Soaring to New Heights

The 4 C's of 21st Century Classrooms:

Communication
Collaboration
Critical Thinking
Creativity

Good teachers have known this for years.  They have been embedding opportunities for the 4 C's before they were called "The 4 C's".  I recently read a great article explaining how STEM extends beyond beakers and microscopes.  STEM is great for all students because it incorporates the 4 C's.

You might be thinking this is great in theory but how does it look in the classroom.  Let's take a look at a 5th Grade STEM unit.  

Hot air balloons are very successful advertising vehicles, and are often used by major companies.  A good example is the ReMax balloon which is shown in almost all their TV commercials.  Some hot air balloons are even made in special shapes to represent the company's product, for example the Pepsi Soda Pop balloon. 

You are employed by Apache Air Industries, the leading manufacturer of ballooning supplies. You are a member of a materials engineering team. The company wants a new design to offer customers. You and your team must design, construct, and test a hot air balloon design.

It must meet the following criteria: The design must be durable yet offer high flying capabilities.
It must look good, either as a novel shape, or as a normal balloon with logo and slogans.
It must cost as little as possible, otherwise the company may withdraw support.
It must be accompanied by advertising materials, such as a TV commercial and/or website.

The STEM unit teaches:

• Science: gravity exerts force down, hence more dense cold air pushes down which in turn forces less dense hot air up. Next Generation Science Standard 5-PS2-1.

• Technology: Create original works as a means of personal or group expression (TV commercial and/or website).  ISTE-S 1.b 

• Engineering: Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved. Next Generation Science Standard 3-5-ETS1-3

• Math: surface area and volume and how the ratio must be as close to 1:1 as possible. CCSS.Math.Content.5.MD.C.5

Communication

ISTE standards for students ask that "students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others."

We see from the YouTube generation that students want to communicate with others.  They not only post content but spend hours reading and commenting on others' content.  As teachers, let's provide the tools, teach digital citizenship, and then get out of their way.  

Our 5th grade students were able to communicate with university students.  Not just any university students but Embry Riddle Aeronautical University students.  Watch this video:

In the video, you can see our students working on a hot air balloon.  They have designed and tested their balloon, yet it didn't get very high and it didn't stay aloft very long.  The elementary students are now preparing to communicate with the university students about possible design changes.  They are the experts, after all.

Collaboration

Not only are our students collaborating with aeronautical university students, but also with each other.  From the very first lesson, the students formed into groups.  In their groups, they decided on a design, used a Materials Cost Calculator (shown below) to stay within budget, and built the balloon.

Critical Thinking

The entire STEM unit has been filled with critical thinking.  The students had GREAT discussions as they were building their balloons.  Students went through several design paths as they attempted, failed, and altered the design.  On launch day, the students were verbalizing their critical thinking as their balloons did not meet expectations.  "Maybe the opening is too big", "I think the ratio is off", "Our balloon is too heavy.  We need to lose weight".  They have followed the engineering design process and used critical thinking to enhance their design.

Creativity

The challenge specifically asked for creativity.  Students were to design their balloon either in a novel shape or to use a normal shape but add student-created logos.  Once again, I see the importance of teachers getting out of the way.  I had pre-conceived notions of what the balloons "should" have looked like.  Yet, I have learned after years in the classroom, to keep my opinions to myself and not to stifle their creativity.  Just look at this balloon:

Anyone else singing "two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese"?

I love to see examples of the 4 C's in STEM lessons.  Please share your stories in the comments.

From AIMS to AzMERIT

Arizona Department of Education has recently released information for parents and teachers regarding the transition to the new assessment, AzMERIT.


Click below to view the modules.  Each module is approximately 12 minutes in length.

Module Part 1: Review of the need for a new assessment and the selection process.

Module Part 2:  Explanation of how AzMERIT differs from past assessments.

Module Part 3:  Overview of the major shifts in English Language Arts and Mathematics.


ADE also released their blueprints.  Blueprints are a breakdown of the percentages on each test.  See the example below:

http://www.azed.gov/assessment/files/2014/11/azmerit-math-public-blueprint.pdf

The example above is from the Mathematics blueprint for 4th Grade.  Notice the largest percentage will come from Number and Operations-Fractions.  Teachers will be sure to spiral fraction review throughout their curriculum.

Another thing to pay particular attention to is the shift to more informational reading.  See the blueprints below:

http://www.azed.gov/assessment/files/2014/11/azmerit-ela-public-blueprint.pdf

http://www.azed.gov/assessment/files/2014/11/azmerit-ela-public-blueprint.pdf

You can see that in 3rd Grade, the split is 35% and 35% for Literature and Informational Text.  However, by 11th Grade, the split is 30% and 40%.  Teachers are beginning to phase in more informational text, not to "prep for the test", but that's what we do as adults.  We tend to read more informational text.  Therefore, we are preparing our students for college and career.

Click below to view the blueprints for English Language Arts and Mathematics.

ELA

Math


All teachers, students, and parents are encouraged to take the sample tests.  Click here to view the tutorial and be directed to the sample assessments for ELA and Math.  

Best STEM School in Rural Arizona

Come late January/early February, Arizona will be buzzing about football....and STEM.

https://azsuperbowl.com/community/stemsuperheroes/

The Arizona Super Bowl Host Committe, in partnership with mining company, Freeport McMoran, hosted the STEM Superhero Awards.

The STEM Superhero Awards highlight excellence and innovation in STEM teaching throughout Arizona.  We will be selecting a team of 49 superheroes in the categories of Best STEM School, Most Innovative STEM Club, and Most Dedicated STEM Teacher. 

Cradleboard Elementary has been chosen as the Best STEM School!

Cradleboard Elementary has incorporated STEM into every grade level, from Kindergarten to 5th grade.  STEM is embedded into existing curriculum in the classroom.  Through professional development and collaboration, STEM is also being embedded into new curriculum outside the classroom, in the STREAM garden and on the trail.  We have inspired other reservation schools to use STEM as a way to better serve students and give them a hope for the future.

Cradleboard sent representatives to an awards ceremony held at the Arizona Science Center where we were awarded grant funding to keep our STEM program going.

This is a wonderful recognition of all our dedicated teachers.  They have all worked so hard to incorporate STEM into their Common Core curriculum.  Teachers often come to my office, animated about a science concept that they want to teach to their students.  The students sense that and the teacher's passion rubs off on the students.  Weekly, I have students (and parents) telling me about engineering projects they are doing at home.  Our library circulation rate has more than doubled, as students are feverishly reading to learn more about what they are studying.  Our teachers truly are Super Heroes!

Video-Based Questions

Is your "big stakes test" going digital?  Ours is.  Although we don't know everything about our new test yet, we do know that it will be digital and we have access to sample tests.

Click here to see the Arizona Sample Tests.

We also know that there will be video-based questions.  That just blows me away.  Our entire lives, we have read passages (on paper) and answered A, B, C, or D by filling in a bubble.  With the advent of the digital test, we now have alternative means for demonstrating understanding.  

Drag and drop. Calculators.  Typing.  Highlighting.  And viewing videos.  

If you can feel your heart racing and your blood pressure rising, it's okay.  We're here to help.

With a little guided instruction, your students will do just fine.  

But, what's a teacher to do?

View Your Sample Tests

If you are in Arizona, your sample tests can be found at the ADE website.  Click here.

If you are a PARCC state, click here.

If you are a Smarter Balanced state, click here.

There are usually sample tests for ELA and for Math.  I would also suggest taking the tests at the grade level under you and above you.

Make Note of the Prompts

What did you notice when you took the sample tests? How did they phrase questions?  Write down the testing vocabulary so you can embed that into your routines.  An example is, if you noticed they asked students to "justify their reasoning" on the Math test, you can use that phrase in class (often!).  Then, when the students take the Big Stakes Test, they will fully understand what that phrase means and they will be accustomed to answering it.  

If your test has video-based questions (AZ!), I have prepared a "cheat sheet" of prompts for you.  Click here to download and print.  Print on cardstock and cut in half.  Give one to a fellow teacher or stash one in your lesson plan book and one by your laptop.  

Embed Into Your Lessons

Chances are, you view videos with your students.  Maybe it's that video of how volcanoes form or maybe it's the cartoon edition of Aesop's Fables.  Start with something you already do.

Use the prompts on the cheat sheet to help you phrase your questions.

For more resources, click here.

Keep the conversation going.  How do you prepare students for video-based questions?

Using Project-Based STEM to Prep for the Digital Test

The first day jitters are over.  You know every student's name.  You also know who can't sit next to their friend and who will correct you every time you make a mistake on the board.  Your literature circles are humming along nicely and your Socratic seminars are lively yet respectful.  You are a Common Core ninja.  You got this.

And then your principal shows you the new digital assessment.

Oh, you weren't surprised to see the "cite your evidence from the text" ELA question.  You didn't bat an eyelash at the "justify your reasoning" prompt on the Math test.  But, "drag and drop", "highlight the phrase", and "align the protractor"!?  One principal asked, "is this testing them on the standards or testing them on their use of technology?"  The answer is, "yes".

In Arizona, we have renamed the Common Core State Standards to the Arizona College and Career Readiness Standards.  The name says it all.  We are preparing them for college and career.  Even at the base level, an application for Wal-Mart is completed online....with a time limit.  Big rig (18 wheeler) drivers  have to use handhelds when they deliver their loads.  Even college classes that meet in person, in a real room, still have components which students must complete online .  It stands to reason that if we are going to prepare our students for college and career, then we must bring technology into the classroom.  

Educational technology is not a new concept.  Teachers have been incorporating ed tech into classrooms for years.  But to what degree?  Is the only laptop in the room for teacher use?  Are the students merely viewing videos once as a "reward"?   It stands to reason that citizens of the 21st century will be taught to use technology, engage with technology, and then be tested on it.

To read more about Digital Learning and Digital Assessments, read these posts:
Digital Testing Requires Digital Learning
Digital Learning Day, Every Day
The New Digital Assessment
PARCC Sample Test Answers and Rationale

Connecting STEM to Digital Assessments

By now, everyone knows that the T in STEM stands for Technology.  But an iPad app here and a typed essay there is not sufficient for 21st century learners.  Digital natives crave to create technology, not merely consume it.  So, how do we do that in a way that is meaningful to them?  Enter Project-Based STEM units.

A new research report released last week notes the importance of project-based STEM units:

high-quality project-based curricula might be able to help narrow the science education achievement gap in children from low-income backgrounds or other groups that are underrepresented in STEM fields. (Ingfei Chen)

What Does This Look Like?

If you have not seen examples of the new digital assessments (PARCC, Smarter Balanced, or Arizona), I encourage you to do that.  Below, I will show some examples of digital skills on the assessments and how we are using STEM units to teach and foster those skills.

Charts and Grids

http://www.azed.gov/assessment/azsampleassessmentitems/

The chart above is a page from the 5th grade ELA assessment.  Notice that the students must be able to toggle back and forth between two texts and one video.  Students must also know how to use the scrolling bar to read the entire text.  Only after all that, will the students be ready to answer the question by filling in the chart.  Daunting?  Perhaps.  Impossible?  No.  Just take a look at how I incorporated the digital skill of charts/grids into 5th grade STEM.

http://www.stem-ready.com/

After students engage with a simulation they enter data in a grid/chart.  There is a lot of Gradual Release of Responsibility in our STEM units, as we go through the stages of "I do, we do, you do".  This activity is done whole class.  For many students, this is their first experience with a digital chart.  But as we can see from the sample assessments, it won't be their last.

Videos

http://www.azed.gov/assessment/azsampleassessmentitems/

The screenshot above is from the 6th grade ELA assessment.  Showing videos in class is not new but referring to time stamps might be.  Another shift is the reference back to the video as "visual text".  Teachers are adept at asking students to refer back to their text yet rarely require students to refer directly back to a video.  Now, take a look at how I incorporated analyzing visual text into our 4th grade STEM unit.

http://www.stem-ready.com/

On this page, you see that students are asked to take notes while viewing the video.  This is a "student page" of the online unit, so the students have control of the video.  They can pause to take notes, rewind to review sections, and fast forward to go directly to certain time stamps. On pages after this example, students are asked to respond to their visual text, citing evidence with time stamps.

Drag and Drop

http://www.azed.gov/assessment/azsampleassessmentitems/

The screenshot above is from the 3rd grade ELA assessment.  On this page, you see that students are asked to drag the blue boxes into the correct box.  You might think that drag and drop is so easy.  And it is.  When you have a mouse.  But many students will take the assessment on a touch screen tablet.  When the students attempt to drag the boxes, the entire screen moves.  It is important to practice drag and drop activities with the touch screen so the students know how to manipulate the boxes.  Now, look at the drag and drop activity in our 3rd grade STEM unit.

http://www.stem-ready.com/

This screenshot from our 3rd grade STEM unit shows that the students will indeed get the practice of dragging and dropping.  The activity is not superficial, yet integral to the STEM unit.

There are many more digital tools that students must navigate in order to "show what they know" on the big digital assessment.  We have analyzed each grade level (ELA and Math) to embed those digital tools where appropriate.  Subscribe to this blog (on the right sidebar) to get a notification when I post the digital tools on the Math sample assessments that I have embedded into our STEM units.  I encourage you to use project-based STEM units to embed those digital tools to make the learning relevant.  "Relevance makes rigor possible" (Dr. Dagget).

Nature as Your Classroom

Imagine that learning is a journey through a landscape. Follow a trail to a rocky outcrop where fossil sea creatures erode out of a hillside. The fossils show that this place was once washed by an ancient ocean. Farther along, cicadas call from the trees, teaching you that sounds are vibrations rippling through the air.  All of nature is your classroom.
               At Cradleboard Elementary School on the Fort Apache Reservation in Whiteriver, Arizona, this kind of outdoor learning is becoming a reality, thanks to the energy and vision of people like STEM Coordinator, Susan Rodriguez and a Heritage Grant provided by Arizona Game and Fish. With this grant teachers, students, and community partners are revitalizing the Cradleboard Interpretive Trail adjacent to the school. The ½ mile trail had fallen into disrepair, but now it is a functioning outdoor classroom.
              The children have written text in English and in Apache for interpretive signs along the trail, and they are using computer technology to create an audio narration in both languages that visitors will be able to access electronically as they walk the trail. Future plans include expanding the trail to ¾ of a mile and opening it to the public.  The project, scheduled for completion this December, interweaves language, culture, science, history, technology, and teamwork.
              It is monsoon season in Arizona’s White Mountains. Thunder rumbles in the distance, cold raindrops splash down and mist rises from the ground, illustrating the water cycle.  “My slogan is ‘no child left inside’,” says Susan Rodriguez. (Liz Blaker)

In a time where teachers are doing all they can to increase test scores, it can be as easy as "taking a hike".  Literally.  "Research shows that spending time outdoors increases attention spans and creative problem-solving skills by as much as 50%", cites Abigail Wise in her article in the Huffington Post.

In my ten years plus in education, I have found that the students who tend to struggle in the classroom, tend to excel outdoors.  Gardner posited that we have multiple intelligences, yet we continue to test only one or two types.  Through the use of our interpretive trail, we have been able to take our students outside for learning opportunities.  Our new trail signs (paid for by a grant from our state lottery funds), will incorporate the new Next Generation Science Standards. But it's not all science on the trail.  Teachers also use the trail for writing, reading, and math.

Interested in setting up your own trail, but don't know where to start?  Stay tuned (by subscribing to this blog on the right sidebar) for a post about how to establish your own interpretive trail.

Grandparents Day, STEM Style

Flickr photo by Saint Francis Academy cc

National Grandparents Day falls each year on the first Sunday after Labor Day. It's not a holiday invented to sell cards and flowers. It was initiated at the grassroots level by West Virginian Marian Lucille Herndon McQuade, with the behind-the-scenes support of her husband Joseph L. McQuade.

There are three purposes for National Grandparents Day:

1. To honor grandparents.
2. To give grandparents an opportunity to show love for their children's children.
3. To help children become aware of the strength, information and guidance older people can offer. (legacyproject.org) 

What a great opportunity to do fun STEAM activities with Nana and Papa!

Science: Visit a Museum

Many museums offer free admission for grandparents on Grandparents Day.  For instance, the Challenger Space Center in the Phoenix area has free admission for grandparents with the purchase of a child's ticket on September 6th.  They will have special presentations and activities throughout the day to help you celebrate the day.  

The Bay Area Discovery Museum has activities all day long!  Free admission for grandparents AND grandchildren!

Not sure if your local museum has activities for Grandparents Day?  Go to their website and click on either "events" or "calendar".

Technology and Engineering: Do a Project

Flickr photo by Angela cc

What have you always wanted to do with your grandchild?  Make a soapbox car?  Make a rocket?  Make your own hand scrubs?  Now's the time to learn.  

Don't know how to do those things?  Don't worry.  Your grandchild probably does.  Or, they at least know how to watch tutorials on YouTube.  Search DIY and whatever you want to make.  Then, set out to do the project together.  

Not sure what to make?  Check out Instructables and find a project together!

Art: Memory Box

Do you have a memory box? It doesn't have to be fancy.  My children's memory boxes are made from old cigar boxes, decorated with shells on top.  This Grandparent's Day, pull out those old trinkets (photos, ticket stubs, old baseball cards, lockets) and share their story with the kids.  Help them make their own Memory Box out of an old box, a mason jar, or even a shoe box.  (click here for a tutorial)

Math: Baking/Cooking

Flickr photo by Peta Hopkins cc

Does your family have an heirloom recipe?  Is there a dish that Grandpa is famous for?  Bake/cook it together this weekend.  To bring in an element of Math, use non-standard measurements.  For instance, instead of saying "I need 1 1/2 cups of sugar", ask "if I only had this quarter cup measuring cup, how many quarter cups would I need to equal 1 1/2 cups of sugar?".

Literacy: Read with Them

Flickr photo by Phil cc

Depending on the age of the grandchildren, this can take different forms.  Pre-readers will enjoy a book being read to them.  Go to your local library and check out a few of your favorite children's books.  Young readers and older readers might enjoy a new book of their own.  Take them to a library and let them pick out any book they want.

Now the fun starts.  Choosing a place to read.  Of course, you can go home and read on the couch, but what about taking some blankets outside and reading under a tree.  Or IN a tree!  What was your favorite place to read as a child?  Under a blanket fortress in the living room?  Share your favorites with them.  Remember, it's your day.

Additional Resources

Arizona Geographic Alliance has great lesson plans that are standards based.

Grandparents Around the World (grade 1)
In this lesson students will learn the names of grandparents around the world and share how they like to spend time with their own grandmother and/or grandfather.

Grandparent Names: What Do You Call Yours?
In this lesson students will learn that grandparents have different names in different cultures. They will discover that grandparents are all unique, but that all grandparents share some common characteristics. Students will also learn where some of the names for grandparents originated.


Looking for more ideas?  This website has great ideas including painting a portrait, quizzing each other, and interviews.  Have a great day.  Make it yours and make many memories!