Teaching Science Through Investigations

Kids naturally wonder about the world around us. They question why things are the way they are. As teachers we should embrace this excitement!
                                        
When teaching by investigation students begin with a "wonder" question. Many times I will prompt the kids with a question to get them thinking. This may be something we think is simple such as "why is the sky blue?" or "how does my Popsicle melt?" Although these concepts are easy to us, they are a natural curiosity to primary aged learners.

After questioning the children you should allow them to talk as a whole group. NEVER answer the question, only listen to their thinking on the subject. Next, let the kids write what they believe is the answer to the inquiry question.

After lots of open ended discussion on the topic it is time to investigate the phenomenon! Students should take part in an investigation following a procedure you have given them, or they can investigate without a set of steps to follow.

The investigation should open the floor to even more discussion amongst the class. This is a great time for the teacher to explicitly teach some content area vocabulary. For example, if you are teaching about the states of matter and the students have completed an investigation that changes a solid and liquid into a gas, the teacher can explicitly teach states of matter vocabulary when explaining the phenomenon.

Students should now elaborate on the investigation. Most of the time at this point I have the kids make a foldable. This is a fun way for them to show their learning and understanding of the new vocabulary.

If you think teaching science through investigations is right for you, be sure to follow my blog for more updates and check out my tpt store. 

Heat Energy and Solar Ovens!

I just completed my first "big" science unit. It's a heat energy unit that includes my solar energy STEM challenge. I'm really excited about this one!

Here is a peek:

 Vocabulary posters for 6 important words!

 Reading passages for 5 important topics!

 Science inquiry and investigation experiments!

 Task cards for review!

 Plus my entire Solar Oven STEM Engineering Challenge included in the unit!

You can check it out by clicking HERE!

Igloo Building STEM Challenge

One of my favorite winter activities ever is building a sugar cube igloo... it's a classic! This week my third graders took on the challenge.
We started with some conversation about igloos and their purpose. We did a little research and found out that the igloo must be made with ice bricks that lean in a little. This was important to our building.
Next, we prepared our materials. Each group was given one box of "ice blocks" (sugar cubes) and a cup of icing. We used Popsicle sticks as our tools.

Finally, the kids got to work! You would be shocked at how difficult this challenge really can be!
Next week we will continue with more winter themed STEM challenges!

Winter STEM Challenges

Are you looking for ways to incorporate the Next Generation Science Standards into your winter themed learning? Or are you interested in a hands on approach to integrated science, technology, engineering and math? Try out a STEM Challenge! 

In this bundle of 5 STEM challenges students will use their science, math, engineering and technology skills to build a variety of snow, winter, ice themed challenges.

Here is an example of one of the five challenges:

 In the tallest snowman challenge, students will be asked to build the tallest snowman only using certain materials. 

 They will go through the engineering process to work with a team to accomplish this feat. After completion of the challenge, teams will measure and collect data on the other team's snowmen. 

This data can be used to create graphs and have class discussions.

If you are interested in trying out a STEM challenge... Check it out HERE! 

Snowball Fight!

Can you build a snowball catapult with these simple materials?

Have lots of winter, indoor fun with this snowball fight catapult STEM challenge! Students can engineer a catapult, measure, collect data and graph the data on a line plot all while having a blast! 
Check it out here: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Snowball-Fight-Catapult-STEM-Engineering-Challenge-1556007 

Teepee STEM Challenge

Can you build a teepee out of newspaper and tape that is large enough to sit in? My first graders can!

Aren't STEM challenges a great way to encourage science learning while staying within the Thanksgiving theme? 

How Much Can Your Thanksgiving Table Hold?

I prompted my kids with the problem of needing to build a Thanksgiving table for their family because the one we have isn't big enough! The question was: Who can build a Thanksgiving table that can hold the most weight? They were given 5 pieces of white paper, 6 inches of masking tape and told to go to work. At first I got a few looks of confusion on how they were going to make a table that could hold "food" AKA books up. After about 30 minutes of thinking and building we had our "competition". The kids were amazed to see how successful their tables were. Who would have thought you could build a table that strong out of paper?!?! 

This table held 82 chapter books! Wow! 

This was so much fun!

Mayflower Fun!

Don't you just absolutely LOVE STEM challenges? I do! If you haven't tried them and are looking for a way to incorporate science, technology, engineering and math learning into your themes, then you need to check them out. This week my first and second graders were challenged with the question: Can you build a Mayflower that can hold the most cargo. (Cargo being pennies) They were only allowed 1 foot of aluminum, 2 straws, 1 piece of paper and 6 inches of tape. They had a blast while learning about measurement, engineering, data collection, graphing as well as the new learning they acquired about boat shapes and buoyancy!
If you'd like to check out my collection of STEM activities for Thanksgiving, click here.

Engineering Anyone?

This year I have had the honor of teaching an advanced content group of second graders. Keeping them intrigued has been a challenge, but tons of fun! Last week I experimented with engineering in our space unit by challenging the kids to create a parachute with a slow fall time. The kids and I all had SO... MUCH... FUN and learned a lot! I really wish I had some pictures to add, but in all the excitement I forgot! The parachutes really got me thinking about STEM and how to incorporate engineering into the classroom more. Therefore, this week I have planned a "Tall Tales Engineering Challenge"! I'm pumped about this. I found the unit on TPT and if you are interested you can grab it here. Each day in reader's workshop, we are reading and story mapping a new tall tale then I'm challenging the kids with the engineering challenge. I'm really excited about this new endeavour and hope it is a success!
Pictures coming soon...