teachersbrain, Author at Teacher's Brain

Engaging Weather Activities For Kids in Elementary

June 30, 2023 teachersbrain Teacher's Pay Teachers

One of my favorite topics to teach when I was in the classroom was weather patterns! There are so many weather patterns activities that you can do with early elementary students that are engaging and fun for students!

If you’re looking for weather activities for kids or weather STEM activities, you’re in the right place!

The ideas I’m sharing today are perfect for early learners, ideally preschool through first grade. Weather is such an exciting topic, and I hope these ideas will make learning about it a breeze!

Create a Weather Collage

Provide your kiddos with a variety of weather-related pictures from magazines or printouts. Ask them to cut out the pictures and create a weather collage by sorting and pasting them onto a large piece of paper or poster board. They can categorize the pictures into different weather types, such as sunny, rainy, snowy, or windy.

Play some Weather Bingo

To do this activity, create a weather-themed Bingo game by making Bingo cards with different weather symbols or pictures. Use weather-related vocabulary like sun, cloud, rain, snow, and wind. Call out the words or show picture cards, and students can mark the corresponding symbol on their Bingo cards. Your students will love this game!

Take a Weather Walk

Take your students on a weather walk around the schoolyard or a nearby outdoor area. Ask them to observe and document the current weather conditions. They can draw pictures or take notes about what they see, feel, and hear. After the walk, gather as a group and discuss their observations, allowing them to share their experiences and develop their descriptive skills.

Try out Weather Dramatic Play

Set up a weather-themed dramatic play area in your classroom. Include props like hats, umbrellas, raincoats, sunglasses, and fans. Encourage students to dress up and pretend they are experiencing different weather conditions. They can take turns being the weather reporter, describing the weather and acting out corresponding movements. This is such a fun play-based activity!

Try a Weather Science Experiment

For example, fill a clear jar or container with hot water and place a small dish of ice on top. As the steam rises and hits the cold lid, it will condense and form “rain” that falls back into the jar. Explain to students how this demonstrates the water cycle and how rain is formed. So fun and simple!

If you are looking for the perfect resource for your weather patterns lessons in kindergarten and first grade, check out this resource!

This week unit is loaded with enough resources to stretch it out for two weeks, if needed! If you need to teach weather patterns, the water cycle, rainbows, and more, I’ve got you covered with engaging activities and printables to make your life easy!

What’s included?

•Pg. 1 Cover

•Pg. 2 Table of Contents

•Pg. 3 Lesson Plan

•Pg. 4 Standards

•Pg. 5-7 HOME CONNECTION Meteorologist Project

•Pg. 8 Weather (KWL Chart)

•Pg. 9 Act Out Animal Motions

•Pg. 10 Rain (tune of Bingo)

•Pg. 11 Circle and Count the weather pictures

•Pg. 12 Venn Diagram- Sunny and Rainy

•Pg. 13 Venn Diagram Answer Key

•Pg. 14 Crazy Weather Facts to Read to the Class

•Pg. 15 Crazy Weather Facts Writing Paper

•Pg. 16 Label the Weather Picture

•Pg. 17 Weather Mini Book

•Pg. 18 Cut and paste the weather picture

•Pg. 19 Draw and write about the weather cycle

•Pg. 20 Write a Weather Report about facts you learned from this study.

•Pg. 21 Rainbow Dot Art (Craft)

•Pg. 22 Easy Cloud Science Inquiry Lesson (Enrichment Activity)

•Pg. 23-27 Posters

•Pg. 28-36 Science Journal with Word Bank, 5 Day Weather Tracker and Rubric

•Pg. 37 Photo Example

•Pg. 38 Credits

What are your favorite weather activities for kids? Let me know in the comments! For more weather fun, check out my post here!

3 Magical Ways To Have A Wizard Theme Day With Your Students

June 23, 2023 teachersbrain Teacher's Pay Teachers

Raise your hand if you love Harry Potter! Don’t we all? There’s just something so magical about The Boy Who Lived and his incredible story. It’s been captivating kids since the late nineties!

I am all about incorporating student interests in order to get them more engaged in what they’re learning, and Harry Potter, naturally, is one interest that never fails to capture their attention. If you’re looking for Harry Potter theme day activities, you’re in the right place!

Theme days in elementary are great for getting students more engaged in what’s going on in the classroom.

Here are three enchanted ways to have a wizard theme day in your classroom (plus a bonus activity!)

Magical Decor and Costumes: Transform your classroom into a mystical realm by adding enchanting decorations. Hang colorful banners with stars and moons (or house colors!), and create a magical atmosphere with twinkling lights.

Encourage students to dress up as wizards, witches, or fantastical creatures to fully immerse themselves in the theme. Provide props such as wizard hats, capes, and wands for those who may not have their own costumes. This will spark their imagination and set the stage for a day of wizardry and wonder.

Spellbinding Lessons: Incorporate the wizard theme into your lessons for an engaging and educational experience. Introduce a “Potion Making” activity where students explore mixtures and chemical reactions using harmless ingredients.

You can also teach “Wizard Math” by turning math problems into magical quests and challenges. Additionally, have students create their own spellbooks where they write creative stories or practice spelling and vocabulary.

Magical Games and Activities: Organize a variety of wizard-inspired games and activities to keep the excitement alive throughout the day. Set up a “Wand Dueling” tournament where students use foam or paper wands to cast spells on each other, promoting friendly competition and physical activity.

Create a scavenger hunt with riddles and clues that lead students to find hidden magical artifacts around the school. You can even host a “Magical Creatures Parade” where students showcase their homemade creatures and share interesting facts about them.

If you’re looking for the perfect resource to end out your magical wizard theme day, I have you covered! This virtual field trip to a Wizard School is just what you need!

Virtual Field trips are a great way to engage students in learning. Use these interactive, editable Google Slides to easily have students use movable parts, learn about Fiction and non-fiction, the life cycle of a frog, what to bring on a trip and so much more!

This also makes for a great book companion!

What is in this download?

28 Google Slides with Titles, Edit Text Boxes, Directions, Movable Parts

GREAT for Virtual or In-Person Teaching

KWL Chart
Packing A Suitcase for the Trip
1 Minute Take OFF Flight Video
13-minute Wizard School Field Trip Video (Review Fiction and Non-Fiction Definitions, Learn about the Frog Life Cycle and take a Wizard School Adventure)
Sequencing Events, 3 Writing Prompts, Counting Objects (under 10), Labeling Parts, Frog Life Cycle Song, and Comprehension Questions
One extra slide for you to add anything you would like to the lesson. (videos or an assignment)
Home Connection Optional Assignment for students to write a fiction letter, potion recipe, or story.
Black and white ink-saving Writing Pages and Home Connection Page for in-person teaching.

Check it out here!

For more theme day ideas, check out my post here!

What are your favorite theme days to do with your students? Let me know in the comments!

Why You Should Take a Virtual Field Trip To The Zoo With Your Students

June 16, 2023 teachersbrain Distance Learning, education, Teacher's Pay Teachers

Thinking about making a trip to the zoo with your students? Zoo field trips are an elementary school classic. Don’t we all remember going on one at some point in our childhood?

It’s now one of my favorite things to do with students because It’s an experience that combines fun, hands-on learning, and a chance for our little ones to connect with nature and wildlife.

Why should you take a field trip to the zoo?

There are so many reasons! First and foremost, a trip to the zoo offers a unique opportunity for our students to observe animals up close and personal. Seeing these creatures in their natural habitats helps them develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for the diversity of the animal kingdom.

It sparks their curiosity and allows them to make real-world connections with the concepts we’ve been teaching in the classroom, like animal classification, habitats, and adaptations.

What are some other benefits?

Additionally, a trip to the zoo supports the development of observation and critical thinking skills. Encouraging our students to carefully observe and compare different animal behaviors, physical characteristics, and habitats helps them develop their powers of observation and critical thinking.

They can make predictions, draw conclusions, and discuss their findings, strengthening their scientific inquiry skills- score!

Finally, let’s not forget the joy and excitement that a zoo visit brings to our students. It’s an experience that they’ll remember for years to come.

The sheer awe and wonder they experience while watching a giraffe or a monkey in action can inspire a lifelong love for animals and conservation.

Ready to take a field trip to the zoo but can’t make it happen? Try a virtual field trip to the zoo!

Virtual field trips are an amazing way to enhance a student’s learning right from the safety of your four walls. I have the perfect virtual field trip to the zoo resource for you!

This Virtual Field Trip to the Zoo Google Slides resource is all you need to create a magical zoo experience with your students.

Use these interactive, editable Google Slides to easily have students copy and paste movable parts, learn about zoo animals, facts, what to bring on a trip and so much more!

Here’s what’s included:

28 Google Slides with Titles, Edit Text Boxes, Directions, Movable Parts

KWL Chart
Packing A Suitcase for the Trip
1 Minute Take Off Flight Video
10-minute Zoo Field Trip Video (Car Ride to the Zoo, Animal Facts)
Sequencing Events, 3 Writing Prompts, Counting Objects (under 10), Labeling Parts, Zoo Counting Song, and Comprehension Questions
One extra slide for you to add anything you would like to the lesson. (videos or an assignment)
Home Connection Optional Assignment for students to build an animal habitat.
Black and white ink-saving Writing Pages and Home Connection Page for in-person teaching.

I hope your students love this resource as much as I do! If you want more virtual field trip ideas, check out my post here!

The Perfect PBL Project for Summer in Elementary!

June 9, 2023 teachersbrain education

Let’s chat about project-based learning (PBL) and why it’s such an awesome approach for our elementary students.

Picture this: Instead of the traditional classroom setup where we dole out information and expect kids to memorize it, PBL takes a more hands-on, engaging, and exciting approach to learning.

So, what exactly is project-based learning?

Glad you asked! It’s an instructional method where students actively explore real-world problems and challenges. They work on projects that allow them to dive deep into a topic, investigate, ask questions, and find creative solutions. The projects are typically open-ended, which means students have the freedom to make choices, collaborate, and use critical thinking skills to solve problems.

What are the benefits of project based learning for students?

First and foremost, PBL sparks their natural curiosity and love for learning. By presenting them with real-world scenarios, they become invested in their projects and genuinely excited to find solutions. They become active participants in their own education, and that’s pretty amazing to witness!

Another fantastic benefit is that PBL helps develop essential 21st-century skills. Our students learn to think critically, communicate effectively, collaborate with their peers, and become creative problem solvers. These are the skills they’ll need to thrive in the future job market, so we’re setting them up for success.

PBL makes learning relevant and meaningful. Instead of studying isolated concepts, our students see how everything connects and applies to the real world. They understand the purpose behind their learning, and that drives their motivation to excel.

If you’re looking for PBL project ideas for this summer that will engage your students in learning and teach them real-life skills in business, addition, and measurement, you’ll love this Project Based Learning project!

My PBL Lemonade Stand Project is the perfect way to do some summer learning!

This engaging two week unit teaches students how to make a successful lemonade stand! They will learn math skills, teamwork, build a model, design a lemonade stand and end with a group presentation to entice investors to give them funding for their project.

Here’s what’s included!

Focus: Design, Economics, Math, Writing, and Speaking

Directions
Suggested Lesson Plans for a two week PBL Unit
A 7 Page Journal
Planning Sheets
Design Printables
Vocabulary Poster
Money Posters
Teacher and Student Rubrics
Recipes
Extra Activities
MORE

Students are encouraged to broaden their research skills and do some research on their own about lemonade stand designs. For K students, the teacher can do research whole group!

Check it out here!

I hope this post inspires you to delve into the world of project based learning this summer! What’s your favorite PBL project to do with students? Let me know in the comments!

Want to learn more about PBL projects? Check out my post here!