PSEA Conference Activities

I had the privilege and joy of participating in the the annual PSEA conference representing (with some fellow classmates) Shippensburg University. PSEA is a subset of NEA (National Education Association) and a fathering partner in the group that I directly belong to SUEA (Shippensburg University Educational Association). This year the conference included amazing guest speakers as well as political action discussions and legal responsibilities seminars.

Each participant in the conference signed up for three professionally directed teaching seminars in which a variety of topics were covered. The three seminars I signed up for were Educational Games Kids Love, Integrating Instructional Technology Into the Classroom, and Integrating Music/Movement into the classroom.

I thought that each seminar was so meaningful that I would share each one on this blog! Hope you enjoy!


1. Educational Games Kids Love:

This workshop was presented by Scott R. Hnasko a wonderfully exciting 5th grade teacher who has a ton of ideas when it comes to making enjoyable games for kids. Not only did he share the game design but he made it clear how they connect to academic studies.

There were so many games introduced I don't know where to begin! One of the common themes that was presented was the use of two easels. Each team received an easel and the instructor would ask a question. After the question was asked the team had to write the answer (with the correct spelling) on the easel faster than the other team.

 A variation to this same was something he called "Beauty/Ugly Contest" in which teams would both use the easel and a description of something would be given. Students would then draw the most beautiful or the most ugly version of whatever was asked to be drawn.

 "Eraser Race" (above) was another very interesting game. On the board were different numbers inside boxes covering a length of space. Students were asked a simple math problem and if they answered correctly they got a turn to slide the eraser down the board and try and score the highest amount of points by making the eraser stop underneath the the box with the highest amount of points on the board. It was almost like shuffle board with a mathematics twist. The were four erasers (four turns) and each eraser was slid by a different student. The game seemed like something kids would really enjoy!

Overall It was a great workshop and the games were really exciting. Scott Hnasko is really great at his craft!!


2. Integrating Instructional Technology Into the Classroom:

Dr. Sara Rutledge is extremely technologically savvy. The amount of resources that were given during this seminar would take me all day to blog (literally all day). The packet that she handed us during the seminar had so many resources that I couldn't even count them (it was awesome). I thought I could share a couple resources that I thought were interesting and beneficial.

The IEP app! Holy cow who knew that there would be such a tremendous organizing application for a cell phone like the IEP app. IEP (for those that don't know) are educational plans designed to fit the individual needs of student who require special services in some form. Examples of students who have IEP's could include students with disabilities, behavior problems, or in some cases students who have experienced a traumatic home life.

The app introduced in the seminar had all the factors that a paper based IEP would have only in an electronic interactive folder that can be stored right on your phone. This app will be an amazing tool to use while teaching. Definitely check it out! The best part about the app? Its free!!

I admittedly use this next website and was familiar with its existence before this seminar but it is such a great teaching tool I really thought it deserved mention. Pintrest  is an online pinboard in which you can literally take any idea in the world and organize it on your own personal bulletin board. Its like taking all the resources that you want online and organizing them into a perfect board that you can use/organize at your disposal.

 The last thing that I found interesting and useful was a device that she shared with us that connects a phone to a computer. I sometimes struggle with understanding how these technological phone apps can translate into concrete lessons that students can complete in the classroom. With the device that she shared with us in the seminar, anything you download on a phone can be connected to a computer, and displayed on a smart board which can then be used by a student. I believe the device needed was just a certain type of iPhone charger.

Overall I thought it was an extremely useful seminar. I definitely wanted to stay and learn more!




 3. Integrating Music Into the Curriculum



Phil Wilson was the 2010-2011 Alabama teacher of the year. He was one of the guest speakers at the PSEA conference and I was very glad that I had signed up for his personal seminar in advance.

Mr. Wilson's seminar was directed around three themes; the moving child, the singing child, and the listening child. Each type of child has a specific set of characteristics to follow when implementing them into the curriculum.

The moving child will develop body awareness by recognizing beats and relating music to sports or other relate able content. Additionally,  moving will also promote socialization and imagination. Here, Mr. Wilson is showing us an example of the moving child (doing the hand jive).

The singing child develops a form of expression or communication, can develop beginning letter sounds, and can have fun by reading/singing non-sense words. Here Mr. Wilson and the class are singing apples and bananas, a song that substitutes different letter sounds in different verses.

The listening child can be a form of perspective or analysis. Puppets or interactive readings can be used in the "listening child" curricular understanding. Here Mr. Wilson incorporates musical instruments into different character parts within a popular story.

Overall the seminar was very meaningful. Children (especially young children) benefit in so many ways form having music integrated into their learning and interaction. Mr Wilson, an amazing nationally recognized teacher, showed us some great ways of accomplishing music integration effectively.  



Project Power

The highest level of thinking (according to bloom's taxonomy) is evaluation. What activities are associated with evaluation? Recreating something, projects that encourage you to construct, build, and design around a standard or a theme.

In my "assessing young children" class at Shippensburg University we did an activity that touched on the evaluation of thinking. During the project and after the project was over I couldn't help but think of ways that I could adapt or transfer the idea to students. If we can find ways to develop projects that touch on the evaluation of learning then students will most certainly prosper.

The project was to pick from a list of things to build. Your finished work may only contain recyclable materials. My group chose the option of designing a village.

In creating the village it took a collaborative effort with teammates and precision placement of materials.

We named our village awesome town. Here you will see the water tower, houses, telephone poles, and the school.

This is the urban section. In this photo is the apartment complex, corporation, park, bank, and radio station.

I felt like there wasn't enough time in the world to complete this project (we only had 50 minutes) my group members and I had a great time constructing this mini village. The standards connected to the activity were building and designing structures, problem solving, and displaying the rules of the road.

If projects like this are so engaging and enjoyable, and they touch on blooms highest level of thinking and understanding then we need to be planning more activities like this into the curriculum!

Biglerville Science Day

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of participating in a science day at Biglerville Elementary School. I must say before I go into detail about what we did the school was extremely organized and overall very nice. Mrs. Colino (the school principal) was very welcoming and supportive during the entire process. I would strongly encourage anyone who has the opportunity to participate or help out in the science day to do so!

The purpose of the science day was to build awareness about the environment, ecosystems and the interactions that occur within the environment and ecosystems.

My particular group did a version of a predator prey game.

Before we began the game we had to organize the inside of the classroom and the outside courtyard like a mini jungle. We flipped desks over, put blankets on top of tables, and placed large cardboard boxes all around the room. When the kids came in they were amazed!

Once everything was set up we had a brief whole group lesson on the definition of a predator and a prey with animal examples placed on place mats that students were sitting on (the yellow and orange things in the picture above).

The rules of the game are as follows:

The predators cannot cross the hunting zone which was divided by masking tape.

There is no running and no yelling!

The predators wear pennies while the prey wear flags

The prey will have 30 seconds in each round to hide somewhere in the room

The predators find the prey by calling out their name, calling out the body part that is exposed,  or calling out how they can see the prey

Once the prey is caught they become a predator

Playing the game the kids had a blast!

Here are two students hiding from the predators!

This prey is doing a great job of staying unseen.

At the end of the game we gathered students together for a brief discussion about the purpose of the game. We attempted (through teacher prompts and questions) to draw the comparison of their feelings and methods in the game to that of what predators and prey experience out in the wild.

Overall it was a great day and a great lesson!

10 Great Science Lessons For Kids

I wanted to credit the text book A Head Start On Science before I begin the description of the lessons. All the lessons that I am going to describe are from this book. It is a wonderful text book that basically lists lesson after lesson. Each science lesson in the book comes with a proper description of how a step by step process of the lesson, materials needed to complete the lesson, and helpful cross curricular connections that can be tied into the lesson. This is a wonderful science lesson book that has some really great ideas. The following are the 10 that I liked the best.


1. Smelly cans

Smelly cans is a simple and interesting senses game. Basically, you take five sets of metal cans and place certain scents inside the cans using cotton balls. For example, take a cotton ball and and douse it in cinnamon for a sweet cinnamon smell. Children will then attempt to guess what each smelly can smells like. The purpose is to build the understanding that smells can be used to identify objects. When conducting this activity be sure to include a variety of smells (lemon, mint, relish, etc. etc) so that children really have to designate between objects.


2. Sound: Shake, Rattle, and Roll

In this activity you will need two types of film canisters, six clear and six black. Fill the clear canister with a variety of different objects (rice, paper, pennies, paper clips, etc. etc.). Children will then be give the black canister to shake around, observe, and explore and record any information that they believe to be important. After exploring the sounds of each canister students will be given the clear canisters and be asked to match the clear canister object to its matching black canister counterpart. The purpose of this lesson is to use sound to identify objects and match different objects with different sounds.


3. Matching by Touch

This next activity children will designate objects by touch. In one box place different objects that have a variety of texture. Be sure to choose objects that are different in size and in complexity. Make sure that once you have placed the objects in the box you cover the entrance so that students cannot see the objects that they are touching in the box. Once the box is created give children a matching set of objects. Have children pick one object at a time and see if they can find the corresponding object in the box based only on the texture or feeling of that object. The purpose of the activity is to develop a texture awareness of objects and identify objects based on texture.

4. Snow Tracks and Traces

 This activity requires the right location and a little bit of luck. To start off you need for there to be snow on the ground. So if you live in a place where it doesn't ever snow then this activity is not for you! The idea of the lesson is to build and understanding of how to interpret tracks. Children will find a smooth area of snow (one that has not already been walked on) and jump in the snow three of four times. The same child will then find another smooth area of snow and walk normally. The instructor will then have a discussion (think aloud) about why one set of tracks are side by side and another set of tracks are offset. Once these main tracks have been discussed you can allow children to make all different kinds of tracks and discuss how their different actions made different tracks.


5. Bubbles Raising Raisins

This activity is one that I think will astonish students. All you need is raisins and some clear bubbly soda. Have students drop the raisins in the clear bubbly soda and observe what happens. The raisins should sink to the bottom at first but raise to the top as the carbonation lifts them up. The purpose of this activity to have children understand carbonation pressure and discuss what makes things sink and float.


6. Snails

It is important to note that before conducting this next activity make sure anyone handling snails washes their hands after the activity is over. If anyone has any kind of immune deficiency disorder they should not participate in this activity. What children are going to do is first observe the actions and behavior of their snails. Next students will place their snails on sandpaper and regular paper. Have students observe which texture the snail prefers to crawl on and record their findings. The purpose of this activity is to observe and record the typical behavior of snails.


7. Looking Through Water

In this activity student will simply observe objects around the room through two glasses. One glass will be filled with water while the other glass will be empty. Allow students to observe objects in both glasses and conclude their own observations and understandings before prompting questions that will direct them into a deeper direction of knowledge. The purpose of this activity is to develop observation differentiation of surrounding features.


8. Seeds In Our Food

What kid doesn't like food? In this next activity students will be working with different foods that contain seeds. Set out different types of fruit, some that contain seeds and some that don't. Allow children to freely explore the fruit and see if they know the name of each fruit. As they are exploring begin asking questions about seeds and where seeds come from. Children will automatically start exploring and asking questions about where the seeds in given fruit are and which fruit has seeds and which don't. The science of where seeds come from and what fruit contains seed is the desired content that is being taught in this lesson.


9. Nature Bracelets

Children need to spend more time in nature. With the advancement of computers, video game technology, and the increasing integrative nature of movies time spent in nature has been dramatically decreasing. In this activity students will be given time to go out into nature and simply explore. Anything they find that they think is interesting they can stick to their bracelets (tape on their wrists with the sticky side facing out). Later after their time in nature children will have time to analyze and explore the items that they collect during their investigation outside.


10. Leaves: Falling for You!

This activity also takes place outside. In this activity students will be required to find two leaves that are the same in some way and two leaves that are different in some way. Leaves that are the same could be the same color, the same size, or come from the same tree. Leaves that are different could be different shapes or show evidence that critters have been eating them. Again, this activity is meant to expand and develop students sense of observation, exploration, and analyzation.

10 Science Books Children Will Love

Children's literature is a great seq way into many other cross curricular opportunities in teaching different things throughout the school year. I wanted to provide ideas that I thought were really good science connection books that children would enjoy reading and thinking about throughout the year.


1. What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?

This Caldecot Honor book is a great non-fiction text that is extremely child friendly. Throughout the text animal anatomy is explored. Each page focuses on a different body part of different animals and describes the purpose of those body parts. The illustrations are absolutely amazing; they even have a very unique texture to them. I thought this story would be a great introduction into early biology understanding. This book is a must read!


2. Tree Life

The one thing that I really enjoy about informational texts is the real life pictures that children can associate with when reading. Tree Life is one of those types of books. The pictures that are incorporated in the text are absolutely amazing. The book really gives the reader an inside look at the inner workings of ecosystems relating to different types of trees.

Here is an example. On this page the text is describing the community spirit of wood work ants and their relationship to the tree that they live in. Look the the illustrations around the text on this page! Isn't that just amazing! I really think students would enjoy this.
I thought that this text could introduce the early understanding of ecosystems and the organisms that live within those organisms. The picture are the thing that really just puts the book over the top.


3. A Child's First Library of Learning: Sky and Earth

I really like the first library of learning series. Each book in the series has a topic (much like the one above) and asks questions about the topic on each page. The book then answers its own question using a multitude of access features in a unique page organization layout. Sky and Earth would be a great mentor text in teaching about the science of geography in different regions throughout the country. The book really promotes self exploration and challenges students to first ask a question, then read on to find the answer to the earlier asked question. It's just an overall great science and social studies connection to literature.


4. Computers In Everyday Life

I liked this books because it really relates to technology and how it is used throughout the world. The book is at a challenging level but it really could be used to introduce technology in the classroom as well as the variety of technology that is all around us throughout the world. The book itself is a little dated but the content that it displays is very relevant and meaningful. I would definitely suggest getting the book to introduce technology use into education!


5. Titanic

I thought this next piece of literature could be used as science that is currently relevant. We are now in the 100th anniversary of the titanic this year, the renovation of the new titanic movie is out in theatres currently, and there is a new TV show featuring the titanic on ABC. I thought that a science lesson on how things float and how boats work and operate would be very interesting. If you used the Titanic as the content theme then I believe students would really gravitate toward the lesson. Anyway, if you agree that teaching science through the titanic would be a really neat idea then this is the book you would want to read. It is complex but has a ton of really interesting information regarding the Titanic.


6. The Big Bug Book

What kid doesn't like bugs? In my experience most kids love to get down and dirty and talk about bugs. This book is a great story that explains what a big is and what kids of bugs are everywhere around us. I especially enjoyed the illustrations because they feature bugs interacting with man made things. This book would be a great bridge into an insect lesson. If you are looking for a piece of literature that is really interesting and meaningful then you definitely want this book!



7. Fish

Lets go back to the ocean, only this time instead of the titanic we are talking about fish! Wonderful world of the ocean is a topic that students will really find interesting. This book literally has almost everything you could ever know about different types of fish, fish characteristics, and general fun facts about fish. If an ocean life science lesson is your thing then this book is a must have!


8. Predator!

I recently conducted a predator prey game at Biglerville Elementary school and students absolutely loved it! Predator prey relationships are one of the most engaging and fun things to teach students within the science curriculum. This text has a lot of useful information that could be used within a predator prey unit study. Again, like many other non-fiction texts the pictures are of real life predators. The kids would just the pictures!


9. Ceratosaurus

When I was little I absolutely loved dinosaurs! There is just something about them that makes kids gravitate toward finding out information about them. I think that a dinosaur unit in science would be highly enjoyable and kids would be absolutely ecstatic when learning about them. This particular book come from "The New Dinosaur Collection" a collection that features a number of different dinosaurs in different historical periods. I chose the Ceratosaurus book to be featured because it looks like a dinosaur kids would love!


10. Understanding & Collecting Rocks & Fossils

I chose this last book because I believe that geology is something that is not studied commonly in science curriculum throughout the country. This book gives a general overview of all the basics of rock collecting and understanding. I think that incorporating this story into science curriculum could really generate some interest in geological studies (something that does not happen often).

10 Interesting science blogs/websites!

Science resources are literally all around us. Internet and web-sources are great things to use to gather ideas for science activity and curriculum. Here are 10 interesting blogs/websites that I have found that relate to science understanding and teaching.


1. http://www.sciencebob.com/index.php
The website has a TON of science experiments and activities that students can do. The site also has interesting videos,  a question and answer section and an interactive blog. The videos are step by step instructions to experiments and explanation of how those experiments connect to science understanding.

Here's an example:
http://www.sciencebob.com/experiments/videos/video-blobs.php
This video explains how to make a lava lamp with a water bottle, using water and oil. The instructor really makes it interesting!


2. http://bainbridgeclass.blogspot.com/2012/01/handy-way-to-learn-about-texture.html?showComment=1326237729188#c3605442248393128809
This is an extremely specific and detailed teacher blog. The link I provided is a specific lesson that I personally used as a guide to complete me texture box a few weeks ago. Christina Bainbridge (blog creator) has tons of lesson ideas for all subject areas. I personally found amazing science lessons that could be incorporated in a number of different ways. Personally I like to take some of her lesson ideas and rearrange them on my own. It is definitely something worth checking out.


3. http://www.housingaforest.com/dancing-oobleck/
Amazing site that gives you a step by step process to making colored oobleck!

Dancing oobleck is essentially the same thing as oobleck only with a lot of bass and food coloring. Nevertheless, the website has really cool images and pictures and has the exact ingredients required to make the dancing oobleck work.


4.  http://tekyteach.blogspot.com/2011/12/more-force-and-motion-fun-marble-races.html
This is an interesting blog that has a variety of different lessons. It is not as detailed or intense at the blog mentioned earlier but it is still very interesting. One particular post really caught my eye where students built ramps for marbles to race down  and adjusted the level of the ramp to see how the speed of the marble changed.

I thought that this marble race activity was a really interactive science lessons that kids would really love to do in the classroom. Check out the details for this lesson and others on the blog!


5. http://www.modernparentsmessykids.com/2011/09/more-science-at-home.html
This next website is designed for parents who are homeschooling. I thought it would be a useful resource for ideas that can incorporate science into common everyday household things. The common theme with all the activities and projects is do it yourself. The activities are really interesting and teach a bunch of different science ideas and understandings. Check this website out if you are looking for science activities that are simple and can be done at home!

6. https://www.quirkles.com/about_the_quirkles/about.htm
This next website isn't really something that you can complete online and its not really something that guides you toward an idea for a science activity. This website is a portal to ordering something called Quirkels. Quirkels are books and materials that teach literacy and phonics understanding through science process and terminology. For example, some books are categorized by letter; Andy Acid, Colorful Caroline, Density Dan. Each book teaches particular phonics rules connected with science understanding. It is really something that is worth understanding and possibly ordering!


7. http://www.howtosmile.org/
How to smile is a very well known, high quality site. The site has literally hundreds of science and math activities. Frequent users can subscribe and the site even offers a smart phone app where the science and math games can be downloaded or played on the go. The site also has a search bar so that you do not have to pan through all the incredible games that are offered. This is a site I would highly recommend subscribing to; the benefits are absolutely amazing!


8. http://kids.discovery.com/
Discovery for kids is a popular highly visited site. It is comprised of quizzes, videos, science and social studies lessons and so much more. There are literally tons of interactive games that kids can play on this website. The website can be used for adults too; there are really good science activities and ideas that can be pulled from the site. I have observed students using this site in classrooms throughout the area. It really is a neat activity site.


9. http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/

National geographic for kids is another very popular site (just like discovery for kids). I thought I would finish off the list with some more popular kids sites that I think live up to their reputation. This site is certainly not exception. It features a strong variety of games, videos and activities that visitors on the site can follow . I think the real strength in this site is the real life video features that it offers. It simply is a great site to expand the knowledge of science and social studies.


10. http://8plus1science.org/
8 plus one is an interesting science website that offers interesting ideas and insights in the understanding and incorporating of science into the classroom as well as everyday life. I chose 8 plus one because it touches on all grade levels from the elementary to secondary level. This site is a great site that promotes scientific thinking; logic and reason processing. Check it out!

Science Prop Box!

I wanted to give people viewing a chance to take a look at one of my first prop boxes I have created. The box is a themed science box that deals with different types of texture. The idea behind the box is that it is a comprised materials box that children can open up and immediately understand the task they are supposed to perform and conceptualize the content in which the box is suppose to help them understand. My box that I created was an activity in which students organized different items into five categories of texture. In order to aid them in this process they will have a multitude of resources and tools so that they can understand the classifying of the objects. Some objects could go in more than one category of texture causing students to really analyze the texture of items when classifying. Anything that creates a higher order of thinking is always a good thing!

This is what the box looks like with everything packaged inside. It is small and can be easily moved so it can be stored anywhere in the classroom. It is really a child friendly size!

Inside the box children are given a number of resources to help them classify the items. These are four books at different levels that relate to some form of texture. Two are non-fiction and two are fiction.

This is another resource that can be used to help the children classify the forms of texture. On the left are hands that have examples of each type of texture on each finger. On the right is a "texture table" in which each form of texture the students are classifying is defined.

This is an example of some of the small items children would be classifying in different texture groups. I stored them in small plastic Tupperware containers.

This is the finished product! Students use their resources and sort the items in different texture categories.