters, I wasn't enthralled with the book overall.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Grace Lin

In the library I'm always recommending Grace Lin to the students.  This books has been on my to-read list since it came out and I can't believe it took me so long to read it.  The Chinese folklore stories within the story of Minli and her Ma and Ba were so enjoyable to read this was my second favorite read of the weekend and easily a competitor for the first.

American Born Chinese
Gene Luen Yang

This graphic novel read like a novel.  It addresses identity issues and racism as well as friendship. The three stories, the Monkey King, Danny, and Jing Wang all flow nicely together in the end to teach a lesson.

When You Reach Me
Rebecca Stead

This was a great read.  The story unravels so well as Miranda ventures through her New York City neighborhood, deals with her best friend, or lack their-of, helps her mom prepare for a game show, and much more.








Along the multicultural theme, Mind/Shift, published yesterday "25 Books That Diversify Kids' Reading Lists This Summer" 

Must Read Monday- "The Other Side of the Story" Series

A few months ago when purchasing books I came across this great series of fractured fairy tales, "The Other Side of the Story" by a three different of authors, Trisha Speed Shaskanm, Nancy Loewen, and Eric Braun.  The titles include:

Honestly, Red Riding Hood Was Rotten!

Seriously, Cinderella Is So Annoying!

Really, Rapunzel Needed A Haircut!

Seriously, Snow White Was Really Forgetful!

No Lie, I Acted Like A Beast!

Trust Me, Jack's Beanstalk Stinks!

Believe Me, Goldilocks Rocks!

Truly, We Both Loved Beauty Dearly!

The Story of the Frog Prince as Told by the Frog

No Kidding, Mermaids Are A Joke!


Each story is told from the point of view of another character in the story.  For example, "Honestly, Red Riding Hood Was Rotten" is told from the wolf's point of view.  The story starts out:

"Chomp! Chomp! Oh, I'm sorry.  I was just finishing my lunch.  my name's Wold- Big Bad Wolf.  You may have heard the story of Little Red Riding Hood. About a girl and her granny? Seems everyone has.  My tail is different. Did i say tail? I meant tale."

As you continue to read you learn the the wolf is a vegetarian and starving waiting for the apple harvest.  In her beautiful red cape, what did Little Red Riding Hood look like... an apple.  To make matters worse for this starving wolf Granny's house smelled like apple air freshener and she herself looked like a Granny Smith Apple.  The Wolf does end up eating both Granny and Red Riding Hood but he finds she tastes a bit rotten, hence the title of the book.

At the end of each story is a Think About It section to further think about this story and a glossary.  You can also find a Read More section to find related books, Internet Sites to learn more, and more books in the series.

My students love the books so far.

Must Read Monday- Earthquake Terror by Peggy Kehret

I am extremely excited to find Must-Read Monday hosted by Teaching Madness. Finding new book recommendations by other teachers is always great and now finding them each week is so exciting.

One of my students' Battle of the Books this year is Earthquake Terror by Peggy Kehret. To learn more about Battle of the Books you can read my post here: http://technicallylibrarian.blogspot.com/2014/02/battle-of-books.html.

Click the image to see the book on Amazon

This book is great for a read-aloud, reading groups, or an whole class read.  Students with all kinds of interest will find something that appeals to them in this Realistic Fiction Adventure book. 

The story is about a family,  Jonathan, his parents, his disabled sister Abby, and their dog Moose, who go camping on Magpie Island.  Jonathan's mother fell broke her ankle so his parents left him charge of Abby and Moose while they go to the hospital. Unfortunately for Jonathan, the ground starts to rumble and he, Abby, and Moose find themselves in the middle of a natural disaster, an earthquake.  Jonathan must save Abby and Moose form the damaged island and pouring rain and find their parents. 

It is a great book for teaching many different elements of reading: setting, character, mood, cause and effect, problem and solution, inferring... I can go on and on.   The students are truly enjoying this book as did I.  It has promoted sustained reading as this is a long complex book.  

If you google "Earthquake Terror lesson plans" there is a plethora of resources out there to assist in teaching with this book.   One I found to be very detailed is by Peanut Butter Published on readbymyside.com: http://www.readsidebyside.com/media/earthquake.pdf

What are kids reading?

One of my favorite parts of being in the library is book report time. It is not because I like to see students being tortured but because I get to push students into reading some of the best books in the library, books they would not normally take out.  For example, in May when the fourth graders were selecting books for their fantasy books reports one of best readers came to me with the book that had a brightly colored paperback cover and an author I've never heard of. While I love reading new things there are so many great fantasy books for her. After sitting with her for less than 5 minutes she could not decide between "James and the Giant Peach", "The Borrowers", and "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh". 

While I touch many students each school year this way, I always wonder what they reading. Hey my motto is "as long as you're reading". While I don't like them to take out 2 World Record, Lego, Captain Underpants, or similar books at a time, they know I just want them reading. 

This week a read a related blog post on NPR's Monkey See blog, "What Kids Are Reading, In School And Out". The article was easily relatable even with its issues. Are we as teachers hindering the students by allowing them to read whatever they want. No! 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2013/06/11/190669029/what-kids-are-reading-in-school-and-out

First, accelerated reader is not the best source. While my district doesn't use it, yet, I can't imagine it being an accurate representation of a students comprehension level. If/when we do adopt AR, I will not level my library in fear of students coming in looking for leveled books instead of "good" books. "The Hunger Games" on a fifth grade level?! Maybe for vocabulary, sentence length, etc., but what about content. Clearly AR doesn't factor that in. 

The article should have focused on the fact that students aren't reading outside of school! If I can student interested in reading and its at a book below their level I'm encouraging them to take it out. Every year I do a battle of the books with second graders using advanced picture books and I read Chris Van Allsburg's "Just A Dream" to third graders to remind the students that picture books are for all ages! Just keep reading I tell them!

As teachers it is our responsibility to introduce students to the classics books and help them decipher, understand, and relate. If schools really have stopped assigning these books then the article does make a good point. Maybe I'm being naive or maybe I'm just optimistic but I find it hard to believe a student can go through a public school system without reading Shakespeare and the classics.  

One of my summer reading books is "the Book Whisperer" by Donalyn Miller. (My summer reading list will be a different post.) I'm sure ill have a lost more to say after I read the book but my summer just started today.