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Astronomy Lessons That Are Out of This World

by BrainNinjasWP

Are you trying to find lessons for your space or astronomy unit? We gathered up our best lessons that inspire your students to research, learn, create and inquire about all thing space including stars, planets, space travel and astronauts. Come take a look and get your science lessons planned for the whole unit!

Ever since I can remember, the objects in space have fascinated me. Whether learning about Halley’s Comet in science class or taking astronomy lessons while in university, it has always been exciting to learn about the different objects in the Universe.

As an adult, learning about the different ways cultures talk about objects in space has been even more interesting. During a trip to Australia, the stories of the people who lived in the Luritja lands were shared during an astronomy presentation. It was the first time I had an appreciation that the Greek-named constellations and the stories I had learned growing up weren’t the first stories to be told about the stars. At that time, I started seeking out the stories told by Indigenous People across North America.

That is when I decided there were many more astronomy lessons to be learned in the classroom. Read on to see some of the lessons we use in our classroom.

[Read more…] about Astronomy Lessons That Are Out of This World

Filed Under: Engaging Lessons, Teaching Strategies Tagged With: Alberta, Alberta science, Astronomy, Makerspace, multiple perspectives, Planets, Reading Passages, Science Lessons, Sky Science, SkyTalkers, Space, Stars, stem

15 Simple Machines Activities that Will Hook Your Students

by BrainNinjasWP

Are you looking for activities you can use to teach upper elementary students about simple machines and their connections to every day life? We pulled together our favourite activities in one convneient place. Come read it today and get your science unit planned in minutes!

One of our favourite science units to teach is about simple machines or wheels and levers (if you teach in Alberta). We love it because it provides many opportunities for hands-on learning and can be done inside regardless of the weather. Students love to build contraptions and we can use up materials that would generally go in the recycling bin so it’s also a very low-cost science unit. Which of these activities have you tried during your science lessons?

[Read more…] about 15 Simple Machines Activities that Will Hook Your Students

Filed Under: Engaging Lessons Tagged With: Alberta science, Experiments, science, Science Lessons, Shopify, Simple Machines, stem, Teachers Pay Teachers, Wheels and Levers

Why Should You Build Makerspaces Immediately?

by BrainNinjasWP

Makerspaces give your students the change to be creative, solve problems and learn in new ways. They add to your STEM, STEAM, science or art lessons too. Still not sure why you should have a makerspace? Check out this post!

Makerspaces. They seem to be all the buzz, but the concept that drives them isn’t new. For many years, we’ve been focused on directing every moment of our students’ lives. As parents, the lives of children are scheduled to the point they never have a moment to decide for themselves what to do. As teachers, if our students don’t look like they’re working, we worry that someone will think they aren’t learning. So when did we decide as adults that play is a bad thing?

[Read more…] about Why Should You Build Makerspaces Immediately?

Filed Under: Classroom Tips Tagged With: Critical Thinking, Differentiation, Makerspace, Makerspaces, Multiple Means of Engagement, Professional Learning, steam, stem

How to Escalate Your Chemistry Experiments

by BrainNinjasWP

Are you looking for some simple and easy chemistry experiments that can be done safely in the classroom with household materials? We've got lots of resources for you. Come read!

Our classroom chemistry unit is one of our favourites to teach because it allows for so many opportunities for students to explore and experiment. Sometimes, we let students explore on their own by posing questions to them. Other times, we demonstrate experiments. Either way, experiments take a bit of work to set up, do, and clean up. Don’t let that stop you. Here are some of our favourite chemistry experiments!

[Read more…] about How to Escalate Your Chemistry Experiments

Filed Under: Engaging Lessons Tagged With: Chemistry, Chemistry Experiments, Chemistry for Kids, Classroom Chemistry, Classroom Organization, Experiments, Makerspace, stem, Teachers Pay Teachers, TpT Products

How to Host a Maker Walk

by BrainNinjasWP

Create an opportunity for your makers to show off their creative sides by hosting a Maker Walk. We' veput together a planning guide to get you started. Come check it out-so easy and fun!

Are your students using your makerspace and now you want to show off their hard work? Host a Maker Walk. Picture a science fair, but so much cooler because it’s filled with the creations your students made in your makerspace!

This can be done with the school’s makerspace or you can just use the creations your students have created from your classroom’s makerspace (like us),

[Read more…] about How to Host a Maker Walk

Filed Under: Classroom Tips Tagged With: Critical Thinking, Holidays and Seasonal, Learning Commons, Makerspace, Multiple Means of Engagement, steam, stem, UDL, Universal Design for Learning

What Goes in a Makerspace?

by BrainNinjasWP

Check out this great list of imakerspace supplies to fill your makerspace! Get creative and have some fun. The best part is that you probably already have so many things in our list. Come read it!

You’ve decided to have a makerspace because you understand the value of the learning that can take place. If you aren’t quite sure, maybe you should go back to our post: Why Should You Build Makerspaces Immediately? It talks about the reasons a makerspace can be valuable in your school or classroom.

What should you put in it? Anything you want. Start small. We put out origami paper and a book during the first week just to see what would happen. (Turns out the answer to that question is lots of paper frogs.) But seriously, we made a list of potential makerspace supplies.

[Read more…] about What Goes in a Makerspace?

Filed Under: Classroom Tips Tagged With: Critical Thinking, labels, Makerspace, science, steam, stem, TpT Products

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