Last Thursday, our school held it’s first annual schoolwide STEM Day, organized and beautifully orchestrated by my talented GRC teammate, Kristi. Because we teach at a school with over 500 students, we’ve both been trying to wrap our heads around a STEM Day or STEM Night for the past year, but weren’t sure how to...
Here's a fun and easy idea for a bridge making STEM challenge that you can implement in your classroom, whether your students are in Pr...
The 100th day of school is coming up soon. Try this 100 Days STEM Activity with your class. It’s tons of fun and packed full of learning.
Learn about the Binary Alphabet with these beaded coding bracelets! Make the binary code for love with our printable coding worksheets.
I recently had another opportunity to observe a science program in an after school setting, this time at Greenleaf Elementary School in Oakland, CA. The rising fifth graders have an hour and a half of STEM programming after lunch every afternoon, and the day I visited they did an activity about cleaning up oil in the ocean. They worked with trays filled a few inches with water, feathers, straws, cotton balls and sponges. I think it's especially challenging to lead activities like this, where the materials you have to work with are analogies of what really happens in the real world. I was impressed with the ways the facilitator drew connections between the activity they were doing and what happens in the real world. The facilitator started the activity by asking the kids what they already knew about oil spills. I was struck by how many hands went in the air, and details the kids knew including the catastrophic spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The group discussed what kinds of engineers help solve the environmental problems caused by oil spills - chemical and environmental engineers. In groups, the kids examined their 'oceans' of water, with oil floating on top. They discussed and wrote observations in their science notebooks. The facilitator introduced some terms and definitions and then passed out materials the kids would use to try to clean up the oil. As kids formulated their plans for working together to get the oil off the feathers and out of the 'ocean', the facilitator passed around photos of actual oil spills and the effects they have on wildlife. Then it was time to work together to figure out how to use materials to clean up the oil. During the discussion after the activity, the kids all said that they enjoyed this activity even though it was very difficult to get all the oil out of the water and off of the feathers. In order to help kids make connections between the science activities we do after school and science in the real world, here are some things we see quality programs doing: Ask kids what they already know about related issues Show kids pictures, news articles or videos Introduce kids to a scientist who works on the problem in the field Take a field trip Participate in a citizen science project to help a scientist conduct a study on a related issue Let us know some ways that your after school science program connects kids to real world science!
In the spirit of the holiday, I've turned 6 fun STEM activities into St. Patrick's Day-themed task cards (Check them out by clicking here)! St. Patrick's Day is such a fun holiday! There are sneaky Leprechauns, four leaf clovers, green punch (a must-have for any St. Patrick's Day party), and green clothes (just to be on the safe side). It's also a great opportunity to sneak in some solid education without students even realizing it! STEM Activities are so much fun—learning feels like play. Working through the STEM engineering process, students problem solve in groups and find solutions to various challenges. I LOVE to see students getting excited about an idea and working through different obstacles as a team! In the spirit of the holiday, I've turned 6 fun STEM activities into St. Patrick's Day themed task cards (Check them out by clicking here)! One of the best parts of these activities is the simplicity of materials. There aren't very many supplies needed, they are very easy to find, and they are super inexpensive. I've also included a STEM process poster and worksheet to help guide students through the activities. For these six activities, the only materials you will need are: - Paper - Paper Cups - Straws - Popsicle Sticks - Yarn - Scissors, Tape & Glue OPTIONAL: Fun decorating items such as foam stickers, markers, glitter glue, etc. The activities are also VERY easy to prep for. Simply print out the cards, the process poster, and worksheet. Next, set out the materials per group. I laminated the cards and process poster so that they can be used again in the future. It works well to have students in groups of no more than 3-4 for these activities. You could have all of the groups working on the same challenge or each group working on different ones. All of the activities draw from the same pool of supplies, so even if you are running all of the activities at the same time, you'll only need to gather one set of materials. St. Patrick's Day themed STEM Task Cards (Check them out by clicking here) Six STEM Task Cards: Rainbow Bridge National Treasury Protection Pot of Gold Lost Shoe Rescue Gold Storage Tower Leprechaun Hat [caption id=attachment_2564 align=alignnone width=500] Rainbow Bridge STEM Activity[/caption] [caption id=attachment_2566 align=alignnone width=500] Gold Storage Tower STEM Activity[/caption]
A blog about STEM and science topics, easy ways to use STEM in the elementary classroom, help with organizing materials, and tons of helpful hints.
Here are some of my favorites STEM books for kids that you can add to your collection today! Before starting a STEM or building challenge, I always read a book with my class. I love connecting literacy, sitting together on the carpet, and engaging my students in discussions. There are so many amazing books that ... Read more
STEM Fridays are very quickly gaining momentum among elementary teachers, and it’s not hard to see why. As STEM continues to grow and become a critical part of elementary curriculum, the need to find a good “fit” in the instructional day is becoming more and more important. I surveyed my fantastic social media followers who...
Let's fly away STEM Challenges. Students have three different kinds of flying devices- hoop flyers, helicopters, or planes. They experiment with base models and then design a new model.
Do you remember how to make a paper cup phone? Does yarn work for cup phones? Teach your child how to make a string phone with cups and test how far it works.
Homeschooling mom and engineer with a passion for STEM education.
Forensic Fairytale– Day 2– The Crime Lab On Day 2, my students had to analyze the evidence they collected when they excavated their “graves”. Each person had a job or …
You can learn so much from a simple LEGO zip line activity! Let your child design his own "cage" that will send the minifigure down the zip line!
Decorate your makerspace with these STEAM (or STEM!) alphabet wall cards. Geared towards upper elementary and middle school grades, these alphabet wall cards include vocabulary from science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math. Over 90 words are included in this set, so you can mix and match posters to customize your alphabet line to match your curriculum. Three printing options are also included: color circles, black circles, and low ink outlines. The black and low ink options look fantastic printed on bright paper! Each poster is sized to 8.5 x 11 inches. Print two per page for smaller cards. This set is also available separately with cursive lettering. This download is a zip file that includes 7 pdf files: ★Instructions, Helpful Printing Tips, and Terms of Use ★Color Alphabet Set: Ready to Print Set of 26 Posters ★Black Alphabet Set: Ready to Print Set of 26 Posters (same content) ★Low Ink Alphabet Set: Ready to Print Set of 26 Posters (same content) ★Extra Color Posters: 65 Alternate Words to Mix and Match ★Extra Black Posters: 65 Alternate Words to Mix and Match (same content) ★Extra Low Ink Posters: 65 Alternate Words to Mix and Match (same content) A full, free preview is available above to help you decide if this resource will be a good fit for your classroom. Please note: This product is not editable. The included pdf file(s) have been flattened and password secured as per the included font and clip artists’ terms of use. High resolution printing is enabled. Be sure to use the latest version of Adobe Reader to view and print, as other programs may not render the file(s) correctly. Words included in the Ready-to-Print sets: the Arts Brainstorm Calculate Design Engineering Failures Graph Hypothesis Invent Journal Keyboard Language Math Nature Observe Patterns Question Robotics Science Technology Understanding audio Visual Writing eXamine You puZZles Words included in extras sets: Ask, Analyze, Arithmetic Build, Blog Communication, Coding, Conclusion, Computer, Collaboration, Create Data, Diagram, Drama Energy, Experiment, Examine Film, Force Gears Hinges Infer, Ideas, Improve, Imagine Joints Kinetic energy Laptop, Literature, List Measure, Machine, Maths, Motion, Music, Mass Notebook, musical Notes Online Programming, Perspective, Plan eQuation, Qualitative & Quantitative Research, Radio, Reading, Rhythm Structure, Statistics Tools, Test, Theater Universe, University Volume, Vlog, Video, Visual Arts Weather, Wifi, Weight eXperiment analyZe, jaZZ If there are additional words you’d like to see included in this set, please email me at [email protected]. ****************************************************************************************************************************************************** You might also like: ”I am an engineer!” Engineering Design Process Posters Integrated STEAM Units More STEAM Resources Please follow my store for updates about new products like this and leave feedback to let me know what you think of this product! Let’s connect! Visit my blog, and follow me on Pinterest and Instagram! Happy Teaching! ♥ Kristin [email protected]
A blog about STEM and science topics, easy ways to use STEM in the elementary classroom, help with organizing materials, and tons of helpful hints.
28 Days of STEM Activities and STEAM Activities for Kids is loaded with hands-on science, technology, engineering, art, and math projects perfect for the classroom and at home. The kids are gonna love this!
Pi Day is such a fun holiday to celebrate with kids! Here are some of my favorite low prep Pi Day activities. How will you be celebrating? Low Prep Pi Day Activities Pi Day circle art! This was a HUGE hit with my kids! Gather some lids, cups, circular containers and paint. Dip the circular objects in the paint and "stamp" on paper. This can double as a science lab about colors - try using red, yellow, and blue paint. Experiment with twisting the circles as you stamp or smearing them. If you have circular hole punches, you can try this low mess activity if that is more your style: Pi Day bracelet! You can do this two ways, either as shown below (number of beads equals digit value) or assign a different digit to each bead color you have. For example, you could assign 0 to the white beads, 1 to the red beads, etc. If you have more time on your hands, you can dye pasta and make a colorful Pi Day pasta necklace as shown in this other post. Pi Day Skyline! This was such a fun project and an idea I found on Pinterest in a few locations, including this post at What Do We Do All Day. which has a lot of great pictures and ideas! If you have young children this is a great way to introduce the idea of circumference, but it also works well for older children and is a lot of fun! Details can be found in a previous post I wrote. Pi Day Printables and Activities! These can be found for purchase at my TpT shop (there is also a free download available!). There are activities for lower elementary all the way up through high school. Here is a snapshot of some of the activities: You can access them directly by clicking on the images below: K-4 Grades 5+ Not grade specific - but originally designed for upper grades Be sure to visit my Pi Day board on Pinterest for even more ideas! Looking for more FREE downloads? Click here to join the Momgineer newsletter list and get exclusive access to my free resource library. Special thanks to Kimberly Geswein and Creative Clips by Krista Wallden for their font and clip art talent.
Use these classroom decoration ideas to plan out and create an efficient and comfortable learning environment for your students!
Find fun ideas for a Christmas around the world virtual field trip and learn how easy it is to create your own with Power Point!
STEM Challenges using the easiest materials and only 12. It's either 12 straws or 12 cards and both projects are challenging. Both include many variations to make kids think outside the box! #STEM #teachersareterrific
The science center in my classroom is always a busy place. Students can observe, experiment, create, construct, classify, compare, and question. Students are natural-born scientists. They are curious and eager to explore the world and everything in it! As teachers, it is our job to nurture their scientific spirit and help students form questions, investigations, collect data, and share their conclusions. Make your science center amazing to enhance their experiences! Plus, I have a few freebies for your center too!
Create fun math art with kids by graphing a pi skyline or cityscape using the numbers in pi. A creative Pi Day activity to celebrate Pi Day in a creative way.
Making Alka Seltzer rockets is a cool STEM activity for kids of all ages! Find out how they work and how to make, decorate, and launch them.
This career exploration bulletin board is perfect for grabbing your students' interests in a variety of science careers. Your students will love learning about different careers in STEM. Display the careers with a picture, short description, and choose the bulletin board title that best fits your classroom. This bulletin board can be used to connect science to future careers for your students. Students will learn about the variety of science careers that are available. View the preview to see more about this engaging careers bulletin board.
As a teacher, I am sure you have been overwhelmed! The last week of school, the first week of school, right before report cards go out, parent conference week, during an observation, and so many more occasions are when we all get that feeling that it's just too much. That is the exact situation I
Ready to become the coolest parent ever without even breaking a sweat? Check out this amazing list of 20 fun and EASY science experiments using BALLOONS!
Find the best STEM Kits here with this fantastic list of our favorite science, technology, engineering, and robotic kits for kids!
The last couple of years I taught, I did an elaborate science demo day for Halloween. This is one of those experiences that students will remember when
Pi Day craft idea for kids: making coding bracelets
What a chemistry activity for kids? Learn the Periodic Table of Elements with kids in a fun way by playing the Periodic Table Battleship game!
Are you struggling with shortened class periods? The biggest difference between being a classroom teacher and a specials teacher is that you can not overlap time. If you’re in the middle of a STEM challenge in a homeroom, you can always extend into the next period, and put your materials aside for the next day, ... Read more
STEM Challenges using the easiest materials and only 12. It's either 12 straws or 12 cards and both projects are challenging. Both include many variations to make kids think outside the box! #STEM #teachersareterrific
Teacher friends, As you know the end of the year is slowly but surely approaching. You and your students could not be MORE READY! Real learning does not have to go out the window just yet, you just have to mask it such a way where it doesn’t quite seem like learning to students… but it in fact, still
On each printable worksheet there are 3 keyboards for a total of 60 fill in the keyboards activities. There are 3 different keyboard layouts (PC, Chromebook, and Mac) so that students are exposed to different keyboard types. Great for exit ticket, sub activity, early finisher option, low-tech day, and the list goes on!
Blog Description Here
Conduct a hands-on activity that simulates an oil spill and challenges kids of all ages to clean up the simulated disaster and its effect on wildlife.
Celebrate Star Wars Day with your Padawans this May with fun and engaging Star Wars themed activities they will love.
This Foosball STEM is a fabulous challenge! Students will have a blast designing their foosball sets and then competing. Get ready for the cheering!
