science – travelteachlove

Slip and Slide, Forces and Motion

March 3, 2019 No Comments

With a new science topic to teach, comes new STEM lessons to try out. Students are learning about forces and motions in physical science and I’m loving all the opportunities it provides for hands on discoveries. At this point students have built up their background knowledge on the basics of force and motion. They have learned new vocabulary words, watched short video clips and BrainPop Jr. videos, listened to stories, read information on their own and participated in several discussions with peers based on what they have learned. All this has prepared students to use new knowledge to complete a […]

Math, Science

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, and More Pumpkins!

November 2, 2018 No Comments

We survived the craziness that is Halloween this week! Yes, students were beyond excited. Yes, they wore fun emoji hand painted plates to celebrate emoji day. And yes, I knew I needed a well thought out game plan to get us through the day. What’s a teacher to do? Well, after talking with my third grade teammates I had a plan. Pumpkins. What could be more fun than some hands on learning with pumpkins? We could weigh them, measure them, float them, describe them, and best of all, cut them open and count the number of seeds. My teammates had […]

Classroom Connection, Travel

Animals of the Galapagos Islands

February 23, 2018 No Comments

Bright blue feet perched on top of jagged black rocks. Hundreds of little faces turned toward the sun soaking up rays with eyes closed. Lounging sea lions barely opening an eye as you walk by them on a lounge chair on the beach. It feels like it was yesterday, instead of four years ago, that I traveled to the Galapagos Islands. Teaming with unique and endangered wildlife the islands were unlike any place I have ever been. It was truly a trip of a lifetime and I have loved sharing what I learned there with students over the last few […]

Science, Social Studies, Travel

Searching for Matter One Country At A Time

October 16, 2017 No Comments

Another year, another chance to show students the world. I am lucky our social studies curriculum is the seven continents so intergrating pictures from my travels is practically a must do! This year I have taken the opportunity to weave in travel with science as I cover matter. Last year I made an iMovie on states of matter around the world as a model for students. This year I am adding to that through introductory lessons on solid, liquid and gas with PowerPoints. Each PowerPoint focuses on one state of matter and asks students to identify examples of that state […]

Classroom Connection, Science, Social Studies, STEAM, Travel

Finland STEM Boating Challenge

April 30, 2017 No Comments

What a week back from spring break! It was go, go, go from the moment we returned. We received our eggs to hatch, students wrote a class book of poems to send off to Student Treasures to be published, we started a new unit in math on money, Thursday was poem in your pocket day, and we had boat building and a big boat race on Friday for STEM. There was a lot to be excited about but the STEM lessons were some of my favorites. We kicked off the STEM lesson with a social studies connection. I wrote a small […]

Classroom Connection, Science, Social Studies, Travel

States of Matter Around the World

October 25, 2016 No Comments

Science is universal. Take the states of matter for example. No matter where you go in the world matter will still be matter. We are currently studying states of matter and of course I have been thinking, “How can I take this study international?” Well I think I have found a way. Students are gearing up to start a big science project that integrates science and technology. Using information they have learned so far about the three states of matter we focus on, solid, liquid and gas; students will go on a scavenger hunt outside around the school to take pictures […]

Science, STEAM, Travel

Engineering Smarts Amsterdam Style

October 18, 2016 No Comments

A shift when teaching science this year is to incorporate more engineering based lesson. As part of the new science standards, engineering plays a larger role in the way science is taught in the classroom. With each topic in science, there is an engineering component that accompanies it. One thing that I love about incorporating engineering is how it goes hand in hand with inquiry based learning. Inquiry based learning puts students in the drivers seat. Students use information taught in lessons to create solutions to a problem posed to them. Travel has been a huge inspiration as I plan […]

Classroom Connection, Science, Travel

Virtual Trip to the Galápagos

May 13, 2016 No Comments

On Friday my class took a virtual trip to the Galápagos Islands. Students learned about a new place in the world and the animals found there, as I reminisced on a fabulous trip and shared what I learned from traveling there. We are gearing up the start of our big animal adaptations unit in science. In class, each student selected an animal to research from places I have traveled to around the world. Over the years, I have gathered resources for students to use for research. Books, websites, brochures, pictures, videos and stories of the animals and the places they live […]

Classroom Connection

Return from Spain…So Now What?

February 23, 2016 No Comments

What an amazing trip through Spain! With each country I visit it still surprises me how many new things there are to learn about different cultures. The possibilities are endless for incorporating all that I learned and experienced back into my classroom, but I have come up with a few favorites that are fool proof in getting students engaged and excited about learning. Student Treasures– After each trip when I return home I have students create a class book compiling all they have learned. These class books have come a long way from the word document pages gathered together with […]

Classroom Connection

STEAM: Designing Sledding Ramps

January 31, 2016 No Comments

As a way to try out a STEAM project before diving into making windmills when I get back from Spain; my buddy 1st grade teacher and I decided to take on a smaller STEAM project with our classes, designing ramps for model sleds (bottle caps). Teaming up together to collaborate on this project could not have been better! The first grade teacher, Jess, and I worked together to find a easy first STEAM lesson we could do with our two classes. Jess found the perfect lesson that only required a few materials, and included a great graphic organizer for collecting data and […]