Science, Boring or Not?

Science is a class that I recall being boring.  I remember reading chapters, answering questions at the end of chapters, and memorizing vocabulary words.  There were never hands on activities.  We did not do experiments or projects.  Therefore, my opinion about science has been one-sided my whole life.

But wait, who created this image in my head... MY SCIENCE TEACHER! That's right folks! Teachers leave an everlasting impression on students! Some are positive and some are negative... what kind of teacher do you want to be???

I want to have a positive influence on students.  I wants students to talk about me for years later, explaining that I was that caring teacher that went above and beyond. So what does it take to be an A-W-E-S-O-M-E
teacher? I am not sure... but I want to find out!

Some qualities that I recall from my past teachers are:
-Caring
-Good listening skills
-Hands on
-Allow students to be creative
-Love of job
-Positive attitude
-Knowledgeable

When you look at your lawn, what do you see?

Most look at a yard full of grass and simply see grass! Well there are many, many things living in the grass as well!

A fun activity for the students is to take a hula hoop outside, lay down on the lawn, and allow them to investigate.
-Look for other living things
-Look for non-living things
-Identify as much as possible

Now journal about what you saw before and after this activity.  Students will be amazed because a small 3 foot area is filled with different types of grass, weeds, insects, and many more!

This activity will take the students outside the classroom to explore. Students usually remember more information outside the classroom walls.  Allow your students to venture out and learn new things!

This allows teachers to integrate language arts in a science lesson :)

Hubba Bubba Blow Your Bubble

We did an awesome activity tonight using bubble gum and statistics! Kids will love this activity!

First we formulated a question " What gum blows the most bubbles in two minutes?"
Next, we stated our hypothesis "Bubble Yum will produce more bubbles in two minutes"
Independent Variables: Bubble Yum and Hubba Bubba Max
Dependent Variables: Amount of bubbles blown in two minutes

And now the fun starts!

1. Chew a piece of gum for 1.5 minutes
2. Blow bubbles for 2 minutes
3. Tally amount of bubbles
4. Average the bubble amounts

And.... The... Winner... Is...
Hubba Bubba Max!

I believe that this bubble gum blew more bubbles because it has a liquid center which makes the gum thinner and smoother.  I believe that it is easier to blow bubbles with thinner gum than thicker. What do you think? I'm only guessing here! Tell me your ideas!

How Safe Are Windmills?

There are many pros and cons to generating energy from wind... But do you also know the dangers? 

Some positives to wind energy: 

- wind is FREE

- wind is clean 

- endless supply of wind (as of today)

- tax incentives 

Some negatives to wind energy

- wind is not consistent 

- severe weather can cause damage

- open land is needed for windmills (removing trees) 

Not only are trees removed for windmills, but the windmills also take the lives of many birds. Birds are killed daily by windmills. Do you think this is good for our environment? In addition, the migration patterns of birds change because of windmills. 

 

This information can be shared in you class to inform students of the different energy options.  Students can make their own list of pros and cons.  In addition? They can create their own windmill, which will integrate math, science and art all into one lesson! 

Natural Gas

We had an awesome guest speaker in our class tonight!  I had SO-OOO many misconceptions about natural gas! Did you know that natural gas does not smell?  That is correct! Natural gas is odorless and the chemical that smells is actually added to natural gas so people will be aware of gas leaks!

Also, what should you do if you smell natural gas?  You should find Elvis and R-U-N! Get out of the building quickly, but safely.  You should not stay to look for the leak. Call the professionals to com review the situation.

Who do you call??? Well not Ghost Busters, but maybe Gas Busters! Call 811 if you smell gas and the professionals will confirm if there is a leak or not. 

Do you ever plant trees in your yard? Well maybe you should think twice before planting these tress on a pretty Saturday evening! Before you dig in your yard (or anywhere) you should call 811 to make sure there are no gas lines buried where you are digging!

The invisible... Static Electricity

If I asked you how much voltage was in static electricity, would you know? How much? Well I will tell you... there is up to 25,000 volts in static electricity! Is that not crazy? Static electricity is something we all have experienced at some point in our lives.  How can we incoporate fun activities in our classrooms? With balloons!

Balloon Experiment

Supplies Needed:

• 2 balloons
• sweater
• assorted materials
• tissue paper {we used 2 different sizes}
• aluminum foil
• cardboard scrap
• paper scrap
• yarn/string
• pom pom
• pipe cleaner
• ribbon
• cloth
• foam
• 
  
• Procedure:
1. Gather a random assortment of materials. See the suggestions in the materials list.
2. Blow up the balloons.
3. Touch a balloon to each of different materials including the other balloon. {Notice none of the materials is attracted to the balloon.}
4. Rub one balloon onto the sweater. {This will add electrons to the balloon and cause it to become negatively charged.}
5. Now touch the balloon again to each of the materials. Observe what happens.
• This activity was found on http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/26688/static-electricity

Students will be able to see a visual and work hands on to demonstrate how static electricity works! It is always so important to also discuss the warnings with students as well.  One major warning that I remember is pumping gas.  

Water Cycle, I Think So!

In class today, we started Project Wet!  Initial lesson was the water cycle.  We played an activity where we rolled dice to determine what station we would go to next (if we were water). The stations consisted of plants, animals, clouds, streams, oceans, and ground water.  On the dice it would direct you to another station or you would stay at the same station.  During this process, you had to determine the parts of water as well! This was a fun activity that really engaged thinking about how a water cycle really works! It is not as simple as the picture I was shown in elementary school.

While in class, I was thinking how I could make science FUN for my students.. I found the following lesson plans to assist with instructing the water cycle.

This activity would be fun for younger kids how are just learning the basics of water cycles.  Let the students make this during class (hint, hint you are adding ART to a Science lesson :) ) Add water, and observe over the next few days what happens to the water in the bag! Very cool for the kids to see the water changing! 

While searching for activities I also found an awesome site that I would like to share! Go check it out! There are tons of creative activities to use in a classroom! This one was my favorite activity to incorporate with a water cycle lesson: 

MAKE IT RAIN 

MATERIALS:

• glass mayonnaise or canning jar
• plate
• hot water
• ice cubes
• index cards

PROCESS:
Pour about two inches of very hot water into the glass jar.
Cover the jar with the plate and wait a few minutes before you start the next step.
Put the ice cubes on the plate.
EXPLANATION:
What happens? The cold plate causes the moisture in the warm air, which is inside the jar to condense and form water droplets. This is the same thing that happens in the atmosphere. Warm, moist air rises and meets colder air high in the atmosphere. The water vapor condenses and forms precipitation that falls to the ground.

Here is the website I found Make It Rain activity! This is one that you will need to keep for your future lesson plans! http://www.weatherwizkids.com/

Where do bananas grow?

Do bananas grow on trees?  What are your initial thoughts?
All of my life I have been told that bananas come from banana trees. When I read a poem in class tonight, there was a reference to banana trees... and my favorite teacher who happens to L-O-V-E misconceptions asked the question, do banana come from plants or trees?  Well my mind began to wonder and I just had to know the answer! And... the answer, surprisingly, is no!  Bananas actually grow on plants!  This plant can grow up to 25 feet tall! Talking about a misconception!  We mostly have been told that bananas come from banana trees! I have included a website that includes interesting facts about bananas to incorporate into a science lesson about plants, trees, and fruits.
 http://www.chiquitabananas.com/worlds-favorite-fruit/banana-answers-information-faqs.aspx
http://www.tropicalpermaculture.com/growing-bananas.html

Also, teachers here are some awesome lesson plans centered around plants.
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/search/page/-/-/lesson-plan/plants/index.cfm

And it doesn't stop here... what makes a tree a tree? Why is a "plant" that can grow up to 25 feet tall not considered a tree?  Trunk is the answer! A tree has a trunk and a banana plant is composed of leaves that form a stem which makes the plant grow tall.

A Concrete A Tree Poem

Sometimes we just need to go outside and enjoy what nature provides for us everyday! What an awesome way to integrate Language Arts into a Science Class!  Students need to stop outside the boundaries of their school's walls and enjoy a wonderful period of quiet time and reflection.  Everyone should use their 5 senses (well maybe not tasting :) ) to observe what a tree means to them... is it short? is it tall? maybe it is young, or old? does it smell? After creating a list of words and adjectives, the students should create a concrete poem.  This poem does not need to rhyme, however it can if the author wants it to!  Now its time to put those words on paper to form a tree! This can be whatever tree you want it to be! Now give a night to reflect and work on the creativity. By the next day, you should have multiple different concrete tree poems to hang in your classroom! What a fun way to start a lesson on trees! Kids always love hands-on activities!


                                                           A
                                                 Tree is green
                                        Can you see what I mean?
                                    A tree is a home to animals, if you
                                listen you will hear. A tree provides shade
                                 for a picnic, a play date, or even flowers
                                  that require less sunlight to grow.  A
                                      tree provides leaves for insects
                                                       to eat.
                                                       what
                                                       would
                                                       our
                                                       world
                                                       look
                                                       like
                                                       with-
                                                        out
                                                       trees?

Can You See - Collaboration?

Rebecca brought in an excellent visual for our literature circle this week in our Teaching Science Class! 

What do you see when you look at this picture?  

We are reading about collaboration, and what better picture displays a deep understanding of how important collaboration is throughout history? In this painting, there are many mathematicians, artists, scientists, and even historians present in one room. Think about how our life would be if these inventors or philosophers did not share their ideas... We would not be where we are today! Everyone in our literature circle was speechless at how accurate this painting was when it comes to collaboration! We talked about the importance of science and working together, however seeing this paintings brings it complete circle.  

This is a visual that I would display in my classroom! It would initiate a variety of conversations throughout the school year! 

How Tall Are You?

If I went into a to a doctor's office, I would measure 5 feet 4 inches... However, is it possible that I could be over 6 feet tall???

Trace your foot on a piece of paper, cut out the silhouette, measure yourself using yarn and tape this to the wall... Then, see how many "feet" tall you are! I was over 6 feet tall!

This will be a fun activity for your students at the beginning of school and at the end of school.  You can integrate multiple standards within this activity.  You can include art, math, science and language arts within this one activity.  Students can guess how tall them will be at the end of the year and calculate the difference.  In addition, students can create a journal entry explaining their predictions and a second journal entry explaining the outcome.

Students will be amazed at how much they do grow over a year!

My first blog!

My name is Kim and I am in graduate school pursuing my Masters in K-6 elementary education! I currently work at State Farm Insurance and have been employed there for the past 11 years.  I love my job and what I do, however I have a passion for kids.  I have 4 kids of my own: Hannah (15), Hudson (11), Holden (7) and Madi (6)... and not to mention a loving husband, Dan! We are a crazy family that loves each other, forgives often, and smiles non-stop. 
I am so excited about my Teaching Science Class! We are going to learn how to make science class fun! I know that my previous experience with science was memorization and reading.  I cannot wait to apply hands-on activities to my future classroom! 

Our first activity was very adventurous! We were given bones and were told to recreate a dinosaur! How exciting it was to see everyone's creation! Some were similar, some were different and no one was correct! To see younger kids working together to complete this activity brings a smile to my face! I know how excited they will be trying to decide where the bones go... This activity can last a day or even a week!