OTT 147: 3 Secret Tactics for Breathing New Life into Science in October

STEMHalloween

Mar 12

OTT 147: 3 Secret Tactics for Breathing New Life into Science in October

So it is that time of year again! Fall has officially begun. Even if that means you just have fall decorations in your house in Florida as I do.

I love to incorporate holidays and seasons into my lessons. I think this makes learning more meaningful and relevant for students.

So, today we will talk about 3 secret tactics for breathing new life into science in October.

3 Secret Tactics for Breathing New Life Into Science in October

Secret Tactic #1

Incorporate Halloween or Fall Into Your Science Topics

This first tactic is one of my favorite things to do. You look at your standards according to your pacing guide. (And if you are on my email list, you got my STEM unit pacing guide for several weeks in a row. So I hope you were able to grab that.) So if you are following that you may see that at this time of year we are focusing on Matter.

Secret Tactic #2

Add Hands-On Activities with Makerspace

I actually spoke all about this on the podcast in episode 96: Halloween and Makerspace in Elementary Classroom, which I will link to in the show notes.

Makerspace and Halloween can go hand in hand with just the right literature to set the stage. Finding books that engage students and encourages students to think can be half the battle. The creation of solutions is the fun part!

We want students to ask questions about the problem and about possible solutions, and we want students to use this inquiry-based learning to better understand how they can create a model of a solution. Another option is to take an already existing solution and revise and refine it.

Working through engineering standards and literature standards helps teachers justify Makerspace for admins who are wondering if standards-based learning is occurring. This seriously drives me crazy. But if they need evidence we can give it to them!

I talk through several really fun stories. You can hear more on episode 96: Halloween and Makerspace in Elementary Classroom.

Finally, let's look at secret tactic #3.

Introduce Fun Literature to Hook Students

This is another one of my favorites. I love to find Halloween books that can be used to hook students. I talk about several fun titles in Episode 96. So I won't get too involved here. You can find that anywhere you are listening to podcasts.

I will also talk more about Halloween books to use in your classroom next week on the podcast. So stay tuned.

I hope that gives you a jumping-off point. Be sure to take a listen to episode 96 for full details on Halloween and Makerspace.

Speaking of Makerspace my free Makerspace Masterclass Replay is available for viewing