https://padlet.com/mlynnklepacki/92voq6h3fuxcpc5b Made with charisma en-us 2022-03-15 15:05:04 UTC 2022-03-21 22:39:02 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f4da.png mlynnklepacki https://padlet.com/mlynnklepacki/92voq6h3fuxcpc5b/wish/2096178672 Science was one the subjects in elementary school that was glazed over quickly. I remember being introduced to the moon phases and being super confused. They all look so similar and have such similar names that it made it very difficult for me to learn. I think that instead of just presenting my students with this information and moon phase names, I need to break it down further to make sure they understand why the moon goes through these phases in order for them to truly learn. This can be done by using something like a moon phase simulator online. I also think a fun assignment would be to allow them access to a "moon journal" Google Sites website that I would create, where they can track and write about the current moon phase.  At the end of the month, they can physically see the patterns of the moon phase through their own feed and work as well as their classmates. They can even add pictures to depict what they saw, and have an organized space to compile it visually as well. Bringing the lesson into real life experiences can help to solidify the material taught in the classroom.
https://cptv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/buac19-35-sci-ess-earthsunmoon35model/moon-phases-simulation-viewed-from-earth-and-space/ ]]> 2022-03-15 15:05:04 UTC https://padlet.com/mlynnklepacki/92voq6h3fuxcpc5b/wish/2096178672 mlynnklepacki https://padlet.com/mlynnklepacki/92voq6h3fuxcpc5b/wish/2096178674 The plant life cycle is another science concept that was quickly passed off to me in elementary school. While this again may seem simple at the surface, I feel like I didn't learn anything at all about the plant cycle in elementary school. I remember a lot of papers with fill in the blanks and thats about it. I think to make this concept resonate with students and to give it purpose, it needs to be more experiential. I would like for my students to play around on a plant life cycle simulation that mimics real life. Meaning that the simulation isn't just a click through of the cycle, but rather an interactive simulation where the students need to follow the plant cycle to grow a successful garden. To take it a step further, we can even attempt to grow a plant in the classroom and take notes on what cycle it's in and what is happening to the plant. Instead of just glazing over these topics in science, we as teachers need to provide students with the proper tools and experiences to really learn science instead of being told about it. 

https://www.tvokids.com/preschool/games/get-growing ]]> 2022-03-15 15:05:04 UTC https://padlet.com/mlynnklepacki/92voq6h3fuxcpc5b/wish/2096178674 mlynnklepacki https://padlet.com/mlynnklepacki/92voq6h3fuxcpc5b/wish/2096202244 It's important for students to learn and understand the relationships in an ecosystem and how each organism depends on something else for survival. Since science was treated as a "special" or "exploratory" class in comparison to subjects like reading and math, lessons like the food chain never really stuck with me as an elementary student. It made sense, but as soon as students shows a tiny bit of understanding it was dropped. I think spending more time on the topic and introducing educational technologies like simulations would be beneficial to students.  It may seem like an easy concept to grasp, but there is so much to the food chain I feel I didn't get to learn or explore, and I would like for my students to have that opportunity when learning about it that I didn't.

https://www.sheppardsoftware.com/science/animals/games/food-chain/ ]]> 2022-03-15 15:15:42 UTC https://padlet.com/mlynnklepacki/92voq6h3fuxcpc5b/wish/2096202244