Teaching Tools Series: Kahoot! in the STEM classroom--FREE

Wow.  That gif is...gify.

Now that I have your attention, if you haven't used Kahoot! in your classroom yet, you're in for a real treat. Kahoot! is full of user-created ready-made interactive quiz games that make Jeopardy buzzer systems completely and utterly irrelevant. Sorry, Alex Trebec.  Here's the Kahoot! game that I used in my class today--try it out for FREE on the Kahoot! community board:
https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/38ec8f09-d42a-497f-b4f9-68b009bbd586

If you like it, you can join Kahoot! (also free) and start playing right away.  For how much? You guessed it: it's free.  Student accounts--also free.

Students can use whichever device they have handy--but in my experience, the kids favor touchscreens because of the reaction-time advantage. You don't even need a projector, really, depending on your class size. I have used my HD laptop in a pinch. Today, this is what my 8th grade class looked like playing Kahoot!--we were waiting for a guest speaker to arrive and it was an engaging and fun activity as well as a good way to review material.

This is TWO class sections of eighth graders happy and busy
while they wait for our guest speaker to arrive!  Yes!  It really happens!

How it works: you choose a Kahoot! quiz to use and then Launch it to your device/projector.  The students login using the URL and the login code to access your quiz in real time.  They add their username (they do NOT need accounts--this is the best part). Once everyone joins the quiz, the quiz will launch!

Some fun music plays in the background while a question pops up on the big screen and on their devices. They have to wait a few moments until the multiple-choice answers pop up on the screen, and then they get access to punch in their response on their device.

One of the coolest parts of this is that it's really interactive in the whole-class sense.  They aren't staring at the board or their device.  They all have to constantly look up at the board and then down at their devices and then back at the board to see if they were right.  The leaderboard is posted after every question--extra points for speed!  It's not unusual for students to jump out of their seats with excitement as they see where they are in the lineup.

Kahoot! Markets itself as tool that can be flipped to let the kids create.

I teach a couple of PLTW courses and this Kahoot! is specifically for Automation and Robotics, Lesson 2.2.2 Mechanisms. Give it a try alone or with a few friends to see what Kahoot! is all about. https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/38ec8f09-d42a-497f-b4f9-68b009bbd586

You can create your own Kahoot!, customizing it for your particular classroom and lesson. You can easily embed photos and youtube videos that enhance your quizzes.  What's fantastic, though, is there are thousands of user-created quizzes that are just waiting for your tweaks to make them perfect or you can use them as-is.

**FYI, I am not a paid spokesperson for Kahoot! nor do they sponsor me in any way.  I just really like this tool.

Teaching Tools Series: Kahoot! in the STEM classroom--FREE

Teaching Tools Series: Quizlet Flashcard Set on Moon Phases, Eclipses and Tides

I have a new role model and her name is Joan Le, author of science-teaching blog extraordinaire, The Science Room.  I haven't met her in person, and I don't need to in order to appreciate her innovative integration of technology into her classroom.  This flashcard set on Quizlet is a gift from her, that I am posting so more people can find it.

Teaching Tools Series: Quizlet Flashcard Set on Moon Phases, Eclipses and Tides

Science Vacations With Kids in Baltimore and DC

Okay!  So what does a science teacher do with her own children when on vacation?  I take them to fabulous science museums all over the country!  On the docket for this vacation:  a trip down to Baltimore and Washington DC.  Amtrak is having a deal on companion tickets to Baltimore: save 30%.  It's a pretty good deal and the kids love the train.

Why Baltimore? you ask.  The most amazing aquarium I've ever been to!  The Baltimore National Aquarium on the Inner Harbor in Baltimore.  When you get to the site, click Plan Your Visit>Discounts and Promotions to find deals on the tickets, which are pricey.

 I usually buy my tickets for everything a la carte, but you can find some packages for hotel, meals, and VIP admission to the aquarium right here at the Visit Baltimore Harbor Magic Site.  

Other destinations: the new science museum in Baltimore: The Maryland Science Center.  This museum is also right on the water in the Inner Harbor.  I booked my hotel on Priceline, and it allows you to select the Inner Harbor location.  

I haven't been inside YET, but I was in Baltimore in December and went for a walk around the beautiful harbor.  There was a long line outside the museum waiting for it to open on a sunny Sunday.  Both the Aquarium and the Science Center have incredible deals on Friday nights!  Starting at 5pm, they sell tickets for full admission for $8.  Amazing!  You can add on additional activities (like IMAX movies, 4-D theater, dolphin shows, etc.) for a small fee.

There are so many cool places to go with kids in Baltimore's Inner Harbor! But those are the two places I will take my kids in March.  

The next day, I have friends who live in DC, so we're staying with them and then going to the FREE museums there:  

The National Air and Space Museum is first on the list:  it's a classic!  I remember seeing my first IMAX film here in 1982...it was amazing!  The Space Shuttle Discovery is arriving there in April, so we'll be too early for that. 

Then, my older son is insisting on seeing the Hope Diamond at The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.  The best part is: we can go in and see the diamond and leave for lunch without worrying about admission:  the admission to the DC museums is free!

Science Vacations With Kids in Baltimore and DC

Free FUN!! Lesson on the Nature of Science and Inquiry--a.k.a. "CUBE OF SCIENCE!"

Cube of Science!
This is one of my favorite activities to do with my newest science students at the beginning of the school year.  I usually do this with my 6th graders, because I teach all three middle grades, and it is a great way to introduce the idea of SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY (also known as the scientific method, sometimes)--tons of fun!
Click here to download the PDF, with color and blackline masters of the cubes.
Click here to download the SMART Notebook file (interactive die) that has the same PDF as an attachment.


I didn't write this lesson, it is a lesson from a book called Teaching Evolution and the Nature of Science by the National Academy of Sciences.  I have used this lesson for TWELVE years in various iterations, and I am always pleased with the results.  


Ways that I have modified the lesson from it's current format:
1. I make a large number cube out of a cardboard box instead of giving out small ones.  We do the first part as a large group--I display the cube on a stool from a lab bench so the students cannot see the bottom.
2. I do not put anything on the bottom of the cube--no "accidents" that knock the cube down will reveal the answer...this drives the kids nuts, but (and?) it models the real 'no answer key' nature of science inquiry.  After all, there is no big book of science answers anywhere that tells the scientists if they got it right...
3. Generally, I don't let the kids use the mirrors or tongue depressors as "technology" models.    In fact, the students can't touch the cubes at all...they have to ask their classmates what is on the other side--they can't turn it themselves.  This models information sharing across the lab, state, country or globe that goes on with scientists around the world.


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Free FUN!! Lesson on the Nature of Science and Inquiry--a.k.a. "CUBE OF SCIENCE!"

Memonic--your own Internet Research Secretary.

Okay, so I found this webinar the other day through the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI--google it!). I would have overlooked it, but the episode was on "Research Projects" and was hosted by one of my very very very favorite blog authors, Richard Byrne (freetech4teachers.com). So I listened in...

One of the many tools he showed us was Memonic. It's like doing internet research with your own personal secretary. The only thing it doesn't do is write your works-consulted for you, MLA style. At least, not for now! Anyway, right now, there's a cool no-need-to-sign-up feature that let's you try it out without running the plugin or signing up.

Memonic--your own Internet Research Secretary.

TYPES OF STRESS--Free Download of SMART Notebook lesson on Plate Tectonics

This is a free download of an Earth Science lesson on the Types of Stress--this leads nicely into a lesson on earthquakes and includes a link to a Discovery Education video called "Earthquakes-Our Restless Planet".

TYPES OF STRESS--Free Download of SMART Notebook lesson on Plate Tectonics