The Daily STEM http://dailystem.com/ is a website that has some great activities kids or families can do at home. I like this checklist http://dailystem.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/77-MORE-STEM-activities-for-Families.pdf with lots of fun, educational activities. You can print it out and check off the activities you do. There's also a weekly newsletter you can sign up for http://dailystem.com/news/ Thanks @dailySTEM for sharing these resources!
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When the PTA first asked me to partner with them on our school garden program, I said the first thing that came into my mind: Running a garden is a LOT of work. And while I still feel that’s true, I’ve found that my partnership with the PTA has led to wonderful results. With the financial and logistical support of the PTA Garden Committee, especially the two parents who volunteer each year as Chairs, I’m able to bring every OPS student to work in the garden at least once a year. That’s a lot of planting! All the beautiful flowers and vegetables there were planted by our students. Recently, we won a facebook contest run by a garden supply company, because our Chairs mobilized the community to get us the most nominations out of all the school gardens in our state. I’m glad to see our garden get recognition, because it’s a wonderful partnership that benefits every one of our students. Thank you Seed Keeper Company for the prizes (garden supplies), thank you to everyone who nominated our garden, and thank you to the PTA and its Garden Committee. - feeling grateful
Teachers, like scientists and other professionals, often share their work with colleagues. When I was a new teacher, I looked to veterans for advice and ideas. Recently I had the opportunity to share some lesson ideas of my own by making videos that I shared with other teachers. You can watch these videos to see a few things we’ve been doing recently in the science lab: This video https://twitter.com/DeniseKuehner/status/1212118063371431936 shows an activity we did in Kindergarten. The students used beads that change color in sunlight, and built shelters to protect them from the sun. Thanks Matt Miller of Ditch That Textbook for inspiring me to make and share the video. This video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm-whYMy7bo describes a first grade lesson I call Astronaut Training. The students learn to train like Oradell’s astronaut Wally Schirra. I shared it with a group called the Space Foundation Teacher Liaisons. They also asked me to make a tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcBognvJ7LE&t=1s showing how I made the lesson video. Thanks to the Space Foundation for inspiring me to make the video and to my intern Angelica for teaching me how to record and edit it. In the lab, Kindergarteners have been using large and small pushes and pulls to make things move. First graders are learning how the parts of living things help them survive. We’re testing to see if plants really need light by putting some in a dark box. Second graders are modelling earth changes like earthquakes and volcanoes. Third graders have been using magnetic forces. Fourth graders know have waves transfer energy, and used their knowledge to operate Ozobot and Sphero robots. Fifth graders are continuing to learn about our solar system and constellations. Sixth graders are starting a unit on forces by observing the differences between mass and weight. If you ask your student, maybe they will share something with you that they did recently in the Science Lab. The winter solstice always happens on or around December 21. It’s the shortest day of the year, the official end of fall, the time for major holidays for some, and the end of the calendar year for Western cultures. But every ending is also a beginning of something new - the winter season, the new year, and for many of us, a time to reflect and strive to do better in the new year. When studying science, we notice the cycles in the natural world, and observe that they are one of the many patterns that help us understand the present and prepare for the future. I hope that all of us will get a chance to see some beauty in the snow and ice, and remember that there wouldn’t be a warm spring to look forward to if it weren’t for the cold dark days of winter. In the lab, our Kindergarten students have been learning that pushes and pulls are forces, and can be used to make things move, including toy cars on ramps. As they push cars up and down ramps, and try different ways of getting the cars to go fast, they might feel like they are playing, but in this case, they learn through play. First graders got to go into the StarLab, a portable planetarium system we share with several other districts. They also reported to the “Astronaut Training Center,” which looks a lot like the Science Lab :), so they could do training exercises just like Oradell’s own astronaut Wally Schirra. Second graders are finishing their study of Matter by modeling how matter is made of tiny particles that can be rearranged, using small blocks. Third grade has begun a Forces unit by comparing balanced and unbalanced forces on pulleys and scales. Fourth graders are making waves using water, string and giant slinkies, showing how energy travels. Fifth grade is starting to study Space by experimenting with gravity, and comparing the forces of gravity in different parts of our solar system. Do you know how high you could jump on the moon? Ask a fifth grader! Sixth graders are studying the always-popular chemical reactions. No, we’re not blowing things up, but we are making and revealing invisible ink. Today I want to share a recipe for a very weird substance that I call Oobleck. Dr Seuss wrote a story called Bartholomew and the Oobleck, in which goo falls from the sky. This goo is even better - it’s both a liquid and a solid, depending on how you hold it. It’s incredibly fun to handle. Here’s how to make it: Pour 1 pound of cornstarch into a large bowl. Add about 1 cup of water and mix it in with your hands or a sturdy spoon. Gradually add water, about ¼ cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition of water. Keep adding water and mixing until it is very thick, like molasses or honey. Now your oobleck is ready. Poke the surface slowly with your finger - it’s a liquid and your finger goes right through it. Now poke it quickly - tap on the surface. It feels like a solid! What?! Grab enough oobleck to make a ball in your hand, and pass it back and forth between your hands like a hot potato. Crack the ball in half, since it’s a solid. The halves melt, since they are also a liquid. What’s going on? This is a non-Newtonian fluid - meaning it isn’t like other liquids. Cornstarch molecules are long chains, like a bowl of spaghetti. When you squeeze them suddenly, they get jammed up because of friction. If you poke it slowly, the strands have time to get out of your way. Oobleck can be stored for a few days in a covered container in the refrigerator, and after that it tends to get moldy. Throw used oobleck in the trash, not down the drain. Please try making oobleck - it is truly amazing. That’s what our second graders did recently in the lab. In other grades, Kindergarteners have learned about lots of different kinds of weather, and showed how to be prepared for it. First graders made constellations by carefully poking holes in paper. They got to design their own (The Dog Pal, The Snowman, and many others.) Third graders made climate maps of different regions of the world. Fourth graders used Snap Circuits to show how electrical energy can flow through circuits, and can be converted into other types of energy like light and sound. Fifth graders dissected owl pellets and reassembled the tiny skeletons of the owls’ prey. Sixth graders identified four mystery liquids by testing their properties.
I’d like to end this post with a big thank you to the parents from the OPS PTS who have been helping getting our school garden ready for winter. If you would like to read this website in another language, you can use Google Translate: Go to translate.google.com Type my web page URL into the first box ( https://opssciencelab.weebly.com/ ). Choose the language you prefer in the second box. Click on the “Open in new tab” symbol. A new tab will open, translated by Google:
In the Science Lab, we sometimes get creative. Designing and building things helps us understand how the world works, and helps us learn how to solve problems. Here are some of the activities we’ve been doing lately in the lab, many of which develop creative problem-solving skills. Plus they’re really fun! Recently our Kindergarten students have been learning about how the sun warms the earth. In Science Lab, they each built a tail for a cardboard cat, using special beads that change color in the sunlight. Then they got to design and built shelters to protect the cats from the sun, and test them by looking for the color change. I love watching students do a project like this, where they get to create a solution to a problem. Their ideas never cease to amaze me. First graders built models of the Sun, Earth and Moon. Their models are small, but accurately show how the Moon moves around the Earth and how the Earth moves around the Sun. Building models is a great way to learn about big topics like astronomy. Second graders have been learning about solids, liquids and gases, and will be exploring their properties more soon. Some of these activities will get messy, much to their delight. Third graders built anemometers to measure wind speed, since they are in a Weather unit. Fourth graders continue their study of Energy by transferring kinetic energy from one object to another - or, in other words, crashing Hot Wheels cars in one another. Fifth graders created food chains - they are studying Ecosystems in preparation for their upcoming field trip. Sixth graders are learning about atoms. Each chose an element and designed an Element Superhero, with appropriate superpowers. Again, a chance for them to learn through creativity, and a chance for me to learn just how creative they can be.
Our fourth graders are starting to learn about energy in the physical world, and how it can be found in many forms. In the Science Lab, they roll small cars down ramps of different heights to see how that affects the car’s motion. Then they try to get the car to go around a loop without falling. They quickly learned that the ramp must be steep enough and long enough. Some students decided to connect their loops together, and noticed the differences with a second loop. They learned a lot about kinetic energy, the energy of motion, and cooperating. Check back on this blog to see updates around once a month to see what our students are doing in the Science Lab. And follow me on twitter to hear about new posts: https://twitter.com/OPS_Science_lab
I hope your summer was a chance to recharge and reconnect. My summer included travel, reading, and a conference that I haven’t been to before. The conference was for educators interested in using all kinds of technology. I came back with lots of new ideas that I’m looking forward to trying out in the lab. I was happy to see how well our student garden grew during the summer. The sunflowers and coreopsis look especially beautiful, and there are several ears of corn in the Three Sisters Garden. Thanks again to our students for planting, and our PTA for support. Back in the lab, we’re starting the year with an all new room-escape-style puzzle adventure. Will the students of OPS be able to work together in teams, show that they are experts in lab safety, and unlock the boxes to solve the mystery of the Oradell Space Agency? We’ll find out soon!
Those are words I love to say to my students in May and June. I’m so grateful that we have the OPS garden. It’s a great place for students to learn about plants and animals. Each grade has a section with a theme. This year, first graders made butterfly nectar and put it out in their pollinator-friendly garden. Second graders planted flowers that should make some interesting seeds, since they’ve been learning about that lately. Third graders planted tomato, pepper and basil plants in a pizza garden. Fourth graders learned Native American traditions this year, so they planted corn, beans and squash in a Three Sisters garden like the Lenape. Fifth graders took care of their colonial herb garden, connecting to their social studies curriculum. Sixth graders planted wildflowers that I’ll give to next year’s Kindergarteners as a welcome gift.
Our garden program would not be possible without the support and help of parents in the PTA. If you’re able to help me out for a few hours next year during our spring and fall cleanups, please let me know. No gardening experience necessary, just a willingness to … Meet me at the garden! |
What's New?Check back here often to find out what's been going on in the science lab. Archives
May 2022
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