Better than a Video Game!

he last few weeks I have been trying to give my students some tools to use over Christmas break. I have been giving them simple STEM games that they can play at home either by themselves or with a few friends/parents/relatives/people/whomever. 

Two weeks ago we played "STUCK IN THE MUD" and "KNOCKOUT." Both simple dice games that reinforce the idea of probability. My students had a blast playing, and I had a few come back and say that they had played at home.  You can see my score sheets HERE! Make your own or print these off!

This week we are playing a simple form of YAHTZEE!  I have it scaffolded for EK/K/1, 2/3, and 4th grade. With the younger students I only give them two dice and one roll. The middle group gets three dice and two rolls, while the 4th graders get five dice and three rolls. It has worked well! I was a little concerned (as I often am) with the EK and K groups, but they are adding and having fun. I know that my students will have screen time this Christmas break, but my hope is that they will put the iPad down for a fun STEM game with some of their friends
.

Probably = Probability

Working with probability the last two weeks has been a lot of fun!
We have been flipping quarters, rolling dice, and shuffling cards.
1) Flipping a quarter. There are only two things that can happen, heads or tails.  That seems simple enough. Last year I had 5th graders flip a quarter 5,000 times.  We ended up with 2,495 heads and 2,505 tails. Only 5 away from perfect probability.  This week we have seen some funny things happen. As a demonstration, I will flip the quarter 10 times.  Sometimes I go 5 and 5, other times 6 and 4. One time I flipped 8 heads and 2 tails.... but why?
2) Rolling a die. This has been a lot of fun. For some reason, elementary students (mine anyway) LOVE to roll dice! Probability? 1 out of 6. We haven't had a lot of crazy things happen with the die, other than I watched a 3rd grader go 4 for 4 on guessing the right number! How?
3) Shuffling cards. We have two games we play with this. The first one we try to guess if it will be red or black (1/2 probability...same as the coin). The other game is to try and guess the number (A, 2-10, J, Q, K....1/13 probability) The red or black game is fun, but the guess the number game is really interesting. It goes back to my post about "PREPARING TO FAIL." Most students understand the 1/13 chance of getting the right answer and are okay when they get it wrong. Other students are not and it ruins their entire day. Trying to manage expectations is an interesting animal with a 6 year old.

If you would like to play, you can check out the handouts here: Probability Handout

Do all this!! https://twitter.com/Mr_JVD https://mrvandusen.blogspot.com/ https://www.facebook.com/breitungtown... https://www.facebook.com/woodlandbts/

Back on Track

WOW!  
It has been a while....

A lot has gone on since my last post.
In the words of Marty McFly, 
"...blues riff on B, watch me for the changes, and try to keep up."

1) Veterans Day Program: I was given the great honor of being able to speak at the Woodland Elementary Veterans Day Program.  It is never easy to figure out what to say, it's even harder when the audience is under 10 years old!  I talked about choices and sacrifice and what that means to military members and If you would like to watch it, click HERE.  You can read my speech HERE.
Leave comments below on how you think I did.

2) Hunting Season: In the U.P., hunting season is a holiday.  No joke, we get the day off of school.  Not all districts give the day off, but here at Kingsford, we do.  Funny thing happens when "Deer Day" is in the middle of the week.  Some students (and teachers) take Thursday and Friday off so they have a NICE...LONG...hunting weekend.  With my knee being messed up, I haven't made it in the woods at all.  For me, Deer Day was just a nice break in the middle of the week.

3) Thanksgiving: The week after Deer Day, we have a 1/2 day on Wednesday and Thursday/Friday off.  Another short week, but another week of spending time with friends and family. This was the first Thanksgiving without my mom. We were lucky enough to have some AMAZING friends bring us into their family (they are family...just not the blood kind).

4) Shoe Making: With the help of my friend CHRIS WOODS, I have my 5th graders building shoes out of cardboard.  It's a hoot!  I don't have the video uploaded yet, but check out my YOUTUBE channel for it.

5) Polygons: I got on a real polygon kick with my EK-4th graders.  We busted out the pegboards and really had a lot of fun. We worked with regular polygons and triangles. Then we watched how PIXAR studios uses polygons to make some of our favorite characters like Buzz Lightyear and Woody.  Super fun projects!  

It's been a BUSY November, and I don't see December slowing down any.

As always, keep up with Mr. VanDusen's STEM class on Social Media!

Do all this!! https://twitter.com/Mr_JVD https://mrvandusen.blogspot.com/ https://www.facebook.com/breitungtown... https://www.facebook.com/woodlandbts/

SPOOKY SKELETONS!!!

Because it's close to Halloween, we HAD to do something fun with skeletons! It's pretty neat to see what students already know about bones, and how much they don't know!  I have had a few classes that were able to name the largest bone in the body (Femur for those who didn't know....no judgment here.) I have had ZERO classes able to name the smallest bone (Stapes..it's in your ear.) We had some "homework" to do while watching our skeleton video.
1) Where is the largest bone in the body and what is it called? (Upper leg - Femur)
2) Where is the smallest bone in the body and what is it called? (Ear - Stapes)
3) How many bones make up your skull? (21)
4) What do bones make? (Blood)
Then we had some fun making skeletons!
We started by making legs, then arms, then a rib cage.
The grand master challenge was to make an entire skeleton out of our Keva Contraption blocks.
Check me out on TWITTER for more pictures!

Knees in the Breeze

The 5th grade STEM class meets for 5 days in a row.They are on a rotation with Art, Music, Gym, Computers, and STEM.  Even though I only see them every 5 weeks, being able to have them for a few days in a row means we are able to do some pretty cool stuff.

Wile E. Coyote rocking the chute!

This sections project is to build a parachute.  After some brief discussion about what a parachute is, the history of it, how it works, and the science behind it, we get right to work using newspaper and masking tape!
It is really interesting to see the different designs that 5th graders can come up with.
At the end of the week we take the parachutes out to the Flivver Field grandstands and drop them off.  Some of the parachutes work REALLY well, while some...don't. Either way, we had a lot of fun and learned a lot about how parachutes work and what causes them to fail.
It has been a great project. Pictures really don't do the project justice, so I ask that you watch the video we made.
Check out our YouTube video here!
Check me out on Twitter to check out our latest project!

Prepare to FAIL!

We all fail.
We have to.
In today's, "Everyone gets a ribbon" society, it is important to teach our children how to fail.
That's right.  I said we need to teach our children HOW TO FAIL.
I use failure in my classroom almost every day.  The catch is learning how to fail.
I can't find who said it, but a classic quote about failure says,

"Show me a person who has never failed and I'll show you someone who has never tried anything."

It's pretty interesting to watch children fail. Most of the time there is a collective, "OHHHHHHHH!!!" and then re-building begins immediately.   I have also had students who can't handle failure. The act of failing brings them to tears.  It seems silly to some, but to have a block tower fall, or a tin foil boat sink, is a massive failure that is completely unacceptable. Then we see the waterworks.

I fail all the time. Literally every day. But I also try a lot of things!

I have several thoughts on failure. I'll share a few here.

"If things aren't working and you try something that doesn't work...then you haven't lost anything."
I use this ALL the time on the football field.  When the defense I'm calling isn't working, I try something else. If that's not working, then I haven't lost anything.  I fail more than I succeed. But when I succeed...WA-BAM!  For example, I had a team scouted very thoroughly. They then had their quarterback who had been out for 4 weeks come back and ran a completely different offense. My middle blitz was not working at all.  So I tried a stunt with my defensive end and tackle. Fail.  So I tried an edge blitz to the short side of the field. Fail. After the second fail, I saw what was happening and started blitzing the wide-side outside linebacker. Success.  That combined with a stunt on the back side and we completely shut down their offense. WA-BAM!

"If I try and fail, at least I'll know what to do next."
I use this one a lot in the Army. Sometimes there is a feeling of, "What do I do now?" It's at this point that some people choose to not make a decision. I challenge leaders who work for me to make a decision faster.  Once you make a decision and start moving, you will quickly see what needs to be done. I think of it as a GPS. While your standing still, it may not be clear which way you need to go, but as soon as you start moving, it becomes clear where you need to go next.

"You failed? Good! What did you learn?"
I use this with children who can't handle failing very well. Though their tears I attempt to have them tell me something they learned.  Sometimes it's as simple as, "I learned that I can't stack blocks that high." Sometimes they learn from another success.  It's awesome when I see students fail a few times and then succeed. Don't look now...but your learning!
My favorite phrases, in this order:
"It's impossible."
"I can't do it."
"I think I got it."
"I DID IT!"
"This is easy!"

Failing is a part of learning and a HUGE part of life.  We need to teach our kids that they need to try, and that if they try and fail, it's okay as long as they learn, then try again.

Christopher Columbus: The worlds biggest FAILURE!

Watch his story here!

With Monday being Columbus day, I thought it would be a great week to talk about one of the biggest failures of all time!

Floating Easy

That may seem harsh, but Christopher Columbus failed miserably at his mission.  He was trying to get to India.  He missed by about 15,000 miles. Not his fault though!!  He thought the earth was a lot smaller than it really is.  It's hard to fault a guy for that when most of the world still believed that the world was flat!  Almost everyone he came across told him he was crazy for one, thinking the earth was round, and two, for wanting to go sail off the edge of it. 

So how do you celebrate a man who failed.  Easy! Christopher Columbus may have failed at his attempt to find the West Indies, but he was brave enough to try! He could have listened to his critics and not tried at all, but, because he was persistent, he opened up trade routes with the Americas and is credited as the first European to set foot on these new lands. 

It's SINKING!

He tried so hard, that he succeeded, even in failure.

The boats come in all shapes and sizes. A few students have realized (Sometimes before and sometimes after) that a wider boat works better. Next lesson? Displacement! HA!

The main lesson this week is that even when the world (flat or round) is against you, you should always go with your dreams. Even if you fail, you may end up doing something extraordinary.

There is saying that says, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss you'll land among the stars."
That's what Columbus did. You should too.

See more on TWITTER!

All About Apples!

The Kindergarten class went to an apple orchard for their field trip last week.  I thought it would be a PERFECT time to have a lesson about apples.

We watched a short video about how apples go from the tree to the store. (Watch it here) It is DEFINITELY for kids, but it's very informative and the students seemed to enjoy it. They especially liked the "apple river" and sticker machine.

Then we tried to build apple trees. We completed all 5 parts of the, "APPLE STACK CHALLENGE!" If you would like to try the Apple Stack Challenge, here are the Google Slides.  Feel free!

Building the apple trees was a lot of fun. I made a video of all the challenges here.

I was surprised while talking about apples how many students DIDN'T like applesauce....  Even less like applesauce with cinnamon.
I was NOT surprised at how many students liked apple pie, apple crisp, and caramel apples.
It seems that somewhere around 1st grade is when students start to experience apple cider.
Apple cider is one of my favorite drinks on a cold, winter day.

Learning all about apples this week has not only been a lot of fun!

See more on TWITTER!!

Am I a Great Assistant? I hope so!

Kingsford Flivvers

I recently read an article called, "How to Be a Great Assistant Coach."

With the exception of 1 year with the L'Anse Purple Hornets, and one year as an 8th grade basketball coach, I have always been an assistant.

I like to think I'm a good one...

Here are my answers to the questions asked in, "How to Be a Great Assistant Coach."

1) Why did I get into coaching? Great question. I really have no idea.  I guess I just LOVED football so much that I didn't want to be away from it.  When I was in college, I didn't coach at all.  I guess I didn't see the opportunity. I could have found one, but made the choice not to.  When I got to the student teaching part of my education, I asked in my initial interview with my principal and was immediately hired as the assistant coach to the Gwinn Modletowner 7/8 grade team. I have only missed two seasons since that first season of 2005.  In 2006 I was in Iraq and in 2013 I was in Afghanistan.


2) What do I love about coaching? The kids! That is by far the number one. I really enjoy watching them come together as a group of individuals and form a team. I enjoy watching them as they, "get it" and start to understand the game. I enjoy seeing how excited they get over simple things. Stopping at McDonald's is a simple thing... 
I also love the work.  Figuring out what the other team is doing/trying to do. What we can do to counter. What we can do to counter their counter to our counter. I love it!

3) What do I dislike about coaching? That I'm a dork. I spend a ton of time on film, scouting reports, scout cards, etc. Does it matter? Maybe. Have we won a game we would have lost if not for that work? Maybe. I guess for me, I want to be as prepared as possible. If we lose a game by one score, I don't want to think, "Man...If only I would have spent more time figuring out how to...."  I think that would be a huge disservice to the players. So part of what I love in finding out the little things, makes me a dork and I fee like NO ONE else understands besides other coaches.  Even some of them  look at me like I'm a dork.

4) What are my present and future goals? My present goal is to be the best coach I can possibly be for the Freshman Flivvers. We have two more games on the season. I'm positive we can get at least one more win.  Can we get two?  I sure hope so.
My future goal is to be the Varsity head coach of the Kingsford Flivvers. Is that possible?  Maybe.  I know I have a lot to learn before I'm ready to take on that position, but I am in a position right now to learn as much as I can from some really great coaches. In the mean-time, I hope to provide value to the program by helping with what I can, when I can, and learning all I can.


5) Why am I in coaching now? Back to question 1. I love football. I really really do!  I love watching it, coaching it, playing it. It is a wonderful game. I really can't see myself not coaching football.

GO FLIVVERS!!

Football / Life Lessons

Follow the Flivvers on Facebook

Coaching football has taught ME some very valuable lessons. These lessons held true at Gwinn, L'Anse, and here at Kingsford.

I have learned to never (ever) assume that players know what I'm talking about:

"We need to shift into cover three when they show us twins to the boundary."

Blank stares. Gotta put that on the white board, show it on the field, then show them on film VanDusen!

I have learned to over simplify things. A thinking teenager is a slow teenager. I want my players to play fast which means I have to make the thinking easy and/or non-existent.

More importantly, I hope to teach young men valuable lessons.  Not only about the game of football, but also about life.  Here are three lessons that have been prevalent this past season.  They are in no particular order, and this list is FAR from inclusive.

1) Master things that take no talent.  This isn't my quote, but I absolutely love it. In football, this means watching film, reading scouting reports, going hard every play, etc.  Every football coach I know has a story of a player who had the heart of a lion. He gave absolutely everything he had to the game, yet never got very far due to a lack of talent. That player is usually a coaches favorite, despite the lack of output.  This player, although they may not be a great football player, will succeed in life because they are attempting to master the things that take no skill. They will find their skill, whether it's being a plummer, lawyer, or teacher.  They will find out their skill and their mastery of talent-less skills will serve them well. of In life it can mean being to work on time, driving without distraction, and paying bills on time.

2) You play exactly how you practice. One of my favorite stories (I don't know if it's true or not...) comes out of Iraq in 2003.  A group of American Soldiers got into a small gunfight. Prior to getting back in their trucks and moving to the engagement area, a young Soldier stooped over and began picking up his brass. His sergeant yelled at him to get back in the truck and he did, but a VALUABLE lesson was learned.  In training, that Soldier would take the extra minute or two to pick up his brass, because when the training event was over, they would have to go pick it up anyway to turn it in.  He was fighting exactly how he trained.
In football, however you practice, that is how you play. Do you carry out your fakes? Do you block till the whistle? Do you force your players into a tight huddle?  Whatever you do on the practice field, expect it on game night.

3) You can't control what happens to you, you can only control your reaction to it. (Again, not mine, but I love it!) Last night, our quarterback rolls to his left on the second play of the game. He spies an open receiver, squares his hips, cocks the ball and begins his throwing motion. The ball slips out of his hand and the defender who was chasing him down from the back side had a gift land right in his hands. He returned it for a touchdown and we go down 6-0.  We couldn't control the rain making the ball slick. We couldn't control the defender ripping through a great block and pursuing from the backside.  We couldn't control the fact that he was able to take it back for six points.  All we could control was our reaction to it. 
So what did we do?  We got a great kick return. Ran three plays for 45 yards and a touchdown.  Then we scored the two point conversion. Now we are winning 6-8. I like that reaction.
In life all kinds of crazy things can happen. You can set the conditions to be in your favor, but at the end of the day, you can't control what happens to you. Flat tire. Car accident. Hail storm damaging your roof. What are you going to do about it?

I love football.
It is an amazing game and I have build some incredible relationships with coaches and players that I couldn't have anywhere else.

Aaron Rodgers was quoted in ESPN magazine as saying, "I hope I don't just do this."
He said that after winning the Super Bowl. (Read the Article Here)

I can reflect on the past 10 years of coaching and know that I do more than just football. Some days my day seems DOMINATED by football, and it is.  But I also know that those young men who snap their helmets on every week are learning lessons that will help them do more than, "this."

Hurricane!

This week we are learning a bout hurricanes.

Luckily, YOOPERS don't have to worry about hurricanes.  Lake Superior isn't warm enough to start the engine.

The three things needed for a hurricane to form are:
1) Warm water (Think bath water).
2) Warm, humid air.
3) Steady wind.

The warm water heats up the air above it and causes it to rise.  It is full of water.  When it gets high in the atmosphere, it spreads out and begins to cool. The space left by the warm, humid air leaving is quickly replaced. That air rises and begins the "engine."  Gusty wind will break the process apart before it can become a hurricane, but a steady wind will set the conditions for a massive, destructive storm.

Watch a good video here.

I was even able to find an Emergency Alert from the National Weather Service to make the "evacuation" more real.  I have a HUGE fan in my room to help keep it cool on hot days.  Today it rocked us like a Hurricane (I had too...). :)

In class we learned about how a hurricane is formed, we made a hurricane with bodies, and then we build hurricane proof shelters.

....then we blew them down!
Great lesson and great fun!

SICK AIR

I was able to take my son (7) and my dad to the SICK AIR motorcycle show in Escanaba this past weekend.

IT WAS AMAZING!!!  (A plethora of STEM things too!)

Follow the history here for a minute.
Jim Priestap and I were the Platoon Sergeant and Platoon Leader for 1st Platoon, 46 Military Police Company in Baghdad.  Jim was killed in Iraq and it is still something that haunts me to this day.
Jim was married to Connie.  Connie is now married to Scott Murray.
Scott is the main man in SICK AIR.
He is a truly talented dirt-bike rider, along with all of them fine young (some not so young....) riders that showcased their talents on Saturday.

Follow SICK AIR on Facebook.

The showmanship was amazing along with all of the riders.  They obviously love America, God, and their fans.

Here are a few of the highlights!

Late Start

For all my millions of blog readers I sincerely apologize!!
I thought about blogging over the summer, but I had my son almost every day that I didn't have Army obligations, which was GREAT!

On August 10 I tore my patella tendon, which put a damper on pretty much everything.  I had surgery on the 11th, and am in the process of recovery. It is very slow, but going well.

As you can imagine, starting the year off in a wheelchair has NOT been easy!  It has taught me a lot of humility and lessons in pride.  I have also used it as a, "I CAN" statement with my students. There is very little I can't do, teaching and coaching football isn't one of them!

STEM this year has started off great! I have a new room (much bigger) that is in the lower elementary portion of our building. This makes the walk for EK, K, and 1 much shorter which is easier on everyone.

I am taking a new approach to getting students excited about the task at hand. I have been using a short story (one about a mouse, one about my soccer playing friend) to engage the students into the "WHY" we are trying to do something. It has worked well so far and made the tasks more problem based and real as opposed to science based which is perfect for younger minds.

The 5th grade has been a BIG switch from last year. For one, they are at the middle school, which means I go to the middle school.  It's the last hour of the day, so it's nice for practice. The other big change in that I now have the same class for 5 days in a row. This has been fantastic because we can get more in-depth with he scientific method. We have been flying paper airplanes in a controlled environment (the hallway) and making hypothesis as to how far they will fly out my window. It has been a lot of fun and a lot of brain activity goes into figuring out what's happening.  It's been great!

I haven't been as active on Twitter (yet) as it's hard for me to get around.  Still...check it out: TWEET

Closing Down the Year

My 1st year at Woodland and 1st year as a STEM teacher are almost in the books!  Kids (and teachers) are feeling that summer feeling!  We are still doing some pretty awesome things in STEM class. Last week we had to figure out how to drop a ping-pong ball into a self made wishing well.
Anyone who has been alive longer than a day knows that you don't throw ping-pong balls in a wishing well...you throw quarters! So that's our task this week.  I have some great videos on my Twitter Feed.
I am amazed each week as to the ideas that come out of young students. Third graders seem to have the craziest ideas that actually work. It seems that 4th and 5th graders are more concerned with what others thing of their projects, but 3rd graders are all about trying new things. The critical thinking that comes out of these kids is amazing.  Even though I know that this task will probably never be asked of them again, the brain power they are putting into this will also be put into their math, science, and reading skills.
I haven't done a ton of research on the brain, only what I had to during college and my masters degree, but I'm sure that that more they use their brain in my class, the better they will be in other classes.
I'm looking forward to summer and looking forward to next year and more exciting STEM stuff!

Fidgit Spinners

WOW!!  I have never seen anything storm a classroom quite like the Fidget Spinner!  If you are one of the 13 people in the United States who doesn't know what a Fidget Spinner is...here is an excerpt from Wikipedia (I know....I know...just read about the Fidget Spinner will 'ya! HAHA!)

Double Trouble! A red Fidget Spinner and a white one,
Spinning in the same direction at different speeds.

"A fidget spinner is a type of stress-relieving toy. A basic fidget spinner consists of a bearing in the center of a design made from any of a variety of materials including brass, stainless steel, titanium, copper and plastic. The toy has been advertised as helping people who have trouble focusing or fidgeting (such as those with ADHD, autism, or anxiety) by acting as a release mechanism for nervous energy or stress. Experts were divided on this claim, with some supporting it while others refuted its scientific basis and argued the toy may actually be more distracting."

I am on the side that says it's distracting. In fact, probably the most distracting thing I have ever seen enter my classroom. I'm not saying they aren't fun, because I have fun with every one I take! As a matter of fact, I have to put it on my desk after I take it otherwise I find myself playing with it. So simple, yet so fun! 

I have a friend who wanted to be the, "Cool progressive" teacher and let his students play with them. One day he had his students in groups working on a project. Four of the groups did not have Fidget Spinners and were busy producing Power Points to go along with their YouTube videos. The group with Fidget Spinners accomplished nothing. The next day they were out!

Being a Theme teacher, I see all of the students at Woodland. I haven't seen Fidget Spinners in grades lower than third, but I'm sure they are around. My policy is to take them if I see them, and hand them back to the classroom teacher. Some teachers allow them, some do not. I don't see the students long enough (I only see them 42 min. a week) to find a constructive way to allow them while keeping students on task. 

IF they are still around in the fall (It will be interesting to see if this is a fad or if it sticks) I will try and figure out a cool lesson to do with them for STEM class.

For more Fidget Spinner Awesomeness....Check out my Twitter posts: @Mr_JVD #FidgetSpinner

U.P. Michigan Association of Computer Users in Learning (MACUL)

UP MACUL was pretty great!  I got to catch up with a few friends I haven't seen in a while, listened to a great keynote speaker, Leslie Fisher, and was able to present on Twitter.

Two of my friends were Kingsford Alumni and we taught together at L'Anse.  Another friend taught with me at L'Anse before moving back to his hometown of Crystal Falls.  It was nice to see them again.  Too much time passes between meetings like that.




Leslie Fisher is from California and travels the country speaking to educators about technology. She took us through a, "Technology Time Machine" which was educational and funny.  I tweeted her a picture of my ORIGINAL Nintendo Entertainment System after the conference.  Favorite games: Super Mario Brothers (Obviously), Silent Service (It's a submarine game), and Top Gun.  I have it hooked up to my big TV right now....I just wish my Zapper gun worked....
Follow her on Twitter.

I presented on Twitter in a session called, "Twitter for Non-Tweeters."  I feel like twitter is one of those tools that is continually thrown at teachers as a, "YOU MUST USE THIS!!" but then it turns out to be "one more thing" that gets forgotten about. My biggest points were that it's  a quick and easy way to share what's going on in the classroom and a GREAT way to get some professional development, 140 characters at a time.  Educational chats are pretty fun to take part in. #TOSAChat is one that I have participated in.

As an added bonus....some of my Kingsford teacher friends photobombed my house during lunch.
Crazy kids...

Whoa, this is heavy, Doc!

My favorite series of all time is the, "Back to the Future" trilogy.  When we worked with gravity over the past few weeks, a vision of Marty McFly saying, "Whoa, this is heavy" came to mind. Granted, it literally has NOTHING to do with gravity, it's just a movie quote.

My students had a GREAT time working with gravity. We used gravity to propel a ball from our tables onto a target.  During the two weeks we changed the rules around a little bit, mainly to make it harder and more fun.  We used Contraption blocks, yard sticks, the containers, and chairs in order to get our ping-pong balls high enough for gravity to carry them to our target.

There were some pretty innovative ideas on how to get the ball to do what we wanted.  Some used ramps made out of blocks while others tried to aim the ball using the yard sticks.

We watched a few videos about gravity.  The best one was Bill Nye simply throwing things off of a building.... It was suggested that we do something similar. I like that idea, but somehow will have to come up with a way onto the roof and also a bunch of stuff to drop.  Bill dropped a container of sour milk....that splatted pretty good!





As an added bonus, some second graders performed and EGG DROP challenge in their classroom and brought them in so I could see their designs.  SUPER COOL!

#MACUL17

I had tried to go to the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) for several years now, and this year was my year!  I finally got to go!  It was held in beautiful Detroit over a 2 day period last week.

View from my 68th Floor Room

First off, Detroit is about a 8 hour drive.  I drove with three other teachers from Kingsford.  That was a great experience and I was able to strengthen some friendships on the ride.
Nick and I were on the 68th floor of the hotel and we had an amazing view of the waterfront of Detroit, and Windsor (Canada).

Sir Ken Robinson

The first day of MACUL started with a keynote address from Sir Ken Robinson. He posted an interesting view on creativity in learning and energized the crowd for our journey through learning for the weekend.

I was able to sit in two conferences with a 3rd grade teacher named Mark Schlaudt (Follow him on Twitter) from Rockford, MI.  He has a great way of integrating STEM education into his students reading. "How Would you Catch a Giant Squid?"  That single question lead his students through research (What does a Giant Squid even eat?), design, prototype development, and production. His students started with zero knowledge about the Giant Squid, and ended with more understanding than Mark ever intended.

Mark also did a great presentation on creating dashboards on Google Docs in order to have a one stop shop for teachers, students, and parents to see how their student is doing and any trends in their performance.  I spoke with Mark afterward about using Google Classroom and how to possibly implement some of those concepts into my Freshman Football team.

I also saw a present ion by Mindy Lynch on blogging and how she uses it as a communication tool.  It works well for her in her position as the Ravenna Middle School Principal and Athletic Director.

Pizza Box STEM

I was also able to meet an amazing educator from Calumet, Mr. Chris Woods (He has a great Twitter Feed). He did a great presentation on how to find STEM in every day life and how to put int in front of students every day so that everyone becomes STEM minded. IT was great!

MACUL will be having it's UP event here in Kingsford on May 5th.  I am going to present.  I'm a little nervous, but I'm going to take the leap and present on Twitter.  My session will be called, "Twitter for non-Tweeters."  I will talk about how Twitter is a fast and easy way to share pictures, and ideas. It is also a fantastic tool for reaching out to other professionals.

MAGNETS!

We had a great time working with magnets over the past few weeks!
We learned about how magnetic fields influence iron, nickle, and cobalt.  We watched a video from BILL NYE THE SCIENCE GUY.

We played a game using magnets and paper clips (Nickle plated of course). All grade levels had a ton of fun using the magnets.

It was interesting to watch how students from kindergarten to fifth grade played the game and used different techniques to collect the paperclips. I especially liked the students who turned the magnate around and used both the North and South pole side of the magnate to collect the paper clips.

At the end of the first week, I showed students an electromagnet and how it worked. We then took a quick field trip to the POD door to see the electromagnets that hold our doors open. We talked about different drills that those doors close automatically.  To finish up the week we made a magnate maze for kids to follow.  It was a great activity and a fun way to end the unit. Magnetism is really cool!

Last Day of February

A lot has gone on since my last post.
First off, I lost my mom on 21 JAN 17.  She passed unexpectedly at home.  Thank goodness that both my dad and I were home, and that James was not.  It has been rough making it through the grieving process with my dad.
Second off, I got a new house!  It's a very exciting and slow process, but I finally have a home to call my own.

Enough about all that.
In STEM class we have done a lot with "Contraptions."  It is literally a box full of wooden blocks that you can stack, build, and just plan 'ol have fun with!  We build tracks for ping pong balls to roll down, we build tree houses, garages, and houses.  A lot of fun!

This week we are working with magnates.  SUPER FUN projects with iron fillings and paper clips.  We also have a little help from Bill Nye the Science Guy.

To see pictures of our projects, check out my Twitter feed.

Quotes for today:

"If you don't have time to do it right, you must have time to do it over."

Response to, "Mr. VanDusen, I don't know how to do this!"
"Why would I ask you do to something you already know how to do?  I want you to do things you don't know how to do!"

"When you walk into a room, the room should change because you are in it."