All resources in PA STEM Toolkit Workgroup - Sandbox

Literature Based STEM - Book List & Corresponding Activities

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Literature Based STEM - Book List & Corresponding Activities: Looking for grab-and-go elementary STEM lessons? Looking for a read-aloud to hook an existing STEM lesson? Trying to build a STEM library? Search the spreadsheet by titles, authors, big ideas, themes, and lessons. Whether you are a STEM specialist or a classroom teacher, these lessons will work for you.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson, Lesson Plan, Reading

Authors: Sara Bowers, Jessica Redcay, janemarie mckay

Learning the 4Cs Through Literacy-Based STEM

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In this unit, students will learn about the 4Cs (communication, collaboration, creation, and critical thinking) through literature-based engineering challenges. Each lesson focuses on one "C" and one read-aloud. This unit is geared for grades 2-3 but could be adapted to any elementary grade level. COMMUNICATION - Click Clack Moo COLLABORATION - Iggy Peck Architect CRITICAL THINKING - Rosie Revere Engineer CREATION - Galimoto

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson, Lesson Plan, Unit of Study

Author: Sara Bowers

Engineering Design Process Gingerbread Houses

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Architecture is the practice of designing and building structures. Architecture can vary in its scope from functional bridges, houses and buildings to the aesthetic principles of landscape architecture. Architecture is a human endeavor that spans thousands of years. Students will be introduces to Engineering Design Process via the study of Architecture and building their own gingerbread house

Material Type: Unit of Study

Authors: Marsha Hughes, Ellie Taraborrelli

amusementparkSTEM

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--In this activity student will create an amusement park ride out of KNEX that displays a certain type of motion. They will describe their ride. They will then place it in the correct spot on the map by writing the name of it on the worksheet. After all groups have their rides labeled on the map- students should fill in the lines section of the worksheet- identifying parallel, perpendicular and intersecting lines.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Jamie Hitz

Dream House Million Dollar Project Unit

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This project is meant to be cross-curricular, requiring students to utilize many instructional skills to complete each step. Such skills will include number sense to one million, addition and subtraction to one million, area/perimeter/scaling, 3-D design, and writing/advertising. The project could be completed in sequential order, completed as isolated projects or hand selected for which components are used in your classroom.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Diagram/Illustration, Lesson, Module

Author: Matthew Rogers

MATTER AND ENERGY IN HEALTHY ECOSYSTEMS

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This 5th grade unit will take about 8 weeks, 25.5 hours to complete. Students plan and carry out an original investigation in which they observe the effect of different types of matter on the growth of plants. They create their own observable question with prompting such as: “What type of matter do you think will affect plants’ growth?” or “Do you think the amount of a particular type of matter will affect how the plant grows?” They observe their experiment over a period of seven days (or longer if time allows). At the conclusion of the investigation, students use their data to explain how plants convert matter (gas and liquid) into plant matter.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Sabrina Ramirez

What Makes Things Move?

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Students will use an inquiry based approach to discover and reinforce how things move. They will discover that a push and a pull are a pair of forces that put things into motion. They will also investigate how friction is a force that slows an object in motion.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Alexis Ketner

Elementary GLOBE: Honing in on Hummingbirds

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In this activity, students will record a list of things they already know about hummingbirds and a list of things they would like to learn about hummingbirds. Then they will conduct research to find answers to their questions. Using their new knowledge, each student will make a hummingbird out of art supplies. Finally, using their hummingbirds as props, the students will play charades to test each other in their knowledge of the ruby-throated hummingbirds. The purpose of this activity is to provide students with information on ruby-throated hummingbirds, provide students with the opportunity to conduct research on hummingbirds in topic areas that interest them, and to provide students with opportunities to share their knowledge with other students. By completing this activity, students will gain knowledge about ruby-throated hummingbirds. They will also gain experience researching a topic of their choosing related to hummingbirds and communicating those results in several different formats.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Diagram/Illustration, Interactive, Lesson Plan, Textbook

City X Project

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The City X Project is an international educational workshop for 8-12 year-old students that teaches creative problem solving using 3D printing technologies and the design process. This 6-10 hour workshop is designed for 3rd-6th grade classrooms but can be adapted to fit a variety of environments. Read a full overview of the experience here: http://www.cityxproject.com/workshop/

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Diagram/Illustration, Interactive, Lesson Plan, Teaching/Learning Strategy

Authors: Brett Schilke, Libby Falck, Matthew Straub