It’s that time of year when things are starting to settle for everyone. The routines are familiar. Sometimes a little too familiar. It’s my favorite month to teach because we are truly becoming a little family by now and there is so much fun to be had as we integrate themes into our standards! If you are looking for a little help and inspiration with organizing your October science lessons, I wanted to share what I planned!
I typically would look at the standards that needed to be taught and, if I had the freedom, I would mix in some fun thematic units that still had us using our scientist tools and skills we had learned in August.
October is such a fun month to make science come alive in the classroom!
To help stay organized, I created a month-long curriculum guide. Each unit has a detailed teaching plan as well. The weekly teaching plan has a focus for each day, explanation of how to execute the activities, and materials listed you’ll need for each day. Not too much, but not too little…just enough to guide you!
One of my favorite ways to give learners a hands-on experience in science is with science experiments and explorations. I know they can take so long to plan and prep, so I like to make it as simple as possible. From echolocation to sticky spider webs, there are several opportunities for students to dig into the scientific method!
Giving students opportunities to write about the process is important. Let them make a plan, make a hypothesis, make observations, and write a conclusion. Get their wheels spinning and ask things like, “What would you do differently?”
If you are looking for some science experiment tips, check out these!
Using anchor charts through out our learning always helped us to record our learning. The anchor charts also gave us something to refer back to. Truly, they help students connect to their learning and connect what they have learned to new topics.
As we are learning these concepts, it’s great to keep students engaged with interactive activities. You can use interactive notebooks, create pocket books, use pocket charts for your whole group lessons, and do simple stations with October science.
You can watch a video HERE that explains interactive notebooks more and has some great, actionable tips!
While science is always a hit with hands-on activities, it’s important to allow students to write about what they are learning, too. Using tools like graphic organizers you can help learners understand how to organize their learning.
Because I always feel like I NEVER have enough time (You too??), I almost always integrate science throughout the day whenever possible! This helps make learning more authentic and gives more time to squeeze science in throughout the day when you might be short on time.
I like to use mini-books whenever possible. They are perfect for the students to add to their book boxes when we finish and then they are reading about science! WINNING!
Integrating science into shared reading time is always fun for students! Each song or poem has a simple, but meaningful, weekly teaching plan. There are also phonics activities that review several specific long and short vowels. These were so great to use in literacy stations!
The whole month of October Science is jam-packed full of activities that are not only great for a science teaching block, but also reading and writing! Students are engaged while mastering the content they need to learn.
Here’s what another teacher said,
You can be set for October science with this bundle HERE. If you want to go ahead and get your science block ready for the whole year, you can find that money saving bundle HERE and save!
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I’m a K-1 teacher who is passionate about making lessons your students love and that are easy to implement for teachers. Helping teachers like you navigate their way through their literacy block brings me great joy. I am a lifelong learner who loves staying on top of current literacy learning and practices. Here, you’ll find the tools you need to move your K-2 students forward!
