Sticky Note: This would also be a great activity to attach to fractions because you have to be able to understand fractions to put the ingredients in the correct places. It could also be used in younger grades where groups are making one together or the class creates one together and discusses our responsibilities to keep the earth clean.
3.2.6 Describe how the properties of earth materials make them useful to humans in different ways. Describe ways that humans have altered these resources to meet their needs for survival.
Sticky Note: This would also be a great activity to attach to fractions because you have to be able to understand fractions to put the ingredients in the correct places. It could also be used in younger grades where groups are making one together or the class creates one together and discusses our responsibilities to keep the earth clean.
Adaptions: You can adapt this activity for ELL and special needs by doing an into to the bufferfly lifecycle, you can include books, do drawings charting the life cycle. While you are doing this you can have the students make a vocabulary journal identifying vocabulary used in the butterfly life cycle.
Extensions: I think ALL grades would love this activity, you would want to add things to the activity depending on the grade level. For example, for 2nd graders you can have them journal and write stories about their butterflies, 3rd grade you can have them define different types of butterfies and then see which type they have from their habitats, 4th graders can identify different locations you may find different types of butterflies, and for kindergarten you can identify differences between butterflies and moths....etc!
1.3.4 Describe how animals' habitats, including plants, meet their needs for food, water, shelter and an environment in which they can live.
1.3.5 Observe and describe ways in which animals and plants depend on one another for survival.
1.3.2 Observe organisms closely over a period of time in different habitats such as terrariums, aquariums, lawns and trees. Draw and write about observations.
1.4.3 Construct a simple shelter for an animal with natural and human-made materials.
1.2.1 "Observe and compare properties of sand, clay, silt and organic matter. Look for evidence of sand, clay, silt and organic matter as components of soil samples."
This activity can be modified for gifted students by having them record their predictions about which particles will sink and which particles will float, rather than solely making the observations. This activity can also be modified for older grades by having them do the same thing. The older students can also be told to gather material that is sand, silt, and clay, and try to keep these in separate jars.
Students gather dirt samples from different outdoor areas and fill a jar with their dirt samples. The teacher will add water until the jar is two-thirds full and the students will take turns shaking their jar for two minutes. Each group will allow the contents in their jar to settle for fifteen to thirty minutes. Have the students make observations about how the dirt settled. The heaviest pieces of soil will settle first. Have the students identify the different-sized particles.
2.2.1 "Observe, describe and measure ways in which the properties of a sample of water (including volume) change or stay the same as the water is heated and cooled and then transformed into different states."
This activity can be modified for ELL students by having them record drawings during each observation, rather than writing the words for their observations. This would be a great activity for drawing, because each state looks so much different than the others (solid, liquid, and gas). This activity can be adjusted for older grades by having the students do the same activity with predictions at the beginning of the experiment about what they believe will happen. These students could also make other predictions about other types of matter that would react in the same way the juice ice did. For further exploration, these students could then test their hypothesis regarding other objects and their state of matter.
Students place "juice ice" into baggies and observe the state of the ice at various points in the day. The students then compare the beginning state of the ice with the ending state of the ice. This is a great lesson on solids, liquids, and gasses!
Adaption: SEE "MOON PHASES ACTIVITY-PHRASES FOR PHASES: A MOON TUNE.
Extensions: You can extend this activity for 6th grade my having them creat a model of the moon and it's phases and demonstrating their understanding through a presentations. ( I would group them and have each person write about their part of the demonstration and that it what they present)
You can extend it you younger grades by having them draw the phases of the moon and with parents (as homework) go outside at night and dermine which phase the moon is in and drawing a picture of that phase on the claendar.
5.2.4 Use a calendar to record observations of the shape of the moon and the rising and setting times over the course of a month. Based on the observations, describe patterns in the moon cycle.
5.2.1 Recognize that our earth is part of the solar system in which the sun, an average star, is the central and largest body. Observe that our solar system includes the sun, moon, seven other planets and their moons, and many other smaller objects like asteroids and comets.
1.3.3 "Observe and explain that plants and animals have basic needs for growth and survival: plants need to take in water and need light, and animals need to take in water and food and have a way to dispose of waste."
This activity can be modified for ELL students by having them strictly draw pictures of their observations, rather than writing words to describe their observations. This can also be adjusted for older grades, by having them grow several different types of flowers, or by using different fertilizers to help the flowers grow. The students can then compare their effects of the different fertilizers on the same flowers.
Students can grow narcissus bulbs in the classroom, or at home! The students can then make observations or draw pictures about how the flower looks each day. Draw conclusions once the flowers are fully bloomed about how they grew!
K.2.3 "Describe in words and pictures the changes in weather from month to month and season to season."
This activity can be adjusted for ELL students by allowing them to use only pictures for recording their observations. If the students are feeling somewhat comfortable with the new language, they can be paired with English speaking students to work together to spell and sound out words for their notebooks. This activity can be modified for older age groups by having the students make predictions about what is going to happen with the weather conditions. These students can also make predictions about why they think the seasons change.
Students can participate in this long-term activity by observing and recording the weather each week of the school term, or the school year. The students can do various activities within this long-term activity, such as measuring the amount of rain or snow, recording weather conditions, making observations in a notebook, etc. This is a great way to observe and learn the seasons!
4.1.2 "Investigate the variety of ways in which heat can be generated and moved from one place to another. Explain the direction the heat moved."
This activity can be used with gifted students by allowing them to observe another candle burning in a bowl with no water present. The students can then compare and contrast the differences in the candles and the way in which they burn, and make inferences about why they believe the candles are different. This activity can be used with older age groups in the same way. The older students may be able to light their own candles as they work in groups, while still monitoring their progress.
The Design Process: Identify a need or problem to be solved; brainstorm potential solutions; document the design throughout the entire design process; select the most appropriate materials to develop a solution that will meet the need; create the solution through a prototype; test and evaluate how well the solution meets the goal; communicate how to improve the solution.
This activity can be modified for gifted students by having them record their predictions, as well as measure how much weight each bridge held. The activity can be adjusted for younger grades by having them design only one bridge, rather than several. It can also be adjusted by providing specific materials for the younger students, rather than giving them a wide variety of choices for materials.
Students use various materials to build and design the best possible bridge. The goal is to build different types of bridges using different materials and testing the strength of their bridges with various objects.
state standard: 3.1.1
This is an activity that has a lot of depth to it. This is a good opportunity to establish groups that have a variety of ability levels in it. It may be an actiity that couldbe done as a whole class activity. Vibrations and how sounds are transmitted and heard is something that students are fascinated by.
Since you're using a third grade standard (and most of the standards dealing with sound are third grade standards), I would also tag this as a "grade 3" activity and also tag with "sound" and "physical science"
The Challenger Center also offers Special Needs missions.
Lessons are differentiated as students will be assigned to different roles. This is a very "challenging" endeavor, and requires completion of lessons prior to the visit.
Excellent activity for grades five and up. "Students work as teams in mission control and aboard a spacecraft as they test their decision making skills and solve problems during this innovative, inquiry based, space-themed science and math simulation."
This activity could meet MANY science standards and math standards including the Design Process, The Nature of Science, and Reading for Literacy in Science. For the purpose of this assignment, I am assigning it to:
6.2.4 With regard to their size, composition, distance from the sun, surface features and ability to support life, compare and contrast the planets of the solar system with one another and with asteroids and comets.
6-8.RS.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science texts.
6-8 RS.3: Follow precisely a multi-step procedure when carrying out experiments or taking measurements.
Roughly every other year, the Challenger Center in Brownsburg gets a grant and invites us to visit for free. Unfortunately for your cohort, we went last year, but I'll invite you back next year if they get another grant. We usually go on a Saturday morning and IT IS AWESOME! I love being in Indianapolis with these fabulous resources available.
This activity addresses the third grade Physical Science standards 3.1.1, 3.1.2, and 3.1.3. It meets the core standard of Observe and describe how sound is produced by vibrations.
I like this activity because it allows students to choose where their journey will take them. Internet access is a requirement. I do not think this activity would be as dynamic if it were adapted to be just a listening activity.
ELL's could use the internet to "travel" and investigate sound in their native language. High ability learners could create an atlas to go with their journals.
Larger coordinate planes could be used for longer games. Make sure to have the players compare their two graphs at the end, if they are different someone made a mistake.
Love this because it takes a subject like graphing algebraic equations and turns it into a fun battleship game. Great for in class partner work. Suggested only for 6th grade, possibly higher level 5th grade math.
CCS: 5.G.1
Great way to learn the x an y axis coordinate planes. Can also have them make shapes in the coordinate planes instead of straightline battleships.
2.OA.2 "Fluently add and subtract within 20 using mental strategies.2 By end of Grade 2, know from memory sums all of two one-digit numbers."
This game could be modified for gifted students by using more number cards, and modifying the goal. The goal for these students could be to get cards that total 20, rather than 10. This game could also be used for older age groups by having them play with negative and positive numbers.
This is a spin off of the classic "Go Fish" game! Children take turns drawing cards and trying to come up with as many pairs of cards as they can that total 10. The winner is the player with the most pairs of cards.
So many ways you can extend this activity to other grades. You could extend it for Kindergarten and 1st grade by using manipulatives instead of a deck of cards to introduce place value. You would want to give the 1st and second graders a ganizer mat when using manipulatives. For higher grades you could have the students pair up and then have to make two sets of numbers and add them together to make the highes number, or subtract them to make the lowest number. You could also do this activity using decimals to intoroduce the place value of decimals.
This activity could be extended to other grades in a variety of ways. For example, you could use it to teach place value for first grade using money, or teaching how to count change for kingergarten. Also, you could set up a class store and demonstrate positive and negative intergers pretending to "shop" for items in the classroom, this cold be a great 3rd grade activity. You could make a "grocery list" and give them a spending amount and demonstrate - or + integers!
you could do this with subtraction for advanced students or you could adapt it by giving them a sheet with problems already solved and they have to try to match their turns with all of the problems. (this would be good for memorizing)
You could adapt this for students wth special needs or ELL students by paiting them with at level students and giving them counters and ganizer mats to help them visualize addition.
You can extend this lesson to 3rd or 4th grade by chaning the rules. FOr 3rd grade they can multiple instead of add and for 4th grade you can have them adding or subtracing fractions or decimals.
4th graders can create a pattern sequence with a rule or fill in the missing number in the sequence using the IXL online game/patterns: Geometric Growth Sequence
Math Fact Bingo: this would be a great addition to review day where kids are rotating between activities that are focused on skills from a specific unit. It would also be great to add counting bears or other manipulatives to allow kids the ability to use several intelligences while doing this activity (kinesthetic, visual, logical, verbal)