tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87039848577306133372024-03-08T14:03:40.285-05:00Mrs. Willyerd's Virtual ClassroomEducational blog discussing STEM, Project-based Learning, English Language Arts, Educational Technology, and Science Fair for Grades 3-8Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-7048082990304984802020-02-02T19:40:00.001-05:002020-02-02T19:40:47.896-05:00Energy Transformations with a Rube Goldberg Machine ChallengeAre you looking for a perfect way to engage students when teaching energy transformations? This Rube Goldberg Machine Challenge is such a fun way for students to work collaboratively, engage creatively, and show exactly what they have learned.<br />
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Students really love this 5-day challenge. You can feel the classroom buzzing with energy. The kiddos are so excited to have the freedom to brainstorm their own machine. <br />
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They are tasked with making a Rube Goldberg machine that executes a simple thing in a complicated way. For example, mixing a cup of Kool-Aid, popping a balloon, or turning the page of a book. The machine must have at least four energy transformations. But, the machine can be made out of whatever school-appropriate materials the group can come up with! The teacher does provide a few basic school supply type of materials, but honestly, the kids will hardly use these basic materials.<br />
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You will be super surprised when you see which students are jumping at the chance to participate in this project. I have witnessed one of the least motivated students in class suddenly think of something unique he had at home to bring in and contribute to the group project. <br />
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Here's what happens next: the once unmotivated student now has ownership in the project and cares about the outcome of the machine. It's magic!<br />
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The project wraps up with a multi-media group presentation. This showcases the group's sketches of the machine, photos of the machine, and also a video of the machine in action. Each person within the group is assigned a job to help make this presentation come together.<br />
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I love to have the kids vote on their favorite Rube Goldberg machine at the end of this project! Students always seem to enjoy a friendly competition with some type of teacher-friendly incentive as a reward. It could be a Starburst to a homework pass - whatever works for you and your school.<br />
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If you would love to do this project and want to save some time, check out the Rube Goldberg Machine 5-Day Challenge project in my TpT Store! <br />
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<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/mrs-willyerds-virtual-classroom-13613007?widgetv3=https://www.bloglovin.com/widgets"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZQYQJWQEliXXZVAerXdCaM-nHFrpOdFUpKIRsKxwAlAZI2abkVBidBJdTOYealrijoVg_tTO6_Tm0pFwDwqdLJ5yNnM0wVUOF9I7DpTgKQoveRSY-olZVREMbafBVIXygFLoVYDKtW0/s1600/blog+sig+signup3.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-58986039227967487172018-09-04T16:00:00.000-04:002018-09-04T22:16:33.922-04:00STEM Supply Donation Letter FREEBIE<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/STEM-Class-Donation-Letter-Templates-FREEBIE-2857417" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHpd9imdw8E663pAZDQ_ZtWqLbFUEFeeomktpdUdQnUq_ngzd92MEPQNbUH2tnGlG6JFBP1S-weURzEoTqxIk6nB9WTMpq4SU60wX-orNpn07qICJlZ3dfsOLiKR57xljVHLQXRlgnE_s/s320/STEM+Donation+Template+SMALL+Cover.jpg" width="320" /></a>It's the beginning of the school year and you have such glorious plans for creating and building this year!<br />
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But, you've used all your handy dandy supplies from last year. Your STEM cupboards are literally bare.<br />
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If only you had eaten enough SpaghettiOs throughout the summer to have enough tin cans to create robots!<br />
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So, what's a STEM teacher to do? Ask, beg, and plead for miscellaneous household items!<br />
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Here's a freebie supply letter template in several styles to allow you to easily ask for those typically discarded items that make your STEM class come alive!<br />
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Grab a couple of Rubbermaid tubs to be placed in the office for STEM donations. Then, parents can just drop these donations off at their leisure.<br />
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Here's to a fantastic year of STEM creating!<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/mrs-willyerds-virtual-classroom-13613007?widgetv3=https://www.bloglovin.com/widgets"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZQYQJWQEliXXZVAerXdCaM-nHFrpOdFUpKIRsKxwAlAZI2abkVBidBJdTOYealrijoVg_tTO6_Tm0pFwDwqdLJ5yNnM0wVUOF9I7DpTgKQoveRSY-olZVREMbafBVIXygFLoVYDKtW0/s1600/blog+sig+signup3.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-83486867066083506002018-08-17T18:16:00.000-04:002019-10-31T13:09:24.676-04:00Should I Teach the Scientific Method?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieBq5oBnMM0z_awe0jgAOV-U3vuXmAMedO_DebcvCbGPQMFM1rvuzzzeTS52C5sZ54H3K31mTwFs4VANM2qC_UQfOVDAEJjmnQJVgC1GdmgPHB99vaWS2e3kyF08pz9vYQk-lnpQ1wFOs/s1600/Scientific+Method+Post+-pinterest.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1066" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieBq5oBnMM0z_awe0jgAOV-U3vuXmAMedO_DebcvCbGPQMFM1rvuzzzeTS52C5sZ54H3K31mTwFs4VANM2qC_UQfOVDAEJjmnQJVgC1GdmgPHB99vaWS2e3kyF08pz9vYQk-lnpQ1wFOs/s400/Scientific+Method+Post+-pinterest.png" width="265" /></a></div>
The topic of teaching the scientific method is a controversial subject among science teachers.<br />
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The old scientific method teaches students that science is linear. Many text books use this simplified method of explaining the six main steps.<br />
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This method indirectly teaches the students that all scientists follow some easy cookbook recipe-type of science to always find a definitive answer to their question.<br />
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However, seasoned scientists know that science is anything but linear!<br />
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Scientists understand that a scientific investigation has many different paths it could follow. Any part of the scientific process could lead to any number of possible next steps. <br />
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For example, a conclusion to an investigation could cause the scientist to pose more questions to research. Or, scientists could also use the same scientific question to dig deeper on previous research conducted by other scientists.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://undsci.berkeley.edu/lessons/pdfs/complex_flow_handout.pdf" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPwqaFOJgy_iQMLIKKtBQdQMaPs7XbMOoqle8XzZvma53F4BmF7ofWBWNqvExMKganf-QgBkQBn1jVEWd7JYHII72_HygkA0IAfS9FBllkeH8zP1WOgX8o6pmXuJVbA8DO-00R0fAW3IQ/s320/Scientific+Process+Flow+Chart.gif" title="The Scientific Process" width="300" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://undsci.berkeley.edu/lessons/pdfs/complex_flow_handout.pdf" target="_blank">The Flow of the Scientific Process<br />www.understandingscience.org<br />© 2008 The University of California <br />Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley, <br />and the Regents of the University of California</a></td></tr>
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<b>So, which one should you teach - the scientific method or the scientific process?</b><br />
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I say - teach BOTH!<br />
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Now, why do I say that?<br />
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It has been my experience that upper elementary through middle school students need to understand the basic steps outlined within the scientific method.<br />
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Only once these principles have been mastered will the student be able to grasp how genuine inquiry is conducted through the scientific process.<br />
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<b>Do I ignore the reality of the scientific process until the students have mastered the steps of the scientific method? </b><br />
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Not at all. I usually carve out some time to have a class discussion about the difference between the scientific method and the scientific process.<br />
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I describe to the students how the scientists use the steps of the scientific method but not always in a certain order. This discussion helps expand the students' scientific way of knowing, which they build upon each year.<br />
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I believe teaching the steps outlined in the scientific method is a great foundation for the rest of the school year. Pairing the scientific method with experimental design will prepare your students to conduct meaningful inquiry related to grade-level content throughout the school year.<br />
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<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/mrs-willyerds-virtual-classroom-13613007?widgetv3=https://www.bloglovin.com/widgets"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZQYQJWQEliXXZVAerXdCaM-nHFrpOdFUpKIRsKxwAlAZI2abkVBidBJdTOYealrijoVg_tTO6_Tm0pFwDwqdLJ5yNnM0wVUOF9I7DpTgKQoveRSY-olZVREMbafBVIXygFLoVYDKtW0/s1600/blog+sig+signup3.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-36460192345754364272017-02-23T18:08:00.000-05:002018-08-01T12:48:04.446-04:00St. Patrick's Day STEM Challenge: Paper Bridge Challenge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHIJLUv0hMP2Esu-4fO4rqpgYD_LfYWsjikPC7aDjTTFZx232KzUn04feIbAEnEz6b-3jd_MdjdTuhq3VXc55dAQAddU4n7xFyqXDu1LSdVElcho8JpevEeiv9WnU6MSdQabbXLSnDk9E/s1600/St.+Patrick%2527s+Day+Paper+Bridge+STEM+Challenge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="St. Patrick's Day STEM Challenge asks the students to create a paper bridge that will hold 100 pennies for 30 seconds to help the leprechaun transfer his gold coins to the bank. Available versions for Grades 3-5 and Grades 5-8." border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHIJLUv0hMP2Esu-4fO4rqpgYD_LfYWsjikPC7aDjTTFZx232KzUn04feIbAEnEz6b-3jd_MdjdTuhq3VXc55dAQAddU4n7xFyqXDu1LSdVElcho8JpevEeiv9WnU6MSdQabbXLSnDk9E/s640/St.+Patrick%2527s+Day+Paper+Bridge+STEM+Challenge.jpg" title="St. Patrick's Day STEM Challenge asks the students to create a paper bridge that will hold 100 pennies for 30 seconds to help the leprechaun transfer his gold coins to the bank. Available versions for Grades 3-5 and Grades 5-8." width="426" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">STEM Challenges are my favorite way to engage students during those times of the school year when keeping their attention might be almost impossible! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">You can still celebrate St. Patrick's Day while making the experience fun and educational for your students. It is definitely a win-win situation for all involved! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Plus, if you have a spring break scheduled around this time, a STEM Challenge would be a perfect activity to work into your plans to help keep students on task once you've wrapped up other coursework.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>How does this St. Patrick's Day STEM Challenge work?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This St. Patrick's Day Paper Bridge STEM Challenge asks the students to create a paper bridge that will hold 100 pennies for 30 seconds to help the leprechaun transfer his gold coins to the bank. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The new bridge must be made out of a limited amount of common household / classroom materials and completed with a certain amount of time.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Students will go through the STEM design process to create the leprechaun's new bridge. The students will then test the bridge prototypes using pennies (or anything else you may have handy - like unifix cubes or washers). Students will then make improvements to the bridge after the first trial to yield a stronger bridge for the second trial.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDw7-WNIQ7GUz4Pftw5lQaLAD-NVkIjqQb7Cu97G-0m2SsgkZo1VZzX8dsypz_KWHn_J_df6tZ-I6-G4XdxcH2mb1R6X4xrEihV6NG0RSs_uhQSogCiuFd_8UQV2c_jalFZAc0mOKRA7M/s1600/Grades+3-5+PPT-+St.+Patrick%2527s+Day+Paper+Bridge+preview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="St. Patrick's Day STEM Challenge asks the students to create a paper bridge that will hold 100 pennies for 30 seconds to help the leprechaun transfer his gold coins to the bank. Available versions for Grades 3-5 and Grades 5-8." border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDw7-WNIQ7GUz4Pftw5lQaLAD-NVkIjqQb7Cu97G-0m2SsgkZo1VZzX8dsypz_KWHn_J_df6tZ-I6-G4XdxcH2mb1R6X4xrEihV6NG0RSs_uhQSogCiuFd_8UQV2c_jalFZAc0mOKRA7M/s320/Grades+3-5+PPT-+St.+Patrick%2527s+Day+Paper+Bridge+preview.jpg" title="St. Patrick's Day STEM Challenge asks the students to create a paper bridge that will hold 100 pennies for 30 seconds to help the leprechaun transfer his gold coins to the bank. Available versions for Grades 3-5 and Grades 5-8." width="247" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">STEM Challenge Preview for Grades 3-5</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The middle school kids in grades 5-8 are expected to identify the need, research the problem, design a solution by writing detailed procedures and sketching prototypes, build and test a prototype, and troubleshoot. The younger students in grades 3-5 are asked to follow the same steps - but in a simpler way. These kiddos will Ask, Imagine, Create, and Improve.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Your classroom will be buzzing with organized chaos as students collaborate on their designs! It is always interesting to observe, as a facilitator, how the students are working together and which "roles" the students choose to take within the challenge. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>So, what should this paper bridge look like?</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The great thing about a STEM Challenge is that there is not a cookie cutter "right answer" for the students to create. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The students will amaze you with their creativity! Often times, the students design prototypes that adults would never imagine from the limited amount of supplies provided within the challenge.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>How do you measure the success of a STEM Challenge?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Of course, it is fun to cheer on the students to design the best prototype that will "win" the challenge.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But, as a teacher, the activity is a success when you observe your students actively following the STEM Design Process steps.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">You see them critically thinking, creating, and analyzing the prototype's performance and design when troubleshooting. Students have been activating those higher levels of thinking while having a wonderful time! </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Do you love this activity but don't have the time to design it yourself?</b> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">A student handout, corresponding presentation, and detailed lesson plan is available in my </span><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Angela-Willyerd" style="background-color: white; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">TeachersPayTeachers store</a><span style="background-color: white;"> for <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/St-Patricks-Day-STEM-Challenge-Paper-Bridge-PPT-Grades-3-5-2424422" target="_blank">grades 3-5</a> and <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/St-Patricks-Day-STEM-Challenge-Paper-Bridge-PPT-Grades-5-8-2421385" target="_blank">grades 5-8</a> in either PowerPoint or SMART Notebook formats!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/St-Patricks-Day-STEM-Challenge-Paper-Bridge-PPT-Grades-5-8-2421385" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="St. Patrick's Day STEM Challenge asks the students to create a paper bridge that will hold 100 pennies for 30 seconds to help the leprechaun transfer his gold coins to the bank. Available versions for Grades 3-5 and Grades 5-8." border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilriVx9RZpo8VnB-n31tMquSMuSvtNBbc688CpjwIQNGayBVfzG18NrZSgQZjYhB02OKdq7oZNUagbUtJqnl76wr4YTQenc30yX17CQQ1vYCYqvhY6k3BC6IUYQe3tg60-Du3geR9lHxQ/s320/St.+Patrick%2527s+Day+Paper+Bridge+SMALL+cover.jpg" title="St. Patrick's Day STEM Challenge asks the students to create a paper bridge that will hold 100 pennies for 30 seconds to help the leprechaun transfer his gold coins to the bank. Available versions for Grades 3-5 and Grades 5-8." width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Click to Shop Now!</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/mrs-willyerds-virtual-classroom-13613007?widgetv3=https://www.bloglovin.com/widgets"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZQYQJWQEliXXZVAerXdCaM-nHFrpOdFUpKIRsKxwAlAZI2abkVBidBJdTOYealrijoVg_tTO6_Tm0pFwDwqdLJ5yNnM0wVUOF9I7DpTgKQoveRSY-olZVREMbafBVIXygFLoVYDKtW0/s1600/blog+sig+signup3.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-52714552662708565502017-02-07T00:00:00.000-05:002017-07-31T16:02:27.307-04:00Be Mine TpT Gift Card Giveaway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIdR-SeRwaOLFUfgr_yk4wQ8brmJ2aiZw3eAPnLwvUP3EUbdCFqrE1KkWA9E3VTQv4vQV7bmxNrg1KygCUeg0C9h5mr8mHXuSOoi4dnEYXFUsZ9NiswOzbbVdzlVMBXlnZT1v-2YFyksc/s1600/Be+Mine+blog+header.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIdR-SeRwaOLFUfgr_yk4wQ8brmJ2aiZw3eAPnLwvUP3EUbdCFqrE1KkWA9E3VTQv4vQV7bmxNrg1KygCUeg0C9h5mr8mHXuSOoi4dnEYXFUsZ9NiswOzbbVdzlVMBXlnZT1v-2YFyksc/s640/Be+Mine+blog+header.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Hurry! The giveaway ends at 11:59 PM (EST) on Tuesday 02/07. The winner will be notified via e-mail by noon (EST) on Wednesday, so you will have time to fill up your TpT cart with lots of goodies before the end of the sale!</div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Valentines-Day-The-Night-Before-Valentines-Day-Sequencing-Activity-1666032" target="_blank"><img alt="The Night Before Valentine's Day Sequencing Activity is a great companion to the book and encourages students to build their comprehension and re-telling abilities." border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhguae75aGFCQolYV_rboJit1F2m-syVktG4b6DEk3437WN2DdkSO_mXHpfQMs-l3C3Ukcg09BqB_beE1vI43UmwG7a4h09isQQVSSQW7sSCz3RHwvpYYGSo658IMyIKIWo_BKMUa4E8a0/s200/Be+Mine+1.png" title="The Night Before Valentine's Day Sequencing Activity is a great companion to the book and encourages students to build their comprehension and re-telling abilities." width="200" /></a></div>
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The <b>Night Before Series</b> is a favorite at my house! We love all the fun books that accompany each and every holiday. I enjoy creating sequencing activities as a book companion. <br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Valentines-Day-The-Night-Before-Valentines-Day-Sequencing-Activity-1666032" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="The Night Before Valentine's Day Sequencing Activity is a great companion to the book and encourages students to build their comprehension and re-telling abilities." border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzv4v_yI-VsGAxnmShZKJ5bFwRm29nlOnRALpj1xAJKDG-tkF9TdbadEZc_ruuVY8fA9StEtSCQ_EtLbPZkujOMpH_ygj7C-p5CS6l0EkUEHJt57PfMPXvPQ9hpS8HL2FnOlfGcRZeowQ/s320/Night+Before+Valentine%2527s+Day+Sequencing+Activity+Preview+Thumb.jpg" title="The Night Before Valentine's Day Sequencing Activity is a great companion to the book and encourages students to build their comprehension and re-telling abilities." width="247" /></a></div>
Each <b>sequencing activity</b> includes illustrated cards of key events within the story, which enables the students to practice their comprehension and re-telling abilities. Students just simply listen to the story, cut, sort, and paste onto a final copy.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/100th-Day-The-Night-Before-the-100th-Day-of-School-Sequencing-Activity-2298758" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="The Night Before the 100th Day of School Sequencing is a great companion to the book! This allows students to strengthen their comprehension and re-telling skills." border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSQWeP7ZND1DhkZQUQpfySr_3gjioZmewF9S_iJdaUGHhhUuavC-bdy9UsZN4l1emjKOCR82-W5UaM8sJXaOGBPbBO64-xQES1wsnBGAjuFv8QOd7gck0INyS7Gsg1tGg18OGvpBF4KBM/s200/2017+-+Night+Before+100th+Day+Cover+-+small.jpg" title="The Night Before the 100th Day of School Sequencing is a great companion to the book! This allows students to strengthen their comprehension and re-telling skills." width="200" /></a>The class can also check their results using an interactive presentation - available in both PowerPoint and SMART Notebook - which provides them with immediate feedback as they attempt to place the cards in the correct order on the slide.<br />
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Here's an example of <b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/100th-Day-The-Night-Before-the-100th-Day-of-School-Sequencing-Activity-2298758" target="_blank">The Night Before the 100th Day of School Sequencing Activity</a></b>:<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BP3wBdhD6VL/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A video posted by Angela Willyerd (@angelawillyerd)</a> on <time datetime="2017-01-30T02:05:01+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jan 29, 2017 at 6:05pm PST</time></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Valentines-Day-STEM-Challenge-Cupids-Catapult-Grades-3-5-PowerPoint-2284368" target="_blank"><img alt="Cupid's Catapult STEM Challenge encourages students to follow the STEM Design Process while creating a catapult to help ease Cupid's workload!" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjZPthWrEmVGDDddNs_pXTVcvVR84QZ9R_VGWfMMyLmAJ3BgrJIsP-8n2RezwuPM8ucx7E5DCwpT1y-4XXWAxLvfGKWf1LWSRo1h4N0MEZopCaxdy_J8juddvaWxo6pnwdaVPF1CcjxE/s200/Be+Mine+2.png" title="Cupid's Catapult STEM Challenge encourages students to follow the STEM Design Process while creating a catapult to help ease Cupid's workload!" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Valentines-Day-STEM-Challenge-Cupids-Catapult-Grades-3-5-PowerPoint-2284368" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Cupid's Catapult STEM Challenge encourages students to follow the STEM Design Process while creating a catapult to help ease Cupid's workload!" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijXu8AiwDgo1L2xMtb_JCZefEUMC8w6s_wdO0oPkmh6UqXLiy7vEdVngYUSt2BpXQyL1enu3I_HQJrL9yXnHzbIOCkGM-BTzYKKIvrATk9twmmckEGwNFzbhqVO52L1MSeteaAFoFy8ng/s320/Cupid%2527s+Catapult+Grades+3-5+STEM+Challenge+2016+SMART+Bd+Preview.jpg" title="Cupid's Catapult STEM Challenge encourages students to follow the STEM Design Process while creating a catapult to help ease Cupid's workload!" width="246" /></a><br />
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<b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Valentines-Day-STEM-Challenge-Cupids-Catapult-Grades-5-8-PowerPoint-1683495" target="_blank">Cupid's Catapult STEM Challenge</a></b> sets the stage to engage with a STEM Story about poor Cupid, who needed an upgrade to his bow and arrow technology with a catapult that would launch piercing hearts far distances.<br />
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The students follow the STEM Design Process to design and build a catapult prototype made out of a limited amount regular household items within a certain period of time. The students then test the prototype and troubleshoot to determine how to make the catapult launch the marshmallow heart even farther during the next trial.<br />
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The corresponding presentation and student handout makes this STEM Challenge super easy for a teacher to facilitate. Available in <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Valentines-Day-STEM-Challenge-Cupids-Catapult-Grades-3-5-PowerPoint-2284368" target="_blank">Grades 3-5</a> and <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Valentines-Day-STEM-Challenge-Cupids-Catapult-Grades-5-8-PowerPoint-1683495" target="_blank">Grades 5-8</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Valentines-Day-Conversation-Heart-Science-Lab-Grades-3-5-PowerPoint-1699999" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHjy3FCx1v_G80SYYPTy75xfGPuchDGjr9QuCDNT2ULVQRAKGpD0FSnppcD7hfXgfOFqVa5XucEMsXzzb5_ot2xT_wgkORG7Bx3SOR-q_tWlPb8lxi81gcxYZF0K5IYSnb9iC7yQZBfIA/s200/Be+Mine+3.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Valentines-Day-Conversation-Heart-Science-Lab-Grades-3-5-PowerPoint-1699999" target="_blank"><br /></a></b>
<b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Valentines-Day-Conversation-Heart-Science-Lab-Grades-3-5-PowerPoint-1699999" target="_blank">Out of this World Conversation Heart Science Lab</a></b> is a great way to use those conversation hearts plus practice following the scientific method - developing a scientific question, writing a hypothesis, analyzing data, and determining a conclusion.<br />
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Students are presented with a scenario where an alien is curious about the astronaut's candy hearts. The astronaut then invites the alien into the space station to conduct an experiment to see if different temperatures of water will affect the candy heart.<br />
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This lab activity is available for <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Valentines-Day-Conversation-Heart-Science-Lab-Grades-3-5-PowerPoint-1699999" target="_blank">Grades 3-5</a> and <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Valentines-Day-Conversation-Heart-Science-Lab-Grades-5-8-PPT-1702111" target="_blank">Grades 5-8</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Duck-for-President-Sequencing-Activity-Presidents-Day-Election-Day-1705775" target="_blank"><img alt="Duck for President Sequencing Activity is a great companion to the book and encourages students to build their comprehension and re-telling abilities." border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_9qhKVA8Pbm8GxbR7_9Ipx-aq91azDriFcK9-5fWmr66j9Auw6w1XfiqMXHkcVKPhKQzUqfCgTv6fUTJ4U6HHyfj8h93IQLbrCeiHzzzFHQZvhauCRV0EdOkRo1t0AWjqNcGjHJqlaGs/s200/Be+Mine+4.png" title="Duck for President Sequencing Activity is a great companion to the book and encourages students to build their comprehension and re-telling abilities." width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Duck-for-President-Sequencing-Activity-Presidents-Day-Election-Day-1705775" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Duck for President Sequencing Activity is a great companion to the book and encourages students to build their comprehension and re-telling abilities." border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBKmMKbDoU_01HiU1qjqWJJ0dzf4O7ShepoP32oH4Q3sUDpHAJRcfHdT0RhrowGGgWxGufFXFAlfZMw0N_TABea731gGxRhXDPzDDHihBZGQfhQjTt1M8dD7Wd_LvbtzAVO-qiQY4J1OE/s200/Duck+for+President+Sequencing+Activity+Pinterest+Image.jpg" title="Duck for President Sequencing Activity is a great companion to the book and encourages students to build their comprehension and re-telling abilities." width="132" /></a>Mid-February brings Presidents' Day!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Duck-for-President-Sequencing-Activity-Presidents-Day-Election-Day-1705775" target="_blank">Duck for President Sequencing Activity</a> is a fabulous companion activity to the hilarious book.<br />
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Students will cut out the illustrated cards, sort, and paste the events into the correct order on the final template.<br />
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An interactive PowerPoint or SMART Notebook file allows students to receive immediate feedback when modeling the activity or checking the answers as a class.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Presidents-Day-Election-Day-If-I-Were-President-Narrative-Writing-Prompt-1702938" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="If I Were President Narrative Writing Prompt encourages students to brainstorm what they would do first, then, next, and last." border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cP-pBX__1g8jo5jowZbeNl3gF294csCS4iQHizcIpDn27s78KytJM5qKy5IIBFWc2Awi-tLzVnmZjPXgRnahs1uGPjOxpzqy_lvHVOLZwf6nW19aRvkogeii9Dbg8dBdgWfDElLKcpc/s200/Be+Mine+5.png" title="If I Were President Narrative Writing Prompt encourages students to brainstorm what they would do first, then, next, and last." width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Presidents-Day-Election-Day-If-I-Were-President-Narrative-Writing-Prompt-1702938" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="If I Were President Narrative Writing Prompt encourages students to brainstorm what they would do first, then, next, and last." border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEMAzC8McN_ZdIZSSW8BOZUIyzHde_HodKlSxlhv5YgjcR7i40ZsA63CtKbhoY6kHzW00-uj3SfnVGMeCcSOOV2YfrjaF2WUafp_acmXSkaAJJOiYhsMNVE8q5c-ocgrrAToq3YY9yLGo/s200/If+I+Were+President+Preview.jpg" title="If I Were President Narrative Writing Prompt encourages students to brainstorm what they would do first, then, next, and last." width="154" /></a>Have your students ever thought about what they would do if they were president?<br />
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The <b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Presidents-Day-Election-Day-If-I-Were-President-Narrative-Writing-Prompt-1702938" target="_blank">If I Were President Narrative Writing Prompt</a></b> encourages students to brainstorm what they would do first, then, next, and finally. <br />
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Students can then write and illustrate a final copy that would be a perfect bulletin board or hall display! (And, I imagine some really interesting reading!)<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px; text-align: center;"><b>Keep the blog hop going by clicking on the button below</b> to visit</span><br />
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<a href="http://sweetsweetprimary.blogspot.com/2017/02/fabulous-february.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8BmPKP0b3G9n9m7yynfQkALZKUDqSgySmdWe2bDs3xdi0_WAppzp3x5int1wAF3Ao78igrIH79-zu0Ph1WMTrwcgAh0Vdx8wykkPo2WNFglZZroUMXUYawPcasv2ycYIzcCTbK7hWjvo/s200/Be+Mine+Next+Blog.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/mrs-willyerds-virtual-classroom-13613007?widgetv3=https://www.bloglovin.com/widgets"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZQYQJWQEliXXZVAerXdCaM-nHFrpOdFUpKIRsKxwAlAZI2abkVBidBJdTOYealrijoVg_tTO6_Tm0pFwDwqdLJ5yNnM0wVUOF9I7DpTgKQoveRSY-olZVREMbafBVIXygFLoVYDKtW0/s1600/blog+sig+signup3.png"/></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-17308394484003091602016-11-27T06:00:00.000-05:002018-08-01T13:00:25.023-04:00Cyber Monday TpT Gift Card Giveaway!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , sans-serif;">I'm excited to give you the gift of time this holiday season with a chance to win a </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif;">$10 TpT gift card!</b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , sans-serif;">Use your gift card to stuff your cart full of goodies that get you through the winter months, so you have more time for family!</span><br />
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Plus, you can maximize your $10 by using it in the upcoming <b>TpT Sitewide Sale</b> on <b>Monday, </b><b>November 28 through Tuesday, November 29</b>! Save up to 28% using the code: CYBER2016 </div>
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<b>Want more chances to win?</b> Just visit a few of my blogging buddies to enter for another chance at a $10 TpT Gift Card. If you visit everyone in our blog hop, you could <b>win up to $260</b> in TpT Gift Cards. Sounds good, right? </div>
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<b>So how do you enter?</b> Read about my Top 5 Winter Activities and then complete the Rafflecopter entry. Be sure to click on the button at the end of this post to be directed to the next post in the hop. </div>
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Hurry! The giveaway ends at 11:59 PM (EST) on Monday 11/28. The winner will be notified via e-mail by noon (EST) on Tuesday, so you will have time to fill up your TpT cart with lots of goodies before the end of the sale!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKLknxv_zhm6BpwQzBwRPLbyQVRRQQnlIDRuE6ef0HDmOMFy1fSG4qRlpOiOm_86TiLpOKyLrrc9dSaeaRqhUP4o_ygkgqbxRgByMiTzfZpi96yllOnEfq_k2uhMUXH1O-ONX_F4ha_2g/s1600/Top5watermark.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="117" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKLknxv_zhm6BpwQzBwRPLbyQVRRQQnlIDRuE6ef0HDmOMFy1fSG4qRlpOiOm_86TiLpOKyLrrc9dSaeaRqhUP4o_ygkgqbxRgByMiTzfZpi96yllOnEfq_k2uhMUXH1O-ONX_F4ha_2g/s320/Top5watermark.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggUHYc5Fxx1N-f6RRBkpOhh7KCnGeaIPpSPrZrhbnxpwKxonJ2AiAz7xUIbaEJ-mL3-_-xz0xmo-Ayryy9z-WoyVfuAZBDiHmdrjkfM1rsL1z4tRXuqTIcTvHPSou9PHox7m8XudH3Pi4/s1600/Winter1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggUHYc5Fxx1N-f6RRBkpOhh7KCnGeaIPpSPrZrhbnxpwKxonJ2AiAz7xUIbaEJ-mL3-_-xz0xmo-Ayryy9z-WoyVfuAZBDiHmdrjkfM1rsL1z4tRXuqTIcTvHPSou9PHox7m8XudH3Pi4/s200/Winter1.jpeg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>STEM Challenges</b> are a perfect way to spend those days leading up to winter break or to get the wheels turning on those first days back from break. Some of my favorite winter STEM activities include:</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Marshmallow-Challenge-STEM-and-Team-Building-Activity-PowerPoint-Lesson-1712425" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="The Marshmallow STEM Challenge is a great introductory STEM challenge allowing students to create and collaborate while using a limited amount of common household items within a certain amount of time to create the tallest, free-standing structure!" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF4DcQd-I79flwlkXRhrmO9JsdfC_yW935jpDc4g95vNDg-6psMGZ5VSdBznTy4pkVuv87bNVO-slKCI8UNIm7TN4TCKN5e42YuVxrZkJ5sOn8v3kCIKxVbj0UsN-Nzn_4LPzFVMrqpGs/s320/Marshmallow+Challenge+Pinnable+Image.jpg" title="The Marshmallow STEM Challenge is a great introductory STEM challenge allowing students to create and collaborate while using a limited amount of common household items within a certain amount of time to create the tallest, free-standing structure!" width="212" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">The <b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Marshmallow-Challenge-STEM-and-Team-Building-Activity-PowerPoint-Lesson-1712425" target="_blank">Marshmallow Challenge</a></b> asks students to build the tallest, freestanding structure out of spaghetti sticks, tape, and string within a certain amount of time. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The tower must remain standing </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">once time expires with a marshmallow stuck on the top of the structure. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is a great introductory STEM lab that works for all grades. </span><a href="http://www.mrswillyerd.com/2010/09/marshmallow-challenge.html" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Read more about the Marshmallow Challenge in this blog post.</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-STEM-Challenge-Jingle-All-The-Way-PPT-Grades-3-5-2240023" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Jingle All The Way Christmas STEM Challenge - Students must design a better sleigh for Santa using common household items." border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVfNebx7nc9Doo3iPyqAxofRNKZIrLD3CsG1xQBqCROlrG-RSRXbuyfhgRL9RXdmRzFZkcON7eqZlbnnnXAgawiEyyVlqHjSv1GXMx8dGIMnBPVkkOp8wd43N3iX8VNaL10GevFgsQtOo/s320/Christmas+STEM+Challenge+-+Jingle+All+The+Way+-+Pinnable+Image.jpg" title="Jingle All The Way Christmas STEM Challenge - Students must design a better sleigh for Santa using common household items." width="212" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another STEM Challenge perfect for December is the <b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-STEM-Challenge-Jingle-All-The-Way-PPT-Grades-3-5-2240023" target="_blank">Jingle All The Way Christmas STEM Challenge</a></b>. Students must <span style="background-color: white; color: #202020;">design a sleigh that is lightweight and sturdy out of common household items that can tolerate the weight of the many presents Santa has to deliver all over the world. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020;">Students work through the STEM Design Process to create a prototype with limited materials and time, test the prototype, and troubleshoot to enhance the original prototype to yield better results.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020;"><a href="http://www.mrswillyerd.com/2015/12/christmas-stem-challenge-jingle-all-way.html" target="_blank">Read more about Jingle All The Way in this blog post.</a></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsRvh09C4zPo5bvcY4XY4pRG9gyDP8IhwXYumdnJGBP1kuPjMX19ipkWZXBkgz5WOmCTjA3p1jDfkXsV2CHCUAvBsLCYmXoZu5Z_SVIsY7kFSC5h9G4XjsfX8IsrxSSemgGZMknZPGLM8/s1600/Winter2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsRvh09C4zPo5bvcY4XY4pRG9gyDP8IhwXYumdnJGBP1kuPjMX19ipkWZXBkgz5WOmCTjA3p1jDfkXsV2CHCUAvBsLCYmXoZu5Z_SVIsY7kFSC5h9G4XjsfX8IsrxSSemgGZMknZPGLM8/s200/Winter2.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Winter-Science-Lab-Let-It-Grow-Snowflake-Science-Activity-PPT-Grades-3-5-2242943" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Let It Grow! Winter Snowflake Science Activity - Help Elsa decorate her castle with beautiful homemade snowflakes using pipe cleaners and powdered laundry detergent while practicing the scientific method!" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcEEt_0FEeqKasLwuvBrpwQmIc5_Qpm3m2Imc5VKiZd5sXJtvISWcQrFnoYizzLKpkuiiZwbcRE7BZEOprdY69QzcDiN0-Ca3cWEhST33jGbAnbg8ju2Uq5hH9jOY4kkXuXmvDpmcz_oA/s320/Let+It+Grow+Winter+Snowflake+Science+Activity+Pinnable+Image.jpg" title="Let It Grow! Winter Snowflake Science Activity - Help Elsa decorate her castle with beautiful homemade snowflakes using pipe cleaners and powdered laundry detergent while practicing the scientific method!" width="212" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020;">Help </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020;">Elsa decorate her castle with beautiful homemade snowflakes using pipe cleaners and powdered laundry detergent (Borax). </span></span><br />
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<b style="color: #202020;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Winter-Science-Lab-Let-It-Grow-Snowflake-Science-Activity-PPT-Grades-3-5-2242943" target="_blank">Let It Grow! Snowflake Science Activity</a></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020;"> allows students to have a lot of fun while practicing their scientific inquiry skills. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: inherit;">Lab activities are differentiated and available for Grades 3-5 and <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Winter-Science-Lab-Let-It-Grow-Snowflake-Science-PPT-Grades-5-8-2248519">5-8.</a> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #202020;"><span style="background-color: white;">Depending on your grade level, you may want to allow the students to conduct this in several small groups or work together as a class. Teachers who opt for the whole class activity can always select student volunteers to come up to the front of the class to help with the different steps of the lab.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #202020;"><span style="background-color: white;">This resource also includes a detailed lesson plan and corresponding PowerPoint or SMART Board presentation that provides a lot of visuals to help both the teacher and student conduct a relatively smooth science lab!</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #202020;">The 3-5 Grade Handout features choices that scaffold students' thinking when determining a scientific method, making a prediction, and forming a conclusion.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_q8uRdB1_lflaaA_fyTdQb2cfSXOHZZVxW8WLC-0qcOgZMUM6GqvhhvixJmB_ftaFzy2eCeu3kYUoft27NbFMYom8nAbjCsVhnS7sT0OvPIYZiKy8jEo89HA9EMVv3Rb0HT2j066vdI/s1600/Winter3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_q8uRdB1_lflaaA_fyTdQb2cfSXOHZZVxW8WLC-0qcOgZMUM6GqvhhvixJmB_ftaFzy2eCeu3kYUoft27NbFMYom8nAbjCsVhnS7sT0OvPIYZiKy8jEo89HA9EMVv3Rb0HT2j066vdI/s200/Winter3.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Narrative-Writing-Prompt-If-I-Were-an-Elf-Who-Lived-on-a-Shelf-2886438" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="If I Were an Elf Who Lived on a Shelf - Christmas Narrative Writing Prompt - Students brainstorm a sequential story about what they would do if they were an elf who lived on a shelf using a graphic organizer and create a final copy that would make a great bulletin board display!" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTAoTjX8QL5bTrZrsJCVvZWjHkVJ7DoJSPpjziYACGTP_JnzW5Wj48kUCcn2tyMT3pthbzaqHUEMY26EhgG7P7mgFs4cTv01o2ONYVK59b79h1aRZd4Om7FlPdpixDURDTDrE8By8u3zQ/s320/If+I+Were+an+Elf+Pinnable+Image.jpg" title="If I Were an Elf Who Lived on a Shelf - Christmas Narrative Writing Prompt - Students brainstorm a sequential story about what they would do if they were an elf who lived on a shelf using a graphic organizer and create a final copy that would make a great bulletin board display!" width="212" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Narrative-Writing-Prompt-If-I-Were-an-Elf-Who-Lived-on-a-Shelf-2886438" target="_blank">If I Were an Elf Who Lived on a Shelf Narrative Writing Prompt </a>will create lots of discussion in your elementary classroom - especially if you have a classroom elf or many of your students have an elf at home!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: inherit;">Students are provided with a graphic organizer which helps them organize their thoughts into a sequential story with a closing. Once the students have completed their brainstorming, then they can transfer the information to a final story board. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: inherit;">This would look awesome on a bulletin board or in the hallway!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiShrw6x2KSy2NHe8mPzj48nDj1KoDx829JdmJOQ_H-w1f_-Ckqj180j0XvtpK-2SOojhN2kdzzn5FXxX0SfHBgyk7QXeBvD96bucGcfjAH4PKs_0NxoDYGY7b0kM7YGrzZahtd40ktxvQ/s1600/Winter4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiShrw6x2KSy2NHe8mPzj48nDj1KoDx829JdmJOQ_H-w1f_-Ckqj180j0XvtpK-2SOojhN2kdzzn5FXxX0SfHBgyk7QXeBvD96bucGcfjAH4PKs_0NxoDYGY7b0kM7YGrzZahtd40ktxvQ/s200/Winter4.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Class-Activity-Would-You-Rather-2255387" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Would You Rather Interactive Christmas Game - Includes 30 fun, Christmas-related scenarios. Students will then answer each scenario by moving to the side of the room indicated by the arrow on the slide. Perfect for those days just before winter break!" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvuQtJaqcLPk6wDYbD6FVzEPQ4JoZ-Ou8SrqRji_EEFXVn65ZdkP6t4xX-0-5tCnY8hsQWYjawEhTK-H3SiLr3SzG9zBre8vzdsgWUvcmXoPflaZdHsUGPy8yAcr96mSn8rcgQ9yRQx0/s320/Would+You+Rather+Interactive+Christmas+Game+Pinnable+Image.jpg" title="Would You Rather Interactive Christmas Game - Includes 30 fun, Christmas-related scenarios. Students will then answer each scenario by moving to the side of the room indicated by the arrow on the slide. Perfect for those days just before winter break!" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020;">Do you know those days when you have shorter gaps of time to fill before or after a holiday assembly? </span><b style="color: #202020;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Class-Activity-Would-You-Rather-2255387" target="_blank">Would You Rather - Christmas Edition</a> </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020;">- is the perfect class activity to have in your teacher toolkit for those types of situations. Just o</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020;">pen up this game and automatically engage your </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: inherit;">students! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #202020;">This resource has 30 fun, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020;">Christmas-themed Would You Rather scenarios. The slides can be projected on a white board, projection screen, or SMART Board through PowerPoint. The teacher (or a student) can read the scenario on the slide. The students will then show what they would prefer to do in the scenario by moving to the side of the room indicated by the arrow on the slide. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Make sure to ask follow up questions after each Would You Rather scenario to promote the development of a learning community!</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0IOCZBWQZpc4a_iOkJY5cGkzy2kpsn4Oqc0z-U-z1Fn5_pt3C32o_3JDgvZrq8ugGIh68pK7MQUQpjDzfDitKIhk1AvU8Mr6R5SLrKl0nkLh6r5MctCYf_XyoM9BadUynWybV8xl3dEY/s1600/Winter5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0IOCZBWQZpc4a_iOkJY5cGkzy2kpsn4Oqc0z-U-z1Fn5_pt3C32o_3JDgvZrq8ugGIh68pK7MQUQpjDzfDitKIhk1AvU8Mr6R5SLrKl0nkLh6r5MctCYf_XyoM9BadUynWybV8xl3dEY/s200/Winter5.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: inherit;">If you are a fan of "The Night Before..." stories by Natasha Wing, then these sequencing activities will be a fantastic companion piece to these books. The Night Before the Night Before Christmas is a hilarious book to add to your collection as your get closer to winter break.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-The-Night-Before-the-Night-Before-Christmas-Sequencing-Activity-2258235" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Are you reading The Night Before the Night Before Christmas by Natasha Wing? This sequencing activity is a great companion activity to this hilarious story. Students will practice their retelling and comprehension skills by cutting and pasting illustrated cards into the correct order on a final storyboard." border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZlNIQJ6CLYE9l5kXSDweLvpLj7z9UxM-qjQ3Jy6Jc_dR_CTrVQtGmN2PMjfNmFngCYUxDq-zETeNhk_E0y5gjswmLwg1Uh1ygWTSQRODAoe4rvun_9wR0GhQJUj9pdZPSUFB5aIjiMMs/s200/The+Night+Before+the+Night+Before+Christmas+Cover+-+small.jpg" title="Are you reading The Night Before the Night Before Christmas by Natasha Wing? This sequencing activity is a great companion activity to this hilarious story. Students will practice their retelling and comprehension skills by cutting and pasting illustrated cards into the correct order on a final storyboard." width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: inherit;">This resource includes two worksheets: one includes illustrated cards that represents the key events that occurred in the story and the second includes numbered boxes to help students paste the cards into the correct order as the events happened in the story.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: inherit;">(Note: This resource is currently being updated to include color and black and white versions plus an interactive whole class answer check activity as mentioned below. Debut date is 12/1/16!)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: inherit;">Also included is an Interactive Whole Class Answer Check Sequencing Activity in both PowerPoint and SMART Notebook formats. Students will press or click on the illustrated card they believe is the next in order. The students will receive instant feedback to either receive another try to select the correct answer or to move on to the next step of the activity.</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-66082392531882759222016-11-02T18:07:00.001-04:002017-07-31T16:04:28.531-04:00Duck for President Sequencing Activity Companion Resource<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4N6BRwt2mnMu4kO76MOOKipG0p4NGnTv-3Y4L4gNZ29RFYwZEBFTkzpoNSJpxKVfSVyqYio1jzHAn90LQoYb2e1efjXNK571dDh0SGiIIXgG76uvK5Rb4EiMKbGLOMcwmliKrwPeyZHw/s1600/Duck+for+President+Sequencing+Activity+Pinterest+Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Duck for President Sequencing Activity Companion Resource for Presidents' Day or Election Day" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4N6BRwt2mnMu4kO76MOOKipG0p4NGnTv-3Y4L4gNZ29RFYwZEBFTkzpoNSJpxKVfSVyqYio1jzHAn90LQoYb2e1efjXNK571dDh0SGiIIXgG76uvK5Rb4EiMKbGLOMcwmliKrwPeyZHw/s400/Duck+for+President+Sequencing+Activity+Pinterest+Image.jpg" title="Duck for President Sequencing Activity Companion Resource for Presidents' Day or Election Day" width="267" /></a></div>
Duck for President by Doreen Cronin is a wonderful book to share in November and February - near Election Day and Presidents' Day!<br />
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Students can relate to Duck not wanting to do his chores and deciding to make a change around the farm. This moment really captures the students' attention and introduces them to the election process.<br />
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Students are then exposed to local, state, and national government structures in a fun way through Duck's adventures.<br />
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One of my favorite activities to determine the comprehension of a read aloud is for students to work individually on a sequencing activity.<br />
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This sequencing activity includes two pages: a cut-out page featuring illustrated cards with short captions and a final student handout which allows the students to paste the cards in the correct order. <br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Duck-for-President-Sequencing-Activity-Presidents-Day-Election-Day-1705775" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Duck for President Sequencing Activity Companion Resource for Presidents' Day or Election Day" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnmMIyd1B6gymAAsfWR8erqzRu7LrVr7vtNb0XxewNqID25SI_Fv2HnqWMUNBij6hQFkA9pP9A0dYDYCK8fdD8urGRXIGxBJIiTlNLzkRNfZlIW2MDZeZX8uyYPq4kpQ6OCSER2Of_0bU/s200/Duck+for+President+cut.gif" title="Duck for President Sequencing Activity Companion Resource for Presidents' Day or Election Day" width="200" /></a>Once students have worked their fine motor skills by cutting out the illustrated cards, then they can sort the cards to practice retelling the story. <br />
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Even a struggling reader, who might not be able to remember the order of events right away, can analyze the illustrated cards. <br />
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Where was Duck in this card? Who was with Duck? When did this happen in the story? These are all questions that can start getting the wheels turning for a student. <br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Duck-for-President-Sequencing-Activity-Presidents-Day-Election-Day-1705775" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Duck for President Sequencing Activity Companion Resource for Presidents' Day or Election Day" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNYdXYpQA2o6c7nlmlxF-dRwrMFbBGBkZhwQN72510-Bdb16ptmVUIwqEs0GcmOwszpADuNXeCysy-5roUapZK_nZB06V9hz92vhrKP9OPC4-VXAsBsmOIjafFSIN143k3fSGqoUWyWiI/s200/Duck+for+President+Glue.gif" title="Duck for President Sequencing Activity Companion Resource for Presidents' Day or Election Day" width="200" /></a>Students can then glue the illustrated cards in the correct order on the final student handout.<br />
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Kids get a kick out of checking their answers using an interactive PowerPoint or SMART Notebook resource. <br />
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Students are asked to press or click on the correct card and receive immediate feedback to either try again or go on to the next step of the activity. <br />
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This is a great way to get the class up and moving!<br />
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Do you love this activity? Don't want to recreate the wheel? Then, take a look at this no prep resource in my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Duck-for-President-Sequencing-Activity-Presidents-Day-Election-Day-1705775" target="_blank">TeachersPayTeachers </a>store!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Duck-for-President-Sequencing-Activity-Presidents-Day-Election-Day-1705775" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Duck for President Sequencing Activity Companion Resource for Presidents' Day or Election Day" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9xp4J3JaIMadZR84LW1UeEUt9IdJifPnRQn5PjUhV68cLp6uURMpKOqmUQvMarWU9IvThDw9VHT1C-WE20q5gnYnKihFS31dBv4BK-Nt_eV6dkr5VKwX10AoaFsZRvh3BlK3XfWm-MFw/s400/Slide2.JPG" title="Duck for President Sequencing Activity Companion Resource for Presidents' Day or Election Day" width="307" /></a><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Duck-for-President-Sequencing-Activity-Presidents-Day-Election-Day-1705775" target="_blank"><img alt="Duck for President Sequencing Activity Companion Resource for Presidents' Day or Election Day" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ZpsDQiZwx3Vjbvp6uFC03eVumDf_5YxYmvjx7nvmLVR6ukcqga5dS9vDJtjuBV-Ui6PoR6bffv9L4cR-mwzrFGehL-Z4TPXkKRVCR5EQx75J7C5FqsyKc7XjzXG13C0SHly3QyIP-iY/s400/Slide1.JPG" title="Duck for President Sequencing Activity Companion Resource for Presidents' Day or Election Day" width="307" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/mrs-willyerds-virtual-classroom-13613007?widgetv3=https://www.bloglovin.com/widgets"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZQYQJWQEliXXZVAerXdCaM-nHFrpOdFUpKIRsKxwAlAZI2abkVBidBJdTOYealrijoVg_tTO6_Tm0pFwDwqdLJ5yNnM0wVUOF9I7DpTgKQoveRSY-olZVREMbafBVIXygFLoVYDKtW0/s1600/blog+sig+signup3.png"/></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-44618030588204602362016-10-11T11:53:00.000-04:002017-07-31T16:06:20.292-04:00The Case of the Missing Cake: Using a CSI Lab to Teach Chemical and Physical Changes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Chemical-and-Physical-Changes-CSI-Lab-The-Case-of-the-Missing-Cake-PPT-2052680" target="_blank"><img alt="Physical and Chemical Changes CSI Lab Activity for Middle School Science" border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB6HmlK_Shyphenhyphen_17qqBlOwhYuQDGOMT8lOgcvQGbn90HyzlSr_h-pInt1watzet7piCNDarMb5oePH9hX3AKFYiVDX4B92gsdsW2zKQMBJAnXtvln7r7Tx0mzfguCr7DWBMFG_gf3tSoMn0/s640/CSI+blog+header.jpeg" title="Physical and Chemical Changes CSI Lab Activity for Middle School Science" width="640" /></a></div>
Everyone loves to solve a mystery, so The Case of the Missing Cake CSI Lab gets students excited to observe and classify physical and chemical changes!<br />
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The CSI Lab Scenario will definitely engage the students and make learning about physical and chemical changes much more interesting. <br />
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But, if you want to <b>amp up the engagement</b>, then you may want to decorate your classroom as a crime scene. <br />
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Add the caution tape. Have an empty cake plate with a trail of white powder on the counter. Dress up as a detective or crime scene investigator. The more you sell this activity, then the more excited your students will be about learning the basics of chemistry.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/8g6ioiSUE8/" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Small classroom transformation #CSI #scienceclass #chemistry #science #teacherlife #teach #engage #teachersofinstagram lesson credit on TPT: @angelawillyerd</a></div>
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A photo posted by Esther Alvarez (@alvrze) on <time datetime="2015-10-06T23:17:54+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Oct 6, 2015 at 4:17pm PDT</time></div>
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Imagine being a student in your classroom when the room is staged like in the photo above. Exciting, right? In an instant, you have already captured their attention. Then, you can explain the case. In this lab, a cake decorated by a famous baker has gone missing from his bakery overnight.</div>
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<b>It is up to the students to solve the case! </b></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Chemical-and-Physical-Changes-CSI-Lab-The-Case-of-the-Missing-Cake-PPT-2052680" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Physical and Chemical Changes CSI Lab Activity for Middle School Science" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6KERbk4tDRSSOhHT9OonE-0AcQT9l4Uwfo1BAa-XcIlAJL-IaqBHoRpd6hFtAMEOVkRRVoqnJfe30Y8VXlX4I9rPtwFzNEehyphenhyphenAC8RxN1iVhipUPiAlAb3WqYRVprHO9l0qdZ2UTykTDc/s640/CSI+Pinterest+Image.jpeg" title="Physical and Chemical Changes CSI Lab Activity for Middle School Science" width="425" /></a>Three suspects were found with white powder residue on their clothing. So, the students must test samples of known and unknown substances to determine which suspect was the culprit.</div>
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The students will then observe what occurs when testing the known white substances with water, vinegar, and iodine. <br />
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<b>Did it dissolve? Did it fizz? Did it turn colors? </b><br />
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Once the lab group discusses what was observed, then they classify the observation as a physical or chemical change.<br />
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Students will then be presented with unknown samples collected from the crime scene and each of the suspects. They will then need to test these unknown samples as they did the known samples.</div>
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Once the results have been collected, then the <b>data analysis begins</b>. You may have to walk through the data analysis with your students. Help them be able to compare the known substance results to the unknown substance observations. <br />
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<b>Can they determine which substance is which based on the observations? Which sample collected from the suspect matches the observations made with the crime scene sample? Who was the cake thief?</b></div>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BLJ00vpg13Z/" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Thank you @angelawillyerd for your#TPT #CSILab It was a hit this year too! #teachersofinstagram Blog post soon!</a></div>
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A photo posted by Esther Alvarez (@alvrze) on <time datetime="2016-10-04T19:56:20+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Oct 4, 2016 at 12:56pm PDT</time></div>
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<b>The fun part, as a teacher, is that you can always have some tricks up your sleeve.</b> If you are conducting this lab with more than one class, then you may want to switch up the crime scene sample. <br />
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The different classes will yield different results as to which suspect is guilty of stealing the cake! This will keep the students on their toes and avoid any spoiler situations that are lurking in the hallways or cafeterias. There is always one student who can't wait to share the verdict with the others!</div>
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This lab helped students collaborate with others, classify the observations as either physical or chemical changes, and encouraged higher level thinking with the analysis of the collected data. Plus, it got students excited about science! Yes!!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Chemical-and-Physical-Changes-CSI-Lab-The-Case-of-the-Missing-Cake-PPT-2052680" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Physical and Chemical Changes CSI Lab Activity for Middle School Science" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_o3Iv5FkSRnI0FTgjWxhyphenhyphenf02FgL5bxh-0aAApdVCr7z8IpERH44b0iGdntbCy6V2yTHBoo5BIvyZ9__1I7gef2IDd6Hmk9skRZmC_0EaTH3jfN7o9yulJmUl0eyFupxcLibQnXBb2g1A/s320/CSI+-+Case+of+the+Missing+Cake+-+cover.jpg" title="Physical and Chemical Changes CSI Lab Activity for Middle School Science" width="320" /></a>Are you interested in conducting this lab in your class but don't have the time to create the lab handouts or corresponding presentation? Check this resource out in my TeachersPayTeachers store - it is available in <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Chemical-and-Physical-Changes-CSI-Lab-The-Case-of-the-Missing-Cake-PPT-2052680" target="_blank">PowerPoint </a>and <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Chemical-and-Physical-Changes-CSI-Lab-The-Case-of-the-Missing-Cake-SMART-Bd-1547863" target="_blank">Smart Notebook formats.</a></div>
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Special thanks to Esther Alvarez! She is a rock-star teacher in Texas who has conducted this lab in her middle school science class for a few years, and is always so nice to share the photos with me! You can follow her on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/alvrze/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Alvrz_e" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/mrs-willyerds-virtual-classroom-13613007?widgetv3=https://www.bloglovin.com/widgets"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZQYQJWQEliXXZVAerXdCaM-nHFrpOdFUpKIRsKxwAlAZI2abkVBidBJdTOYealrijoVg_tTO6_Tm0pFwDwqdLJ5yNnM0wVUOF9I7DpTgKQoveRSY-olZVREMbafBVIXygFLoVYDKtW0/s1600/blog+sig+signup3.png"/></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-57142662332097476692016-08-22T11:08:00.001-04:002017-07-31T16:07:55.634-04:00Back to School TpT Giveaway Winner and #BestYearEver Bonus Sale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy8jm6ecZCMM1UxPlVbMXhX97Z3Ff0gPy5Bbpz3waoSpIhLi8vQMYFn6jr9FhFwLdShKnCOj7ZPcVrDDaszD1s6COBZrmxzlEuw-KbxtI8pHu08WYq4xCvt3mcZG58bWaGZN7wM7eWHWU/s1600/WinnerBlogAnnouncement.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy8jm6ecZCMM1UxPlVbMXhX97Z3Ff0gPy5Bbpz3waoSpIhLi8vQMYFn6jr9FhFwLdShKnCOj7ZPcVrDDaszD1s6COBZrmxzlEuw-KbxtI8pHu08WYq4xCvt3mcZG58bWaGZN7wM7eWHWU/s400/WinnerBlogAnnouncement.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
<b>Thank you</b> to everyone who participated in the <b>Back to School Blog Hop TpT Giveaway</b> yesterday! I enjoyed sharing some of my favorite Back to School items with you and reading your detailed feedback from the All About Me Freebie. You guys rock!<br />
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Here is the<b> winner of a $10 TpT Gift Card</b> as selected by Rafflecopter:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1-5wzptqTDtMTnfQF8TCOpx2fAFvwCdePIVn9UN86DFfCOMgs5wwwHfL8-aDpW02cZdlOI9phm82DqE0yX0jozlw-4dHE6fxC1DbYwMdbE05TTIk3A8R7QYiCkt2YMWc0inTPpYGsME/s1600/Rafflecopter+winner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1-5wzptqTDtMTnfQF8TCOpx2fAFvwCdePIVn9UN86DFfCOMgs5wwwHfL8-aDpW02cZdlOI9phm82DqE0yX0jozlw-4dHE6fxC1DbYwMdbE05TTIk3A8R7QYiCkt2YMWc0inTPpYGsME/s640/Rafflecopter+winner.png" width="539" /></a></div>
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Even if you didn't win...you can still score all your favorite Back to School items on your wish list for up to 28% off today during the #BestYearEver Bonus Sale on TpT. Just make sure to<b> enter the promo code: OneDay</b> at check out.<br />
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You can <b>save some more money</b> today by collecting as many <b>feedback credits</b> as possible! Not sure how? Check out this helpful diagram below!<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BJafQNvjKdO/" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Love this diagram made by @sracruzspanish that shows one quick way to save some money today during the #TpT #BestYearEver Bonus Sale! #Repost @sracruzspanish with @repostapp ・・・ Did you know that you can earn TpT credits by leaving feedback on your paid purchases? You can use those credits at checkout to save $ off your total! Here's how: 1. Go to My Purchases under the My TpT drop down menu (https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/My-Purchases) 2. Sort your purchases by Needs Feedback 3. Click on Provide Feedback 4. Leave feedback by clicking on the letter grade and telling us what you thought of that resource 5. Once you are done leaving all of your feedback, you can go to your shopping cart to redeem your credits. 20 credits = $1 off your order.</a></div>
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A photo posted by Angela Willyerd (@angelawillyerd) on <time datetime="2016-08-22T14:12:09+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Aug 22, 2016 at 7:12am PDT</time></div>
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<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/mrs-willyerds-virtual-classroom-13613007?widgetv3=https://www.bloglovin.com/widgets"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZQYQJWQEliXXZVAerXdCaM-nHFrpOdFUpKIRsKxwAlAZI2abkVBidBJdTOYealrijoVg_tTO6_Tm0pFwDwqdLJ5yNnM0wVUOF9I7DpTgKQoveRSY-olZVREMbafBVIXygFLoVYDKtW0/s1600/blog+sig+signup3.png"/></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-56535449574475517502016-08-21T00:00:00.000-04:002017-07-31T16:08:21.833-04:00Back to School Blog Hop TpT Giveaway<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTy1XooTRlo72_AWeJXCE0M3SKIU111o08v09zD-qn20wUI31PnSa2dd71AiLXGW4GPZMASztaxDhJ1gRldt1RKEDv35lgo4Csao9ZmCbp9exhPipexSm1zZdHcmJFOjGkPjSmKPU7o_Y/s1600/B2Sblog.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTy1XooTRlo72_AWeJXCE0M3SKIU111o08v09zD-qn20wUI31PnSa2dd71AiLXGW4GPZMASztaxDhJ1gRldt1RKEDv35lgo4Csao9ZmCbp9exhPipexSm1zZdHcmJFOjGkPjSmKPU7o_Y/s640/B2Sblog.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I can't wait to make this your #BestYearEver by giving away a <b>$10 TpT gift card</b> for you to use during the upcoming TpT Sitewide Sale on Monday, August 22! You'll have a chance to <b>win up to $250</b> in TpT Gift Cards with this blog hop. Sounds good, right? </div>
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So how do you enter? Read about my Top 3 Back to School Activities, complete the Rafflecopter entry, and then click on the Back to School Blog Hop button at the end of this post to be directed to the next post in the hop. </div>
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Hurry! The giveaway ends at midnight on 8/22. The winner will be notified via e-mail by noon (EST) on Monday, so you will have time to fill up your TpT cart with lots of goodies on sale day!</div>
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Here are my Top 3 Back to School activities that I've enjoyed using in my classroom:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExkSZDv-NTCemGPrnZBtVAcaZQyW3bxQMZkuuGa3qN6vB3-f6iRwl-ryZ_UU2AxkDlzQpQ3CuYqaHPwCli6gGjMB0CL-i4O09GSSkSg3dDGlQZRNvQc2JrOZv6i2gjmIpGhrQABZrVNQ/s1600/Activity1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExkSZDv-NTCemGPrnZBtVAcaZQyW3bxQMZkuuGa3qN6vB3-f6iRwl-ryZ_UU2AxkDlzQpQ3CuYqaHPwCli6gGjMB0CL-i4O09GSSkSg3dDGlQZRNvQc2JrOZv6i2gjmIpGhrQABZrVNQ/s200/Activity1.gif" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.mrswillyerd.com/2015/08/10-back-to-school-ice-breakers-your.html" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="10 Back to School Ice Breakers Your Students Will Love from www.mrswillyerd.com" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBrkAqUEYEs8v65H1MbQ0NGXAIiNVVNyRyu6h-sm4JIZq3RbqLkCkxx16TTuZkEvIRqbvQZbhX6FV1a87-C7J0NLnOH3OHkUHM90Y2HbvNRzdeSM3k8Inh_LaJPH71W9gzGYKcMZ6r1AA/s200/10+Back+to+School+Ice+Breakers+Your+Students+Will+Love.jpg" title="10 Back to School Ice Breakers Your Students Will Love from www.mrswillyerd.com" width="133" /></a>My first day of school is spent with my team getting to know our new crew for the year. Interactive ice breakers are a great way to get the conversation started. My favorite ice breakers include <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Back-to-School-Ice-Breaker-Would-You-Rather-1952797" target="_blank">Would You Rather</a> or <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Back-to-School-Ice-Breaker-Have-You-Ever-2031708" target="_blank">Have You Ever </a>activities. Students have to make a decision by moving to one side of the room or the other when presented with different scenarios. It is always interesting as a teacher to see how the room divides for each scenario. You can also learn a lot about your students to see which students make an immediate decision or which ones linger in the middle to decide which way to move. It doesn't take much probing to get conversation going in the classroom as to why the students picked what they did or stories about experiences they have had. It is a great way to start building a learning community! <a href="http://www.mrswillyerd.com/2015/08/10-back-to-school-ice-breakers-your.html" target="_blank">Read a blog post about 10 Back to School Ice Breakers Your Students will Love. </a></div>
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<a href="http://www.mrswillyerd.com/2015/08/classroom-expectations-cookie-lab.html" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Classroom Expectations Cookie Lab makes conveying your expectations fun and memorable!" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHB4HcvNxyxd_tJcSvqwe7iKic-fPKF7QjgGT3s5m-8AurOygbSNOklP0PQF6By6eLEcZtWa7ujSOaz5-rYXyD6H3kza3VTEVA8q7ymiw-Xcq11R26Lwe_E3s4INWLES3U6UcFQ5nw7Ns/s200/Cookie+Lab+Blog+Post+and+Pinterest+Graphic+Angela+Willyerd.jpg" title="Classroom Expectations Cookie Lab makes conveying your expectations fun and memorable!" width="133" /></a>My next few days of school are spent laying out the expectations for the year. This can be super boring. But, instead of just reading a syllabus, I like to surprise the students with an activity called the Cookie Lab. First, the kids are intrigued that they will be doing a science experiment on the second day of school. Secondly, no one objects to the idea of getting their hands on some cookies during class! The Cookie Lab relates my expectations for work quality, effort, and work condition to this hands-on activity that makes learning the classroom expectations fun and memorable! <a href="http://www.mrswillyerd.com/2015/08/classroom-expectations-cookie-lab.html" target="_blank">Read a blog post about the Classroom Expectation Cookie Lab.</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAVVNm07LezXeJ0Un_yIsb5JB3J7o69KBJZtscRygKvZccF5SmHOmC_sqpkXqfHQUuvrRZKMrAt1ZnQL_DchYJcXPyyMAGE6uJ2zSNqdmzcIm53ZyXTgZNgF0f1gAgcFtSRtbSQmo58bo/s1600/Activity3.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAVVNm07LezXeJ0Un_yIsb5JB3J7o69KBJZtscRygKvZccF5SmHOmC_sqpkXqfHQUuvrRZKMrAt1ZnQL_DchYJcXPyyMAGE6uJ2zSNqdmzcIm53ZyXTgZNgF0f1gAgcFtSRtbSQmo58bo/s200/Activity3.gif" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/All-About-Me-Graphic-Organizer-Back-to-School-1430406" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="All About Me Graphic Organizer for Back to School from www.mrswillyerd.com" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW8xRJI9e_nOuheaPZ42TnH3csZeAmidk-HavZk8VKsBBGsQNm8C4PQBI4bMFcQgUHyJ5k8jYj3uJduafw9Zl6L8oi-6uq3oU2Laey76bwkWiji9H6-RhrIp1Sy986gLwcCDucL9x3MzE/s200/All+About+Me+Graphic+Organizer+Pic.jpg" title="All About Me Graphic Organizer for Back to School from www.mrswillyerd.com" width="153" /></a>An All About Me graphic organizer is a wonderful resource to have in your Back to School Teacher Toolkit! I liked to use these with my homeroom / advisory group. The graphic organizer is a nice way for students to communicate additional information to the teacher at the beginning of the year without having to get up in front of the class. It is a perfect activity to use to fill shorter periods of time, like when you are waiting to be called down to the gymnasium for a beginning of the year assembly, during homeroom, or before/after lunch. As an added bonus, these completed graphic organizers make awesome Back to School bulletin boards. <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/All-About-Me-Graphic-Organizer-Back-to-School-1430406" target="_blank">Grab this All About Me Graphic Organizer for <b>FREE</b> in my TpT Store!</a><br />
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<a href="http://aspecialkindofclass.blogspot.com/2016/08/back-to-school-blog-hop-and-giveaway.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj39FHmB3wxpu_d39zWxfZyTbzTrInM1LWl7qKQRIPJsgFkqU93wRuGKA3qF48DQE24A2GH2jy7le-5_oLwUxjA1AdNGolLWjp1qnf62UeQm3WJ3zHAOSLBUMcK8XVouqi-HxJe0ENPFq4/s400/B2Snext.jpeg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/mrs-willyerds-virtual-classroom-13613007?widgetv3=https://www.bloglovin.com/widgets"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZQYQJWQEliXXZVAerXdCaM-nHFrpOdFUpKIRsKxwAlAZI2abkVBidBJdTOYealrijoVg_tTO6_Tm0pFwDwqdLJ5yNnM0wVUOF9I7DpTgKQoveRSY-olZVREMbafBVIXygFLoVYDKtW0/s1600/blog+sig+signup3.png"/></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-39233775425123681712016-07-05T15:38:00.001-04:002017-07-31T16:08:35.822-04:005 Tips to Land the Teaching Job You've Always Wanted<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's the summer shuffle. Veteran teachers may decide to retire, switch positions, or change districts. Principals are busy searching through prospective candidates to quickly fill any positions that the summer shuffle leaves open. So, if you are in the market for a new teaching home...how do you become the perfect candidate for the job?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here are five tips that just may help you land the teaching job you've always wanted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Tip 1: Create a Professional Online Presence</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">What would your social media accounts say about you? Your social media presence will most likely provide the first impression to potential interviewers. Make sure that you remove any posts or photographs that might be construed as unprofessional. My principal always mentioned the "Front Page Test" when it comes to social media - if you wouldn't want your news broadcasted on the front page of the newspaper, then you probably shouldn't post it.</span><br />
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Any public accounts linked to your name should be used to communicate professional information - educational articles, teacher inspiration, classroom ideas, etc. Your interviewer could get a quick idea of what interests you by just glancing at your nine tile grid on Instagram, so make sure they are good ones!<br />
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Do you have an online portfolio? You may want to think about creating a website or wiki with a professional domain name to include on your resume or online application. Upload artifacts, such as: documents or handouts you have created, examples of parent communication, a unit plan, a lesson plan, rubrics, and photographs of your lessons in action. Good documentation with a well-written explanation might just get you a chance to interview face-to-face!<br />
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<b>Tip 2: Do Your Homework</b><br />
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You get called to come in for a personal interview - awesome! Don't forget the details - which position, who will you be interviewing with, and the interview style. Will it be one-on-one with several different administrators or district representatives at different times? Could it be a panel interview with several grade level or department representatives plus the principal? These are all good questions to ask to help you be prepared. Also, do your absolute best to be available whenever the interview committee has offered the interview - find a baby-sitter or switch shifts with someone. Make. It. Happen. A face-to-face interview opportunity is golden!<br />
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Once you can envision what the interview might look like, then start researching the school. Read about the school on its website, twitter account, or blog. Look into the grade level team's website(s) to see any interesting activities that were conducted during the last school year. These activities will provide you with some possible talking points during conversation, which shows that you were interested in the district; and it also will allow you to start developing some good questions to ask at the end of your interview about the school and position based on what you found.<br />
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Another good resource for school district data is the state report card. Demographics and test scores can help you have an idea about the make-up of your school and specific challenges students may be having in certain academic areas. Although, testing might be just a little snippet of the school's reality, it may also be a potential question as to what you may bring to the table to help close any learning gaps, etc.<br />
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<b>Tip 3: Be Authentic</b><br />
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It's interview day! Even if teachers typically do not wear suits on a daily basis, the interview is the one time when you want to dress to impress. You will definitely stand out in a positive way if you confidently walk into the interview with sharp looking business attire!<br />
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Present your authentic self during the interview. You want to make sure this is a match for you as much as it is for the district. Answer professionally yet honestly. The principal will know if you are just reciting some kind of textbook answer. Use your experience and personality to weave an incredible interview answer that will set you apart from the other candidates!<br />
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<b>Tip 4: Showcase your Potential</b><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Interview-Portfolio-Dividers-FREEBIE-2671236" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Teacher Interview Portfolio Dividers - Freebie - Be one step closer to landing the teaching job you've always wanted!" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkQU9FwNXYb6EFERerITNMRxqv57vDBLFa2thcl34MZsRuphSrEQeIXYWq5YOkM-C35LtXqUpMbXpdxzMZKpc9YMxARjjkhd3rwRODOYM9xw1r1Wf9K-MAFNWk77F_a0D4udshcJVidi4/s320/Teacher+Interview+Portfolio+Dividers+-+Freebie+-+Image.jpg" title="Teacher Interview Portfolio Dividers - Freebie - Be one step closer to landing the teaching job you've always wanted!" width="212" /></a><b><br /></b>
Use your portfolio to help you explain how you might handle a situation or how you have planned a prior unit. Show photographs and artifacts that can support how you may have incorporated collaborative learning or technology in the classroom. Be prepared with either a hard copy of your portfolio in a well-organized binder with tabs under the general categories of: classroom management, assessment, differentiation, unit planning, collaboration, technology, policies and <br />
procedures, project-based learning. This will help you quickly flip to that section, so you may utilize your experiences to visually support your answer. <br />
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In lieu of a binder, you may also choose to share your artifacts on an iPad, but you would want to make sure it was not dependent on wireless internet to access your information as that may not be dependable or accessible in all schools - especially during summertime.<br />
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<b>Tip 5: Close the Deal</b><br />
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Whew! The interview is coming to an end, and you should have a good idea of how it went. Just to make sure you end on a positive note, have some questions ready pertaining to the district - like:<br />
<ul>
<li>What are some ways that the school ensures the community is involved in education? </li>
<li>What are some professional development courses that are offered since I like to grow continuously as an educator? </li>
<li>What kind of technology is available to students and teachers on a daily basis?</li>
<li>What is the hiring timeline for this position?</li>
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Be prepared for a closing statement. How would you answer the question: Why should I hire you? This question may cause you to stumble around a bit if you aren't prepared for it. But, this is your opportunity to recap all the positives that you would bring to the district (making sure to include anything you specifically touched on during the interview) and how you feel like you are a good fit for the position. This might be a good question to practice beforehand so you can pull off a smooth and confident, yet modified to fit the situation, response as you exit.</div>
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Thank everyone for their time as you shake their hands on the way out. Make sure to grab a card, if available, or jot down their names as soon as you get in the car so you can handwrite - yes, handwrite! - a formal thank you note once you get home. </div>
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Reflect on your interview. What went well? Which area(s) made you feel uncomfortable to address? Think about how you could research or improve your portfolio for any future interviews. The wait between the interview and a decision can drive one crazy, so continue to stay positive and patient. There is always a large number of candidates who apply for any one position, so even making it to the personal interview stage is a huge accomplishment. Good luck!<br />
<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/mrs-willyerds-virtual-classroom-13613007?widgetv3=https://www.bloglovin.com/widgets"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZQYQJWQEliXXZVAerXdCaM-nHFrpOdFUpKIRsKxwAlAZI2abkVBidBJdTOYealrijoVg_tTO6_Tm0pFwDwqdLJ5yNnM0wVUOF9I7DpTgKQoveRSY-olZVREMbafBVIXygFLoVYDKtW0/s1600/blog+sig+signup3.png"/></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-91013639129049639992015-12-09T07:11:00.005-05:002017-07-31T16:08:54.553-04:00Christmas STEM Challenge: Jingle All The Way<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-STEM-Challenge-Jingle-All-The-Way-PPT-Grades-3-5-2240023" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Christmas STEM Challenge: Students make a new sleigh for Santa for middle school grades 5-8 and upper elementary grades 3-5." border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrKNZmvn6yMMyaSZKrPCFTXRh-5byfm3rlQ_IMTGFUmvOH59-FlbV8fwGGmH58IJJK0smAGvDKtukOqN1VpE7rhgcAaME_jtfyZdueAMnXUI2O_uDwbF9uMsdtWKxzoq8FO1SGpLvXJRQ/s640/Christmas+STEM+Challenge+-+Jingle+All+The+Way+-+Pinnable+Image.jpg" title="Christmas STEM Challenge: Students make a new sleigh for Santa for middle school grades 5-8 and upper elementary grades 3-5." width="424" /></a>You just might have a few days in December where you've finished up a unit but don't want to start a new one. This is the perfect time to do a STEM Challenge! Harness all the students' energy into an innovative and productive project. The kids will have so much fun that they will forget they are practicing math, science, and engineering skills in the process!<br />
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This Christmas STEM Challenge called Jingle All The Way asks students to design a new sleigh for Santa out of common household items within a limited amount of time. The new sleigh must meet Santa's certain specifications and will be tested by adding pennies, which will represent presents. Students will go through the design process to create Santa's new sleigh that meets his specifications and test the sleigh using pennies to represent the weight of the presents Santa needs to hold in his sleigh. Students will make improvements to the sleigh after the first trial to yield a stronger sleigh for the second trial.<br />
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Your classroom will be buzzing with positive activity throughout this challenge. Students get excited to sketch and share their ideas with each other to make the strongest sleigh. The element of limited time also causes the students to have a sense of urgency that keeps this activity at a high energy level!<br />
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The middle school kids in grades 5-8 are expected to identify the need, research the problem, design a solution by writing detailed procedures and sketching prototypes, build and test a prototype, and troubleshoot. The younger students in grades 3-5 are asked to follow the same steps - but in a simpler way. These kiddos will Ask, Imagine, Create, and Improve.<br />
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The most awesome part of facilitating a STEM Challenge, for me, is to witness the extraordinary creativity that your students will exhibit during this type of an activity. As adults, we have lost a lot of our imagination - so when we see a handful of random household objects listed as materials, we think: What do you do with these??? We think there has to be one certain way to make whatever it is we are being challenged to design. But, the kids will be able to come up with design ideas beyond what we could have ever imagined! There might be a couple kids that need a few minutes to grease the wheels of innovation, but once they get going there will be no stopping their enthusiasm!<br />
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Starting STEM in elementary is a fantastic way for kids to fall in love with science. The kids learn how to cultivate their thinking by following the STEM Design Process during a time when they already think outside of the box! These steps will help them create even more advanced prototypes and troubleshoot at a higher analytical level as they get older - hopefully leading them to successful career paths!<br />
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Love this activity but don't have the time to design it yourself? A student handout, corresponding presentation, and detailed lesson plan is available in my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Angela-Willyerd" target="_blank">TeachersPayTeachers store</a> for grades 3-5 and grades 5-8 in either PowerPoint or SMART Board formats!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-STEM-Challenge-Jingle-All-The-Way-PPT-Grades-5-8-2239664" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQin0OyNQ6GbgmmRWq_LNLi0Jow1jf8leqvvHVW-7x-Y_LIhIFkEUaprf-UafjMAlPfcSvu_SOytkc5QiLFjFIr4Pm4eftfMNYiD9m3BJ9X-vlUVsxH4l6IhFkuJntODXO-bS8A6A1yAA/s400/Jingle+All+The+Way+Cover.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/mrs-willyerds-virtual-classroom-13613007?widgetv3=https://www.bloglovin.com/widgets"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZQYQJWQEliXXZVAerXdCaM-nHFrpOdFUpKIRsKxwAlAZI2abkVBidBJdTOYealrijoVg_tTO6_Tm0pFwDwqdLJ5yNnM0wVUOF9I7DpTgKQoveRSY-olZVREMbafBVIXygFLoVYDKtW0/s1600/blog+sig+signup3.png"/></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-76438009400614365342015-11-18T12:19:00.002-05:002017-11-13T10:55:32.240-05:00Thanksgiving STEM Challenge: The Great Turkey Race<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGpc4DEGn7y92KuVIYcQbQlWDI8LUHUcY_ab_ZN41NeGhPdmQIqTw49i9AKUl9AafGZF0-q_w2xUYHbAT-Jr0FHEe9mthkhtKbm_rT9Bkr5ljajwvBdsf7I0_-rxKdBDrrxAnbaPgGGM/s1600/Thanksgiving+STEM+Challenge+-+Great+Turkey+Race+Pinterest+and+Blog+Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Thanksgiving STEM Challenge: The Great Turkey Race - Students make turkey stunt doubles, using the STEM Design Process, that will move fast to prevent the turkey from becoming Thanksgiving Dinner! Versions available for Middle School Grades 5-8 and Upper Elementary 3-5" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGpc4DEGn7y92KuVIYcQbQlWDI8LUHUcY_ab_ZN41NeGhPdmQIqTw49i9AKUl9AafGZF0-q_w2xUYHbAT-Jr0FHEe9mthkhtKbm_rT9Bkr5ljajwvBdsf7I0_-rxKdBDrrxAnbaPgGGM/s640/Thanksgiving+STEM+Challenge+-+Great+Turkey+Race+Pinterest+and+Blog+Image.jpg" title="Thanksgiving STEM Challenge: The Great Turkey Race - Students make turkey stunt doubles, using the STEM Design Process, that will move fast to prevent the turkey from becoming Thanksgiving Dinner! Versions available for Middle School Grades 5-8 and Upper Elementary 3-5." width="424" /></a></div>
<b>What do you do during those few days right before Thanksgiving Break?</b> Get your kids to collaborate, think critically, and have a ton of fun with a STEM Challenge, of course!<br />
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<b>How does it work?</b> This Thanksgiving STEM Challenge encourages students to help prevent the turkeys from becoming Thanksgiving dinner by building a fast-moving turkey stunt double out of common household items within a limited amount of time. The students work through the STEM Design Process - building a prototype, testing these turkeys by "racing" them, and then making improvements to make the turkeys faster.<br />
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Your classroom will be buzzing with positive activity throughout this challenge. Students get excited to sketch and share their ideas with each other to make the fastest turkey. The element of limited time also causes the students to have a sense of urgency that keeps this activity at a high energy level!<br />
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The middle school kids in grades 5-8 are expected to identify the need, research the problem, design a solution by writing detailed procedures and sketching prototypes, build and test a prototype, and troubleshoot. The younger students in grades 3-5 are asked to follow the same steps - but in a simpler way. These kiddos will Ask, Imagine, Create, and Improve.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEherQ-1oBOUcmDYWckHq-oo6RjdXdl8VxcBg4opatralB5UFD-79CkmNmfaBVj5MWNC9v4_Q70w3SeEo_-yCw-WaEywX4vBBa-VUSpZA3PL3iiPSacGgfIzwGkd66n7So5C4scfTseEu_g/s1600/turkey+race+2+watermarked.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEherQ-1oBOUcmDYWckHq-oo6RjdXdl8VxcBg4opatralB5UFD-79CkmNmfaBVj5MWNC9v4_Q70w3SeEo_-yCw-WaEywX4vBBa-VUSpZA3PL3iiPSacGgfIzwGkd66n7So5C4scfTseEu_g/s400/turkey+race+2+watermarked.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turkey Prototypes from Mrs. Jennifer Best's FACS Classes <br />at Mercer Middle School (Grades 4-7).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>So, what should the turkeys look like?</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzM-4WStyR60LdtuRv_3IAzDHonoBfL3-tro1SzVt5cE3y53Jmaklyr7ncyFxSlJFUKREFLKibrLPs1T2di6KRkdtjFDa49UbsbR1ThmOYPenN0sVpWDTIsKf_CMK-O14RvoI02om5224/s1600/turkey+race+1+watermarked.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzM-4WStyR60LdtuRv_3IAzDHonoBfL3-tro1SzVt5cE3y53Jmaklyr7ncyFxSlJFUKREFLKibrLPs1T2di6KRkdtjFDa49UbsbR1ThmOYPenN0sVpWDTIsKf_CMK-O14RvoI02om5224/s400/turkey+race+1+watermarked.jpeg" width="400" /></a>The most awesome part of facilitating a STEM Challenge, for me, is to witness the extraordinary creativity that your students will exhibit during this type of an activity. As adults, we have lost a lot of our imagination - so when we see a handful of random household objects listed as materials, we think: What do you do with these??? We think there has to be one certain way to make whatever it is we are being challenged to design. But, the kids will be able to come up with design ideas beyond what we could have ever imagined! There might be a couple kids that need a few minutes to grease the wheels of innovation, but once they get going there will be no stopping their enthusiasm!<br />
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Starting STEM in elementary is a fantastic way for kids to fall in love with science. The kids learn how to cultivate their thinking by following the STEM Design Process during a time when they already think outside of the box! These steps will help them create even more advanced prototypes and troubleshoot at a higher analytical level as they get older - hopefully leading them to successful career paths!<br />
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<b>How do I get all those toilet paper rolls? </b>If you aren't a toilet paper roll hoarder, like myself (I mean you never know when you might need one for a STEM Challenge or a craft opportunity - right?!), you might be in a pinch to have enough toilet paper rolls depending on the size of your class(es).<br />
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You can ask for donations from your staff members or solicit donations from your students. (<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/STEM-Class-Donation-Letter-Templates-FREEBIE-2857417" target="_blank">Click here for a freebie donation letter template!</a>) Paper craft rolls can also be purchased at Hobby Lobby (<a href="https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Dollmaking/Doll-Parts/Colored-Paper-Craft-Rolls/p/143031" target="_blank">click here</a>), so make sure you use their 40% off a regular priced item if you need to buy these supplies. You can also find these at your local Michaels Craft Store (<a href="http://www.michaels.com/kraft-paper-craft-tubes-by-creatology/10489302.html?mkwid=sIlAhNbd4|pcrid|221603830502|pkw||pmt||pdv|c|prd|10489302&cm_mmc=zadv_PLASearch-_-google-_-kids-_-kids-art-supplies&utm_source=google&utm_term=&utm_campaign=kids&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=sIlAhNbd4|pcrid|221603830502|pkw||pmt||pdv|c|prd|10489302&gclid=EAIaIQobChMImfONyu-71wIVirbACh1h_wW9EAQYASABEgLwE_D_BwE" target="_blank">click here</a>) - show them your Teacher ID for a discount.<br />
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<b>Love this activity but don't have the time to design it yourself? </b> A student handout, corresponding presentation, and detailed lesson plan is available in my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Angela-Willyerd" target="_blank">TeachersPayTeachers store</a> for grades 3-5 and grades 5-8 in either PowerPoint or SMART Board formats!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thanksgiving-STEM-Challenge-The-Great-Turkey-Race-PPT-Grades-5-8-2206024" target="_blank"><img alt="Thanksgiving STEM Challenge: The Great Turkey Race - Students make turkey stunt doubles, using the STEM Design Process, that will move fast to prevent the turkey from becoming Thanksgiving Dinner! Versions available for Middle School Grades 5-8 and Upper Elementary 3-5" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5O3jjz_z_BwjKbzl9d2GnDUyaJjFXbZNkaCal90VXS5BSlJomhbSu0HYoKG6epABeEkq6ZZfx5hitldeqOMHsSQdori-qaq81VO-_aUUycQcTN3leJbLHwi2cQxhgR7EHHbPyPxxurr4/s320/Turkey+Race+COVER.jpg" title="Thanksgiving STEM Challenge: The Great Turkey Race - Students make turkey stunt doubles, using the STEM Design Process, that will move fast to prevent the turkey from becoming Thanksgiving Dinner! Versions available for Middle School Grades 5-8 and Upper Elementary 3-5" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/mrs-willyerds-virtual-classroom-13613007?widgetv3=https://www.bloglovin.com/widgets"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZQYQJWQEliXXZVAerXdCaM-nHFrpOdFUpKIRsKxwAlAZI2abkVBidBJdTOYealrijoVg_tTO6_Tm0pFwDwqdLJ5yNnM0wVUOF9I7DpTgKQoveRSY-olZVREMbafBVIXygFLoVYDKtW0/s1600/blog+sig+signup3.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-47146712660495235782015-11-02T18:27:00.000-05:002017-07-31T16:09:54.655-04:00Veterans Day Class Project: Thank a Veteran FREEBIE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Veterans-Day-Thank-a-Veteran-Letter-Template-FREEBIE-2185266" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Veterans Day Thank a Veteran Friendly Letter Template FREEBIE to send a letter to a veteran from previous wars or military conflicts." border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1sO9z6Wo9Iwhr75zBK6dNFEP0oEXd7W_FWGbUHiEW-WZgwoj_3NErqxqg3vX9jA2_2iTOWXDIy0JVEOEDMgDjMSIUfrgcdkaXVrOrM7AO3nVQJOD45p_GCjaaZ_-r11MLrnJOeQBkC0I/s400/Veterans+Day+Class+Project+blog+header.jpeg" title="Veterans Day Thank a Veteran Friendly Letter Template FREEBIE to send a letter to a veteran from previous wars or military conflicts." width="400" /></a></div>
Are you looking for a class project for Veterans Day?<br />
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I have a fantastic freebie to help get your class started!<br />
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This project targets veterans who have served in past military conflicts.<br />
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These veterans sometimes feel like their service and sacrifices have been forgotten. I know that your students' letters would definitely brighten the day of these veterans!<br />
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Once you collect your students' final drafts, please send to the veterans through Operation Gratitude.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ZvfB6MYkizLVI3umTvfMvCH0ULGyaurQq4hZBUoEuh9X5bfujj2Rc-PKOFyj0bkEbEpYcgVWdG_h_EaXTNh1L4wMpaserp68Z2_GjSQOJxLVvs_iCEy3DckfW000PED8vfnK2wauY1k/s1600/Operation+Gratitude.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="44" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ZvfB6MYkizLVI3umTvfMvCH0ULGyaurQq4hZBUoEuh9X5bfujj2Rc-PKOFyj0bkEbEpYcgVWdG_h_EaXTNh1L4wMpaserp68Z2_GjSQOJxLVvs_iCEy3DckfW000PED8vfnK2wauY1k/s320/Operation+Gratitude.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.operationgratitude.com/operation-gratitude/" target="_blank">Operation Gratitude</a> annually sends 150,000+ care packages filled with snacks, entertainment, hygiene and hand-made items, plus personal letters of appreciation, to New Recruits, Veterans, First Responders, Wounded Warriors, Care Givers and to individually named U.S. Service Members deployed overseas.<br />
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<b>Their mission is to lift the spirits and meet the evolving needs of our Active Duty and Veteran communities, and provide volunteer opportunities for all Americans to express their appreciation to members of our Military. </b><br />
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Each package contains donated product valued at $75-100 and costs the organization $15 to assemble and ship. Since its inception in 2003, Operation Gratitude volunteers have shipped more than One Million Care Packages.<br />
<a href="https://www.operationgratitude.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/LetterWritingFlyer-1.pdf" target="_blank"><br /></a>
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<a href="https://www.operationgratitude.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/LetterWriting-Teachers.pdf" target="_blank"><img alt="Click on the image to load a printable pdf of these guidelines!" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5I9ta1Y6BC0OuGJxkMFcIUK9a2iOu796LtTXoxhmwiiaNux7miILCNQazVZS0wjX5Tl8gGvDQhoT0SbYlghqL_CyA70yOMP2QpE3mi4rsU4AbDXZE_CYEu-MVPnjWmEZcLjn3NX2UwdE/s1600/Operation+Gratitude+Letter+Writing+Guidelines+2016.png" title="Click on the image to load a printable pdf of these guidelines!" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEQNqZUP-w35AZnYRPbyig-E9ePg1LISMclJAsBsc-06mFdrlLE0tp5c49MGOKiUyNgfNj8g6smVHB67eiQSMS-Agw8c7u23STfGIeZumAj4vEU_Z_mzDA5_nGInMFUNUG4wYU3ur_PMQ/s1600/impt+of+vet+day.png" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="36" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEQNqZUP-w35AZnYRPbyig-E9ePg1LISMclJAsBsc-06mFdrlLE0tp5c49MGOKiUyNgfNj8g6smVHB67eiQSMS-Agw8c7u23STfGIeZumAj4vEU_Z_mzDA5_nGInMFUNUG4wYU3ur_PMQ/s400/impt+of+vet+day.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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I had the privilege of planning the 8th grade class trip to Washington, D.C. for five years, so I love Veterans Day.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Veterans-Day-Thank-a-Veteran-Letter-Template-FREEBIE-2185266" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Veterans Day Thank a Veteran Friendly Letter Template FREEBIE to send a letter to a veteran from previous wars or military conflicts." border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkFvYd-4zmSIIOz0lnw62oEYJyzBPuvbWiYvU3dvRPb2BH0IwMzet7Vfgxk2z7R6miH_D50_deZXxJD49g3qIjKSbPGvaLloqDc3kLWg7WohFC2eJHmFCR-OpoYCXLbaX5kWelsp3GvjY/s400/Thank+a+Veteran+Letter+FREEBIE+Pinterest+Image.jpg" title="Veterans Day Thank a Veteran Friendly Letter Template FREEBIE to send a letter to a veteran from previous wars or military conflicts." width="307" /></a>It is a chance for teachers who may have experienced the awe-inspiring stories of those brave soldiers and who may have visited the breathtaking war memorials in D.C. to convey those feelings of respect and admiration for our uniformed men and women to a younger generation.<br />
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<b>My favorite thing about taking the students to D.C. was seeing the transformation that occurred during the trip. </b><br />
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Students returned so much more mature with a greater understanding of our country and the sacrifices that our military men and women make for us on a daily basis.<br />
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Witnessing the Changing of the Guard at The Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery and finding relatives' names on the Vietnam Memorial allowed history to become real for these students.<br />
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<b>Veterans Day is a teachable moment that can be really powerful for our students if implemented in a thoughtful manner!</b><br />
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Interested in having your students do this project? Download this friendly letter template for <b>FREE</b> from my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Veterans-Day-Thank-a-Veteran-Letter-Template-FREEBIE-2185266" target="_blank">Teachers Pay Teachers store</a>!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05GcD0yk6cwCaSoMIqQp0Z03FmqvJEQEMKQPphDH5en10ZQUN38TyF0oM_HbceO2g-ac30UVgNm2lo7xsODEyR31LuJQ8ovJVZGtan10_XpvwpunLa5-cJNaWwzNRf5BF1_APFPqyrKE/s1600/other+veterans+day+activities.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05GcD0yk6cwCaSoMIqQp0Z03FmqvJEQEMKQPphDH5en10ZQUN38TyF0oM_HbceO2g-ac30UVgNm2lo7xsODEyR31LuJQ8ovJVZGtan10_XpvwpunLa5-cJNaWwzNRf5BF1_APFPqyrKE/s320/other+veterans+day+activities.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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You may also be interested in this fun, fast-paced Veterans Day QR Code Trivia Scoot Game also available in my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Veterans-Day-QR-Code-Trivia-Task-Cards-2197437" target="_blank">TpT Store</a>! Or, this Veterans Day Bulletin Board Class Project Idea - <a href="http://www.mrswillyerd.com/2012/11/blog-post.html" target="_blank">read about it here</a>!<br />
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<a href="http://www.mrswillyerd.com/2012/11/blog-post.html" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Veterans Day Bulletin Board where students make a flag out of their hands. Each student is then able to dedicate a hand in honor or in memory of a veteran!" border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR6vMPF2SZqvZN-NW7-e9kXvJwgXh2iqH8CK50WqZOZeBdTnt-a1pkPQS5qozKPuv0HC5p9DM6Q4TSRQlXvX7Y9ueXju0bkb0vPEYcH2IQxrHLZfEOSC8HqncZo47d87FntjQl_UcDgkE/s320/Veterans+Day+bulletin+board.jpeg" title="Veterans Day Bulletin Board where students make a flag out of their hands. Each student is then able to dedicate a hand in honor or in memory of a veteran!" width="320" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-63537766330632248442015-09-08T13:28:00.003-04:002019-10-31T13:10:57.059-04:00How to Teach Good Procedure Writing: PB and No J Scientific Method DemonstrationI love teaching the scientific process<br />
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to start off the beginning of the year. It's the foundation for all other good scientific work that we will do throughout the entire academic year. I introduce the importance of good procedure writing with a fun and memorable demonstration called PB & No J.<br />
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Students are asked to write some steps for how to make a peanut butter sandwich as a type of pre-assessment. I usually walk around the room to observe the different skill levels of the students, since many of my students come to me with various scientific inquiry experiences. Then, I have a few volunteers to participate in the first part of the demonstration. Students experience poorly written procedures when trying to make a peanut butter sandwich. The student trying to make the sandwich in this demonstration automatically adds the unwritten steps since they have probably made a peanut butter sandwich before. It's a lot of fun for the class when the teacher polices this demonstration and calls the student out. "Did the instructions say to do that?" The classmates usually start shouting out ideas for what should be done, but as the teacher and facilitator, you want to get the point across that there is a lot of wiggle room with these procedures. You just <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn4rYQsh7zPBlKT7EZqnk2QEWSVY_rlPmxKt27AyC8dPwI0pbyxdgS-vwJmt4iVSZbQLFPrlSwxopE6AT248-oV-TKTyMv2i87KZK7D_sw2DW66wOj5BTa3QZ05CvYjAlA-ZoxQy_iSug/s1600/PB%2526No+J+Poor+Procedures.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn4rYQsh7zPBlKT7EZqnk2QEWSVY_rlPmxKt27AyC8dPwI0pbyxdgS-vwJmt4iVSZbQLFPrlSwxopE6AT248-oV-TKTyMv2i87KZK7D_sw2DW66wOj5BTa3QZ05CvYjAlA-ZoxQy_iSug/s320/PB%2526No+J+Poor+Procedures.JPG" width="240" /></a>never know what should actually be done and need to do some guessing. That does not make for a clear and consistent procedure. I do allow students to be creative in opening the peanut butter jar and eating the sandwich - as long as it isn't with their hands. Always pick a student for this part of the demonstration who is generally outgoing and boisterous. You will know the perfect kid for each class who will help make this activity memorable.<br />
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The second part of the demonstration shows the students an example of well-written procedures. I usually try to over-emphasize on the detail, and then try to tell the kids that their procedures need to be a happy medium between the poor procedures and the extremely detailed procedures. Once the students have experienced both demonstrations, then I have them review the procedures they had written at the beginning of the activity. I ask them to self-assess on a rubric, and then have any super confident junior scientists try their hand at reading their procedure for someone to follow in front of the class. This is a great opening for a few other lab experiences that will provide the opportunity for students to continue refining their procedure writing skills. I can tell a HUGE difference in the student writing when I explicitly teach procedure writing with this activity versus years when I only mentioned how it was important to include detailed steps. PB & No J definitely makes an impression!<br />
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Do you love this activity but don't have a ton of time to think about writing all those procedures? Download the handout with a self-assessment rubric and t-chart as well as a corresponding PowerPoint on my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Scientific-Method-Good-Procedure-Writing-PB-No-J-Demonstration-Activity-PPT-2062048" target="_blank">TpT store here</a>!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Scientific-Method-Good-Procedure-Writing-PB-No-J-Demonstration-Activity-PPT-2062048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBDrJLW6myi-ZDKoeo-0C2yaNIHBUcnW6OP4st3pIec0NRvuBI6zwMXJrGtskfmNgo57-Y55djr66HzjCXw9ZHkRruZCCs_SehcpHEMFweNEynQ3iyMp1cxfLd7PvHPOdOYZS72tjefAY/s320/PB+%2526+No+J+Cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/mrs-willyerds-virtual-classroom-13613007?widgetv3=https://www.bloglovin.com/widgets"><img alt="sig signup3 photo blog sig signup3.png" border="0" src="http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/awillyerd/blog%20sig%20signup3.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-56268980173065653742015-08-18T17:13:00.003-04:002017-07-31T22:15:03.242-04:0010 Back to School Ice Breakers Your Students Will Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ice Breakers. The bane of a teacher's existence during the first week of school. You have a bazillion things to cross of your list to get ready, you meet with your team, and you discuss which ice breakers you want to incorporate during the first week. What did we do last year? Do you remember? Those are frequent questions tossed around in this first meeting of teachers who still are transitioning from summer to school mode.<br />
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Try these 10 Back to School Ice Breakers that your students will love! These activities cover different areas of thought, so students do not feel like they are repeating the same information with each ice breaker. Students have fun, they get to know each other, you get to know them, AND you save time to cross other things off your list. It's a win-win for everyone!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/2-Truths-and-a-Lie-Ice-Breaker-Back-to-School-1953318" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVF2xI8nQOzD15FLTyat1HxtseraXAhhK-Ayyu_YMZIx2mFH5IQ-RAH7cIWkXcxjmV_s81rmcazw7x0AZVhmUc_4Cgnh39Ax7TxWEzXmwF3iDi10ThStijBKoE_RVoIlcu2hEq7B3izWw/s320/1+-+2+truths+and+a+lie.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/2-Truths-and-a-Lie-Ice-Breaker-Back-to-School-1953318" target="_blank">Two Truths and a Lie</a> is one of my favorite back to school activities! It's always so fun, even as a teacher, to try to guess which statement is the lie. You can really find out some interesting tidbits about your students with this one. You can also use this activity with clickers to have students vote on which statement they believe was the lie.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Would-You-Rather-Interactive-Ice-Breaker-Back-to-School-1952797" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZaMmaArijedFuMg_b9GwkuMv6ZHlGGB7-24QlMBW85ZDPPcWH4dM3YC4pkKj_nnu0QraCNUQp8GDt135REtiJ_PCpI64DTb9QYdDQDDhMQ-UIl2Rs4tBFnIcERzpKl1j1MqrXUJzH7Vw/s320/2+-+would+you+rather.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Would-You-Rather-Interactive-Ice-Breaker-Back-to-School-1952797" target="_blank">Would You Rather</a>... can be conducted by having students get up and move to different sides of the room based on what they would rather do in each scenario. This allows students to really visualize how many would pick one choice over the other. The best part of this activity is the classroom discussion that will be generated.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/My-No-Good-Very-Bad-Day-Skittles-Ice-Breaker-Back-to-School-1955306" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwKF5_5kWupw7BIfXbeIBz4LchkhFOiks696G2GemljkibD6T-mpIGfJ_zXUFo5t51zab8JwanQYXDWl_7Dz4TWIGyR5rb_rSBCgnSyImc46Q0cWjGqcsN0xvUIf5mBlohcpaXgBd83KI/s320/3+-+no+good+bad+day.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/My-No-Good-Very-Bad-Day-Skittles-Ice-Breaker-Back-to-School-1955306" target="_blank">My No Good, Very Bad Day</a> is a spin on the classic Skittles Ice Breaker. The student shares one of the worst experiences he/she has had based on the color of the Skittle. Students can share in small groups rather than in front of the entire class to make even the quietest student more comfortable.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fear-Factor-Interactive-Four-Corner-Ice-Breaker-Back-to-School-2032261" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOUcuaAblcocoyDzxDQ2EjUXaNqzBq4RS_ffWbWs84gYZfDqj_UmdkVO6kxFMJ9rxurv9-rcO7qjzdN6ebOPg7towljCYvp2JrBy2kCefcsBw7SsI5igvo3kYomr1teXpp9xwZHJKINk/s320/4+-+fear+factor.png" width="320" /></a></div>
This <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fear-Factor-Interactive-Four-Corner-Ice-Breaker-Back-to-School-2032261" target="_blank">Fear Factor</a> Ice Breaker is a 4-Corner Activity. Students are presented with different phobias in the form of the "Are you afraid of.." question. Students then vote on how afraid (or not afraid) they are of the various things by moving to the different corners of the room.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Marshmallow-Challenge-STEM-and-Team-Building-Activity-PowerPoint-Lesson-1712425" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJaPJv1w2N3jyKdPOK9DPt7ic1Mce1pBzFbhmNMRs7gzvRMiJnbxMYC3_14XPQ2XHc-GeAtDsdl0CxGEb1v2CPmrrggVlKRKSIBdR8BdDZ31qDYiDvGiYWo_QYE-_e6qnIrX3fmFyNv1s/s320/5+-+marshmallow+challenge.png" width="320" /></a></div>
The <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Marshmallow-Challenge-STEM-and-Team-Building-Activity-PowerPoint-Lesson-1712425" target="_blank">Marshmallow Challenge</a> is a fantastic team builder that is great for any subject area or age group even though this is a STEM activity. This activity does require some prep ahead of time, but it is so worth it! Read more about this activity on <a href="http://www.mrswillyerd.com/2010/09/marshmallow-challenge.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Super-Sleuths-Ice-Breaker-Back-to-School-1969471" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1NXNWOSUKjrRzIKhHRBrlxXUIEN-wwz02FrQTdPmU3wex8iqokfk9XfZrBDpTUmLiN5XOfa_2bF4IqaRfqH1t8MpDVfj0ukBDMdF7Ohv4bNmX_XTYZKHiaORRxMEsMb6Z5KrmCAX5opw/s320/6-super+sleuths.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Super-Sleuths-Ice-Breaker-Back-to-School-1969471" target="_blank">Super Sleuths</a> can be differentiated based on the grade level. Students write down three personal characteristic clues that their peers could use to identify them. Younger students can write down more obvious clues (color of shirt) while older students can be more detailed (freckle on my left cheek). Shuffle the cards and allow students to be detectives to determine who matches the clues!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/What-Would-You-Do-Skittles-Ice-Breaker-Back-to-School-1954464" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7Hetg03WRMmE_GVcvdmwCR6ScuGtsKZC7BDRIKOVBQtL9G-PMoxLsL7hUPJ7yABsIp419kat2ZfiP6fw5rmAdNom6zDOb8FYXMWd5MDw4qhileTqZBC_ZLHI5_UCB1QYSbBNBLAE8ok/s320/7-what+would+you+do.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/What-Would-You-Do-Skittles-Ice-Breaker-Back-to-School-1954464" target="_blank">What Would You Do</a> is another take on the classic Skittles Ice Breaker. This time, students are asked to share what they would do in different situations - say, for example, if they were president. This is a more introspective ice breaker that really encourages students to think!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Have-You-Ever-Interactive-Ice-Breaker-Back-to-School-2031708" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTgG7CZWnHInbmBfobnhIGH5fjwnbuDNjwaBMjvcPNdx_mmjNtzHBJXjpZyN__lDLLnhQ_PM9Dkz2xrZ3O2z0t9uzBdLz10D55uy0bwzWvqShiLVKRxXQGkbOnJddeouPrtoxEh3L1Ih4/s320/8-have+you+ever.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Have-You-Ever-Interactive-Ice-Breaker-Back-to-School-2031708" target="_blank">Have You Ever?</a> is an interactive game where students are presented with a range of questions - from common experiences to create bonds among students to uncommon to allow students to stand out and create discussion. Students move to one side of the room or the other based on if they have or have never experienced the proposed scenario.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Find-Someone-Who-Ice-Breaker-Back-to-School-1959878" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwn4gryHWY8Mf5k65FGxqR9P3zeSq68gasbekX2Qe_WzFm7Cdw2_KaZvu2Wxrm7PYQwMEtg57dtjgTCn6J7j3vYhbG85VAdpn1J4B3Kc2kckMc63kSsgPpk-SBm_O35pLDMm62PLw_ljU/s320/9-find+someone+who.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Find-Someone-Who-Ice-Breaker-Back-to-School-1959878" target="_blank">Find Someone Who... </a>allows students to mingle with each other around the room to find people who fit each experience. It's always fun to see who can gather the most signatures on their sheet or completes the entire sheet the fastest.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/My-Favorite-Things-MMs-Ice-Breaker-Back-to-School-1967615" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDNVTaL1W7s5wgTzCenoI15aJgbTIMCr7d0XECN9jAxB2Gv8C_WQAd3t2suiO9DksjBSflsSEafV__xI8H6dPeg-gGJsPSG6lY-ehwYx9fz5Dt75gxCx35WN1kcU37QFH3_BMLN3Ul3gY/s320/10-favorite+things.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/My-Favorite-Things-MMs-Ice-Breaker-Back-to-School-1967615" target="_blank">My Favorite Things</a> is an ice breaker that uses M&Ms. Students pick out three differently colored M&Ms that they will eventually find out corresponds to a favorite thing prompt. Students can share aloud in small groups or as a whole class.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ice-Breaker-Bundle-Volume-1-Back-to-School-1973056" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCjGrExymjG4TwhtZpqK7IBNnCNJQyUXh8ptKeUY_1Jo_Ihkv1FnjxZ2oUVfvMOI5khij9PAdBs5MexDx4rr-sWT3faGEOL6o8JMk6u_6uuhYQeT02LeZn_yI8Iqt1dIz53zSgW2ZrPWQ/s200/Ice+Breaker+Bundle+vol+1+cover.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ice-Breaker-Bundle-Volume-2-Back-to-School-2032470" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNe3DOL_Fstkfk9_IkBZHntOMhTNH3NEQKWxgRQUSN3PWUQAVIxet_PhJ5aYHMBbJ2bfBZAr27wsYyocGjbN8jXFVARHqH9s3Uc4-0XISCxVUcuDFNX86p2Rfsy6mlVxZu-BzECEcFeY/s200/Ice+Breaker+Bundle+vol+2+cover.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Looking for more Back to School Ideas? Take a look at this board.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-62109798834007723022015-08-02T08:00:00.000-04:002019-10-31T13:12:38.128-04:00Classroom Expectations Cookie Lab<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Most teachers have high expectations for their students. But, how can you convey these expectations in a fun and memorable way? I have a secret recipe for teaching classroom expectations that makes a lasting impression on students.<br />
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This Back-to-School Classroom Expectations Cookie Lab activity allows the teacher to discuss three important aspects:<br />
1.) Effort<br />
2.) Condition of the Work<br />
3.) Quality of the Work<br />
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You will need two sandwich cookies per student, one piece of paper towel per student, and a lot of theatrics on your part! The more dramatic you can be, then the better chance you have of students remembering your expectations throughout the school year.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Classroom-Expectations-Cookie-Lab-Back-to-School-PowerPoint-2002386" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Cookie Lab to Explain Classroom Expectations: An interactive back-to-school activity to explain classroom expectations during the first few days of school!" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpRcOg2XVJatgs5f60wVAu2FAMMhVrNZ3xj_L2BasatfjI-p41EY-76Il_ANgJhQrFnPxeDiECqNORunxjqxW4B7lfSn55wrqzGWuZw9hg8ajbStmt9L7twUKVkhAP8ruTlWygx-n1T3c/s400/Cookie+Lab+Preview.jpg" title="Cookie Lab to Explain Classroom Expectations: An interactive back-to-school activity to explain classroom expectations during the first few days of school!" width="308" /></a></div>
You will want students to think this is a very serious lab. They will need to follow instructions very carefully. The first part has the student picking up the cookie - one hand on the top and the other hand on the bottom part - and then twisting it apart. Ask students to lick the filling off of the cookie and then put the two sandwich pieces back together. What's missing? The filling. Discuss with students how missing answers on assignments and quizzes is like missing the stuffing in your cookie. You would expect the cookie to have stuffing as much as the teacher would expect you to make your best effort to answer every question.<br />
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The second part has students taking one of the sandwich pieces from the first cookie and really giving it a good lick. Encourage students to really lick the cookie and get lots of saliva on it. Of course, this receives lots of "yucks" and "eews" from the class...but it is a great set up for the next step.<br />
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Then, ask the students to turn to a neighbor and trade their cookie pieces. Students might be a little hesitant to do so, but you can encourage them to only touch the sides of the cookie. Once everyone has traded then ask the students to eat the cookie piece they just received from their neighbor. They will look at you like you are absolutely nuts! Pause long enough to garner some objections from the students...and then say "Just kidding!" <br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Classroom-Expectations-Cookie-Lab-Back-to-School-PowerPoint-2002386" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Cookie Lab to Explain Classroom Expectations: An interactive back-to-school activity to explain classroom expectations during the first few days of school!" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSys9D88uqqKauCqd5PeIJZwkvcyvC30YaOlIV4JjyR_TladXGnTUZuwTY06R1Gvi6V5oDSbEBA33nBWja54ZINwRi6Ttz_hmkaGNHlvswWLrMSxGWbMTIZB3ZxqmvDTdI81Pc0CyzxLE/s320/Cookie+Lab+cover.jpg" title="Cookie Lab to Explain Classroom Expectations: An interactive back-to-school activity to explain classroom expectations during the first few days of school!" width="320" /></a>Most students will breathe a sigh of relief that they don't have to eat their neighbor's saliva-covered cookie. And then you will probably have one student who is busily chewing his/her neighbor's cookie. There is always one. And, that student becomes what legends are made of around school! Honestly, I have students who know that little Jimmy chewed the cookie three years ago. I suppose they remember this story from when their older siblings shared what happened during this back to school activity. But, we wanted a memorable back to school activity - right? So there you go!<br />
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Talk about how disgusting eating a neighbor's cookie would be. Then segue into how this is true for the work that is turned into the teacher. Discuss how the work should be in good condition. No stains, boogers, dog bite marks, etc. You could really play this one up for the kids...and they get a kick out of it!<br />
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The last part has the students taking the second cookie and wrapping it up into the paper towel. You want to make sure it's not wrapped too tight or else you will have a cookie crumb explosion everywhere when you give the next instruction. Ask the students to make a fist and pound down on the wrapped cookie. I usually give the kids around 30s or so - coaxing some to put some muscle into it or warning others to take it easy. Once you think they have crushed the cookie enough, then say "Stop!" Have the students carefully unwrap the paper towel. What do they see? Students should say how their cookie is crumbled.<br />
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Relate the crumbled cookie to the quality of their work. They would expect a package of cookies to contain high quality cookies without being crumbled. The teacher expects high quality work. Discuss what you think constitutes high quality work in your classroom.<br />
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Close this activity by stressing how you know each student in the room can be their best and that you expect it! <br />
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Love this activity but short on time? <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Classroom-Expectations-Cookie-Lab-Back-to-School-PowerPoint-2002386" target="_blank">Click here</a> to download a scripted lesson plan and a corresponding PowerPoint in my TpT Store.
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Looking for more Back to School Ideas? Take a look at this board.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-83148236226787064412015-06-29T12:28:00.000-04:002015-06-29T12:58:56.420-04:00TpT Seller Challenge: Week 2 Dare to Dream<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, I've joined the #tptsellerchallenge, which is a 4-week challenge to enhance your TpT Store (find mine <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Angela-Willyerd" target="_blank">here</a>) and boost your presence on social media (find me on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mrswillyerd?ref=aymt_homepage_panel" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/AngelaWillyerd" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/awillyerd/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>, or <a href="https://instagram.com/angelawillyerd/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>). <br />
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It also appears to be a great way to connect and learn with other fantastic educators. I joined a few weeks late, since I've been busy with my newborn daughter, but I have learned a lot from just reading what everyone else has been doing! Week 2 challenges us to dream about what we want from our TpT journey. If you never dream it, then how can you achieve it - right?!? So here goes...<br />
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I taught seventh grade science for five years before becoming a work-at-home mom. For me, it was tough only spending three hours of the day with my own child. I knew that I would regret not spending time with my children while they were young when a traditional teaching job could, theoretically, always be available. <br />
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I have been blessed to stay at home for a year now and have added a new daughter to our crew in that time. My oldest likes to play school as she readies for preschool in the coming year. She likes to call me "Mrs. Mommy" when we pretend to have calendar time. TpT allows me to be Mrs. Mommy and for that I am very thankful.<br />
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College loans stink. It was a great idea to attend a private liberal arts school when I was 18. Oh, and then again for my masters...until you realize you will be paying off your loans for what seems like forever. Although my alma mater was a great fit for me, met wonderful people (husband included), and enjoyed every bit of the experience...post-collegiate life would be so much better for our generation without being shackled to so much student loan debt. As my store blooms, I hope to be able to take on this monster before my own kids start college themselves!<br />
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Financial freedom also means that my hard-working husband can then dabble into projects that he loves. He has always been a huge supporter of me being a work-at-home mom. He knows that working on creative curriculum materials puts me in my happy place...and whose husband wouldn't want their wife to be in their happy place?!? Earning financial freedom with the development of a successful store will help me return the favor.<br />
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We also like to travel. I hope to be able to show my children the world - even though I will be explaining the weather, the biomes, or plant/animal adaptations as we go to, I imagine, eye-rolling teenagers. Oh well - once a science teacher, always a science teacher!<br />
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TpT allows me to support all those teachers who are fighting the good fight out in the trenches of everyday classroom life. The demands on a teacher are extreme in the current environment. Teachers must continuously assess students then analyze the data, alter their plans to remediate or enrich the students based on the data, track how much value is being added to each student's education as the year progresses, connect with parents over various social media platforms, participate in and prepare for school leadership meetings, and the list goes on and on.<br />
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So, what happens when your brain has been moving at a million miles an hour with only time for a 15-minute lunch/restroom break? You lose all creative juices. Lessons get boring. Students tune out. <br />
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My TpT store allows me to provide carefully crafted resources to supplement the teachers who find themselves in the same position. Eliminating those extra demands has allowed me to be creative again! I can work on engaging and challenging materials for the students that have a polished appearance beyond what I would have had time for while working everyday in the classroom.<br />
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My hope is that teachers can relax a little more, spend more time with their families, and know that TpT has them covered. Maybe a little tweak here or there to fit their own classrooms, but they never have to start from scratch!<br />
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<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/13613007/?claim=j3vvfc8748e">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a><br />
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Looking for an authentic way to teach severe weather? This Storm Stories project is a 10-Day Project-Based Learning unit that allows students to research the formation of four storms: tornadoes, hurricanes, thunderstorms, and lake effect snow and is found in my TeachersPayTeachers store <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Severe-Weather-Storm-Stories-PBL-10-Day-Unit-1589810" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>
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The first part of the project is for students to research how these various storms are formed. The research compiled by the students is organized into a Storm Recipe Book. Then, the students work together to create an informational newscast as if they are reporters live on the scene of the storm. The students must incorporate the information they gathered in the recipe books and weave that knowledge into their broadcast.</div>
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This project includes QR codes on the handouts, which allows students to easily be directed to the websites for research as long as the devices they are using has a camera function because a free QR code reader can be installed. The students simply open the QR code reader and hold the worksheet up to the camera on the device to be scanned. The QR code reader will then open up to the website the student needs - no "www...." typing to worry about!</div>
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The final newscasts can be filmed with an iPad or a video camera - that is completely optional. We've experimented so much with this over the years and tried to figure out what works best as our technology and expertise has improved. You can have the kids make back drops by hand with paint and/or bulletin board paper, stand in front of a screen that has a clip of their storm playing in the background, or even try to use "green screen technology" to later go back and edit in a video clip of the storm to really make it seem like they were live on the scene of the storm. It's never going to be perfect the first time around, but don't be afraid of experimenting! The kids are really excited to participate in this project regardless of the high-tech editing and are even more excited to show you what THEY know about this area.</div>
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Here's a video edited together from the first year we tried this project out. You can see that the green screen needed tweaked for it to work properly, so we just left the green background without the editing this year. The students still thoroughly enjoyed working on this project and loved to watch their peers' newscasts as well!</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-33782901441909906542014-11-24T23:07:00.001-05:002019-10-31T13:12:59.447-04:00Classifying Elements, Compounds, and Mixtures {Think, Pair, Share} Sneak Peek<br />
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Watch the sneak peek above to see if this activity would be a good fit for your classroom. If so, you can download the interactive SMART Board file, student handout, and detailed lesson plan in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Classifying-Elements-Compounds-and-Mixtures-Think-Pair-Share-Activity-1576614" target="_blank">Click here to visit my store!</a><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-36267231773859438982014-10-15T17:23:00.000-04:002016-09-28T18:00:12.721-04:00The Great Pumpkin Slinger - Fall STEM Challenge<br />
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Fall festivals, Halloween costumes, and the inevitable piles of candy wrappers left behind on your classroom floor. (How do they learn to stealthily unwrap it without teacher detection - anyway?!?) Sounds like that restless period of the fall and a GREAT time to spice things up with a STEM lab.<br />
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Students always become engaged with this Great Pumpkin Slinger Fall STEM Activity! They usually have so much fun that they forget that they are critically thinking and just focus on slinging pumpkin peeps. And, I have no problem with their denial because I can always see their minds turning.<br />
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Students follow the STEM design process steps, which prompts them to find a solution to a problem when given limited time and materials. Students were asked to design a pumpkin launcher that would catapult the pumpkin peep the farthest distance using rubber bands, craft sticks, a straw, paper cups, index cards,a plastic spoon, and some masking tape.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">A student sketch of the catapult prototype.</td></tr>
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Each section of this STEM challenge is timed. The power of the timer inspires students to think critically and work collaboratively! They might feel panicked at first, if they haven't done a STEM Challenge in this way, but soon they know the clock is still running and choose to get to work. I notice that there is less time to argue with other teammates and more time to showcase ingenuity.<br />
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Once the students have completed the design steps, then it is time to test the catapult prototypes. We quietly launch the pumpkin slingers in the hallway, which is always fun for the students. Apparently, slinging pumpkin peeps down the hallway feels like we are on some type of top secret mission that might ordinarily get us sent to the principal's office! <br />
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The first trial is always interesting for the kids. Some teams are fairly successful while others realize they really need to make a lot of changes! The Troubleshooting sections that follow the first trial help to redeem the teams and encourage students to make design changes to the original prototype to yield better results. Our best result yet was a sling shot model that launched the pumpkin peep 1,407 cm!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Great-Pumpkin-Slinger-Fall-STEM-Activity-PowerPoint-Lesson-1962349" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJZ3wBFgeIzE0Q_Z6IS4lDvRU7zwKmAc29SbUlK45iV_rVekHADIdys5JY24l0cfiRZP01MD8zHb_J770PEhmAHMsgCLCJ6mRfPGV9zBZEylvO0ZZhBny6KWyRr3IACVOg8l4cX5vuEo/s320/pumpkin+slinger+cover.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
This Fall STEM lab motivated even the toughest critics to become engaged. They might have even said that they loved doing this activity...and if you teach middle school, you know that is hard to come by!<br />
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Would your class find this interesting? Find the lab handout, a teacher lesson plan, and a corresponding <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Great-Pumpkin-Slinger-Fall-STEM-Activity-SMART-Board-1501013" target="_blank">SMART Notebook</a> or <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Great-Pumpkin-Slinger-Fall-STEM-Activity-PowerPoint-Lesson-1962349" target="_blank">PowerPoint file</a> in my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Great-Pumpkin-Slinger-Fall-STEM-Activity-1501013" target="_blank">Teachers Pay Teachers Store</a>.<br />
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Also available for Grades 3-5! In <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fall-STEM-Challenge-The-Great-Pumpkin-Slinger-PowerPoint-Grades-3-5-2805052" target="_blank">PowerPoint</a> and <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fall-STEM-Challenge-The-Great-Pumpkin-Slinger-SMART-Notebook-Grades-3-5-2805100" target="_blank">SMART Notebook.</a><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-75636390665825601742014-09-25T21:45:00.000-04:002014-09-25T21:45:26.540-04:00The 21st Century Classroom: Google ClassroomHave you used Google Apps in your classroom? If not, you should start soon! I had started using Google Apps as a collaboration tool within the classroom. The students could share a document with the people in their groups, which would allow them to work on the same document at the same time no matter their location. I encouraged them to set a meeting time to log onto the computer at home where they could brainstorm and work together. Google Docs would show who was typing what (and even allows them to type at the same time on different parts of the document). The best part is that Google Docs always saves your work automatically! There are no more of the: "I can't find that file" or "I must have forgotten to save that yesterday" excuses that delays productivity. The students could even share the file with the teacher to grade in a paperless fashion. I thought that was so awesome...that is until I saw this video on Google Classroom, which is new for this 2014 school year!<br />
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This video shows how you can set up a class within your Google Apps, add students, send class e-mails with one touch, create an assignment, and enter grades and feedback for the assignment. What an efficient and paperless way to run your classroom! You can post the due dates for the assignment and monitor how many students have submitted (or have yet to submit the assignment) easily. Google Classroom will then organize the submitted assignments (by assignment and class) rather than having you search for whatever the students saved the document as in your Shared Documents using the old Google Docs method. Watch the video below to see how you could utilize this in your room!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-60405389259358183732014-09-13T23:17:00.000-04:002014-09-13T23:18:48.787-04:00Re-thinking E-mail: How do you come across?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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How many e-mails do you receive a day from parents? Do you receive e-mail from your students? Teachers in the 21st century are blessed with the opportunity to immediately be in contact with parents and students, but it can also be a very delicate process when responding. <br />
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What do I mean? I know how exhausted you are when you get a few free minutes - at lunch, prep, or after school. You have a million things on your to-do list and want to accomplish as many things as you can in the teeny breaks you do have during the day. One short sentence would allow you to cross that task off your list. But, did that one sentence convey what you intended to your audience? Think about your students, who may send you cryptic e-mails as if they were texting one of their peers. Your well-written, professional response will model how a student should be corresponding.<br />
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Here are some examples. This video showcases a frustrated professor tearing apart an e-mail written by one of his students. How could this professor have modeled appropriate correspondence with his student? This could have been a valuable learning experience.<br />
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<a href="http://www.coolcatteacher.com/email-etiquette/" target="_blank">This blog article</a> written by Vicki Davis (@coolcatteacher) gives some excellent tips on how to craft a professional e-mail. Her blog post entitled "8 Great E-mail Etiquette Tips for Educators and Everyone" even provides some helpful phrases that you may want to utilize when communicating. Designing a communication plan for your classroom will save you time in the long-run and ensure you are conveying what you truly mean with your words.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-68261492878862367242014-09-06T01:04:00.000-04:002014-09-06T01:07:05.276-04:00Footloose Back-to-School VideoAre you excited about going back to school? Watch this hilarious Footloose parody video created by two teachers in Wisconsin. They are using this video to raise money for classroom projects through gofundme.com.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8703984857730613337.post-17294946450199489682014-04-10T07:50:00.000-04:002014-04-10T07:52:40.299-04:00Everts Gets Happy<object height="225" width="400"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/jpLBd65i_PU?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param>
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Students at Everts are happy to share what they've learned this year on spring assessments. Good luck to all my students!<br />
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