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As part of the STEM Pioneers Teacher Corps, my main focus is to help elevate K-5 STEM in my state and across the country whenever possible.
Right now, my main focus is filling a gap to keep our youngest learners excited about STEM competitions. Last year, our Intermediate Unit (IU) hosted a K–12 Keystone Competition, and watching our K–4 students fall in love with teamwork and hands-on problem-solving was unforgettable. However, this year’s competition shifted to serve only grades 5–12.
Refusing to let our younger students lose that spark, I am working on creating a brand-new STEM competition tailored specifically for 1st–4th graders. I recently gauged interest across our county, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. The demand is definitely there, and one way or another, we are going to make this happen!
I find immense joy in the excitement our elementary students exude. Last year we took several teams (1st -4th grade) to our Keystone Competition. This year the competition is only for 5th -12th graders. So I've decided to create a version of that competition within my county. There is a lot of interest, and I think our young students deserve a chance to display what the have learned!
As a STEM educator, I believe continuous learning is essential. With technology like AI rapidly expanding and scientific breakthroughs occurring daily, staying prepared requires ongoing professional growth. I actively seek out high-quality, job-specific professional development to keep my instruction current and relevant. Additionally, I intentionally over-plan my lessons; having extra content ensures I always have meaningful learning activities ready to carry over into the next rotation or class period.
My recent magical moment occurred last spring when we took three teams to the state-level competition for the very first time. One of our teams earned third place in the 4th–5th grade division while also taking home the Sustainability Award! Afterward, all three teams had the opportunity to present their experiences to our School Board.
I love having a few "tricks up my sleeve" for unexpected downtime. It doesn't happen often, but when a class finishes a project with just a few minutes left—not quite enough time to start anything new—I like to keep the students active and engaged. I found some fun videos that prompt them to move based on what they are watching. The students love them, and those last eight minutes fly by! Here is a link to one I use with K–2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2KXKJ3YVrg
I am thankful for the toolbox of 4Cs activities I have gathered over the years. One of my favorites is a "docking" game. Every student holds one string attached to a single metal ring (my initial version was made with a large binder ring). A ball is balanced on top of the ring, and working together, the class must transport it to land safely on an inverted Solo cup. It is amazing to watch an entire class move as one! Here is a quick video of this activity in action during a professional development workshop I helped lead for Engineering by Design: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mJfvU8-OlhTbkybSy7T9uB1_4nLKAeq7/view?usp=drive_link
Thank you so much for stopping by the blog, Jen! You are doing amazing work, and the rest of us certainly benefit from your ideas, links, and super tips. We appreciate you sharing.
If you'd like to follow Jen's STEM classroom activities, make sure you give her a follow over on LinkedIn or Instagram @PioneeringSTEM!
We welcome your comments, and as always, be sure to share this post using the links below!
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The Collazo Cove Always Wonder Blog is back up and running! Woohoo!
I'm starting things off with a STEM bang!
In addition to picking up where I left off with my bi-weekly STEM Picture Book series, I'm going to be introducing you to some amazing CURRENTLY PRACTICING STEM teacher spotlight interviews.
The new Snack-Sized STEM: Teacher to Teacher series will be just that. Bite-sized interviews where you can pick up relevant, interesting, and exciting ideas for your classroom right away!
Guided by the steps in the engineering design process, you will learn all about what they are ASKING, IMAGINING, PLANNING, CREATING, AND IMPROVING in their STEM-integrated classrooms!
Real teachers. Real classrooms. Real STEM in action.
Add the Collazo Cove Always Wonder Blog to your favorite reader app (www.collazocove.com/blog/feed) or check back often so you don't miss a thing.
And while you're at it, make sure you're subscribed to Collazo Cove's The Tide newsletter, where you'll be the first to hear about any new posts and upcoming picture book releases!
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A few days ago I had the privilege of zooming into the STEM lab of Amy Parks, a dedicated and wonderful STEM teacher at Forts Ferry Elementary School in New York. The second grade classes in her school were getting ready to start their habitats unit and wanted to kick it off with a reading of my informational fiction picture book, EMERSYN BLAKE AND THE SPOTTED SALAMANDER.
Today I received the kindest email from Amy letting me know what happened AFTER the visit!
"One child went home on Tuesday and started her own wondering journal all about the cardinals she was watching in her backyard."
If you or anyone you know would be interested in an author visit to learn about EMERSYN BLAKE or the BEASTIES OF THE TREE HOLLOWS, please leave me a comment or click on my Connect button! Wow, what a week!
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Yesterday morning, I was finishing up some research I've been doing on loons for a new picture book manuscript. I needed to return some reference books about this interesting species to the library, so I was squeezing out every last detail I could.
Fast forward to the afternoon. My daily walk with Mocha, our Shih-Poo, always includes a visit to our pond, her favorite place. I immediately noticed a bird in the distance diving under the surface of the calm water. My heart started pounding as I raced to get my binoculars. Sure enough, it was a loon.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing! Until that morning, I hadn't known that loons migrated south during the winter months. Having grown up in Vermont, I'd seen loons on many of our cold-water lakes and ponds, but not here in North Carolina! I wish I could've taken a picture through my binoculars, it was spectacular.
Sometimes the universe gives you a sign. At times it's just a small detail that you almost miss unless you're looking closely. And other times, it flies directly into your view, ensuring you notice it.
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on longer spring days.
Life launches and blossoms
in saltwater ways.
We think about springtime
with pollen--ACHOO!
Forgetting that oceans
enjoy seasons too.
The ocean’s top layers
shed winter’s dark gloom.
New plant life awakens--
small algae in bloom!
This nourishing flora--
a spring sea buffet--
is vital to jellies
who flutter and sway.
Now out of their polyps,
these infants must learn
to swim, sting, and sneak from
foes causing concern.
Like sea turtle mothers
who like jellies best,
to nourish their bodies
on journeys to nest.
Young jellyfish babies
must learn how to hide,
by blending with colors
they pass as they glide.
Spring brings other travels--
migrations of whales.
And jellyfish snacks cause
a flutter of tails.
Watch out, little jellies,
as springtime arrives!
This season’s a time when
most ocean life thrives.
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Picture Book: ALASKA DINOSAURS, MAMMOTHS, AND MORE
Author: Kirk Johnson
Illustrator: Ray Troll
- I love that the focus is on one particular area (what is now Alaska) and all of the amazing creatures that have lived there over hundreds of millions of years.
- The format is very engaging. The illustrations are large and colorful. Most spreads focus on one creature, and include a timeline banner across the top of one of the pages (ie. Cretaceous Period - 73 Million Years Ago)
- The text is written in kid-friendly language with some awesome real-life comparisons, imagery, and scattered alliteration.
- The author has included wonderful details about the names of many of the creatures which honor various native languages and legends.
Some of my favorite lines:
- "These guys had very big eyes all the better to see you with in the darkness."
- "One little island in southeast Alaska has a shoreline that looks a lot like a stack of black pancakes."
- "Most ammonites had beautiful spiral-shaped shells, but some looked more like giant paperclips."
- "Numerous trackways are perfectly preserved in the fossilized forest floors of this long-vanished world."
Dinosaur lovers and young paleontology buffs are going to read this again and again! Make sure you check and it out and let me know what you think!
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Picture Book: AROUND ONE CACTUS - OWLS, BATS, AND LEAPING RATS
Author: Anthony D. Fredericks
Illustrator: Jennifer DiRubbio
- The first page is a letter written to the reader by a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake introducing the desert habitat and importance of the saguaro cactus. It is interesting and inviting!
- The spreads that provide facts about the seven creatures who rely on the cactus are written in a cumulative fashion with wonderful rhyming couplets.
- Each spread ends with the lines, "Beside the cactus tall and grand, A haven for creatures in a waterless land," continually emphasizing the importance of the main character of the story.
- The Backmatter includes an illustration of each of the eight species (including the cactus) with a short fact-filled paragraph and a "Fantastic Fact".
Some of my favorite lines:
- (On a gorgeous 2-page spread of the desert in early evening)
- (On the final spread)
I just love the language and structure of this whole story, as it weaves in amazing facts about desert dwellers! Have you ever read it? You should!
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Author/Illus.: Steve Jenkins/Robin Page
Things I loved about these books:
- They both use a similar format. Each page/spread starts with a simple statement or question. In ANIMAL DADS, each statement tells the reader one thing dads do like, "They build us homes to live in." In WHY DO ELEPHANTS HAVE BIG EARS?, each question is one many readers have probably had like, "Why do flamingos stand on one leg?"
- The rest of the information explains how, or answers the question using 4-6 simple fact-filled sentences.
- In both books there is an abundance of alliteration and other devices that make the facts interesting.
- I have always believed that children should be exposed to advanced vocabulary with proper scaffolding/context clues. WHY DO ELEPHANTS HAVE BIG EARS? does a fantastic job using rich language.
- The illustrations in both books are just glorious! Sparse backgrounds with huge, colorful collage-style animals make up each spread.
Some of my favorite lines:
Here are some of the examples of the rich vocabulary I noticed.
- "...no energy is expended."
- "...accumulate fat."
- "The hippopotamus is territorial."
- "...inhabit underground burrows."
- "...where no light penetrates."
- "The sudden appearance of two bright red orbs can startle the predator..."
Just after reading these books, I was made aware of this awesome post Robin Page has on her website which shows her creative process. Make sure you check it out! Do you have any favorite Steve Jenkins and/or Robin Page picture books? I'd love to hear about them!
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Things I love about this book:
- Each page/spread ends with "If you're a...", a very effective page turn device.
- I love rhyme, kids LOVE rhyme, and many of my ideas come to me in rhyme. I adore the way Jennifer Ward starts the sleep information for each creature with an AABB 4 line rhyme. She cleverly tucks in interesting facts.
- Then, elsewhere on the page, in smaller font, are 2-5 sentences with more related facts.
- The backmatter displays each creature's "Average Snooze Time" with eye-pleasing pie charts allowing the reader to easily see how many hours of a 24 hour period are spent sleeping. So clever!
- "Everything works zippy-fast on a hummingbird--its breathing, its heartbeat, its wings."
- "If you're a... Snake, you lie still with open eyes, spectacles worn as a guise. Are you sleeping or awake? Hard to tell, you tricky snake!"
- "If you're a... Sloth, when you're not snacking, you are sleeping. That's the type of day you're keeping! Then--Yawn!--you curl into a ball, snug in a tree so you won't fall."
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Things I love about this book:
- The in-your-face layout is bright, colorful, and amazing! On the left page of each spread you have a real life photo of an animal and on the right, a caricature-like illustration of a child with the animal's eyes.
- With an average of 70 or so words on each page, the facts are presented in very kid-friendly, engaging language.
- The bottom of each animal page also contains an interesting one-sentence factoid.
- The only thing that appears (besides the amazing full-page illustration) on the kid page is a circle in the bottom right corner with an example of something you could see (or do) if you had that animal's eyes. All of them are related to things in which kids have an interest: shopping at a toy store, seeing in a haunted house, winning at laser tag, etc.
- The final few spread are all about how, yes, it would be cool to have those different eyes, but human eyes are just right and special in their own way!
- "A golden eagle's eyes have a third eyelid that sweeps across the eyes like windshield wipers, keeping them clean."
- "When there is danger, its special eyes also help it spot escape routes!" (Yellow Mongoose)
- "A tarsier's eyes are a huge part of its little body."
- "Each eye is as big as a soccer ball!" (Colossal Squid)