E is for EXPLORE: Second and Third Grade learners CREATE A CREATURE

 

Kid K'nex Education is a great engineering tool to have in your library. The pieces are bigger, so they don't hurt smaller fingers, and the students can create all kinds of fun creatures using this set. I have my second grade graders and even my third graders build with these, and they LOVE them. I think these go well beyond the preschool age group. The set we purchased from Amazon (click on the red link above) comes with 131 pieces, so having 2-3 sets in your classroom or library is ideal. 

Where to begin? How do we use these in library? To start with, we read about different animals, insects, and critters. A couple of great books to consider reading aloud are the following ideas and suggestions: (Click on the book title for the read aloud).

Fur, Feather, Fin: All of Us are Kin 

Some Bugs

Du Iz Tak? 

Now is a great time to discuss habitats. What sort of animals and bugs live in a desert habitat? Woodland habitat? Rainforest habitat? What types of foods do they eat? What kind of adaptations do they require to survive? What is the food chain? If you have a subscription to PebbleGo, this is a great time for students to access the databases and get some really good background information. 

PebbleGo even has an article that explains animal adaptations for different habitats that students can either read or listen to.

After we read about bugs, animals and critters of all shapes and sizes, we have students invent their own insect/creature/animal. They can use their creativity as long as they can explain their creature's habitat, food sources, and adaptations. This is a great activity to complete after they have done the database research above or they have learned about life cycles and food chains in class. It serves as a pretty good review because even though their creature is an original invention, the food source must make sense in the habitat, and the animal adaptations must allow the creature to survive in its habitat. The kids take the information they learned and synthesize it into a new creation. These are always my favorite activities. Click on the worksheet below to access the PDF. 

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Next step? Students try to recreate their insect using the K'nex Education kit. There are eyes, limbs, wings (which can also be used a fins), and other building pieces they can put together to make an original and unique creature. This is a super fun library station OR whole group instruction activity. I love seeing what they will create. Feel free to download the freebie from TPT; it includes the standards, learning goals, and procedures. 

Here is our sign we use for our table to let everyone know what standards we are completing at this station. If you click on it, you can make a copy! 

CREATE Stations: E stands for EXPLORE for Grades K - 1

Our explore library station in our CREATE acronym can encompass so many different tasks. Often times, the activities in the EXPLORE station can be interchangeable with ENGINEERING. 

The explore station is slightly different because we often use this station to focus on science, research, nonfiction texts, and fiction storylines. We change it up throughout the year depending on the grade level, what we are studying, and the standards we want to cover. 

In fact, our EXPLORE station for Kindergarten involves our magformers. Students create buildings, structures, animals, and towns using these magformer tiles. 

The students love being able to manipulate these, and they are very easy to clean up! If you are looking for the lesson plan and station signs that are aligned with the AASL standards as well as NGSS and VA SOLs, you can find them HERE on TPT for free. 

For first graders, the EXPLORE station requires some fine motor skills. We used connectagons, which are wooden interlocking blocks. Check them out here on Amazon: Connectagons Interlocking STEM toys. These are different from the brainflakes because these have patterns and themes that allow students to create models. 

Years ago we purchased these, and we were able to get three sets: geometric shapes, woodland creatures, and space connectagons. The space connectagons are really fun; students love to create a galaxy of stars with the moon and constellations. 

It is exciting to watch students build, design, and even discuss their creations in their small group setting. The other set of connectagons we have, the woodland habitat, have different characters and animals. Students get caught up in imaginary role playing, and I love to watch them interact and create stories while they are building and designing.

Feel free to download the station signs HERE. Per usual, it includes the standards of learning as well as the AASL standards. 

Below is another example of a table sign I use that has both the kindergarten and first grade station information and standards. This is a great visual to show teachers and admin who visit your library how this station fulfills and supports their standards through application and play. Click HERE to may a copy of the chart if you would like to use it and make any changes. To view the chart, click on the image below. 

Next stop in our CREATE Stations....T is for THINKING LAB!

 We have had an exciting start to the month of May with the hatching of our chicks! Now we are continuing on with our CREATE Stations. What does CREATE stand for? It is the framework for our library stations. Students visit one of the stations below once a week and rotate to the next station the following week. Throughout the year, they will visit each station 3-4 times. Our stations are a fun way to cover the standards, keep students engaged, and complete different challenges. 

C - Computer (3-5) or Construction (K-2)
R - Robots 
E - Engineering
A - Art 
T - Thinking Lab 
E - Explore

The letter 'T' can stand for a couple of different activities in the library. T in our create acronym can stand for tablet, technology, Thinking Lab...there are several possibilities. 
We have used this station for both our tablets and our strategy games. Click on the letter T to view our inventory of Thinking Lab games, and the books with which we pair them: 

We have done our Thinking Lab several different ways. A great way is to have your class complete the same game while students work in pairs and see which pair of students can complete the most challenges. Another way is to have the Thinking Lab strategy games set up in stations where each small group completes a different strategy game. 

In our library, the Thinking Lab takes place at our GREEN table. In the past, we have rotated the games throughout the months we used them. These games are a great way to end the school year because it keeps the students' minds engaged and THINKING right up until the end! 

Our chicks hatched!

 

HERE THEY ARE! We have 9 healthy chicks! We had a great experience in library and STEAM watching our chicks in the incubator and then witnessing them hatch. 

Now that they hatched, our chicks have been moved into a sandbox with a warming plate, chick starter food, water, and shredded paper. They will stay with us for a couple of days before we return them to the farm. Returning them to the farm allows us to continue our program from year to year. The eggs we received this year to incubate may even be from chicks we hatched last year! Truly the circle of life! (Can't you hear the song?!)

If you are interested in hatching your own chicks, take a look at our earlier post HERE. We love teaching life cycles with our chick unit, virtual classroom, and google presentation. It has been a great month.