PBL – The Teaching Texan

5 Ways hoopla Makes Lesson Plans a Cinch

theteachingtexan — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 20:06:05 +0000

If you’ve followed along my journey for a while, you know I am absolutely passionate about STEAM education! I have presented locally and nationally on topics relating to hands-on science, project-based learning and STEAM education and some of the most common questions I get are,

“How do you fit STEAM in? I just don’t have time in my day.”
“Where do you find resources?”
“I teach very young students (Kindergarten), can STEAM work for them?”

Thinking back to all of the planning myself and teams I’ve taught with have done surrounding STEAM education, I could probably write a book – and hey, maybe one day I will! One thing though is certain, I am so thankful that I found hoopla digital! So buckle up, I’m about to show you exactly how awesome Hoopla is for lesson planning – plus I’m going to give you a FREE lesson idea with plan so you can get started TODAY!

What is Hoopla Digital?

hoopla digital is a service that has partnered with libraries ACROSS North America to bring online/mobile (think digital here) access to literally thousands of Movies, TV Shows, Music, eBooks, Audiobooks and Comics. It’s truly at your fingertips and ready to download in a snap! Right here in Dallas the Dallas Public Library system has already partnered with hoopla digital bringing a wealth of resources to you – and all you need is a valid library card!

I love a trip to the library as much as the next teacher, but it can be so frustrating when the book you need for a specific lesson is either checked out or not carried at that location. With hoopla digital you always have access to their huge library and never have to worry about a book being checked out!

But, how does that relate to STEAM education?

Oh, I’m so glad you asked! Y’all… it has EVERYTHING to do with STEAM education because hoopla digital has become the leading resource for STEAM content across all age ranges!

If you’re just getting started with STEAM, hoopla has such a diverse variety of STEAM resources – whether you want a book targeted directly for STEAM education, a book about inventors, or a book that can be used to create a STEAM challenge, it’s on hoopla!

5 Ways hoopla Makes Lesson Plans a Cinch

No trips to the library! All of their content is available to you digitally! The days of worrying about someone having checked out a particular book are done. Plus, as teachers we know that as students are exploring something new they inevitably have questions we don’t have the answers for. hoopla makes finding resources for the questions a snap!
Did I mention how diverse the hoopla library is?! This simple fact means that it is easier than ever to pull STEAM into any content block throughout the day – science, literacy, math… you name it!
Hoopla isn’t just ebooks! If you need audio books for listen to reading, videos, music, or even a clip of something from TV – chances are you can find it on hoopla!
Not super comfortable with STEAM? hoopla has books that lay out pre-made STEAM activities for you! Take their outline and transfer them into your lesson plans! This is the perfect way to get your feet wet with STEAM education.
There are TONS of resources that teach to growth mindset which is important not only for STEAM, but for creating resilient students! Here are some of my favorites available right in the hoopla database:

“Ada Twist, Scientist” by Andrea Beaty
“Rosie Revere, Engineer” by Andrea Beaty
“Iggy Peck, Architect” by Andrea Beaty

OK, I promised you a ready-to-go and FREE lesson plan! One of my favorite traditional content blocks to bring a little STEAM action into is a math block. Something about math centers just really lends itself to incorporating STEAM without changing the entire scope of a content block or your day.

With winter coming up, many of us will engage in some form of study of weather, seasons, or snow. Why not tie that study into a snowflake STEAM challenge?

This lesson plan guide will take you and your students step-by-step through the five step engineering process as students investigate and explore snowflakes then create their own artwork showcasing symmetry. For this lesson, I recommend using “There’s Math in My Art” by Nikole Bethea which is readily available for you on hoopla digital!

Materials are simple (and reusable) – toothpicks, pom poms, glass beads, pipe cleaners, etc. – you can see the full list right on the lesson plan guide under materials.

Students will (1) Ask, (2) Imagine, (3) Plan, (4) Create, and (5) Improve a snowflake design that features a symmetrical design.

Grab your free copy of this lesson plan guide by joining my email list below. You’ll be sent the password to visit the Freebies section of my website. Want more ideas for STEAM lessons – click here.

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Want answers to more of your STEAM-related questions? Join me as I take over the hoopla Instagram on November 7th! I’ll be answering all of your questions live, and I’d love to see you there! Click here to follow Hoopla on Instagram so you don’t miss out!

Ready for Takeoff: My Experience with Project-Based Learning and the Solar System Part 2

theteachingtexan — Wed, 13 Apr 2016 22:41:00 +0000

Recently I wrote a blog post sharing how I tackled my first experience with project-based learning outside of our science block. My first PBL unit was anchored in the solar system. You can read more about that [here]. You can also check out more info about PBL and why I use it [here].

Today I’d love to share how the PBL unit looked during our science block.

In case you missed my first post on this unit, our challenging question was this:

Everything we did was anchored in answering this open-ended question! One thing I learned during a PBL networking event was that a good challenging questions is NOT Google-able and can lead to sustained inquiry. Definitely keep those things in mind when creating your own PBL unit.

During our science block we started out our unit by talking about the moon (we kept the entire unit focus on things we can see in the sky). We use [Crayola Model Magic] and plastic balls to create a model of the moon.

When we were learning about the moon the kids became super interested in what the moon was made out of and why it looks different in the sky on different nights. I created a few QR codes the kids could scan that linked to a Google Doc with pictures and videos to satisfy their desire to learn about what the moon was made out of.

To explore the phases of the moon, I gathered materials for a classic and hands-on demonstration.

You can learn more about how to do this demonstration in my [Ready for Takeoff] unit!

When we learned about the sun we wanted to bring in a little more art. The result? Puffy paint suns! All you need is shaving cream, red/orange/yellow food coloring, tooth picks, wax paper, and cardstock!

Moving into other stars the kids become super interested in constellations. We talked about the origins of constellations and even created our own using watercolor paint!

To wrap up our unit we revisited our challenging question (yet again) and answered it to a T!

I learned during this experience to plan the WHOLE PBL unit ahead, then sit back and enjoy the ride. Due to time constraints at the end of the unit, we didn’t end up showcasing our public product to an audience (except for the children showing their parents at home).

If you teach a solar system unit and you’re needing a few more non-fiction resources – check out my [Ready for Takeoff] unit!

I’m so excited to be in the middle of our second PBL unit of the year! What’s this one about?! You’ll have to find out when I post at the end of the year, but here’s a hint: think zoo.

Ready for Takeoff: My Experience with Project-Based Learning and the Solar System Part 1

theteachingtexan — Mon, 21 Mar 2016 12:37:00 +0000

A few days ago I posted about why I use project-based learning (PBL) in my Kindergarten classroom (click [here] to visit the original post). There was a lot of interest in what PBL is and how to implement it. So, today I want to share part one of my first experience with PBL. I can honestly say that there are areas that I need more development on and some steps that need improvement. However, after my first experience with PBL I know that it is an absolute essential in my classroom.

The [Buck Institute for Education] lists 8 key components to consider during the design process of a PBL unit. For the Solar System PBL unit that I am sharing today I did not fully plan the unit before diving in with my students. I’ve since learned that it is best practice -and things go much smoother- if you have the unit completely planned out prior to beginning it. This allows you sit back and enjoy the ride with your kiddos.

While a PBL topic can be centered in any subject area (math, science, ELA, etc.), it really is integrated into all subject areas. Our solar system project was clearly centered in science, but integrated across our curriculum. Here’s a look at how the unit was integrated into other areas beyond science. Check back later this week to see what the unit looked like during our actual science block.

The planning for the unit began by taking a look at the previous solar system unit of years past, as well as the [NGSS]. After digging through all of this and researching solar system PBL units online, I settled on this challenging question:

The challenging question in PBL guides learning and all activities, lessons, and learning experiences link back to helping to answer the challenging question. A good rule of thumb is that the challenging question should not be “Google-able” meaning you can’t simply search for the answer on Google. The goal for this unit and challenging question was to keep the focus of the unit on things we can see in the sky from Earth (the sun, moon, stars, constellations).

With the challenging question decided on I started planning our learning experiences. If you take a look at the planning forms available on the [BIE website] you’ll notice a space for an “Entry Event.” The entry event is a highly-engaging experience to kick off a PBL unit. At the networking event I attended several examples were given of entry events, but they can range from a guest speaker, Skype session with an expert, field trip, or even a simple read aloud. The important thing is to hook your students into the unit and get them excited.

For our solar system unit I found a great entry event that allowed the students to go on a virtual recreation of the Apollo 11 mission. This was originally planned as a learning experience rather than the entry event, but our guest speaker fell through. Flexibility people!

The Apollo 11 recreation was designed by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, and the coolest thing about it is that you can view real pictures from the mission, listen to actual transmission between the astronauts and NASA, and you get to move through it at your own pace. We split the mission up into several days. But let me tell you, by the time we were finished with our entry event every single kid in my class was ready to learn more!

If you’re interested in the virtual Apollo 11 mission, you can find it [here].

Once our unit was up and running I used trade books, QR codes, and apps to let the kids conduct their own research. This helped satisfy the student voice and choice aspect of PBL. During our lessons on the sun and the moon I created QR codes that led to a variety of media (pictures, videos, websites) and let the children choose what they wanted to research.

Because a PBL unit extends throughout content areas, we used some Writer’s Workshop time to craft letters to astronauts. The kids were so excited to learn about both of our astronauts and then write letters to them. While we did not receive letters back in my classroom, a teammate did receive an autographed picture back. There wasn’t a kid in Kindergarten who wasn’t over the moon!

You can find information about how to write to an astronaut on the NASA website [here].

Two other cross-curricular activities (math) during the unit were creating spacecraft from 2D shapes and taste-testing astronaut food then graphing our favorite.

We are fortunate to have a shared space between all 4 Kindergarten classrooms that houses a Makerspace. We’ve been trying out the Makerspace idea during Free Choice time.

During our solar system unit the children planned their own spacecraft with the requirements of an energy source, communication device, container, and science instruments. The rest was up to them. After designing the spacecraft on paper, the students built their spacecraft using all sorts of recycled materials. This was a great learning experience for the children to see that plans on paper don’t always pan out, and that it is a good practice to return to plans to see if there are parts missing.

That’s pretty close to a wrap on learning experiences related to our solar system unit that didn’t happen during the science block. Truly integrating the unit into all content areas led to a much deeper understanding of the sun, moon, and stars than I could have ever hoped for.

During this unit I created a non-fiction unit that provides more information about the sun, stars, and the moon. This unit is full of leveled readers, close reads, magazine pages, and more! While this unit isn’t a PBL unit itself, it is a resource that is perfect for learning during a PBL unit. Check it out by clicking [here] or clicking the picture below.

I hope that this post has been helpful for you and has maybe even inspired you to venture into the land of PBL yourself! Don’t forget to check back later this week to see what this unit looked like during our science block.

Why Project-Based Learning?

theteachingtexan — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 01:07:00 +0000

Earlier this year I went to a project-based learning (PBL) networking event at another local school. Before this event I had never really heard of PBL before, much less taken a stab at it. However, I was so inspired by the reasoning and research behind PBL that I knew I had to take the idea and run with it. The [Buck Institute for Education] says PBL makes school more engaging for children, improves learning, builds success skills for college/career/life, helps address standards, and makes teaching more enjoyable and rewarding. That being said, what’s not to love?! I am so down for anything that makes kids excited about learning while also being effective. Making my job even more enjoyable than it already is isn’t too shabby either!

I recently wrapped up my first experience with PBL. There were many successes, and there were many bumps along the road that I’ll be sharing later this week. Today I’m sharing 5 reasons that I’m sticking with PBL, and why you should be using it too!

I think it’s safe to say that learning strategies, techniques, structures, etc. are a dime a dozen these days. Oh so many of these said strategystructuretechniques tout that student engagement will be increased if you use that method.

Let me lay it out straight for you. Project-based learning WILL increase your students’ engagement because the kids take ownership of their own learning. Gone are the days where the teacher must decide every bit of knowledge the students will acquire on a given topic. With PBL children learn on a “need to know” basis and are then given the freedom (and time) to explore their own interests related to the topic. How do children explore and learn with more independence? Trade books, video clips, pictures, QR codes, Symbaloo bookmark pages… Children really can take ownership!

When planning a PBL unit, there is always a challenging problem or question. This guides the learning, and all learning experiences that takes place leads back to this question. Here’s an example of a PBL driving question, “How can we as zoologists design a zoo that keeps our animals in their natural habitats?”

That one question can lead to weeks of learning about how to classify animals, animal habitats, animal adaptations, the list goes on. The exciting part of PBL is the challenging question points to a problem or question that is completely plausible. [This] interesting article by John Eger of Huffington Post quotes former U.S. Secretary of Education as saying, “The top 10 in-demand jobs in the future don’t exist today. We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.”

What better way to get our future leaders’ brains thinking in a problem-solving manner than to phrase and structure learning that way?!

Reason three speaks for itself. In a true PBL unit students must interact with each other, with adults besides their teacher in the school, and with other adults in the community.

Children learn by doing and experiencing. We know this.

I’ve noticed a huge increase in retention during my first PBL unit. Because the overarching topic is integrated into all subject areas and the kids are given multiple opportunities to do and experience, there is so much more for them to attach new learning to in their schema. Demonstrations, discussions, creating models, reading, videos, pictures, community experts all weigh-in to provide the ultimate learning experience.

In the real world there are often times where there isn’t a clear cut right and wrong answer, so why teach our children that way? There’s no multiple choice bubble to fill in or answer to circle when a doctor must decide how to treat a patient or when an airplane pilot must veer off course. Why not open children’s eyes to the possibilities, and reality, that there are often multiple right answers and multiple ways to approach solving problems?

Teaching should be enjoyable. End of story.

After living the PBL experience I can attest to the fact that PBL units make teaching more enjoyable. Seeing the natural curiosity of children run wild while taking every opportunity to learn more is so rewarding. Ditch the worksheets. Kids won’t remember them and neither will you. (Yes, some worksheet practice is inevitable and probably necessary – but make that the exception, not the rule). Another highlight that makes teaching with a PBL style more enjoyable is decreased behavior issues. When kids are truly engaged and excited there’s is less reason or need to act out.

Check back on Sunday for an inside peak into my first experience with PBL during our solar system unit.

For anyone unfamiliar with PBL or wanting more information, you can visit the [Buck Institute for Education]. BIE is considered the “gold standard” for project-based learning.