Middle Grade Thematic Unit: The Final Frontiers - Ocean and Space

 

CREATE stations have been a great way to integrate library stations with the curriculum. Each letter in the acronym stands for a different activity. Students rotate through their activities once a week when they visit the library. 

Here is what CREATE stands for: 

C - Computer Choice Board 
R - Robots 
E - Engineering
A - Art
T - Thinking Lab
E - Explore and Research 

You can check out the structure and explanation HERE from one of my previous blog posts. 

In fact, in previous blog articles, I have focused on each CREATE letter and broke the station down by grade level. Currently, I am compiling my lessons with a focus on the grade level and the theme. 

This thematic unit can be completed in the library with grades 3-8! 

READ-ALOUD OPTIONS:

Space: 

Zathura (picture book)

Hidden Figures (Biography)

Race to the Moon (Fiction, choose your own adventure)

Gravity by Jason Chin (picture book)

Ocean:

Shipwreck by Gordon Korman (fiction) is found on the EPIC app and students can listen to the audiobook. This is an action-packed ocean survival novel that will appeal to fifth graders. 

Lifeboat 12 is an amazing verse poetry book that takes place during WW2. Another great survival story where the characters are stuck out to sea trying to escape Hitler's invasion. 

Corresponding Stations and Choice Board:

COMPUTER

Our computer choice board combines the ocean and space theme with these digital CREATE activities. The activities include videos, art tutorials, and coding. They can be done independently. 

You can view the choice board HERE.

If you would like to edit the choice board, click HERE. 

ROBOTS

Ozobots are perfect robots for students to code while learning about space. We code our robots to follow the path around the sun for a fun and educational space-themed activity. You can find the link to the article HERE.

ENGINEERING

Space connectagons are an excellent way for students to create and engineer while studying space. If these are no longer available, the geometric connectagons or brainflakes can also be used to create solar systems. 

Legos are also the perfect tool for engineering and creating both ocean and space challenges. 

ART

For our art station, we have our Quivervision station where we can go in-depth with both themes.  To focus on the ocean, there are several coloring sheets: 

Orca
Shark
Sea turtle 

For the space theme, we have the moon coloring sheet and the space comparison coloring sheet. These are outlined in this blog post HERE. 

Looking to use Quivervision as an art library station? Here is a tutorial on how you can get started: watch the video. There is also a great slideshow to get you started that you can access here.

THINKING LAB:

There are a couple of really fun activities and thinking games that help students understand the concept of gravity that can relate back to our space theme. 

EXPLORE:

Explore station allows students to research the topics in small bites with a meaningful impact.  Here is a worksheet we used to locate an article about the planets in the print encyclopedia: 

We also used a Britannica Resource Pack to look up the keyword, planets. This allowed us to get an overview and general information to support the classroom teachers. 

You can access these worksheets through TPT (free download): 

PLANETS FREEBIE

Fifth Grade Thematic Unit and CREATE Stations: Survival Stories

 CREATE stations have been a great way to integrate our stations with the curriculum in elementary school. Each letter in the acronym stands for a different activity. Students rotate through their activities once a week when they visit the library. 

Here is what CREATE stands for: 

C - Computer Choice Board 
R - Robots 
E - Engineering
A - Art
T - Thinking Lab
E - Explore and Research 

You can check out the CREATE station structure and explanation HERE from one of my previous blog posts. Each station is color coded and students rotate through each activity once a week. 

In fact, in previous blog articles, I have focused on one letter of the CREATE acronym and explained that letter and the corresponding activity for each individual grade level K-5. 

In the next series of posts, I will change things up and focus on the grade level and break down the stations and activities that can be done for each letter in the CREATE acronym for that grade. 

Let's get started with 5th grade and our first fun thematic unit!

READ-ALOUD OPTIONS: 

I sometimes find it difficult to discover that perfect read-aloud for 5th graders. I like to read short impactful stories that will keep their attention as well as keep them actively engaged. I have had a lot of success with the Capstone series, YOU CHOOSE. There are several Can You Survive? books and they are all interactive history adventure books. I read one of the story threads and have students choose which path they want to take throughout the book with a class vote. We read until the storyline is finished; we either survive or (insert ominous music) we don't.  Afterward, the books fly off the shelves!  Students will read these books multiple times making sure they explore each and every storyline adventure.

I also rely on another series that most people are familiar with: Laura Tarshis' I Survived series. These are incredible read-alouds because they are short, impactful, and engaging. 

After a great 10-15 minute read-aloud, it is time for the CREATE stations to begin! It all starts with the computer station. If you are wondering how I put students in the different stations, here is my explanation as well as google slide templates you can use: Create Stations...the Mechanics.

COMPUTER STATION: 

A computer station is a great option because students can work independently on various coding activities, reading activities, and digital escape rooms. 

Click to VIEW the Survival Computer Choice Board.  

Click to MAKE A COPY and EDIT the Survival Computer Choice Board.

ROBOTS: 

Sphero robots are a great option for a survival theme unit. As an introduction to the Sphero robot, students can use these task cards. Once students become well versed in the mechanics of the sphero, they can start more challenging "survival tasks". I love when students create a maze and direct Sphero to the finish line. This can be done with an app on the Ipad; students can either use block coding or simply use the drive feature to navigate the Sphero around the sharp turns and corners.  

ENGINEERING: 

Those of us who grew up watching MacGyver in the 80s can really appreciate the engineering station. Who didn't love watching MacGyver find the most basic tools to create a device that helped him get out of his latest stressful life-or-death situation? Even though this station doesn't require students to use duct tape and paperclips to create life-saving machines, the circuits give us the same feeling of putting together items that provide, light, sound, and other life-saving functions. 

In 5th grade, we use Little Bits, and we love Mrs. J's in the Library Little Bits task cards. We print the cards in color and laminate them for students to use repeatedly.  Here is a great article and tutorial to get your students started on the Little Bits station.

We also use Snap Circuits in 4th and 5th grade. These circuits are very sturdy, and there are hundreds of challenges for students to complete. They will almost never run out of projects during this station no matter how many times they visit! Students love to put together the light police station, the water alarm, the space war siren, the alarm circuit and so many more projects that can help them survive! 

ART: 

Quivervision remains my absolute favorite activity to do during our art station. It is so incredibly interactive, and it always provides students with that wow factor. 

A great Quivervision activity for students to complete is the volcano coloring page. This page goes along perfectly with the survival theme and Lauren Tarshis' novel, I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii, 79 AD. 

Another good read-aloud is I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helen's, 1980. They are both awesome survival stories and engaging read-alouds that go perfectly with the Quivervision art station. 

Most students love sharks and any type of fiction or nonfiction book that relates to sharks, the ocean, and shark attacks. The SHARK Quivervision sheet coloring sheet is a perfect supplement to the book I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916.

No matter what you and your students read, I know you can find a sheet that will supplement your reading themes. 

Looking to use Quivervision as an art library station? Here is a tutorial on how you can get started: watch the video. There is also a great slideshow to get you started that you can access here.

THINKING LAB:

There are several choices for our Thinking Lab stations. The first that comes to mind is the game, Chocolate Fix (can you survive the Chocolate Touch?). Other options would be Hoppers (for those of us who remember the Frogger video game) and of course, an all-time favorite, Rush Hour! 

          

To get more information on each of the games, just click the picture, and it will direct you to the ThinkFun website! These are great strategy games with several challenges, so your learners will not run out of games to play. 

EXPLORE:

For the explore station, I have a couple different activities. Sometimes we go to the databases and complete short research lessons and other times we take our legos and create storyboards. Our survival unit is perfect for our lego storyboards. Students create characters, setting, and plot. After they create their story, they narrate it and share it with their station group. This fulfills several of our AASL standards all while the student is engaged.  

Looking for a 5th-grade survival theme unit with stations? Hopefully, this will help. Here is an overview chart with standards that you can incorporate into your lesson plans. 

I have created a 5th-grade CREATE chart that is available in a couple of different formats: 

Google slide 

PDF Chart

Create Chart by Thannon

A is for ART: A 5th Grade Quivervision Art Station

Quivervision...it is the best thing to happen to our ART station in the library! I love connecting students' stations in the library to the content in the classroom. I have been using Quivervision for the past 5 years, but this year I noticed they were making changes to their format, so I applied to become a Quivervision Ambassador. This has been a really fun and different experience. I have access to the educational dashboard, coloring sheets, and I am beta testing the app...something I have never done before. I am loving it and so glad I put myself out there and applied!

How do we use this platform? In fifth grade, we study plant and animal cells, so I use this plant cell coloring sheet  and this animal plant cell coloring sheet for our 5th graders. 

What other  materials do we need for this station?  

print encyclopedia with cell diagram (a chance to incorporate reference materials!) 

markers 

colored pencils

coloring sheet (see links above)

iPads 

How does it work? Well, our learners use markers and/or colored pencils to color in the worksheet. Once they are done, they open the Quiver app, press the butterfly icon and then have the app scan their picture until it is turned into augmented reality. Learners will then need time to explore because there will be interactive buttons and teaching tools incorporated for extended learning. 

For the entire lesson plan (and more detailed step by step directions), check it out here on the Quivervision website: Lesson Plan on QUIVERVISION Website.

Here are the library signs that I have for the 5th grade art station: LIBRARY SIGNS.

This is the sign I have posted at my ART table, so the teachers can see how the station relates to their classroom lessons and standards: 

If you would like a copy of the chart to edit, you can make a copy HERE.

Hope you can find a way to incorporate this into your classroom...it really is super fun.

E is for ENGINEERING - Grade 5

 

We are back from a wonderful winter break and a wild snow storm. These next few weeks we are easing back into our CREATE stations, and we are engineering left and right keeping our hands and minds busy during our library time! 

Earlier, I shared my CREATE station, C is for CONSTRUCTION. How is engineering different from construction? It really isn't....several of these stations are very flexible and can be used for different stations. The big difference is that grades 3-5 do not have a construction station. Their C station is for COMPUTER (or CHROMEBOOK) with a digital choice board or Minecraft, so the engineering station is when the older kids get a chance to build and design too.

Check out our CREATE choice board for JANUARY: CREATE January Choice Board. If you would like a copy of the CREATE Choice board to make a copy and make changes you can access it HERE.

When the 5th graders engineer, they use KAPLA blocks (received from the local Buy Nothing FB group), which correlates with SOL WS.2, themes of geography and the human-environment interactions. They review these concepts by using the blocks to build dams, buildings, and bridges. 

 

If you would like all the engineering station freebies, check them out here: ENGINEERING STATION SIGNS and STANDARDS. 

R is for ROBOTS - Sphero for 5th Grade

 We finished off the week with some pretty fun and engaging robots. Ollie and Sphero are fun and easy to code because (for now) students can code them on their chromebook using the Sphero Edu drag-and-drop block coding app. They are updating Sphero EDU in January, so I am hopeful we can get the updated app and continue to use it. 

If all else fails, we use the iPad mini and the Sphero app to steer the Sphero using the driving app. It is not as great as block coding, but it allows students to drive the robot and determine distance and speed to get Sphero over the ramp, and we relate this back to SOL 5.3.d Force, Motion, and Energy. Students plot the course, remove obstacles, set up the ramps, and steer the robot. I was worried it wouldn't hold their attention for the entire station time, but we have not had that problem. It takes time for them to adjust to the steering, and then they plot different courses, which has them redesigning the course a few times and experimenting with different options. 

Check out the station signs I have for our Ollie Robots: 5th Grade ROBOT Station. This freebie has signs, standards, and directions for this robot station. 

If you like the ROBOT station, here is the sign I created for grades 3-5: You can make a copy HERE:

C is for COMPUTER (create stations grades 3-5)

Let's recap...we have an acronym for our Library stations, and we have a system. Now we can break it down. As mentioned before, the Letter C for grades K-2 indicates a CONSTRUCTION stations. 

Check it out here...CONSTRUCTION STATION for K-2

However, if you are in the upper grades, C stands for COMPUTER or CHROMEBOOKS. Our library has 10 computers, and we used library funds to purchase 4 chromebooks. On the computer, there are many websites, activities, and symbaloos that students can access... there is also a digital choice board that was inspired and modeled after Shannon McClintock Miller's choice board. I rearranged the activities to fit in my CREATE categories and added some of my own. I also included the National Day calendar that another awesome educator shares through facebook. 

Click on the picture below to check out my Gordon Libguides and take a look at my CREATE digital stations: 

If you would like a copy of the CREATE digital choice board for NOVEMBER to revise, click HERE.

To view it, click HERE. 

Even though I love the choice boards, I also created interactive bitmoji classrooms for students to look around and locate different activities by clicking on pictures.  This was compiled by using all kinds of resources in the bitmoji community and all the generous educators during the pandemic. Hope you enjoy it and can use it for your own classroom. 

COPY Bitmoji Classoom

VIEW Bitmoji Classroom

Finally, the upper grades also have access to Minecraft EDU (the really old version), but I have enough worlds downloaded that it still works and the kids still enjoy building. The kids do love playing in the interactive worlds as a team. It builds great teamwork and collaboration. 

Here is a sign I use at the ORANGE computer station: 

To view the COMPUTER STATION SIGN, click here. 

If you would like to use it, feel free to make a copy and edit the sign to fit your needs.