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

Summer Choice Boards!

Rabbit! Rabbit! It is JUNE 1st and summer is within our reach. To celebrate this wonderful occasion, I have compiled different activities from far and wide for a summer version of our digital CREATE stations. Hopefully students can continue to stay engaged and take on challenges throughout the dog days of summer!

Here is the summer digital choice board I compiled for grades K-5: 

To view it on our libguides, click on the GORDON LIBGUIDES HERE and you will see the different coding, reading, engineering and art activities. 

To make a copy and make changes to the choice board, click HERE. 

In the EXPLORE section of the choice board, I included the Gordon Research Hub. This is a research choice board that highlights different topics that the grade levels cover throughout the school year. It also includes our One School One Book research topics that connect to the Adventures of Humphrey. To view the research hub, you can click HERE. 

To make a copy of the research hub, click HERE. You can use it as template and change it around to reflect the material you cover throughout the year with links that work with your students. 

I also made my first attempt at a secondary CREATE choice board that is geared towards middle and high school students. This includes several coding activities, story telling links, and art projects. Click on the image below to view it. 

Click HERE to make a copy of the secondary choice board, so you can make changes to fit your students and curriculum. 

I like having these choice boards on my libguides so students can access them all summer.  In order to embed this choice board into your libguides so students can access it over the summer, click FILE < PUBLISH TO THE WEB: 

You are able to publish it as a link or use the embed code. To put it in my Gordon Libguides, I use the embed code: 

Once I am logged into my libguides, I create a media/widget box where I can copy and paste the embed the code. Voila! It is there for students to access throughout the summer.

Hopefully there are some activities students can use when boredom sets in, rainy days keep us inside, or the dog days of summer are too much for a pool day! 

HAPPY SUMMER friends! 

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.