5 Unique Learning Opportunities That Your Intermediate Students Will Love

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In my most recent post, I suggested that summer is a great time to research unique learning opportunities in which your students can participate during the next school year, especially if deadlines, fees, and applications are involved. With a little digging, you can find some pretty interesting events, contests, and curriculum extras to engage and challenge your students!

In today's post, I'm sharing five very cool such options for upper elementary and middle school classrooms that I recommend checking out. 

1. Electronic Field Trips (EFT)

The world is so much smaller thanks to technology. Students can now see and experience places, people, and cultures that they might never have encountered otherwise. With electronic field trips, students can "visit" places, sometimes in real-time, without ever leaving the classroom. Ahh...just imagine. No permission slips. No loud bus rides. No constant head counts.

Here are two examples:

Colonial Williamsburg

My classes took part in these EFTs, and they were amazing! My students loved them. Since I last used this resource, it appears that the live broadcasts have been discontinued. Instead, however, they have turned to their HERO multimedia library that includes videos, lesson plans, and other resources about life in Colonial and Revolution-era America that you can access. You can sign up for a free account, but there is a fee involved for school-wide access to the library for the year. The material is high-quality and engaging, and it's a fantastic supplement to social studies curricula. You'll get the most for your fee if you register before the year starts, and that will also give you time to go through and choose material.

National Park Foundation

I have not used these EFTs; however, in browsing through the collection of EFTs available, they seem to be high-quality and varied in social studies and science content and feature diverse US national park locations. These are not real-time videos; however, you can watch them for free in segments whenever you wish. Each EFT includes a video and a corresponding Web site that is rich in resources to use in conjunction with the EFT. The service appears to be free, which is a BONUS!

2. Youth Leadership Institute (YLI) Mock Election 

This is one of those opportunities I found out about just a little to late to incorporate into my classes, but I would have loved to have my students be a part of it. The YLI mock election is "the largest secure, student-only, online mock election in the nation, using electronic ballots tailored to each student's home legislative district." It takes place during the mid-late part of October and includes many resources and options for teachers to conduct an election tailored to their students and their area of residence. You must register for this mock election, and the activity and resources are FREE!  

3. Free Student Book Publishing

We did this activity school-wide for several years, and it was very cool! Every student had the opportunity to write a book and have it hardbound published for FREE. This program, created by Student Treasures, involves each student or class (depending on whether you choose an individual or class book project) receiving a book-writing packet that includes everything they need to create their books (ex. instructions, lined & unlined final pages for writing and illustrations, cover page, dedication page, etc.). Each teacher/school chooses a publishing date, all of which have been established by Student Treasures, so teachers need to plan this project with the submission deadline in mind since all packets must be sent in together before the deadline. Under the guidance and instruction of the teacher, students then write their stories and create colored illustrations for them. In my case, I used this project to practice the writing process--brainstorming, drafting, peer reviewing, revising/editing, planning illustrations, and rewriting, and we spent several months working on the books. I must warn you, though, that executing this program requires a lot of planning so start early! 

I was not the coordinator at our school, but from what I understood then and understand now, the publishing programs are tailored to student age groups (K-6, Middle School, High School, etc.). You simply provide the information to Student Treasures about grade levels and type of book you want students to create, and they determine the program that fits those needs. Again, this worthwhile project is FREE to you, and each student received one FREE hardbound copy of their book. (Parents can order multiple copies of the book using an order form found in the packet.) You can request a free sample packet at Student Treasures' Web site. I can't relay to you how excited students were to receive their books and see their work published. It was amazing!

4. Content-Area Contests

Contests are a great way for students to showcase their talents and, in some case, win prizes for it! I am lumping all of the cool contests I found into one section here because I'm leaving it up to you to decide which of the many out there would fit your needs. There are several different Web pages dedicated to listing contests open to upper elementary and middle school students. I'm including a link to a good resource/repository of contests here. You can find contests for all subjects. I noticed that some have not been updated for next year, and some are defunct so be sure to check for further information at their respective Web sites. Here are a couple of examples that I found:

Cricket magazine is a literary publication for students ages 9-14 and holds contests about a variety of literary topics throughout the year, all of which encourage creativity.

Scholastic Art and Writing Awards involve contests for many art and writing categories in which students enter their pieces based on local program guidelines. These contests are open to public, private, and homeschool students in grades 7-12

5. NASA events and contests

NASA keeps an updated calendar list of opportunities for students in grades K-8 to participate in a variety of science and technology related activities, events, and contests. I noticed the word FREE in many of these descriptions, and there's a nice variety of events that take place at NASA locations and virtually (online). Check back as new events are added! 

What do you think? Have you ever incorporated any of these in your classroom? Other suggestions? Leave a comment!

States and Capitals Circuit Boards

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One of the big milestones in 5th grade social studies classes is learning the names, locations, and capitals of the 50 United States. In my classes, this learning goal was spread out over many months with students learning and testing over one region of states at a time. They took a final test of all states and capitals in the spring. For many students, this was their first experience taking ownership of a significant learning goal on their own. To help them prepare, students used textbook maps to label and color blank regional maps. We then brainstormed mnemonic devices based on different learning styles to help learn the information. We also spent a few days a month as a class practicing the locations and capitals using a blank map on the SmartBoard.

Even with all the strategies presented in my class, however, the most innovative, hands-on tool that students used to learn states and capitals came from science class of all places: circuit boards.  The (literally) brilliant idea to combine the study of electricity and geography using homemade circuit boards was presented to me by our 5th-grade team's science teacher. The basic idea is for students create a circuit board on which they complete electrical circuits by correctly touching wires to a state and its corresponding capital. Each state and capital is connected by a foil conductor strip, and the energy source is a 9-volt battery.

The idea of playing with electricity may sound a little frightening, but this activity is completely safe and is easy for upper elementary students to complete!

Prior Knowledge

On the social studies end of this, students will need to have been introduced to at least one region of states and capitals. On the science end, students will need to have a knowledge of circuits and electricity.

Supplies
file folder
blank map of states with list of corresponding state capitals (We used regional maps for this project.)
scissors
hole punch
aluminum foil
transparent or masking tape
electronics wire
small light bulb with holder
9-volt battery 
battery cap with electronics wires

Easy-to-find classroom supplies

Create the Circuit Board

First, punch one hole in each state on the map. Then, punch one hole next to each of the state capitals. I did a soft fold-over of the map and capitals and put the paper about halfway in the hole punch before punching so that I could get a full circle-shaped hole and not bend the paper too noticeably.

You'll need to decide to punch the hole either on the exact location of the capital or somewhere in the middle of the state. In some regions, some capitals are very close together, which could be problematic when attaching the conductor foil. 

Next, turn to the backside of the map and capitals. Cut thin strips of foil long enough to connect the holes from the states to the holes next to the capitals. For each state and capital, line up the foil strip so that the state hole and its capital hole are covered with foil. Then, use the tape to adhere the foil strip. Cover the entire strip of foil with tape. Continue until all states and capitals have foil trails that are taped to the page.

IMPORTANT:

*Start with the states and capitals that have the least distance between them. Tape those foil trails down first.

*It is important that the foil strips do not directly touch one another so make sure they are completely covered in tape.

*Make sure the foil strip does not cover any part of the holes belonging to other states or capitals.

All taped down and ready to go

When all foil has been attached, adhere the map and capitals list to the file folder. You should only see the foil-covered holes.

Ready to test my knowledge of states and capitals!

Assemble the Battery and Bulb Wires

First, attach a battery cap to the top of the 9-volt battery, which will be the source of the electricity. Attach one of the cap's wires to one of the bulb terminals. Attach a small piece of electronics wire to the other bulb terminal. Make sure that the two "loose" ends of wire are stripped back enough so that the wires will easily make contact with the foil surfaces.

You may be able to create a more stable battery apparatus with available lab equipment. You could even use something other than a light like a buzzer.

Completing the Circuit

To complete the circuit, students will take one end of the wire that extends from the battery and touch it to the foil-filled hole of one of the states on the map. Then, the students will touch the other end of the electronics wire that extends from the bulb to the foil-filled hole next to the state's capital on the list. If the state and capital combination is the correct, the circuit will be complete, and the small bulb will light up. If it is incorrect, the bulb will not light up. 

Got it!

Sorry, try again!

Social studies can be a love-it or hate-it class for many students. As a social studies teacher, it can be a challenge to come up with meaningful hands-on learning activities. Being able to partner with my teaching team to develop cross-curricular ideas like this offers students some new and creative ways to take charge of their own learning. The beauty of this activity is that it can be modified for any subject matter that uses matching. It may provide students with a different view of a subject and how it connects to other subjects. It also may build their confidence and interest in subject areas in which they struggle or show little interest. (I'm no science whiz so if I was able to create something like this and have it work, I'd feel like a science superstar.) Overall, this activity really "lit up" both the science and social studies classrooms!

Your comments are welcome! What are some creative cross-curricular activities that you've used in your classroom?

Must-Read Mentor Text: Mysteries of the Mummy Kids

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I was inspired to write about the mentor text for this week's Collaboration Cuties' link-up by an article I recently read about Inca mummy kids found frozen high in the Andes. The story of these children is one of many told in Kelly Milner Halls' Mysteries of the Mummy Kids. This book is particularly special to me because before I became a teacher, I worked on it as an editorial assistant at its original publisher, Darby Creek Publishing. My job was to do photo research and secure rights to many of the images used in the book. For days and weeks, I was "wrapped" up in images of mummies from around the world! My students were pretty excited when I shared that I had been a part of this book project, and I think that made it all the more interesting to them.

This nonfiction book focuses on child mummies from throughout history that have been discovered around the world. The book is organized by continent and mummy, which makes it easy to read in small sections. The author begins with an explanation of why she wrote the book, which was inspired by a postcard she received with a photo of a mummy from Mesa Verde National Park. She then explains the natural and man-made processes of mummification.  Despite its subject matter, the author is careful not to sensationalize or exploit the mummies, but rather she thoughtfully and respectfully explains how they came to be in their conditions within historical, cultural, and geographic contexts. The images in the book help young readers to visualize so much about what is being described in the book, from locations to the mummies themselves. The photographs are somber, yet fascinating. The illustrations and diagrams are appealing and easy-to-follow. At the end of the book, the author includes several references for readers to use to learn more, including "Mummy Miscellany," which lists museums around the country where readers can see preserved mummies and a list of suggested titles for further reading; a bibliography; a glossary; and an index. The book is appropriate for upper elementary to middle school students based on the reading level and the content.

When I became a teacher, I was able to use this book in my fifth-grade social studies classes in a number of ways. When studying the Inca Indians, I read aloud the section of the book pertaining to child mummies discovered in the Andes mountains (referred to in the article link in the first paragraph). These children were thought to have been sacrificed to their gods by the Incas. The author describes how these children were chosen, how they lived in preparation for their sacrifice, and how they ultimately passed away and became mummified.

As part of our study of American Indians, students completed a graphic organizer for each Indian group with information about their location & geography; religious beliefs; government; food sources; inventions; and other cultural elements. As I read aloud from Mysteries of the Mummy Kids, I asked students to jot down any information that fit into the categories of their organizers.

Sample graphic organizer used for note-taking about American Indian groups

Based on the facts presented in the book, they were able to add details to many of the categories on their organizers. Through the stories of these children, students were able to get a picture of not only the lives of the chosen children, but also the daily lives of the everyday Inca, including what they ate, their government structure, arts & crafts, and the roles of men and women. It was rewarding and fun to watch students connect what they read about in their traditional textbooks with the information in this trade book. 

In addition to the note-taking practice, I allowed time for students to ask questions, too, in light of such extreme cultural practices. We also discussed how the context of time and culture shaped the perspectives that the Inca children probably had at the time of their sacrifices, and we compared those to what the students, who were about the same age, thought.

The Maiden of Llullaillaco was about 14 years old and was found with
two other children--a 6-year-old girl and 7-year-old boy--on the peak of Mount Llullaillaco in Argentina.

In addition to the mummies of South America, Milner Halls also writes about the well-known mummies of Egypt, as well as those found in Europe, Asia, and North America. All have their own circumstances surrounding their mummification, and each could be discussed at length in terms of their historical, cultural, and geographic contexts. I actually referred to and shared the story of the Caucasian mummies discovered in the Taklamakan Desert along the Silk Road in China during our discussion of European explorers. Of the many different child mummy discoveries, I personally found the stories of the bog mummies from Europe the most interesting.

Many mummies, many mysteries

I did end up reading the entire book to my homeroom class as a read-aloud instead of a traditional novel. I found it a bit challenging because it required more attention and thinking from the students to process what I was reading to them, especially with new vocabulary and the explanation of processes. If the book is read aloud, it's important to spend time showing students images and reading in small sections so that meaningful discussions can be held about the content. 

Detailed diagram of a false cabeza ("head") mummy bundle shows readers what was included in these burial masses.

In addition to the social studies elements of this book (geography, history, and culture), Mysteries of the Mummy Kids also includes a strong science content as well, with scientist interviews and descriptions of the mummification process. This book is also a great choice for reluctant readers with its interesting subject matter, vivid images, and organization into small, but content-rich sections.

I'm a big fan of using cross-curricular trade books to teach social studies, and I highly recommend Mysteries of the Mummy Kids as one of these!

It's Alive! Benjamin Franklinstein Lives!

Pin It Now! Pin It Now! Phew. I finally finished a novel unit I've been planning in my mind for 2 years. It just had to be done because the book is fantastic, probably the most clever, humorous book I've read in a long time.

2011-2012 Texas Bluebonnet Award Winner

Benjamin Franklinstein Lives! by Matthew McElligott and Larry Tuxbury is a wonderfully funny and very smart novel about a boy named Victor and his strange new downstairs neighbor...who turns out to be Benjamin Franklin...who has just been awakened from suspended animation by a lightning storm. The story follows Ben's attempt to locate the Prometheans, a secret society he helped to form during his "early days" more than 200 years before. The Prometheans were named for the Greek Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to mankind, which in turn, allowed them to gain power and build civilizations. (Prometheus was also punished by Zeus with eternal suffering and daily death, specifically, having his insides pecked out by an eagle every day). Like their namesake, the Prometheans have also discovered a life-changing secret, which is that of immortality. Franklin volunteered to test their knowledge by allowing himself to be put to sleep in a Leyden casket until such a time that a great crisis arose. A Custodian was placed in charge of monitoring the experiment, and the descendants of that Custodian would continue to do so as time went on.

Enter Victor Godwin in the early 2010s. Victor is a serious student currently working on his science fair project, which he has calculated to have a high percent possibility of earning an A. He is so focused that he wears the same outfit everyday so that he doesn't have to waste any brain power choosing something else. His downstairs neighbor, Mr. Mercer, a custodian, has recently passed away. One night, after a powerful lightning storm, Victor sees some strange things outside his window, including a bear-like shadow that is sparking. His mother rents Mr. Mercer's basement apartment to strange man resembling Benjamin Franklin who is dressed in colonial garb and pays his rent in gold doubloons. (If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck...) Upon investigating his new neighbor, Victor stumbles into a secret laboratory underneath the basement, and after saving Franklin from electrocution, the Founding Father tells Victor the secret of the Prometheans and his re-animation.

Ben is now faced with the problems of not knowing where his Custodian is, fixing a potentially broken electrophone, which is the device on which the Prometheans will contact him, and running out of energy. The most pressing of the problems is Ben's low energy, which causes him to go on a rampage in the streets of Philadelphia chewing through any electrical wiring he can find. During this rampage, Victor loses track of Ben and returns home to research the Prometheans. He finds a strange connection between them and the books left behind by Mr. Mercer in the basement apartment. Ben appears at Victor's school the next day, clumsy and groggy, and Victor manages to deflect attention from the strange old man by encouraging his goofy friend, Scott, to show off his potato battery, which ends up exploding on local TV.

To avoid future feeding frenzies, Victor, a fellow scientist, puts together a MacGuyver-esque battery belt for Ben that sends a text message by which Victor can monitor Ben's energy levels. Meanwhile, Ben decides to search for the Prometheans at Philosophical Hall, where he and other great minds of the American Philosophical Society once collaborated. Using a secret passage in which Thomas Jefferson himself created a booby trap, Ben attempts to make his way to the secret sanctuary of the Prometheans, only to find that it is a cafeteria filled with school children touring the building. Finding a disappointing dead end there, Ben buys a Philly cheesesteak sandwich from another Benjamin Franklin outside of the historical building and is ready to throw in the towel.

Victor doesn't want to let him down...doesn't want to let history down...so he agrees to help Ben find the Prometheans if Ben will help him reconstruct his science fair project, a volcano that Ben destroyed after tinkering with it earlier. At the science fair, mayhem is foreshadowed as Ben is mesmerized by Scott's new-and-improved Potato Battery 2000 and emits sparks as he reaches to touch the solution in which the potatoes rest. Meanwhile, Victor's Franklin-inspired volcano has trouble of its own, as it refuses to stop pouring lava. Burping, sparking, fire, lava, and smoke all conspire to cause disaster at the science fair.

After escaping the gym, Victor reflects on the catastrophic events of the fair but has a changed attitude about taking risks and failure. As Benjamin once told him, "I've learned more from my failures than successes." He accepts that he won't get an A, and he's much kinder to his intellectually inferior friend, Scott. Ben ends up rescuing Victor's classmate's dog, and Ben and Victor reunite outside of the school. Is this the great crisis Ben was awakened for? Perhaps not. In the Epilogue, through the static comes a voice over the electrophone....

Benjamin Franklinstein Lives! connects to so many other topics--history, science, mythology, 18th century literature. It's a great "thinking" book. The illustrations are helpful and humorous, and the diagrams do a fabulous job of explaining how all the contraptions referenced in the book work. Even I could understand them, and you're talking to a girl who broke every piece of lab equipment in her Chemistry class! PLUS, specially placed advertisements for the Modern Prometheus Bookstore throughout the book encourage readers to visit the bookstore's Web site, where they can try to unlock the secrets of the Custodians.

I thoroughly enjoyed not only reading and re-reading the book, but also coming up with the activities and extensions for the book as well. One of my favorites is called Finding Franklin in Frankenstein and Prometheus, which shows the connections among Ben Franklin, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and Prometheus. I just love the richness of historical, cultural, and scientific references in this book. Such a fun way to learn. DEFINITELY well worth the read and sharing it with students (grades 4-7). There are even two sequels out. Are you ready for the titles? Benjamin Franklinstein Meets the Fright Brothers and Benjamin Franklinstein Meets Thomas Deadison.

Come check out my novel unit now available at TpT!

Rocket Day: Having a Blast with Math, Science, and Reading

Pin It Now! Pin It Now! Wow! This looked like it was a blast...literally. A fellow 5th grade teacher at my school held the first annual Rocket Days in which students applied math, science, and reading skills to send off a rocket and keep it within 150 feet after the launch. Students studied the physics of rocketry, rocketry safety, and related math. Using a rocketry packet she created, she asked students to calculate wind speed, direction, and the angle of the rocket launching point. Every student shot off his or her own rocket and rotated as a participant in a launch, recovery, altitude tracking, rocket safety and refueling, and photo journalism team. Technology and engaging students is something that is very important to her, so I think this idea was a fantastic way to show students how learning is useful and fun! Click on the photo to see the news story! (Sorry, I tried to resize the video so I could embed it in the blog, but it couldn't be done.)