Monday, November 24, 2014

Once upon a S.T.E.M....


Once upon a time,
there lived a very gifted S.T.E.M. teacher
by the name of Mrs. Regina Davis.
She knew how to make
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
activities both engaging AND developmentally appropriate
for Kindergarten kids.
Feel free to read that again...
for Kindergarten kids!
Aw shucks!

Regina put them on TPT and they
quickly became her highest selling items.
Don't believe me?

Not only does Regina know how to teach S.T.E.M., 
she knows how to teach other teachers how to teach S.T.E.M.
She's clever like that.
O.K....Now you're embarrassing me!

I saw it firsthand last week!

While my family was dealing with
Illinois weather like this.....
Do you know that Golden Boy and The Darling Diva
have NEVER seen snow.  Well, Golden Boy has...
but he was so young that he says it doesn't count.
The other day, I was telling him
how pretty the palm trees
were against the sunset,
and he just looked at me like I was nuts.
Palm trees are a way of life for him.
That's all he's ever known.
I hesitate to feel sorry for him as I
shiver in the 29 degree weather and
as I drove on the slippery, snowy roads tonight.
Boo hiss!

Regina and I were poolside
in Florida with weather like this...
Yes, this picture was taken right before
I insisted on going to a shady area to prevent
any more sun spots!
Jealous much?!
You're lying if you say no!
I lived this a week ago
and even I'm jealous that the
pool in the background and the sun above
is still there and I'm not!!!
...waaa.....sigh.....
But enough about me...

Seriously people!  Regina has it going on!
She gave an excellent 75 minute presentation on
Why S.T.E.M.?
What is S.T.E.M.?
How do you do S.T.E.M.?
She's super clever and bases her S.T.E.M. activities
around well-loved nursery rhymes.
(Don't forget Fairy Tales and Folk Tales....love them!)

It wasn't a lot of blah, blah, blah either!
Her Powerpoint had just enough
explanation, inspiration, and giggles
along the way that she had her
audience understanding how they
could do the same next week in their own classrooms.
Well done my friend!
Thank you, Angela!
That means a lot from a fellow
teacher who has taught Kindergarten for the past 20 years!

She's such a generous soul that she even
gave her participants some of her S.T.E.M. activities
to try for themselves....a gesture that
was met with a round of applause!
Ummmm....they had to prep their classes for subs.
For anyone who is NOT a teacher...
that takes around 2-3 hours of your own time.
Not.Even.Kidding.
They rolled out of bed, showered,
dressed, drove,
showed up and paid
(many out of their own pocket)
to hear my presentation.
Of course I had to hand out freebies!

I'd like to say a big THANK YOU to S.D.E.
(Staff Development for Educators)
 for having me present,
and to my fellow presenters for being
so kind and welcoming!

AND....I just have to say one more thank you...
my blogging buddy is the BEST.
She flew all the way to Orlando from Illinois
to help me out.
Who does that?
Just AttaGirl.
 Yup.
She's amazing!
...blush...

Our blog earned 16 more followers this week.
Hmm.....I'm wondering if any of those
16 were in that room in Orlando last week.
If you're one of them reading this now, 
please leave a comment on this post!
I'm sure Regina would love to hear from you.
Of course I would!
I had a lot of fun presenting!
I'm also very interested to hear from
all of our blog visitors and where you teach.
I may not make a big enough paycheck to travel
to all of the places I want to go,
but at least some of my teaching materials
are going around the U.S.
and looking at our blogging stats....the world.
Now THAT makes me smile!

Here's a little something to make YOU smile!
The Grinch S.T.E.M. Homework Enrichment
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjylOkfka4eQVNSd1NIaWxXMm8/view?usp=sharing
Read the lines from the story,
 The Grinch by Dr. Seuss.
Circle or highlight the following words
from the passage:
I, a, the, are, there, was, to, be,
that, said, one, so, he, his, and, of

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjylOkfka4eQVNSd1NIaWxXMm8/view?usp=sharing

 Draw the Grinch’s reindeer antler design
on the provided Design Plan paper.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjylOkfka4eQVNSd1NIaWxXMm8/view?usp=sharing


Use a string to measure the circumference of your head.
Once  you measure your head with a string,
 place the string on a flat surface and measure
the string with a ruler….record the measurement.  

Measure your construction paper
or whatever other material
that you are using that will be
going around your head.
Decide whether the length of the
construction paper (or other chosen material)
should be longer, shorter, or the same length
as the string that is equal to the
circumference of your head?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjylOkfka4eQVNSd1NIaWxXMm8/view?usp=sharing

Have an adult help you use a

calculator to practice adding or subtracting
 from the number of inches equal
 to the measurement of the string.
For example, add 2 to the number
of inches equal to your measurement.
Subtract 2 from the number of inches
equal to your measurement.
Decide on and record the length
of the structure’s section that will go around your head. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjylOkfka4eQVNSd1NIaWxXMm8/view?usp=sharing
 
Create your reindeer antlers and

attach them to the section of the structure
that will be going around your head. 


Measure the height of your antlers
by using a ruler and record the measurement in inches.
Cut out and decorate the tag that says “Max”. 
Place a string around your neck

with enough room to be able to take it on and off.
Measure the length of the string in inches and record it.
Attach the tag to a string and place it around your neck.


Max had to travel far in the story.

 Place the structure on your head and
walk around your house 120 steps. 
 Bring the 120 chart on your journey and
count the steps out loud as you walk.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjylOkfka4eQVNSd1NIaWxXMm8/view?usp=sharing
Draw and write about how
you were able to change the materials you had
and make them into something else.

Did you cut, crumple, tear, staple, glue, tape, etc.?

(Here's an additional sheet that can be used
to add on to the other for those who just love to write!)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjylOkfka4eQVNSd1NIaWxXMm8/view?usp=sharing

Handwriting lines not your thing?
Try this simple lined paper instead!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjylOkfka4eQVNSd1NIaWxXMm8/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjylOkfka4eQVNSd1NIaWxXMm8/view?usp=sharing


I included an option for students to use paperclips
instead of a ruler for measuring.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjylOkfka4eQVNSd1NIaWxXMm8/view?usp=sharing

Also there is a 100 chart for students to take 100 steps
rather than 120 steps around their homes. 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjylOkfka4eQVNSd1NIaWxXMm8/view?usp=sharing
May you have a S.T.E.M. good time!

See what I'm talking about?!
She just "whipped" this homework

activity up to share with all of you.

 photo fairytalesampFictionsignoff-2.png





2 comments:

Unknown said...

I wasn't at your conference or I would have definitely been in your workshop! I live in Florida and I HATE the Palm trees. I had my husband even take out anything that looked like a palm off our property when we bought it. Thank you for the free lesson!

Regina Davis aka Queen Chaos said...

Hi Stacia,
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I hope that you're having a great summer, and staying out of the heat!
:) Regina

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