Rigor for your Rocks Unit

Our curriculum has us studying rock in science for several weeks. How do you make rocks more exciting?

These are some of my favorite books:

I just think this is such a sweet story about the perspective of a rock.

One of my favorite series. This one talks about all the different attributes of rocks.

Sweet story about how sometimes the rocks find you.

Written in short verse-all the different ways we use rocks.

I LOVE when I learn new things reading a book aloud to the kids. I did not even know this story about a rock garden that was built in India.

Write from the perspective of a rock-what would you see, hear, believe? What would you say if you could talk?

Has the way we use rocks changed over time?

Are there trends that include rocks-Pet Rocks for example.

Create a pattern on a rock.

Alternatives to Disguise a Turkey

I mean no judgement if you are a teacher who does this activity. But at my school teachers in Prek, Kinder, 1st and 2nd grade all do this same activity. They send home a template of a turkey and ask families to disguise it somehow. I just believe that students should have unique opportunities and not do the same activities year after year.

So what can we do instead?

* Thankful Project-I send disposable cameras home-each student will take 3 pictures of what they are thankful for. One student gets the camera, takes 3 pictures and then brings it back and I send it with the next student. I usually only have to buy 2-3 cameras. Another way to do this is to ask the parents to let the kids take pics on their phone and forward the pics to you. I am very insistent that the kids take the pictures and also that they decide what to capture. One year a parent messaged me upset that her daughter had taken a picture of a grilled cheese sandwich before she got home-I LOVED that she was thankful for a grilled cheese sandwich!

It is a project you have to start ahead of time. When the pics get developed we put them on a small poster board and they write why they chose each thing. It turns into a photoessay,

* Grateful letters-you can send home a template that says I am grateful for _____________ because ______________and they can make it for school staff or classmates. Not only is it incorporating the thankful theme, but also developing that kindness.

* Have students make a placemat that could be delivered with Meals on Wheels meals or to a nursing home. They can use their creativity to decorate it and it would mean a lot to the residents.

* Record a video or if they are a little older, make a slideshow for someone to show why they are grateful for them.

Game to Foster Creativity

There is a lot of research testing the theory of whether or not creativity can be taught. I believe we are born with an innate creativity-like any other trait, some have more than others. However, I do believe students can be taught to apply that creativity.

We do an activity to practice it. I split the students up into groups. They have a dry erase board (I make sure one student in the group can write-I teach Kinder after all). And then I give them a letter of the alphabet and ask them to come up with a place or food that begins with that letter. The goal of the game is when we read out what we chose-we will have come up with an answer no other group came up with. So when we started this activity-letter M--place, every group said McDonald's. Was that a creative answer then? No it wasn't.

What I am hoping to teach them is not just to go with their first thought. To put some effort into digging a little deeper and coming up with something different.

Shapes and Creativity

Our math objective has been shapes. After identifying them, sorting them, etc. I asked the students to use shapes in any way they wanted to creating something creative.

Here's what they came up with:

Higher Level Gratitude

And November is here! Somehow this school year is going by fast and also taking forever. :) 

I know we are tempted to ask students to write about what they are thankful for this month. Here are some ideas on how to step that up a notch.

Instead of just: what are you thankful for.....:

* What are you thankful for that you cannot see?

* what are you thankful for that does not cost any money?

*Multiple perspectives--what would a dog, shark, dinosaur, teacher, etc. be thankful for?

*What would this character from a story be thankful for?

*Why should we be thankful?

Here are my students responses to: what are you thankful for that does not cost money?

Mom and Thomas the Train :)

Eric Carle-Very Busy Author

Eric Carle is one of my all time favorite authors. The Very Lonely Firefly and the Very Quiet Cricket have surprise endings that make my students gasp and want to read and reread those stories. We read those and the Very Busy Spider, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Then I ask students to change the details and come up with their own The Very (adjective) (creature). I love doing activities like this because you get to see the lessons in creativity paying off. :)

Where the Wild Things Are-Details

One of my favorite stories to read this time of year is Where the Wild Things Are. 

We read the story and discuss what makes the Wild Things (and Max) "Wild". I asked the students to change that adjective and describe what other details would change. Instead of roaring their roars and rolling their eyes-if the title was Where the Pretty Things Are-what would the monsters be like?