TEA Lights/Take Apart/Put Back Together/and How To writing

I was able to pick up a tea light at the stem resource center for every student in my second grade class. I did a "take apart and put back together" lesson with the students. I asked them to look at the tea light and "wonder" .... what is it? What do you wonder about ? What might be inside, etc. For example, they responded with the following: I wonder if I will get electrocuted, I wonder if it will break, I wonder if there are wires, batteries, I wonder how long they last? etc, Next, we took it apart. Then, they had to put it back together. WE DID THIS ALL VIRTUALLY! Our class does one or two stem activities every week online. I incorporated a "How to..." writing lesson. The children had to write how to take it apart with a topic sentence, directions, and conclusion. You can differentiate this by having them write the directions on how to put it back together. My daughter is an engineer for Amazon Robotics so she did a great job explaining and drawing pictures of the "current" etc. Next, we are going to use the shavers I picked up at eh resource center and talk about what they might be? How could we use them in space? or a deserted island? Great writing project! Thank you for the lights. I can hardly wait to do it again next year. One student said, "Mrs. Schmidt, this was the BEST!"

Submitted by: Lori Schmidt, Broadmor Elementary, Tempe Elementary School District.

Using Pear Deck for Teaching with Engagement Online

Pear Deck gives teachers the ability to create interactive lesson slides that allow for immediate feedback of student understanding as well as higher levels of engagement. Teachers can develop formative assessments using different tools such as short response, multiple choice, drawing, drag and drop, and more. Students are able to follow along with the lessons and answer questions to demonstrate their understanding, all in real time, which allows for engagement from students during class. Since each Pear Deck presentation is created by the teacher, the levels of difficulty and types of questions asked can all be based on the teacher's knowledge of the students within the class. Once the lesson is complete, students are able to access the slides at a later date if they choose in order to help revisit their learning or enhance it should they choose. This also gives the teacher reteaching opportunities for small and whole group should the need arise.

Submitted by: Amanda Porras, Winters' Well Elementary School, Saddle Mountain Unified School District

Just Breathe!

Certain times during the school day can cause anxiety, unease, or stress for students. One quick easy way to avoid this is to incorporate different breathing techniques into your transition times.

Submitted By: Jules Nolte, Belen Soto Elementary School, Litchfield School District.

Kahn Academy

Kahn Academy is a great resource that can be used by teachers to differentiate learning for students.

Submitted by: Robert Yates, Madision Rose Lane, Phoenix, AZ.

Salt Dough Maps

Students utilized their knowledge of chemistry while creating the best quality salt dough which was to be used to create their topographic map of the country they created in Social Studies.

Submitted by: Jaime Hansen, Canyon Springs STEM Academy, Phoenix, AZ

Project Based Work Plans

A work plan is a guide for student learning that enables them to see the work at hand, expectations, overarching project, and additional supports for students.

Submitted by: Ulises Aragon, Camelback High School (Montessori), Phoenix, AZ

Active Engagement Using Nearpod

Through the use of Nearpod, and all of its features I have been able to create an environment of high engagement, rigorous material, and multiple formative assessment opportunities. I make my lessons with with time in mind: how long will I be talking? How long before my students lose focus? And what kind of time will they need to complete an informal formative assessment question? Every 5 to 15 minutes my students are expected to do some kind of activity, this could be a collaborate board, answering an open ended question, or taking part in a poll. This keeps my students engaged. Nearpod creates a report for each of my presentations, complete with statistics of participation in each activity. I use this as a part of my student's grades, and as a way of informing my instruction and one-on one student communication for the next day.

Submitted by: K-K McLaughlin, Camelback High School, Phoenix, AZ.

Future Solar Design Project

The Land Art Generator provides a platform to bring forward solutions for sustainable energy infrastructures that reflect culture and enhance the city as works of public art. After consulting with LAGI, STEAM Students were invited to design beautiful, futuristic clean Agrivoltaic Racking sytem that will benefit our own Alhambra Community.

Gamifying for Comprehension

Systems thinking is an important concept in both the physical and social sciences. It requires an understanding of the various parts and subparts of a system in order to understand the relationships within the whole. This Promising Practice is a fun and engaging way to help bring Scientific / STEM concepts to life in a conceptual way within the classroom.

Class Dojo for Parent Involvement

Class Dojo allows you to communicate directly with parents and provide immediate feedback on student's behavior, academic success, and class information. This tool also features a translation option to help communicate with parents that do not speak English.

Desk Drumming

Desk Drumming helps maintain a strong, solid 'classroom family' bond with high levels of engagement and helps with transitions. My students can be anywhere (home, school, office, car, etc) and join in.

Submitted By: Jules Nolte, Belen Soto Elementary School, Litchfield Elementary School District

Video Check-Ins

Video check-ins can be used to provide students with feedback, direct instruction, grade information, and to develop relationships. Try using a video check-in with your students.

Submitted by: Eddie Aranda, PXU Digital Academy, Phoenix Union High School District

Personal Reflective Questions

"End of unit" Personal Reflective Questions can be used at the end of each unit assessment (project, exam, or essay). Simply have students respond to several open-ended reflection questions about their strengths, struggles, and learning process during the unit.

Submitted By: Erin McDowell, Heritage Academy-Mesa

Open Education Resources

Arizona State University has compiled a list of open educational resources for students and teachers to use to support at-home and distant learning.

Virtual Field Trip

Virtual field trips allow you to take your students outside of the classroom from the comfort of their own computer/classroom. Use virtual field trips to take students to prestigious museums, historical landmarks, and countless other locations.

Submitted by: Sandy Millan, Kyrene del Pueblo Middle School, Kyrene School District.

Using Padlet for Feedback

Padlet is an amazing resource that can be adapted to fit any grade level, need, either in-person or online. Padlet is a collaborate multi-functional bulletin board which allows teachers to post discussions and provide feedback to students.

Submitted By: Jaime Hansen, Canyon Springs STEM Academy, Deer Valley Unifited School District

Whole Brain Teaching

Whole Brain Teaching is a positive, high-energy, character building education reform that focus on brain science.

Submitted by: Ana San Marchi, Super Cool Kenilworth School, Phoenix Elementary School District

Brain Breaks

A brain break is structured break time during class created to help students focus. This article provides 50 examples of brain breaks that can be implemented in your virtual classroom. The article also has links to several videos to demonstrate certain brain breaks.

Social Emotional Learning Online

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation has developed a number of resources to support social and emotional learning in a distance learning format.

Online Meditation

Caring for your mental health is essential for coping with the stresses of the classroom. On the blog at calm.com, Tamara Levitt offers free guidance for online meditation.