More easy steps for amazing STEAM learning

Recently I began a blog post series about STEAM learning (STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) by looking at some ways to practice observing and recording data - 2 of the most basic science skills.  Today I want to continue with sorting, classifying, and labeling.

My students have always loved sorting / classifying.  Whether it's sorting building blocks by color, finding all the big buttons in my button box, or separating the mini erasers by shape, sorting seems to be a basic part of coming to understand their world.  Why not encourage it with fun materials, and add labels to those categories?!

It's easy to take sorting a step further with Venn Diagrams - which make us consider more than one sort-able attribute at a time. Do you see the red t-rex in this picture?  It isn't green, and doesn't walk on 4 legs, so the child asked me where it should go.  I helped him think it through - can it go in the green circle?  No.  Can it go in the 4 legs circle?  No. Is there a place on your sorting mat that isn't for green and isn't for 4 legs?  Children can do some amazing thinking!

Once children have begun categorizing things - not just sorting them, but also identifying how they've sorted them, it's a natural progression to count those things, and to compare what has more or less.  Graphs make it easy to compare several categories. (More on graphs next time!)

Children can also begin to label things they observe, from a single word for each item...

... to details as they develop vocabulary.

Don't you love teaching STEAM skills?!

Seasons

Yesterday I took a break from everything, and sat outside with my camera.  I love to focus in on the tiny details around me, I find it very relaxing.  I took these shots:

Right away, looking at these, you know what season it is - right?  Blooming lilies, insects, hummingbirds, intensely green leaves - it's summer.  And yesterday it really was summer.

Today the crepe myrtles are still in bloom, the temperature is heading towards hot, and I know the farmer's market will be stocked with tomatoes and cucumbers and all the delicious summer fruits that I love, and yet...  Look what I found on my walk this morning:

There it is, fall, lurking around the corner!

This got me to thinking, as teachers will, about prepping for all the fun fall activities that we so love to do with our kiddos.

Finding pine cones had me thinking of all the ways I've used them with the kiddos, from fall sensory bins, to craft supplies.  My kiddos loved making a Thanksgiving turkey from a pine cone, and we made mini Christmas trees with them a lot of years...

Sorting leaves by color, and of course we'd have to read Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert with that...

Oh how we loved playing in the leaves in the back yard!  How many piles of leaves have I facilitated over the years?!

 All those fall leaves and other treasures are wonderful for making mandalas, and talking about symmetry and number.  We used a salt dough base to hold them in place....

 ... and the plastic tray that once held party food to sort them...

We've made Leaf Man pictures to follow up another great Lois Ehlert book for fall...  and if I keep going back through my photos, or open my teacher binders, there are so many more great activities!

I've been thinking about all this, and have made several activities about changing seasons.

 This one would be perfect in a pocket chart...

 ... or on a sorting board like this one, made with colored poster board.

My five year olds who were starting to read really enjoyed sentence-picture matching games, like this one...

... and the challenge of logical reasoning, figuring out clues, like this:

Yes, I must say, I'm ready for fall!  Which season or special seasons activity does your class most love?