Winging It! 5th -8th

It's that time of the year again!  Time to dissect chicken wings to find bone, skin, fat, muscle, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments!

This is a great write up for 5th through 8th and a relatively cheap experiment to do in class!

Chicken Wing Write Up PDF

Osmosis Experiment 5-8th

Osmosis Experiment

Teaching DNA 5th-8th

Check out my pictures of our lesson today.  We used Twizzlers, toothpicks, and gummy bears to make a model of Deoxyribonucleic Acid, or DNA. We discussed that our DNA is like a secret code or instructions on how to make our bodies.  We stuck two gummy bears on each toothpick.  These are the base pairs.  Then, we stuck each side of the toothpicks into the Twizzlers, that we had pulled in half (save some money  and it still works).  Last, twist the ladder of candy to create the famous double-helix form.

We also watched the DNA Brainpop video and wrote three facts.  Our next period was lunch.  So, it was a perfect experiment to send out to eat at lunchtime.  I hope they kept talking about the lesson.

One additional trick I used was to give everyone at least one or two colored toothpicks.  This, I explained, was a mutation.  Some mutations are bad and the organism can't survive.  However, some mutations are good and make that organism stronger than others.  We talked briefly about X-men and Spiderman, in relation to mutant DNA.

Another trick is to use paper plates to keep everything organized.  They are easy to write on.  We put our names and DNA on our plates, but students can easily write labels or facts on the plate for this lesson.

It was an enjoyable for everyone.  It went nicely with the parts of the cell and body systems lessons of the week.

Don't Be Cilia

Beginning Biology

Colonization 5th

As encouraged by Dr. Tate, I pondered how to teach the idea of colonization using multiple learning styles, movement, and theater.  So, I landed on an idea for fifth grade to colonize other classrooms and claim them as our own. Maybe we would even name them after the explorer who found the land, for example "Kyleland" and "New Jamie." I made hats for different people: pilgrims, explorers, merchants, and a king, who gave charters to the merchants to find land.  We hung pictures of the British flag wherever we decided to colonize, or claim land.  We also had to decide which rooms would be most beneficial for us to take first.  The cafeteria  had lots of food and money, so we decided to take that land for the King, King James I.

My reflection of the activity was mostly positive.  Though, it looked a little disorganized, it definitely gave us a reference point of understanding such a large idea.  One example of this was when we claimed a first grade classroom even though they weren't even in the room.  They had no idea we had declared a new allegiance for them.  This sparked a discussion about how the Natives who had lived in North America thousands of years were not aware of what was really happening.

If you try this teaching idea, please leave comments below to let me know how it goes.  This was something brand new I made up this year.  It made a difference as we went throughout our unit on settlement and colonization.

Teaching Light

We had an exploration day to focus on the concepts of reflection and refraction.

Each student had to bring in a flashlight and a mirror.  I supplied pieces of tin foil as well.  A fun exploration of vocabulary terms.

A Lesson on Teamwork, Planning, and Practice

  Hold class discussion on what teamwork, planning and practice means using these clips.  You might have different students interested based on different video clips.

Latitude and Longitude 4th-5th

Here is an example of how to teach latitude and longitude.  I had students start by drawing three longitude lines around the "globe."  Then, we drew an equator.  After that, we drew two latitudes above and below the equator.  Everyone had a few different color permanent markers to switch colors as we talked about different vocabulary terms.  Students could draw any continents they wanted.  A few chose to draw the real shapes of the seven continents.  Our world map was available for reference if needed.

Last, I cut a clementine to open it, shown above.  To do this, cut three lines like an x on the top and bottom of the clementine.  Then, I could peel it, but keep the skin in tact.  This demonstrates how difficult it is to make an accurate map of a sphere on a flat piece of paper.  The Mercator Projection is one solution to this problem, however it stretches out sections of the map.

We had a great time getting dirty with markers and learned a great deal.  Latitude and longitude is a detail that gives great foundation for learning history.  These words come up in the oddest places and we can reference this activity to remember what they actually mean.

Stacking Cups

The big ideas matter!  This is a great way to tie together Russian Nesting Doll concepts, ideas that build on each other.

This can also be adapted to coincide with history or literary events to practice sequencing.

BLOOD!

Make a model of blood in the classroom!
GREAT MEME!
http://www.rundesroom.com/2012/10/our-classroom-was-covered-in-blood-today.html

Mr. Parr, The Best Science Songs in NJ!

Humor Has It 5th

Being reminded to use jokes to start lessons once in a while.  Here are some sites I've looked up jokes:

http://www.ducksters.com/jokesforkids/history.php

http://www.crfcelebrateamerica.org/index.php/trivia-games-and-quizzes/100-

http://arevo10.blogspot.com/2010/05/revolution-jokes.html

When In Doubt, Sing 5th-12th

So, the concept of civilization is a little tough to get.  So, I made up this parody for Social Studies. We will never forget civilization and agriculture.

THEN, I found another teacher online who does a superb job at Science parody songs!  Check him out! He's from NJ too! You are awesome, Mr. Parr! http://www.youtube.com/user/ParrMr

Density Experiments

Density!  Instead of putting just some oil on lots of water, put some water into lots of oil!  Or, better, do both!  Make sure the water is colored for a strong visual contrast.

Warning! Oil can damage your plastic cylinders.  One was left uncleaned for too long, in the name of science and to see what would happen if we left it sit for a longer amount of time, and it ruined one of the tubes.

Fraction Dancing Review

So, last year I tried this as a review of what a fraction is.  Students who can go above and beyond, I challenge to write fractions and equivalent fractions for each video, imagine we double this group, etc.  I'll use it again this year, or reshoot it with new students!

Cooperative Groups & Native American Powwow

This change to my Native American lessons was directly impacted by the Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites list of teaching strategies, written by Dr. Marcia Tate.  Buy it now!

In order to teach about Native American tribes this year, we held a powwow where different "tribes" came together to share a song, dance, costume, poem, or list of facts about their tribe.  First, I read The Legend of the Blue Bonnets by Tomie DePaola.  We discussed what a ceremony was and I divvied up groups. At the end of the week, I arranged the desks in a circle and played Native American music (from Youtube) to create a ceremonial atmosphere.  Each group presented their various creative pieces and the rest of the class listened to write down three facts about each tribe.  As groups performed, I taped a sign with that tribe's name over their location on the United States map.  Students were interested in their own tribe very much, had a BLAST performing, and actually enacted a real powwow to honor Native American culture.

 (We will never soon forget the breech cloth.  Note we did not Google that or search online.  We just used sets of books I had available.  If you search these terms, it's not classroom friendly.)

To just brag a little, the retention on this activity was awesome.  Months later, in correlation with football and the Super Bowl, I answered some questions on the controversy with calling a team the Redskins.  In the classroom discussion, we could name all of these tribes and more: Pueblo, Iriquois, Cheyenne, Crow, Creek, Souix, Navajo, Lenni Lenape, and Nez Perce.  It was nice to see the facts stick and I attribute that to the fun we had holding a "real" powwow.

Hero: Dr. Marcia Tate

Next, good news!  There was an awesome keynote at the NJEA convention given by Dr. Marcia Tate.  A fellow teacher from Texas, and former college roommate, recommends her highly, as well!  She puts together a teacher coaching series entitled "Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites."  Buy it!  There's twenty scientific strategies to improve retention, or in other words, actually learn something.  This changed my teaching by affirming my search for teaching memes and giving me concrete ways to improve my use of brain building techniques in EVERY lesson!  Examples to come (because they're memey!)  Her teaching style makes her one of my personal heroes!

Back to Meme-ing and PEMDAS Song

Hey!  I'm back with more memes! And good news!  There are other teachers out there doing the same thing: finding the easiest ways to make a lasting impact on student retention.

First, let me share a math video.  It's a song for PEMDAS or order of operations to the tune of Gangnam Style.  Song starts at 0:50.  When students question what operation to do first, someone pipes up and sings this: