My students love picture books!  Steven Kroll is an author who has some great ones!  We do these challenges throughout the school year with our kindergarten buddies!  We read aloud the book and then do the challenge!

These challenges are so much fun to complete and hang in the hallway!  They require very few supplies, just bulletin board paper and measuring tools!  Click here to grab the BUNDLE!  These challenges are also available for purchase individually in my TPT store!

These challenges are always so much fun!  Here are some of our Biggest Snowmen!

 

We had a crazy two days before Thanksgiving Break!  The kids loved making Thanksgiving floats for this STEM Challenge!  We started by reading the picture book, Balloons Over Broadway, by Melissa Sweet.  This book talks about how those huge floats came to be used in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade!

We also watched a few videos on-line so students could see the different floats!  Many of my students had never seen them before and they were so amazed!

Students then got assorted styles of balloons, plastic balloon sticks, and tape so they could work as a team to make their own floats!

Here are some of their ideas!

If you are interested in purchasing this fun STEM challenge, click here!

I often get asked how to make STEM challenges more or less challenging for students of different ages or abilities.  This is actually a pretty easy thing to do (meaning you can do it yourself without much trouble)!

1.Decrease or Increase the Supplies

       One of the easiest ways to make these challenges easier or harder, is to alter the amount of materials used.  Think about how much harder a challenge becomes with a limited amount of tape!  If students are struggling, increase supplies to make it a little easier for them.  You can make these decisions at the beginning or even during the challenge!

2.Add a Timer

       Challenges become a lot trickier if you have to get them done in a specific amount of time.  Most challenges take intermediate kids about 45 minutes.  What if you reduced that time?  If kids are struggling, you can give them more time!

3.Give them a Second Chance

       Sometimes students need a second chance at a challenge!  Give it a little time and then let them try out a challenge that they really struggled with a second time.  Most of the time they will do really well during their second chance!

Time to get engineering!

This is such a FUN challenge to do in the month of October!  We started by reading the book, Creepy Carrots.  It is adorable!

This Engineering Design Challenge is based on the picture book, Creepy Carrots!, by Aaron Reynolds:

Can your group create a fence that will contain a creepy carrot using the fewest number of craft sticks?

Materials: (per group)
Whole carrot (variety of sizes works best)
Sheet of cardboard (as a base)
Craft sticks
Tape and scissors
Yarn 

The kids had a BLAST with this challenge!  The winning team only used 13 craft sticks!  Click here to purchase the challenge!

Who doesn't love a great picture book?  The Ugly Pumpkin is one of my fall favorites!

We read this book in class and then talked about the different themes in the book.  Students made their own Ugly Pumpkins that showed some emotion.

Students were able to come up with a ton of great themes for the book and they loved the end of the book when the Ugly Pumpkin says, "Oh my gosh!  I'm a squash!"

Here are our Ugly Pumpkins!  Aren't they the cutest things!  Click here for a great TPT pack using this book!

Do you have kiddos that need to move a lot?  These may help you keep your students focused and ready to learn, AND they are quiet!

My kids often used them by pushing against them with their feet.  I was amazed at how much my kids loved these bands!  I will definitely be purchasing more for my classroom!  If you want to grab a few for your classroom, I have a discount code (10% off) you can use until the end of September. The code is SMARTCHICK.  Just go to the Bouncy Band website!

You can even order these using Donors Choose!  Click here for a resource page to help you get started!

Throughout my years of teaching, I continue to observe that kids really respond to literature in all subject areas.  I have been working on connecting more and more of my introductory math lessons with picture books and I have noticed great results and engagement from my students.  I am also working on adding more lessons with literature throughout the math units as well.

For measurement, which always seems simple enough but is really pretty tough, we start with the book, Measuring Penny, by Loreen Leedy.  I read the book aloud to the class and then we talk about some of the different measurement topics in the book as we go through it.  This book is about measuring a pet dog, so my kids love it.  This book is a perfect way to introduce the idea of standard and non-standard measurements.  Here are a few of the books we use throughout our measurement unit in math!

In our classroom, I always put up a bulletin board for the unit we are studying.  In front of the bulletin board is a table where we keep manipulatives related to the unit as well as a basket of related books. During our silent reading time each day, students can always reread these books, which a lot of them choose to do.

I am working on making these book math labs into activities in my TPT store.  Here is the first one...

This math lab pack includes a bulletin board set for measurement as well as the two page lab pack to go with the book.  It is a great way for students to practice measuring with both standard and non-standard measurements using stuffed animals.  Click here for a link to this $2 math pack!  Stay tuned for more to come!

During our Bird Unit, we have been really busy!  Between science labs on bird beaks and a bunch of different writing and project assignments, we have also been doing a lot of STEM challenges related to birds!  One of the best activities we did was building bird nests with natural items we picked up outside during our nature walk!  The nests had to hold a certain number of eggs.  Students could not use glue or tape in their construction!

They all ended up doing amazing jobs on this challenge, with each student building their own nest! You can pick up this great STEM pack in my store if you want the lab sheets, or you can just have your own kids make bird nests!  Click here if you want to grab this pack for $2!

Time to get building!

I stumbled upon this great book and I knew I had to make a STEM challenge to go with it!  This monthly challenge is a great spring one, but since you are using grass seeds, you could do it any time! You can find this book on Amazon or Scholastic!

In the book, the individual grass seeds all have their own personalities!  Very fun!  The challenge unit is so engaging and fun!  Here are a few of ours in week 3 out of 4!

The STEM challenge pack can be purchased for $2.50!  It is a great one to use at the end of the school year!  Click here to buy your copy of the pack!

I know everyone is so tired of testing, but since we have to do it, why not make it fun?  This year we went with a SHARK theme! Click here for the FREE pack!  So exciting!  We started with a shark cut out and made some really cute shark testing posters with our theme!

Students had a great time coloring and filling out their shark posters for testing!  We also took pictures of each student with their faces peeking out of the shark face!  They were SO cute!  We posted them with the different testing ideas the kids had when we talked about it!  By adding a shark fin to the info cards, we made it into the funnest picture display!

What themes do you use for testing?  Check out Oriental Trading Company for some great shark stuff!

I love to teach about Circuits and Electricity!  One of our favorite activities is making Circuit Board games!  Click here for the link to buy the game pack for $2!

We had the BEST time making these in our classroom!  Kids were able to make a game on any topic. They had a blast!  You need wires, wire clippers, brads, a battery (AA), masking tape, cardboard, lab sheets, and a light bulb.

 

We played on these games for a week!  They are so much fun!

Who doesn't love dioramas?  They were one of my favorite things to make as a kid and kids today STILL love them!

We were studying these six different land biomes:  Desert, Temperate Forest, Taiga, Grassland, Tundra, and Rain Forest.

Students were required to do research using books and the Internet.  They created an informational file about the ecosystem and then used the information to design the diorama.  They had to give me a list of materials they would need to make the ecosystem.  We used storage boxes I found at Staples for the dioramas.  Once they were created, students had to teach their classmates about the ecosystem and create a worksheet for classmates to complete.

Writing can be tough for my students, so I try to make it as interesting as I can in order to get my kids to enjoy writing.  During our space unit, we researched the 13 different planets in our solar system (yes, I said 13!).  There are 8 major planets and 5 minor (or dwarf) planets.  These flap reports are made by using three sheets of white construction paper.  Lay the paper staggered with about an inch gap, then fold the three sheets over to create the other flaps.

Students used books and the Internet to research the planet of their choice.  They created five headings, one per flap, based on this research, so not all reports have the same headings.  Each section contains information and drawings or pictures.

 

Students then made a model of their planet using Crayola model magic.  We displayed the model hanging under the report.  These reports are interactive because readers can flip through the flaps to quickly find information.

Looking for a fun way to survive St. Patrick's Day on March 17th?  This FREE pack may be just what you and your little leprechauns are looking for!  At my school, we love to connect STEM with literature and we found a great book to use from Scholastic or Amazon!

This is also a great STEM project to send home and get family involvement!  We challenge our kiddos to make one with all "found" materials (like recyclables and things they find around their house).

Each classroom received a copy of the book and a bag of 6 little leprechauns!  There are also cut-out versions included in the STEM pack.  Click here to grab the FREE STEM Pack!

Click here for the link to the book!

Just got some adorable pictures of leprechaun traps from a 3rd grade teacher in Georgia!  These kids are so creative!

 

I love that you can use just about anything to make a successful trap!