Huff N' Puff Challenge-STEM Activity with Literacy

Congratulations to Tera and Sarah, the winners of last month's Biggby coffee gift cards drawing! And a big thanks to Biggby for donating them!

I've always had a fascination for architectural blueprints. Using a protractor, I drew many house designs of my own as a kid. Later, my husband and I built several homes of our own. An exciting part is to walk through new construction once the walls are studded up and see spaces such as where an extra cupboard could be placed that would otherwise be drywalled over. We were also into flipping houses decades before it ever became popular. 

Our first flip back in 1986 in Appleton, Wisconsin. 

We were 22 and 23 years old...crazy kids!!

So when I saw a picture and a one sentence caption of a STEM architecture activity that takes off on The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka I knew I had to explore it further. There were no details so I decided to create my own.

I also read the traditional version
to compare and contrast the two.

After reading the story and using it as an example of first person narration and finding appropriate descriptive words for both the pig (clever, resourceful) and the wolf (determined, strong, tenacious), students engaged in a STEM activity. 

The task involved huffing and puffing and building the tallest but sturdiest model house for the pigs out of toothpicks and marshmallows. Maybe not in that order. And the wolf? A blow dryer. 

Meet Mr. Huff N' Puff himself. The Wolf.

Building Some Background

My goal was to give students opportunity to write detailed descriptive nonfiction through challenge based learning while working on a STEM project. Before beginning their design plan, students watched a clip of Magic School Bus Under Construction to give clues of sturdy construction. Then we read A Skyscraper Reaches Up by Kylie Burns found on the EPIC book app to form an understanding of the Engineering Design Process. 

Planning for Construction

One last piece of research was providing students with "toothpick and marshmallow tower images" online on their ipads. They had many pictures of various toothpick/marshmallow structures to view in order to help them decide how to proceed with their own constructing. Given 25 small marshmallows and 35 toothpicks and armed with some background knowledge of building, students each developed their own plan of construction in descriptive step by step written directions along with a sketch. This was a fantastic time to practice transition words and phrases too...first, next, then... 

Many students were very precise, writing
exactly how they intended to construct.

Students used online images to help 

inform their constructing choices.

Building 

Students were given a zip bag kit with toothpicks and marshmallows and 10 minutes to complete their design. One could almost feel the intensity and concentration of thought process and building action during this timeframe. Several students later reflected they wished they'd had more time, however every student completed the project in the time given. 

Following their plan and beginning the building process.

Many students picked up on 

the strength of triangle power.

After construction was completed, students wrote detailed descriptions and sketches of what their actual structures turned out to be. Then it was time to meet the wolf and find out how many structures would prove to be "wolf-proof"!

Wolf-Testing

The "wolf" stood back 18 inches from the structure and did his best to huff and puff for 10 seconds.  Students enjoyed counting back to keep track of the seconds.

Completed structures ready to be wolf-tested.

The wolf huffed and puffed 18" 

from the structure for 10 seconds.

The Outcome

It was decided that if the structure either tipped over by all the huffing and puffing or was blown over the edge of the table, the wolf succeeded. If the structure stayed upright and did not blow off the table, the structure was deemed "wolf-proof". Most structures were found to be great models for the pigs to safely move into. Students theorized  and reflected that those with triangle bases, wider bases, and those built with stabilizers around the base faired better than those without. 

Students reflected on three thoughts... 

What worked well, challenges that were faced, 

and how to improve the design for the future.

This is definitely an activity to invite the wolf back to do again in the future! Students not only met my goal for learning, but thoroughly enjoyed the project!

Knowing my grown-up kids were coming home over that weekend, I set out leftover toothpicks and marshmallows in bowls thinking they would mess with making something. I wasn't disappointed. My engineer son-in-law was all over the project with quite an extensive model of a bridge. So I discovered that the "big kids" liked it just as much! Success all around. 

Please share if you have used a similar activity of huffing and puffing in your classroom!

Poetry, Paint, and Gift Cards-Shape Poems

As February rolls around I think of all those cute red, pink, and  heart themed Valentine cards I exchanged as a kid back at Jackson Elementary in the early/mid 70's. I also remember every kids' desktop laden with multiples of decadently iced sugar cookies and scrumptious mouth watering cupcakes decorated with sky-high pink frosting and candy hearts. They were all homemade and sent in by half of the moms for the much anticipated Valentine's Day Party. Not a purchased treat in the bunch that I recall. Far more confectionary bliss than most kids could eat their way through, although some gave it their best. And of which my mom would swiftly but discretely throw leftovers away to avoid more sugar than one child should ever have in a month or five!

When you find your childhood scrapbook is full of vintage Valentines and realize how many of those same classmates you're connected to on Facebook and send their Valentine wishes back to them personally via a front and back picture (with their name they wrote on the back) 40 some years later!

Loving the play on words on these vintage Valentines!
Students had fun reading these.

I received this Ghostie in 5th grade from a classmate
who now investigates the paranormal as a hobby.
He thought it was pretty hilarious when he saw his old Valentine!

Those Valentine Party days have long since changed and all but disappeared, but the creative part of me still craves the February red, pink, and hearts, so I chose to incorporate it into poetry. The fun thing about poetry is that it can be written all year long! So throughout the year we have been working on adding bits and pieces to our poetry books. This particular poetry entry added a bit of artistic painting creativity to the mix, something students absolutely adore,...along with red, pink, hearts, and lots of love!

Learning the Smelly Way...

To prep for this activity, I chose tempera paint and retrieved a gallon jug from our school's shared supply closet. I selected a color and noticed the bottom of the jug was rounded. Weird. That was my first mistake. I set it on my classroom table and continued lesson planning in another space of the room. A few seconds later I started catching whiffs of something absolutely repulsive. What animal could have possibly gotten in the classroom and died??

Quite often I'm teased by family and colleagues that my sense of smell is so sharp I can even smell things "that aren't there". This was definitely there. And I was determined to find it. After checking several possibilities, I turned the cap of the paint jug. Big mistake number two. I succeeded in contaminating my entire classroom with rancid rotten egg smell from an explosion of beyond disgusting pent up fumes. 

I quickly took the offending jug of tainted paint to the janitor's room then tried to mask the scent by spraying the classroom down with disinfectant spray. I won't be purchasing stock in that company any time soon as it didn't work. At all. Students came in exclaiming the room smelled like "gross rotten eggs and bad perfume"! Totally beyond gross.

I have since learned that because tempera paint contains organic compounds that make it safe to use and even ingest, it also means it will eventually spoil. Never return unused paint to the original container after it's been exposed to air. Duly noted.

Paint Swiping Technique

Painting Technique...

A friend shared an easy painting strategy she uses in her many journals and I knew my students would love it. A used up gift card is the tool needed for creating a painted poetry background. The best part is that it doesn't require a sweet forever for the page to dry. Drying is almost instant. Students dip the edge of a used up gift card into paint and swipe down the paper for a shaded background. More than one color can be used on the card at once. Or colors can be painted on separately and a coordinating or contrasting color can be layered on top from a different direction to mix up the look and color tones. This is one technique where less is definitely more. Do not overdo with the swipes.

No two paintings are ever alike.

Rounding up used gift cards is pretty easy. Often stores will have a stack they are willing to donate. Biggby, a local coffee shop, generously gave me a stack of used up gift cards. 

Excitingly, Biggby also donated two (unused) gift cards for a raffle this month. If a Biggby location is near you in the United States, comment on this post AND fill out the entry form at the bottom to enter. (Find Biggby locations here.) Winners will be drawn at the end of the month.

Thank you for supporting education, Biggby!

Writing the poem...

Once the painting is done, comes the poetry fun. For this piece we started with basic sensory stems (this helped out reluctant writers) in keeping with a Valentine type theme. Stems I used included, I love the taste of..., I love the feel of..., I love the smell of..., I love the sound of..., I love the look of... Most students quickly expanded these into their own poetic lines such as "I love the warm sunshine on my upturned face. I love bright red boots and the feel of a well worn denim jacket. I love the scent of fresh laundry on a rainy day."

First write the sensory poem sentences
around the big heart pattern.

Next, cut out the smaller heart
and continue to write more poetry around it.

I gave each student a heart template and had them cut out the biggest heart. Next they began writing their poetry sentences around the heart. Each time they went all the way around the heart, they cut away to the next smaller heart template and kept writing around the smaller heart. In this way they continued to cut away until they got to the middle. Some chose to write a message in the center like those on a candy heart. These turned out to be creative colorful sensory shape poems! A red and pink hearted Valentine memory.

Adding a "candy heart" message in the middle was a fun touch! Several students also drew heart borders around their piece.

Please share if you have a red, pink, or heart themed poetry activity.

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Sunshine, Travel, and Summer Plans 2019-NEH Workshops

Welcome back! Hopefully you all had a restful and relaxing holiday filled with lots of fun things! Prior to break I spent some much cherished time with the Littles.

"Stop asking me to look and smile!"

                   However, when there are books in the mix,                      18 month old Little Miss is all about that.

Little Mister (9mo) was distracted so he didn't remember having
a hat put on him or he would've grabbed it right off!
"Too cool for my hat!"

For the last few years, my tradition has been to spend Christmas on a warm sunny beach in south Florida. On the way to the beach Christmas Eve Day, here comes Santa Claus zipping past on his motorcycle!

What?? Hey Santa!! Where's your sleigh??

I love to travel and I love sunny and warm! Finding some seaglass treasures are even more exciting!

This trip's seaglass finds along with
a couple of lucky but corroded coins.

Rough waves but gorgeous morning sunshine.

Hollywood Beach near Fort Lauderdale
Light at the end of the tunnel!

Besides walking the beach and soaking up the warmth and sunshine, I love looking for historical sites I haven't been to. One such site was The Barnacle Historic State Park in Miami, Florida. Here is what appears to be an old well possibly dating back to the 1700's. Rumor has it that this could be the Fountain of Youth. Okay, if that's the case, let me have some of that stuff!

Barnacle Historic State Park, Miami, Florida
Could this be the long lost Fountain of Youth??

So all this sunshine and traveling has me thinking about plans for more sunshine and traveling over the summer of 2019. A year ago, I sent out this post to make you aware of the upcoming summer opportunity of National Endowment for the Humanities teacher workshops. The NEH website now has their summer 2019 programs listed. You will definitely want to check them out! If you missed seeing this post last year or if you can't remember what NEH is, keep reading!

You do not want to miss out on this! The National Endowment for the Humanities has this summer's workshops now listed and available to apply for! Each year, NEH offers tuition-free opportunities for school educators to study a variety of humanities topics. Stipends of $1,200-$3,300 help cover expenses for these one- to four-week programs. NEH Summer Programs in the Humanities for School Teachers use historic sites to address central themes and issues in American history, government, literature, art, music, and related subjects in the humanities. Take a peek at the website below, keeping in mind the application deadline is March 1st.

National Endowment for Humanities Summer Workshops

(As of 1-3-19 due to government shutdown, you will see that the site has a shutdown notice on it. However you can still scroll through the links to the various workshops.)

I have experienced this amazing opportunity two different summers by participating in two different weeklong workshops. Each was packed full of historical sites and learning from experts! If you are someone who loves history and learning new things about other parts of the country, this is definitely for you! Any K-12 specialist or classroom teacher may apply. 

I became interested in NEH after hearing about it through one of my district colleagues who has participated in several. Here's what she has to say about the NEH program.

I have participated in many NEH workshops and seminars throughout the country.  Each NEH program has been outstanding.  The programs are well designed, providing a balance of visits to historic sites and presentations from expert professors.  You have unique experiences that you couldn't have on a personal vacation, like a hard-hat tour of the stabilized but not yet preserved hospital on Ellis Island and conducting research using Winston Churchill's actual papers from World War II.  In addition, it is great to spend time with other dedicated teachers from around the country.  I encourage all teachers to apply.  First-time applicants are given priority.  In the past, it was beneficial to be a teacher from the Midwest because fewer teachers from our region apply.  NEH programs are looking for diversity, including elementary school teachers, who apply less frequently. 

Christine Kadonsky

Wausau West H.S., WI

During each workshop I met teachers I have kept in contact with...even exchanging pen pal letters between our students.

I have found that the NEH Landmarks Workshops provide me with background knowledge and experiences that make my instruction have more impact. Through learning from experts on specific topics and participating in the "lived" experiences of places where the workshops are held, I have gained professional development unlike anything I have ever experienced.

Dr. Rose Bulau, NBCT

4/5th grade looping specialist, GA

At NEH workshops and seminars, I get to recharge my soul in anticipation of the new school year. Studying and learning and having fun with colleagues from around the country reignites my passion that originally drew me to education.

Shannon Rozewski

High School English, OR

Philadelphia was the site of my first workshop in 2015 and it was Ah-May-Zing! Our group was given a special tour of Independence Hall bell tower. You know...where Nicholas Cage filmed National Treasure? I really got a feel for how old the building was when I walked the same stairway that was there in the 1700's! The National Constitution Center was an incredible place as well as all of Ben Franklin's sites, and of course the Liberty Bell!

Staircase from the 1700's leading to the Bell Tower

Ben Franklin and I posing in the Constitution Center (2015)

Independence Hall

Liberty Bell

Philly Cheesesteak!! A yummy cultural experience!

My second workshop took place in 2017 in Eatonville, Florida, the first entirely African American city to be established in 1887 after being settled by former slaves two decades after the Civil War ended. It was hometown to not only former Green Bay Packer player Ha Ha Clinton Dix, but Zora Neale Hurston who is considered one of the best writers of Twentieth-century African-American literature. It was her literature and folk tales that I studied during this workshop and her formative years in Eatonville that influenced her writing. As a result of this workshop literature study, I developed a lesson plan based on using hyperbole that fits perfectly into my Tall Tale study for 4th graders. 

Among many of her great pieces of literature,
this novel is one of Zora's most well known books.
I definitely recommend this as a good read for yourself.

Our Zora group with the fabulous Zora 

impersonator front row second from the left.

Boat tour at Rollins College, Winter Park, FL 

where Zora taught for awhile.

Zora spent her final decade in Fort Pierce, FL.

We all became ZoraHeads that week!

If you are anything like me, I want to know exactly what I'm getting into before I commit to something such as this. Here are some basics you can expect from any of the workshops. You will be with approximately 35 other educators from across the U.S. and you will take part in workshops from authors and those who specialize on the theme of the workshop. Tours also link to the theme. 

You will be sent a list of readings prior to the workshop to help you get versed in the topic. Some of them will be sent electronically and others can be purchased secondhand via Amazon. Do as much as your time allows, but I found the more reading I did, the better understanding I had during the presentations. Walking to see the sites, getting to know other educators from across the country, and learning about a new area are all part of the experience. Most of the workshops ask you to create a lesson plan based on what you learned, to share with others, and use in your classroom.

Hopefully by now you are ready to check out the website. But if you still need another reason, a great plus about going on an NEH adventure is that you can use it in the following ways to support your Effective Educator plan for those that teach in Wisconsin:

Domain 1-Through the creating of a lesson plan based on new learning.
1a Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy
1c Setting Instructional Outcomes
1d Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources
1e Designing Coherent Instruction
1f Designing Student Assessments

Domain 4-Through attending and participating in a weeklong workshop with other educators from around the U.S.
4a Reflecting on Teaching
4d Participating in a Professional Community
4e Growing and Developing Professionally
4f Showing Professionalism

Here is the link to check out all the fun places to apply for: 

https://www.neh.gov/divisions/education/summer-programs

Be sure to look over the sites, lodging, and expectations. Lodgings vary by site. They usually suggest a specific place to stay such as hotel or a dorm if the presentations are on a campus. I have done both. However, you are free to stay elsewhere and make your own arrangements. You can email specific directors with any questions and in my experience they are very good about responding.

To apply, you will need to send an updated resume and answer short essay questions. You can apply for up to two different workshops but may only accept one. You will be notified the same day from both sites either way. The stipend will help cover costs of travel, lodging, and food. Consider making it a family vacation if lodging is at a hotel (however your family will not be able to attend any of the daytime tours or evening activities with you). If my kids had been grade school age, we would have traveled to the destination as a family and my hubby would have taken the kids all over the Philly area as well as Disney in Orlando. Something to consider.

If any of you have gone on an NEH adventure, please let us know about it in the comments. And I am happy to help guide with the essay aspect or any questions you might have. 

Happy summer planning!

Treasure of the Past-"Nuttin' for Christmas" Finding Evidence

In a filing cabinet filled with multiple decades of teaching materials, there is likely to be a plethora of treasures from the past. On one such foray into my files, I felt as if I had scored a couple fantastic flea market finds. The first was a 4th grade Weekly Reader from December 1963! It originally came from my mom's early teaching days and ended up in my file when she retired. Check out this cool piece of historic school nostalgia! Weekly Readers do not look (or read) like this anymore! 

Current Event of December 1963

Inside pages of the Weekly Reader

The second find, also exciting and forgotten, was the song, "Nuttin' for Christmas". It had been several years since I used this piece and I immediately remembered how perfectly it lends itself to teaching students  to practice "finding evidence".

Background of the Song...

I was in 4th grade at Jackson Elementary School in the 1970's, when my music teacher, Mrs. Kumpula,  introduced my class to the song "Nuttin' For Christmas" written by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett. The child narrator of this humorous piece gives very specific details of how naughty he/she has been, doing everything from putting a frog in sister's bed, doing a dance on Mommy's plants, to filling the sugar bowl with ants. The child was found out because someone "snitched" and therefore will receive no presents for Christmas. As a ten year old, I was immediately hooked on the clever jingle of the lyrics and the bouncing of the catchy beat. 

Here is a traditional version with the lyrics displayed in the video as they are sung. 

Barry Gordon version of Nuttin' For Christmas

Here is a rocked-out fast-paced modern version by Relient K. If you are familiar with the song, I think you will appreciate this rendition as well. Pay close attention to the very end of this version.

Relient K version of Nuttin' For Christmas

Beginning the Activity...

We learn the song, discuss the lyrics, and sing it. A lot. I always have to apologize to my neighboring colleagues whose students start singing along on their side of the cement wall. During math. Kids absolutely love this song! I am lucky to have an ancient piano in my classroom to play it on. It's quite the relic, probably one of the last surviving acoustic pianos left in the school district as well as one of the most out of tune. Nostalgic indeed.

Evidence that they love to sing!

It's a rare but fun opportunity
to use our old Pianoceros!

It's so much fun introducing this favorite to my students and it has become one of their favorites too. We look closely at how the lyrics provide crystal clear evidence why this child should not receive presents and document this evidence on a graphic organizer together. Then it's the students' turn. This becomes their own writing exercise with the goal of writing specific evidence to  provide "proof".

We started with a graphic organizer.

So what are we providing "proof" of?

Each student is challenged to decide if he/she deserves presents this year based on evidence of their behavior at home/school. They generate a list of reasons why (or not) they feel they have been well behaved. Then they dig deep to give specific detailed evidence to prove it.  (An alternative activity for those that do not celebrate the holiday is to have students look for evidence of ways they have shown kindness to others this month.)

The Assessment...

Students write their evidence in the form of a friendly letter and send it to their parents. Parents often find this to be rather humorous as they don't always agree with their child's assessment of their own behavior! 

Lots of evidence of kind, 
helpful, and fantastic behavior!

And as for those old files? Who knows, maybe this letter will become someone's exciting discovery in an old file years from now. A treasure to be discovered in the future. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays and may your students find positive evidence of excellent behavior! 

If you have a piece of music you use in the classroom, please share your ideas!