Happy Earth Day!

Have you checked out the new Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)?

For the past year or so teachers at my school have been working to adjust our science curriculum to meet these standards and it has been tough!  For my team of Kindergarten teachers it has been hard to "let go" of some favorite topics and themes in order to make time to address the rigor of our new standards.  BUT, I have truly enjoyed incorporating the engineering standards!  

21st Century Students are practically crying out for more lessons that involve multiple levels of thinking and melding various topics that apply to "real-world!"

One topic that we all love to teach that has not been moved to another grade, though, is Earth Day!

NGSS-K-ESS3-3.	Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the local environment.

In a couple of weeks we will dive into a unit on the 3 R's and culminate our various themes from the entire year that pertain to the Earth (ie. plants, animals, weather, and even maps/globes).  I think the topic of Earth Day appeals to primary students and teachers alike because it is a call to action that knows no limit in age.  Anyone can help care for our earth and everyone should!

Some favorite Earth Day books:

Why Should I Save Water? By Jen Green

Our House is Round By Yolanda Kondonassis

Recycle Every Day By Nancy Elizabeth Oliver

It's Earth Day By Mercer Myer

The Earth and I By Frank Asch

What Does it Mean to Be Green? By Rana DiOrio

The Lorax By Dr. Seuss

Harry Kindergarten has the best songs and videos on YouTube... His Earth Day songs are fun and catchy!

And... check out my new Earth Day freebie!

Now that I have shared it's your turn!  

Link up any and all of your favorite Earth Day blog posts, products, freebies, and pins here for the next week as we plan to celebrate our wonderful planet!

An InLinkz Link-up

April Currently

April?!?  It's already April?!?!  

I cannot believe how fast this school year has flown by... It is true... time really does fly when you are having fun!

Take a peek at my month as I join "Oh' Boy 4th Grade" for another monthly "Currently" link-up!

 It's Spring Break in Kentucky!  I am enjoying some quality family time!

Find out how your students spent their break and get them writing as soon as you return with this fun FREEBIE!

Primary STEM Unit for St. Patrick's Day, "Leprechaun Traps!"

This week we had lots of fun in my Kindergarten class putting our engineering skills to work with my primary STEM unit for St. Patrick's Day trying to catch a Leprechaun!  

One of my favorite ways to introduce a new concept is in the convergent style.  In this way you provide students the "pieces" and they find connections, draw conclusions, and converge on the topic in their own way and their own time.  It is so much fun to watch them figure out what we will be learning about next!

On Monday we read Clever Tom and the Leprechaun by Linda Shute and learned about old Irish folktales that say if you catch a Leprechaun he will give you his gold!  Then I provided my students ample time and lots of supplies to create their own Leprechaun traps.  They quickly set to work planning, creating, and building some pretty

neat contraptions!

Afterward we all gathered around each other and listened as students explained how their traps would work and question eachother on their plans.  We left the traps set at the end of the day (much to the dismay of the custodians who had much to clean around... but they were very good sports and asked that we share the gold with them.)

When students arrived on St. Patrick's Day morning they carefully walked around checking their traps.  But, that pesky Leprechaun just busted all the traps and had gotten away! *Wink! One little girl was shocked to find "green pee" in the toilet!  When we started up our Smart Board Calendar there was a message from the Leprechaun saying our traps were tricky, but we couldn't catch him.  He said he had left some special gold for us hidden in the classroom.  The students' disappointment at not trapping the Leprechaun melted as they devoured their chocolate gold coins at snack time!

For the remainder of the week we learned about Simple Machines and how they make work easier.  Since we ran out of time this week, we will take Monday to plan new Leprechaun traps (for next year, of course), and complete our extended response assessment.  You can check out our fun unit, "Leprechaun Traps," in my TpT store!