Category: science
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Inspirational STEAM Video by Janna Levin
This week for our first 10 minute “curiosity links” time in STEM class this semester, I’m sharing the video, “Janna Levin: I’m Still That Same Kid. It’s part of the series NOVA’s Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers. Janna’s description of how she felt challenged growing up because she loved BOTH art and science makes this a…
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2015 Classroom Challenge: STEM Curiosity Links
As 2014 draws to a close and we look forward to what 2015 will bring, I’d like to share a simple and fun classroom challenge with you: STEM Curiosity Links. For the past two semesters, I’ve made a point of sharing several STEM “curiosity links” with my students at least once per week. On days I share…
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Videos, Articles & Books To Get You Thinking About UFOs & ET
My 11 year old daughter, Rachel, is very interested right now in UFOs and the question of whether there is “intelligent life” (E.T.) elsewhere in our universe besides on planet Earth. The past few weeks, and over these last few days of Thanksgiving holidays, we’ve watched most of the episodes in a 2012 TV series…
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Mini-Maker Faire Coming to Manhattan, Kansas September 20, 2014
by Wesley Fryer Do you, your students, and members of your family know about the MAKER movement? According to the English WikiPedia: The maker culture is a contemporary culture or subculture representing a technology-based extension of DIY culture. Typical interests enjoyed by the maker culture include engineering-oriented pursuits such as electronics, robotics, 3-D printing, and…
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Sheldon Whitehouse responds to Jim Inhofe on Climate Change
Sadly, against the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community, our Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe continues to believe and argue that climate change is a liberal conspiracy concocted to trick US voters. This position is false and ridiculous. Last week on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse responded to Senator Inhofe’s…
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FREE Oklahoma City STEM Workshop: June 4-5, 2014
Amy Loeffelholz and Wesley Fryer are excited to announce FREE registration is available for a 2 day, hands-on, elementary STEM workshop Wednesday, June 4 and Thursday, June 5, 2014, at Independence Elementary School in Yukon, Oklahoma. The workshop will be led by Amy and Wes, who are both current grade 4-5 STEM teachers at Lakeview…
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iPad Apps About Rockets, Spacecraft Design, and Astronomical Engineering
This week my 4th and 5th grade STEM students are starting a two week unit on rocketry, spacecraft design and astronomical engineering. If that sounds too grandiose, here’s a simpler lesson plan explanation: We’re building and launching water bottle rockets using empty 2 liter soda bottles and a borrowed PITSCO “Aquaport II Water Rocket Launcher.”…
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STEM Curiosity Links: Episode 1 (A Touchcast Video)
This afternoon after school, I used the free iPad app Touchcast to create my first “Curiosity Links” video. This is a short (5 minute) video sharing some websites and apps we discussed this week in STEM class to spark student curiosity. Check it out! Here are the links I referenced in the video and we…
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2 Challenges: With STEM & iPads
There are a lot of challenges I face at school, but two stand out to me tonight. One concerns depth of learning with STEM content, and the other involves iPads and deep reflection. We finished the second day of a four-day unit on kitchen chemistry today, and after two and half months of using our…
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Backchannel with 5th Graders & Pie Chart Questions on the Winter Olympics
I’ve used “backchannel” websites and collaborative documents MANY times with teachers during professional development sessions and conferences, as well as with graduate and undergraduate students in classes. Monday I substituted for one of our fifth grade teachers who was out sick, however, and this provided me with my first chance to use a text backchannel…