How to use Science Smash Ups in your Classroom.

science smash ups

Whenever searching for a new resource, it can seem daunting to figure out HOW to use it. For instance, how do you take the product and complete everything within your schedule? Or, how do you meet the needs of students when the product creator does not know your class? Honestly, these are all great questions to have! You care about your students and want to make sure you are giving them the best education possible. Luckily, this guide will help you understand exactly how to use the Science Smash Ups in your classroom! 

science smash ups

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Explore the Week at a Glance Guide 

The teacher guide of each Science Smash Ups has a Week-at-a-Glance sample to show how this product fits your schedule. Everything is adaptable to fit the needs of your classroom! Thankfully, this is the case for every Science Smash Up series offering! 

Students complete a video warm-up on the first day to build engagement. Then, they complete an inquiry activity to help them think about the current topic. After this, they will dive into essential vocabulary words. This will be followed up with a reading and activity page to help students deepen their understanding of the topic. Students will complete the day with a journal response to show their current thoughts. 

science smash ups

Days 2 through 4 follow a similar framework. They will all begin with a close read warm-up to help students recall the science topic. Then, they will complete a vocabulary activity followed by a reading and activity page. These are great ways to learn new words and build comprehension! Days 2 and 4 will focus on a lab experiment to bring the content to life. On day 3, there is a video clip to deepen understanding of the lab. This helps students reflect on what they did the day before while preparing for a new lab. Students will then complete an exit ticket or journal response to show their learning. 

Day 5 is the perfect time to check for understanding. After a close reading warm-up, students will take a vocabulary assessment. Then, they will complete a review game before taking their final assessment. 

Are you overwhelmed reading how much students will work on each day? That’s okay if you are! Do NOT let this discourage you. This plan is if you were to use ALL of the materials. If you do not have enough time to do that, pick the items that best fit your classroom. 

weekly schedule

Using Science Smash Ups in Reading Class

After exploring the entire Week-at-a-Glance, it is time to see how the product fits your schedule. Yes, there is no doubt about it- it can fit! For instance, if you don’t have enough time to use everything, you can use the materials in JUST reading class. In a 30-minute block, you will focus on the student reader, close reads, and reading strategy practice. All of these items focus on essential reading skills and strategies. So, you will skip the labs, video clips, and inquiry activities since those are science-based. Essentially, you use the format within the Week-at-a-Glance by focusing on the reading activities. 

Using Science Smash Ups in Science Class

If you are focusing on Science Smash Ups in a 30-minute science block, focus on the labs, student reader, and video clips. This will allow students to learn essential science concepts and complete the hands-on activities. This means you will skip the close reads, reading strategy practice, and vocabulary activities. Essentially, you use the format within the Week-at-a-Glance by focusing on the science activities. 

science lessons

Whether you use everything or just parts of the resource, know that students will deepen their knowledge and skills! 

Teacher Flexibility 

While the Week-at-a-Glance outlines how to use Science Smash Ups in your classroom, the decisions are up to you. You can pick which resources you want to use. Additionally, you can break apart the materials and use them however you want! For instance, maybe you want to use the materials in a reading block but still use a lab. You can do this! Honestly, you can pick which components you use, when you use them, and how you use them. I am simply providing you with a guide and framework. 

Breaking Down the Components 

When figuring out how to use the Science Smash Ups in your classroom, it is helpful to look at the components. Then, decide if you want to combine science and reading time or use the activities in a science or reading block. Maybe you even teach different components at different times of the day! You can pick every part of how you want to use this resource. After this decision, explore the various components and decide what works best for your classroom and students. 

As an overview, the warm-up/close reads and vocabulary activity each take about 10 minutes. Since reading takes more time, the reading and skill activity needs about 20 minutes. The lab experiment also needs 20 minutes. To complete the days, the exit tickets and journal responses each take about 10 minutes. I recommend looking at your schedule and seeing how you want to structure these components. It’s okay to leave pieces out if you do not have time or feel they fit your purpose! Similarly, you may go in a different order based on your schedule. To read detailed information about the various components, check out Science Smash Up Sneak Peek!

Teaching Time

There is no right or wrong when figuring out how to use the Science Smash Ups in your classroom. The activities are versatile enough to encompass many parts of your teaching time. So, you can print this incredible resource and use what you want within your teaching time. Best of all, students will have a blast learning so many science and reading skills!

If you do not want to miss any of the upcoming lessons, join my email list to be notified of all the interactive lessons coming up! By joining the email list, you will also receive freebies for blog exclusive subscribers!  

science smash ups

Science Smash Ups Sneak Peek

science smash ups

Do you stress out every year over teaching all the content standards? I know I do! As teachers, we want students to master the content truly. However, providing the needed time, support, and activities can be hard when there are so many standards to teach. After I had enough of this stress, I realized I needed to look at the standards differently. Instead of teaching the standards in core subject blocks of time, I decided to merge this time together. This might mean teaching social studies and reading at the same time. Or, teaching math and science at the same time. By doing this, I could dive into the standards and ensure students had time to work. That is why I am SO excited to share my Science Smash Ups sneak peek! This smash up is such a fun and creative way to practice reading skills with science activities!

science smash ups

Want to watch the video instead?  Check it out below!  While you’re there, make sure to subscribe to get notified when new content drops!

Science Smash Ups 

You’re probably wondering what science smash ups are. Don’t worry, you are not smashing anything in your classroom or doing something to make the fantastic custodians upset. Science smash ups mean that we are actually smashing two subjects together. So, we are working on reading skills and strategies while working on science standards. This is such a creative way to work on important content throughout the entire day! Now, let’s dive into all of the fantastic pieces to these activities.

Student Reader

Do your students struggle to understand fancy science terms? It happens! One of my favorite parts of smash-ups involves students using their reading skills to understand content in other subject areas.

The 15-page full-color nonfiction student reader breaks down the Scientific Method into 4 distinct categories. There is a table of contents, index, and glossary to help assist students. This is a great way to ensure students learn the material in consumable pieces! The teacher guides students through reading the information while applying scientific reading strategies to comprehend the material. Since this is a smash up product, the science-related information was written in a way to help students focus on specific reading skills. There is even a teacher copy of the student reader and a prompting guide to ensure students are working on science and reading skills!

Science Notebook for Students 

It is essential to have activities that allow students to review this challenging topic. So, a science notebook includes activities for each of the 4 headings in the reading. Each activity ensures students apply focus skills through written activities. This includes journal pages, student reflection sheets, vocabulary application, reading skills/strategies, and exit tickets. These activities are an excellent way for students to show their comprehension of the Scientific Method through reading-based activities. The science smash ups even include answer keys.

 

Vocabulary Practice

Science includes so many fancy terms. This is often why students feel they cannot learn the material. Thankfully, this will no longer be the situation with the daily vocabulary activities included in the notebook. Additionally, there are 6 vocabulary posters to ensure students have visuals to support them while completing this science smash up.

Hands-On Labs

Students LOVE science labs! They are such a fun way to bring the content alive! So, there are 2 hands-on labs to learn about the scientific method! Both labs are simple enough for a teacher to quickly prep yet so engaging for students! Students will love practicing what they are learning in a real-world setting.

Close Reading Passages

Every classroom has many levels of learners. Therefore, differentiation is so important! Thankfully, this is taken care of within the science smash up through 12 differentiated close reading passages. There are three levels for each close read: below, at, and above the third-grade reading level. Each passage focuses on a subtopic to ensure students learn about the Scientific Method at a deeper level. These are great to use as warm-ups or during small group centers.

Review Game

Students love games! They are a great tool to see what information students remember and what needs further review. Since the Scientific Method is a rigorous topic, the included review game is the perfect way to check for understanding! Students will have a blast playing while gaining confidence about how much they know.

Assessments

Let’s be honest- teachers do not love giving assessments. They do not like the time they take away from teaching and the pressure students feel. However, assessments are a huge part of education to ensure students learn. So, the science smash up includes two assessments. One is for vocabulary, and one is for a final assessment. Since students will have so much fun with this resource, they won’t even mind taking these assessments! They will be confident and ready to take them.

Teacher Materials

Teachers want students to love every minute of class. Honestly, it takes a ton of work to make lessons hands-on, engaging, and enjoyable. There is just so little time in the day to accomplish everything needed. That is why the science smash ups include a teacher guide, daily lesson plans, and I can statements. Planning will be a breeze with science smash ups!

Expanding Comprehension Work

Do your students do well at understanding surface-level information but struggle with a deep understanding? This is because comprehension is HARD! It takes time, practice, and patience to build. It is one of the many reasons I love to use reading skills throughout the day! For more tips, check out Building Comprehension! It will show additional ways to incorporate comprehension skills no matter the subject area.

Teachers have so many standards to teach each year. This means that students have to learn SO much. However, if we want students to learn, we must get creative with the standards. The Science Smash Ups sneak peek does exactly this! Students will have a blast learning the scientific method by applying their reading skills.

If you do not want to miss any of the upcoming lessons, join my email list to be notified of all the interactive lessons coming up! By joining the email list, you will also receive freebies for blog exclusive subscribers!

science smash ups


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