Monsters, Monsters Everywhere

Sometimes I fall in love with clip art.  I do.  I just love it.  That's what happened with this set of monsters I found by Pink Pueblo on Etsy.com.  

So I set out to use these guys in a product.  I ended up with a couple featuring these little monsters. 

First out of the box was "Let's Learn:  Science Safety Rules and Bumper Sticker Activity."

I did this activity every year with my middle schoolers.  They enjoyed the chance to be creative and it was a good way to reinforce those safety rules that are so important in the science classroom or laboratory.

There are five general safety rules that can apply to any science setting.  This is where the cool monsters come in...

But the real beauty of this product is in the bumper sticker activity.  This is where your student's creative side gets to shine!

Here is where they choose a safety rule and illustrate it on a bumper sticker.  Throughout the years I have gotten several that were just amazing.

My personal favorite had a picture of a clown and said, "Don't Clown Around, Keep Both Feet on the Ground!"  Very creative and bonus points for rhyming!

Another fun way to finish off the activity is with a bumper sticker contest.  I number each bumper sticker and tape it to my back wall.  The students then get to vote on their favorite, ballot style, and the winner gets candy or a homework pass.  I taught five classes of middle school science.  Each class would choose a winner and those five winners would then be voted on by all classes for a grand champion.  The students loved it!

A couple of things that were helpful to me.  
*I printed the bumper sticker page on cardstock. It was more likely to withstand the folder and backpack it would make it into everyday.
*I had them sketch out a rough draft onto scratch paper before working on the final copy.
*This is the first contest of the year.  It was always such a hit we had several more (water conservation poster, solar system map, scientist portrait, etc.).

If you think this activity would be a good fit for your classroom, you can find it here.

Creating A Living Invention

This is one of my student's favorite activities!  While learning about the characteristics of living things, each student creates a creature all their own.  The only requirement is it has to fit into the six characteristics we discuss in class.  

The characteristics are:

• Your creation must be made of cells
• Your creation must obtain and use energy
• Your creation must grow and develop
• Your creation must reproduce
• Your creation must respond to its surroundings
• Your creation must adapt to its surroundings

Here is my example.  It's a mushroom bug.  It never brushes its teeth and likes to sleep under the tops of mushrooms.  He fits all six characteristics, as explained in the boxes that surround him.  

My students have come up with some very creative examples over the years.  Many like to take already existing animals and combine them.  They end up with things like raccoon sharks and panda geese.  Very interesting stuff.

This is also an activity that my students enjoy presenting to the class.  I try each marking period to get each student up front explaining their work.  It helps to concrete those things they need to remember and I think it's good for students to be on the other side of the desk every now and again!

You can find this product here in my TpT store.