We created this STEAM Innovation Choice Board that is aligned to 5th grade's ELA Benchmark Unit 5: Technology but feel free to use it with your students even if you don't use that ELA curriculum or grade level!
This choice board was designed because we know students gravitate towards certain innovation activities over others, especially in the remote learning setting. These can easily done as an independent learning station in the ELA classroom. The activity options include the following:
We believe these options will supplement and extend their learning in ELA. Please feel free to modify the lesson and directions for your own students. Let us know how it goes, we are constantly modifying & innovating for our teachers and students! Stay tuned for lots more! ~ Christine and Marla (co-creators of Innovation & STEAM activities for San Marcos Unified School District) Preview Your Copy
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We created this STEAM Innovation Choice Board that is aligned to 4th grade's ELA Benchmark Unit 5: Technology but feel free to use it with your students even if you don't use that ELA curriculum or grade level! This choice board was designed because we know students gravitate towards certain innovation activities over others, especially in the remote learning setting. These can easily done as an independent learning station in the ELA classroom. The activity options include the following:
We believe these options will supplement and extend their learning in ELA. Please feel free to modify the lesson and directions for your own students. Let us know how it goes, we are constantly modifying & innovating for our teachers and students! Stay tuned for lots more! ~ Christine and Marla (co-creators of Innovation & STEAM activities for San Marcos Unified School District) Preview Your Copy Innovation Option #2 This Renewable Energy Slide Deck (preview | copy) is another innovation option for 4th grade teachers aligned to BM Unit 5. We created it for Unit 3 5th grade but we can see how much it relates to your essential question for this unit. Please check it out and see if it's helpful for supplement and/or extension to your teaching. As always, please feel free to use as is or modify for your own class' needs. We believe both these options will supplement and extend their learning in ELA. Please feel free to modify the lesson and directions for your own students.
Let us know how it goes, we are constantly modifying & innovating for our teachers and students! Stay tuned for lots more! ~ Christine and Marla (co-creators of Innovation & STEAM activities for San Marcos Unified School District) Here's an Innovation Unit aligned to 3rd grade's ELA Benchmark Unit 5: Technology but feel free to use it with your students even if you don't use that ELA curriculum or grade level!
Students will learn about various innovators who have made a difference in our world. They will then choose one innovator to dive in deeper into researching. Some teachers may choose for them to write, create speeches, or presentations in class. Some may assign for asynchronous work to supplement Unit 5 learning. Make sure to check out the exciting innovation creation choices! As always, please feel free to make a copy (your copy here) and modify for your own students and instruction needs. We believe these options will supplement and extend their learning in ELA and be a fun innovative approach to learning about innovation...past, present & future! Let us know what you think, ~ Christine and Marla (co-creators of Innovation & STEAM activities for San Marcos Unified School District) A HUGE thank you to the Double Peak School 3rd Grade Team for sharing their work with us for a launching point under the Discover and Research phases! We appreciate your willingness to share your work with San Marcos Unified and educators beyond! We designed this Fairy Tale Choice Board to align with ELA Benchmark Unit 6 (Learning from Characters who Solve Problems) but it can work for any integrated STEAM & Language Arts focus. My friend & colleague, Marla Rosenthal, and I created these choices because we know students gravitate towards certain innovation activities over others. The activity options include the following:
Better Together, ~Christine We created this STEAM Innovation Choice Board that is aligned to 2nd Grade's ELA Benchmark Unit 5: Technology but feel free to use it with your students even if you don't use that ELA curriculum or grade level!
This choice board was designed because we know students gravitate towards certain innovation activities over others. The goal is not for students to complete all activities, rather to choose multiple options and to show their learning through the Digital Innovation Journal. We believe these options will supplement and extend their learning in ELA. Please feel free to modify the lesson and directions for your own students with your own copy. ~ Christine and Marla (co-creators of Innovation & STEAM activities for San Marcos Unified School District) We created this STEAM Innovation Choice Board that is aligned to Kinder/1st grade's ELA Benchmark Unit 5: Technology but feel free to use it with your students even if you don't use that ELA curriculum or grade level! This choice board was designed because we know students gravitate towards certain innovation activities over others, especially in the remote learning setting. The activity options include the following:
~ Christine and Marla (co-creators of Innovation & STEAM activities for San Marcos Unified School District)
Here is the Life Sciences Virtual Makerspace and Innovation lessons I co-created with Marla Rosenthal for the 4th and 5th grade teachers in our district. This ties in with our ELA Benchmark Unit 3, however, can be used in any grade level or curriculum.
The virtual makerspace is full of read alouds, videos, games, coding and innovation links with the focus on nature and our natural resources. The STEAM and Innovation lessons are linked on the TV in the makerspace as well as below. The 4th grade focus is on our National Parks and the 5th is on renewable energy. Both lessons have students learn about the content then have them "show what they know" by creating an infographic or video commercial (PSA). We have three more units we are sharing:
We are sharing all of these because we are passionate about spreading innovation and sharing with teachers. I hope it brings some sort of relief to you in your planning...our work as teachers is hard enough right now. ~Better Together, Christine Virtual MakerspaceSTEAM/Innovation lessons
Here is the Animals: Habitats & Adaptations Virtual Makerspace and Innovation lesson I co-created with Marla Rosenthal for the 2nd and 3rd grade teachers in our district. This ties in with our ELA Benchmark Unit 3, however, can be used in any grade level or curriculum.
The virtual makerspace is full of read alouds, videos, games, coding and innovation links with the focus on nature and our natural resources. The STEAM and Innovation lesson is linked on the TV in the makerspace as well as below. This lesson has students learn about the content then have them "show what they know" by creating a Google Slides presentation. However, teachers can modify this for whichever edtech tool they want. I plan on having my own students code their understanding using Google CS First and Scratch coding. We have three more units we are sharing:
We are sharing all of these because we are passionate about spreading innovation and sharing with teachers. I hope it brings some sort of relief to you in your planning...our work as teachers is hard enough right now. ~Better Together, Christine Virtual MakerspaceSTEAM/Innovation Lesson
Here is the Animals: Habitats & Adaptations Virtual Makerspace and Innovation lesson I co-created with Marla Rosenthal for the 2nd and 3rd grade teachers in our district. This ties in with our ELA Benchmark Unit 3, however, can be used in any grade level or curriculum.
The virtual makerspace is full of read alouds, videos, games, coding and innovation links with the focus on nature and our natural resources. The STEAM and Innovation lesson is linked on the TV in the makerspace as well as below. This lesson has students learn about the content then have them "show what they know" by creating a Google Slides presentation. However, teachers can modify this for whichever edtech tool they want. I plan on having my own students code their understanding using Google CS First and Scratch coding. We have three more units we are sharing:
We are sharing all of these because we are passionate about spreading innovation and sharing with teachers. I hope it brings some sort of relief to you in your planning...our work as teachers is hard enough right now. ~Better Together, Christine Virtual MakerspaceSTEAM & Innovation lessonUnit 2 Characters: Virtual MakerspacesPart 1: Virtual Makerspaces- Literature Themed These innovation virtual spaces are full of clickable links to videos, read alouds, online games, coding, edtech activities and more! There are 3 makerspace versions (K/1, 2/3 and 4/5) all with a Literature and innovation theme. These makerspaces were created to tie into the ELA Benchmark Unit 2 Characters theme, however, they can be used even if that is not your curriculum. (See here for Unit 1 Government themed Makerspaces) Teachers: The following linked in the Makerspace need you to create a FREE class account so students have logins. If you do not set up, please delete from Makerspace
Unit 2 Characters : design thinking challengesThis Design Thinking engineering challenge has been designed with the goal students can learn asynchronously, however, it would be beneficial for teachers to guide students along the process for accountability. The pacing and how you use this lesson is completely up to your discretion. Part 2: Design Thinking Asynchronous Challenges: Teachers can assign through Google Classroom and encourage students to learn and play with the many innovation activities throughout Unit 2. Kinder/1st Grades 2nd/3rd Grades 4th/5th Grade We hope these help teachers and encourage spreading innovation during distance learning. Please feel free to make a copy and modify for your own student innovators.
Stay tuned for more coming soon! Happy Innovating, Christine and Marla San Marcos Unified- TOSAs Are you looking to include some Innovation & edtech into your Benchmark plans with your students??
My friend and colleague, Marla Rosentha and I have you covered! We are creating Virtual Makerspaces and Innovation Lessons that tie into ELA Benchmark unit themes. You can used these with your students even if you don't use this ELA curriculum. This first unit is on Government and Citizenship. We are both Innovation TOSAs who work with teachers and students on all things technology, coding, robotics, engineering, design thinking and more! We want to help all teachers interested in continuing innovation for students even during distance learning! For each Benchmark theme, we will create a Virtual Makerspace full of clickable activities as well as a robust Innovation Lesson students can learn asynchronously. Below links are a one-stop shop for all grades. Notice the 1st link is the PREVIEW so you can check it out, the 2nd link is your very own copy. Please feel free to modify for your own students and instruction. Let me know how it goes and stay tuned for more coming soon! Happy Innovating, ~Christine Preview Copy (all grades linked) Your Copy (all grade level Virtual Makerspace and Innovation Lessons are linked in Speaker Notes): I have always been an advocate for giving students a choice in how they present their knowledge. Whether it is showing what they learned from a math lesson, a book they've read, or their cumulative understanding of an ELA unit of study, giving students the freedom in choosing the "how" to present the "what" is so crucial.
I've made many versions of "Show What You Know" choice boards throughout my journey as Innovation Coordinator for TK-8. I so enjoy teaching students ed-tech tools in the Innovation Lab and Makerspace and then seeing them use their tools in their toolbelts all year in their classrooms. It also honors the unique personalities and strengths of our diverse students as well as the different ways they learn. If students all learn differently, shouldn't we give them a choice in how they represent this learning? So as I try to plan for this next school year, I knew I needed to create a choice board that would continue to build and evolve no matter where we are on the distance learning journey. Below are two versions of my "Show What You Know" choice board you can make a copy of for your own teaching. Notice the Choice Board has a LOT of choices. You definitely do NOT want to give all of these choices at the start. It also depends on the age and grade-level of your students. Most importantly, it depends on your lesson and what knowledge you want students to show. The idea is for the teacher to use the lock at the bottom left of the board to cover up those options that are not appropriate to the task or grade level. I believe students will enjoy this gaming aspect and will also enable them to continually learn new tech tools throughout the year. Show What You Know Choice Boards (click on the links for your copy) Version #1 (without student tutorials): This was my 1st version and wanted to leave it without tutorials in case teachers, TOSAs or coaches wanted to modify for their own users Version #2 (with student tutorials): This version is a prototype, meaning it will continue to grow and evolve throughout the year as I work with my students. I have many more tutorials I need to create so check back often if you are interested. Lastly, I'd like to thank all of you for your overwhelming response to this labor of love! I am blown away with how many educators have reached out to me and are excited to use this with their students and schools. It makes me so happy to know that so many students may benefit from this choice board. My Twitter and Instagram post responses are a testimony to my strong belief that we, as educators, are all in this together! The collaboration & sharing is crucial and even more important right now with distance learning. Thank you for being a part of my PLN! Better Together, Christine
A huge part of my job is teaching teachers & students how innovation (tech, coding, robotics, making, design thinking ,etc) doesnât have to stand alone.
In fact, I'm kind of passionate about proving how curriculum and content can be incorporated so easily in all innovation & vice versa! :) Click on the links for resources and read below to see some of the many ways we weave innovation through the curriculum!
Write Reader is one of my favorite tools for our youngest authors! It's free, easy to add students to classes, has a bank of images that is continuing to grow, and students can record their voices! I used this even with my Kinder students! Students can write creatively by choosing the pictures in the Image bank or they can show their understanding of what they're learning in any subject area! If you haven't checked it out, I highly encourage you to visit Write Reader and learn more!
This was such an exciting activity in our Makerspace stepping up the building of prototypes with littleBits AND tying in to 4th graders learning in their English Language Arts Unit. Read more about it below. Click on the links for the lesson and student Design Journal and feel free to modify for your own classroom!
Literacy Design Thinking Lessons are one of our favorite activities when our K-2 students come to our Makerspace! Read below for more information and click on the links for the lesson and student design journal.
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