Take an integrated

approach to curriculum
and problem-solving.
Contents
Taking Steps to STEM .............................................................................................................................................................. 3
Connecting Curricula for Deeper Understanding ................................................................................................................... 5
Reflecting in STEM .................................................................................................................................................................. 8
Lesson Plans .......................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Animal Interviews ............................................................................................................................................................. 11
Create a Creature .............................................................................................................................................................. 13
Dream Room Design ......................................................................................................................................................... 16
Design a Polar Park ........................................................................................................................................................... 18
How Does Your Garden Grow? ......................................................................................................................................... 21
Plan an Event..................................................................................................................................................................... 24

This kit is provided by:

Tech4Learning
10981 San Diego Mission Rd.
Suite 120
San Diego, CA 92116

tech4learning.com

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

 Taking Steps to STEM
Use design thinking and process to apply a STEM approach in any subject

In recent years, STEM has become increasingly popular connected world, ensuring that they will be career-
in education. In a STEM classroom, instruction takes a ready and globally competitive.
unified approach to the normally separate subjects of
science, technology, engineering, and math. Some educators want to make sure the arts aren’t
excluded. In this broader approach, called STEAM,
The STEM model is founded on the belief that the students share their thinking and ideas from STEM
separation of these disciplines is done mainly for classrooms in creative ways, such as song lyrics and
convenience, not for more effective learning. The more multimedia forms of communication.
“holistic approach to curriculum” through STEM is
designed to help students: Even if you aren’t at a STEM or STEAM school, you can
help students think more deeply and integrate ideas
1. see how content in one subject connects to across disciplines in your classroom by:
other subjects,
2. think more deeply about key ideas and issues  asking questions that require knowledge and
instead of memorizing facts, thinking in different areas.
3. make connections between what they learn in  providing students with a design challenge
school and their experiences outside of it. connected to a topic you teach.
 using a design process during project work.
STEM classrooms ask students to work on problems
that blend, or blur, the lines between disciplines and Utilize Design Thinking or a Design Process
require knowledge and thinking across them. It is A design thinking approach, or a design process, can help
believed that this approach better prepares them to you get students questioning, thinking, and making in
solve problems in an increasingly complex and both STEM and traditional single-subject classrooms.

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

While creative designers have been using this process for disciplines. It doesn’t matter if you are a STEM school,
almost fifty years, this process has more recently found or even which process you utilize. What matters is
its way into education, especially in maker spaces. challenging students to think, know, and question
across disciplines, building both creative and analytical
There are many models for the steps in design thinking, thinking skills and learning when to use them.
but they generally follow a process of defining the
problem, coming up with ideas, making prototypes or In language arts class, you can use literature you are
designs and then improving them. already reading to connect to STEM thinking. Literary
characters encounter problems all the time, so ask
students to design alternative paths to action for them.
They may not be making something, but they are
thinking both creativity and analytically about both the
text and their experiences outside the classroom.

If you want to get language arts learners making, ask them

to build new versions of the structures they encounter in
stories, such as a better house for a fourth pig or an
alternative way across the river for the Three Billy Goats
Gruff. Then, ask them to present their work through
written, oral, and multimedia forms of communication.

In social studies classrooms, challenge students to find

The process begins as you define, or frame, the new solutions to problems encountered by people in
problem according to the needs and desires of the history, analyzing research and events to find creative
people encountering it. You empathize with the alternatives. They can collect and analyze mathematical
audience for the problem to better identify what is data to develop their own solutions to social science
actually needed and develop solutions to the issue. issues and share them using technology tools.
Next, you work to imagine possibilities that address the In the physical sciences, students can connect to
specific needs you have defined. This part of the phase engineering, not by repeating someone else’s steps to
is about volume of ideas, not quality of them. build a bridge or roller coaster or boat, but by
Next, you make your ideas real by creating designs and developing prototypes in response to a specific design
prototypes. You continue work by evaluating the first challenge. If you are a single-subject science or math
attempt as a prototype; testing, getting feedback, and teacher, give students tasks that help them see the
learning from “failure” to make changes and connections between these two disciplines.
improvements in a next version.
Conclusion
The process is repeated until you get a result you will No matter exactly how you deploy the ideas of a STEM
use to move forward. In some models, like the approach, remember the goal is to help students
Engineering Design Process used by the Museum of connect ideas between disciplines to think more deeply
Science in Boston, improving is a separate step in the about our world. Challenging students with complex
process. problems that require ideas and information from
multiple subjects can better prepare them to tackle the
Classroom Implementation issues facing our world today and into the future.
The goal of a STEM approach is to get students solving
complex problems that require thinking across

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

Connecting Curricula for Deeper Understanding
The case for an interdisciplinary approach .

If we were going to build a house, we would expect that Reasons for Separate Subjects
all its various parts would work together. We would Most schools will say that they want students to have
assume that the architect shared the building plans with an understanding of their world as a whole, but they
the plumbing, electrical, and general contractors. If seldom look at topics with an interdisciplinary focus.
these contractors did their part without regard to how Why? It is easy to find reasons why this disjointed
their work fit in with what others were doing, the house approach to learning happens:
would be inhabitable. But in a similar manner, school
curricula are often disconnected; that is, we categorize  Some argue that there is so much content and
subjects by disciplines and teach them separately. Why so many skills to be learned in each discipline
aren’t we concerned in schools when the content of that they don’t have time to integrate subjects.
one subject does not relate to other subjects?  Others say that the each discipline has a body of
knowledge and skills that should stand on its
Instead of studying motion across the subject areas: own and not be muddied by the intrusion of
what is it, where we see it, and how it affects us in our other disciplines.
daily lives, we study the principles of motion only in a  Secondary educators say that there is
science class. In most schools, the only connection insufficient common planning time to combine
between a topic like motion taught in science to other their efforts to teach an interdisciplinary course.
subjects is in the minds of students. This is often by
chance rather than by design.
  Still others say that the whole system is geared this all-inclusive approach. It incorporates more
toward separate subjects and to break out of subjects than STEAM, such as geography, language
this would require a monumental effort. arts, and social studies.
 Others are guided by “the tests,” which are
These acronym-labeled programs all recognize that the
presented by separate disciplines.
ways we divide subjects is artificial and is something
Despite the norm, there are many schools, that practice that occurs mainly in schools for the convenience of the
cross-curricular teaching. They organize students into education system. The way schools work and the way
interdisciplinary teams and coordinate lessons so that scientists and others work is quite different. When
what happens in math, science, language arts, and scientists are studying a problem, there are often
social studies all tie to a common theme. Many times scientific, mathematical, artistic, or social elements
these teachers team-teach during larger blocks of time. involved. They seldom think about which discipline is at
play when solving a problem.
Advocates of this more holistic approach to curriculum
argue that it helps students: This discipline separation in schools does not meld well
with a problem or project-based approach. Nor does it
1. see how content of one subject is help students learn to think deeply about solutions to
interconnected with content from other problems that cross discipline lines.
disciplines.
2. delve deeper into fewer topics rather than Consider a student’s day in each type of
skimming across the surface of many topics. curriculum structure:
3. connect learning more easily with the
experiences in their lives.

STEM, STEAM, and More

In recent years, curriculum developers have begun
putting money and effort behind the notion of
connecting allied disciplines. Linking the disciplines of
science, technology, engineering, and math has been
given the acronym STEM.

These disciplines have a lot in common, so their

interconnection seems logical. We can find applications for
each of these disciplines in the other. For example, we use
science, technology, and math in the field of engineering.
Similarly, we might use technology, engineering, and math
in the study of a science such as genetics.

Some educators say that the arts are an integral part of

STEM and shouldn’t be excluded from an interdisciplinary
mix, calling their approach STEAM. For example, if
students are studying the transfer of energy, art could be a
means to show it through music, dance, or poetry.

Still others feel that it is hard to exclude any discipline

from a unified study. Everything, they say, is
interconnected. One program at Spigot Science uses
the large acronym STEAM GLASS + to characterize

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

Digging Deeper very challenging to test understanding when the
The ultimate goal for the study of any subject is to content crosses several disciplines. Indeed, to measure
develop a deeper understanding of its content and the results of an interdisciplinary, problem-based
skills so that students can engage in higher-level approach, we must often use rubrics and other
thinking and higher- level application of its principles. measures that some test makers feel are “soft
When students dig deeper and understand content measurement” due to the difficulty of getting
across several disciplines, they will be better equipped quantifiable data.
to engage in substantive discussion and application of
One ray of hope comes from the support offered by the
the topic. They will also be better able to see
Common Core State Standards initiative. This effort is
relationships across disciplines.
embraced by 45 states and it supports digging deeper
Suppose upper elementary or middle school students though cross-curricular teaching and its associated
were studying ecosystems. If they were studying this in problem-based and project-based approaches. It
science class, they might learn about how the habitats supports using a variety of methods and incorporating
of plants or animals are interrelated. This is fine, but it technology to help all students learn. This initiative
doesn’t push the topic as far as it could go. Students seeks to prepare students for college and their careers.
could collect and analyze data about ecosystems in the
This type of digital storytelling uses the power of
math portion of the study. They might use technology
personal appeal along with voice, music, and images to
to find and represent information. They could learn
create influence and impact. Authors combine their
what ecological engineers do and try their hand at
personal messages with the lessons learned to provide
designing a balanced ecosystem. Students could
a compelling call to action. A popular television version
represent their findings using multimedia applications.
of this approach is the “Above the Influence” series
And this study could go on to touch all the other
calling attention to the consequences of choices made
school subjects.
or not made.
Engaging in a thorough study of ecosystems would
involve reading, writing, planning, designing,
Our Challenge
interacting, producing, and more. When students learn To prepare our students for an integrated world, we
though an interdisciplinary approach, they are acting as need to break out of the separate-discipline mentality
they will in the real world—solving a problem rather and develop more holistic and problem/project-based
than studying a subject. They are using many methods approaches. Many have tried to do this, and it isn’t
to gather, analyze, and process data. easy. Our separate-disciplinary structure is deeply
ingrained in the culture of schools.
Of course, digging deeper doesn’t fit well in the time
frame that most schools use. It takes time to link If we can ever reach the point where we view education
content across several disciplines, and it may be difficult as more than separate subjects and can begin to
to squeeze a learning activity into a 40-minute period. replicate the way problems are solved in teams in the
To change the method of learning will mean changing working world, perhaps we will then be able to think
more than the curricula. The school structure, including outside the separate boxes that we our curriculum is
the schedule and methodology will also need to change. squeezed into now. When we achieve this, our students
will be the winners. After all, they are what this effort is
The measurement of interdisciplinary approaches does all about.
not fit well in a traditional testing format. Just as test
developers have found it hard to create science tests
that include hands-on experiences, they would find it

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

Reflecting in STEM
The benefits of reflection in the STEM approach to instruction

The goal of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Reflecting helps students process and organize their
Math (STEM) instructional model is to integrate the four learning. As they reflect, students observe how
subject areas and teach them in unison instead of successful they have been during an activity. Then, they
treating them as individual, unrelated topics. A STEM work to identify what they learned from their experience.
lesson can include all four of these subjects or any The reflection process gives students time away from the
combination thereof. Requiring students to work on social and fast-paced nature of group work to think
problems that blend the STEM components prepares critically about their role in their own learning.
them to solve problems in an increasingly complex and
connected world, helping ensure that they will be Many STEM lessons and activities are collaborative in
career-ready and globally competitive. nature. Collaborative work supports and motivates
students, but it can be difficult to identify how well each
My school has embraced the STEM model; we are student is progressing in a group setting. Individual
currently transitioning into a STEAM school to integrate reflections help educators accurately monitor each
the arts into STEM instruction. I serve as the STEM student’s progress and guide future instruction.
resource teacher for grade K-5; students rotate through
my classroom to participate in activities that connect After reflecting, students often gain a deeper
science, technology, engineering, math, and the arts. understanding of the content because teachers are able
to ask questions that prompt critical thinking that can
Why Reflect in STEM? only be accomplished after the main activity has been
Reflection in STEM is essential to both student completed. Reflecting also helps students identify
understanding and teacher evaluation of students’ connections to previous learning.
learning. Reflecting helps students make connections,
understand their successes and failures, and become
Reflecting with the Engineering Design Process
aware of their learning. Reflections help teachers identify I use a five-step Engineering Design Process developed
where different students are in their learning process. by the Museum of Science in Boston to guide most
STEM lessons and activities. In this process, students:
 1. Ask - What is the problem? What are the For each day of the project, the journal has a page with
constraints? questions to prompt their reflection and a page where
2. Imagine - What are some solutions to the they can use Wixie’s paint tools and image library to
problem? Brainstorm. redesign their product. I add additional reflection
3. Plan - Draw out your plan. Gather your prompts in the instructions field on their redesign page
materials. to give them more space to work.
4. Create - Follow your plan and test it.
5. Improve - Does it meet the goal? How can it be Padlet
When I want students to reflect in groups, I post
improved?
reflection questions to Padlet and share the URL with
The Improve step supports the reflection process as students. Padlet works like an online bulletin board.
students look back on the entire engineering experience Multiple students can edit the board at the same time,
to see what they can make better. Since students responding to the prompt and to one another by typing
cannot truly improve their product without text, uploading files, adding hyperlinks, or adding photos.
understanding the content, this reflective step provides
While there are opportunities for reflection throughout
an opportunity to unpack their learning.
the STEM process, I have found that daily reflection is
At this point, students think objectively about their the best way for students to understand and learn to
product to identify whether or not they were successful in value the reflecting process. Reflection becomes routine
achieving their goals. They also determine what changes for students and expectations are always very clear.
could be made, and then they execute the revised process
We use a daily reflection journal in our fifth grade coding
to see if the changes yielded improvement.
unit. In this unit, students use Scratch to complete daily
Daily Reflection Journals coding challenges. Their experience is very exploratory;
Concurrently with the Improve stage of the Engineering students have creative latitude as long as they are staying
Design process, students complete a daily journal that in line with the day’s coding challenge.
includes questions to prompt reflection and a redesign
I customized the scrapbook template in Wixie to create
space where they can illustrate new ideas. I use Wixie
a reflection journal. Students personalized their coding
and Padlet to support students’ daily reflection.
journal covers to give them a sense of ownership. At the
Wixie end of each class, students are prompted with
Since my students are already familiar with Wixie from questions about that day’s coding experience. The
their project work in other classes, I used Wixie to students are encouraged to create drawings to go along
create and assign a reflection journal. Students log in to with their reflections, add pictures of their code, and
Wixie and open their journals to type or record include pictures of what they actually created.
reflections and draw new designs.
In addition to helping students to fall into a positive
routine of thinking deeper on their learning, reflection
journals make it easy to go back and revisit previous
work. As students see their progression through a unit,
they move from reflecting on what they had done to
setting goals for future work.

Reflecting can be a great teaching strategy to use in the

STEM classroom as it benefits the students in significant
ways, can provide the teacher with powerful data, and
seamlessly fits into STEM lessons.

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

Lesson Plans
The following lesson plans provide specific, detailed examples of the ways creative technology tools can be applied in
the elementary math curriculum to engage students and improve content knowledge and retention.

Each lesson includes:

 the task students will perform,

 ideas to engage students in the content,
 a description of what students will create with a technology tool,
 ways to share student work beyond the classroom walls, and
 tips for assessing student work.

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

Animal Interviews
Students research the physical characteristics, adaptations, and habitat of an animal and
share their findings through a question and answer session with the animal.

Apps: Wixie® or Frames®

Task Ask your students to share what they know about other
amazing animals. Help lead students to the realization
Everyday scientists are learning more and more about that a unique physical or behavioral adaptation is what
how animals “talk.” For example, there is now an makes the animal interesting. To get them talking, ask
elephant voices dictionary that helps humans students to share:
understand the meaning of elephant calls and gestures
subsonic.  What the animal looks like.
 Where the animal lives in the wild.
Students will use their powers of research, observation,  What makes it interesting.
and questioning to create an interview with an animal;
interviewing it to help others learn more what makes it Let students know that they will become animal
so amazing along with the issues it faces in the wild. researchers who will inspire others about the wonders of
animals, their unique adaptations, and the issues they
Engage face in the wild through an interview with the animal!
Inspire your student's curiosity about animal's unique
characteristics by visiting the San Diego Zoo Kids web Group students together in pairs by interest in the same
site and exploring some of the amazing animals found animal, keeping in mind work style, ability, and
there. Depending on the literature you have been personality. Working together will make the research
reading with students, you may want to start with a process a bit easier and provides for an easy split into
specific animal. For example, if you have been reading interviewer and interviewee (animal) when they record
Verdi, by Janell Cannon, to your class, start with the the interview. If students have a team mate to question
python. first, you will also have a bit more time to talk to
different groups and identify misconceptions.

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

Students should begin by completing research about  What the animal looks like.
the animal. Graphic organizers, like clusters, may be  Where the animal lives in the wild.
helpful for them to organize the information they find  What makes it interesting.
about the habitat, food, physical characteristics, and
predators of the animal they are studying. Have students develop illustrations for each question
and answer and record the interview. They can create
Their research should answer questions like: original illustrations, find photographs, and even
capture their image to add to the project using a digital
 What are the physical features of this creature?
camera or web cam.
 Why are these features needed in this habitat?
 What does this creature eat? Share
 What does this creature do during the day? Or Have students present their interviews to the rest of the
is it nocturnal? class or local animal expert, such as a ranger from a
 Does this creature have any natural predators? local park or nature center. Post interviews to your class
website, a station in the school media center where
Create other students can use for their own research purposes.
Tell your students they will be sharing their research
through an interview with their animal. Their animal will Assessment
describe how it looks, what it eats, and where it lives by The final interview and student work during the
answering questions from a reporter. process will help you evaluate understanding of physical
characteristics, habitats, and adaptations.
This might be a good time to talk to your students about
personification. While the goal is to share information in Monitor progress and encourage the use of graphic
a fun and unique way, you can focus on writing and organizers as students begin their research. Work
language skills by asking students to consider: closely with students as they develop their interview
questions, as their formulation of the questions will
 How do you feel about your looks?
demonstrate comprehension of big ideas behind the
 What are you afraid of?
facts they find. Their written interview may also serve
 How do you feel about what you eat and where as both a formative and summative assessment.
you live?
The resulting interviews serve as an artifact for a unique
When they have enough information about their summative assessment of informative writing. Be sure
animal, students should begin dividing up the to evaluate student recording for fluency and content
information into questions and answers. While you can accuracy.
provide the questions, having students develop the
questions on their own is a powerful way to have them Resources
start organizing information and thinking like scientists. Nicola Davies. Extreme Animals: The Toughest Creatures on
Earth. ISBN: 0763641278
Using a tool like Wixie® or Frames®, have students
enhance their interview with images and voice Pamela Hickman. Animals in Motion: How Animals Swim,
narration. Jump, Slither and Glide. ISBN: 1550745751

If your students are ready, give them flexibility to San Diego Zoo Kids: Animals
choose how many pages or slides in their interview as Shedd Aquarium: Animal Facts
well as how it is organized. If they need more structure,
you could suggest they create pages for: Ranger Rick: Animals

National Geographic: Animals

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

Create a Creature
Students apply what they have learned about animal characteristics and adaptation to create
a new creature and introduce it to the scientific community.

Apps: Wixie® or Pixie®

Task animals, habitats, and adaptations and assumes they

Scientists are finding new species every year. While have already explored these topics.
some of them live in remote environments, others have
Begin project work by reading about one of the amazing
been found in large urban cities! While you can’t travel
creatures in Extreme Animals: The Toughest Creatures
to faraway lands in the hopes of finding a new species,
on Earth by Nicola Davies. Share additional photos of
you can use what you know about plant and animal
the animal with your students from education-friendly
adaptation to create a new species of your own!
sites like Pics4Learning.com. Penguins are a perennial
Create an electronic book to introduce your species to favorite with elementary students and images, leveled
the world, sharing its physical adaptations, daily habits literature, and information texts abound.
(behavioral adaptations), predators, and prey.
Ask your students to share what they know about other
Engage amazing creatures. Help lead students to the realization
that a unique physical or behavioral adaptation is what
There are lots of right ways to explore this topic. You
makes the animal interesting. To get them talking, ask
might focus on a specific habitat and brainstorm
students to share:
animals and adaptations for that habitat. You might
instead have students individually or collaboratively  What the animal looks like.
research a favorite animal and explore its habitat and
 Where the animal lives in the wild.
adaptations. This “create a creature” project is a good
 What makes it interesting.
culminating assessment of student understanding of

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

Explain that new plants and animals are still being combining body parts from one or more categories of
discovered by scientists and researchers. Share animal types, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish,
examples of some of newly-discovered species with insects, and invertebrates.
your students. Live Science has a collection of some
great examples for 2013; a search on the Web will turn Tell your students they will be creating ePubs/iBooks to
up many others. introduce their amazing creatures to the world.

Let students know that they will become animal Books should include the features of informational text,
explorers tasked with a mission to “find” a new species. including images, labels, photos, captions, and
They will use what they have learned about plant and headings. The information students provide should
animal characteristics and adaptations to create a new answer questions like:
species and introduce it to the world by creating an  What are the physical features of this creature?
electronic book.
 Why are these features needed in this habitat?
 What does this creature eat?
Create
 What does this creature do during the day? Or
Depending on the culture and students in your
is it nocturnal?
classroom, students may work individually or in small
groups. If you have highly independent learners, let  Does this creature have any natural predators?
them show off their individuality through personal If your students are ready, give them flexibility to
work. If you have students who must collaborate to choose the information they will include in their project.
come up with ideas, small teams provide many more If you want to provide direction and structure to the
opportunities to discuss and process learning. Group project, you could ask students to create a project that
work also provides additional opportunities for you to includes pages for:
identify misconceptions and help the group to focus on
key understandings. 1. Title page with name of animal and scientist(s)
who discovered it
If your students have a strong grasp of characteristics, 2. Image of create in habitat
adaptations, and habitats, have students or teams begin 3. Description of habitat and images to support
by describing the habitat in which their new animal will description
live. They should include information about weather, 4. Description of creature’s characteristics and
temperature, rainfall, plants, and other animals. image with labels
Next, have students think about where their animal will 5. Description of creature’s predators and prey
live in this habitat – on the ground, in the air, water, or (diet)
tree tops, etc. Share graphic organizers like t-charts, 4- 6. Story of how the creature was discovered
squares, clusters, and storyboards to help students (narrative writing)
organize their ideas. Have students record their voices as they read the
Ask students to create a creature with adaptations that information on each page. (Note that audio for ePub
help it survive in this environment. Encourage them to may not work on all Android devices.)
look to other creatures in similar habitats to identify
Share
features and characteristics that would help this
Have students present their creatures to the rest of the
creature thrive in its habitat. If they are creative
class or to a different team. To give the project an
thinkers, they can simply start designing.
additional air of authenticity, bring in local experts to
If your students are just beginning to understand the ask questions and evaluate student work. If you do not
idea of adaptations, have them create a creature first by

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

have a local zoo, veterinarians, park rangers, and even As students begin illustrating, prompt them with
pet enthusiast parents may be willing to help. questions about their animals to encourage them to
add more details and create accurate illustrations.
Students can publish their books as ePub files and share
them using a service like iTunes or Dropbox. Share the The resulting ePub or PDF can serve as an artifact for
ePubs in the school library database, on computers in summative assessment of content and expository, or
the library, or in a publically accessible network location informative, writing. If their work includes a story
where other students can access and download the detailing the discovery of the creature, you can also
publications. evaluate their narrative writing skills.

If you don’t have ready access to eReaders, you can Be sure to evaluate oral presentations for content
export the finished work as PDF files for easy sharing. accuracy. Students’ ability to answer questions from the
You can also print their work and share it in classroom audience will help you assess how well they have
and school media centers or post the digital files to your internalized the concepts of behavioral and physical
classroom web site. adaptations.

Assessment Resources
The final ePub and the work during the process will help Nicola Davies. Extreme Animals: The Toughest
you evaluate student understanding of animals, Creatures on Earth.
habitats, and adaptations.
Pamela Hickman. Animals in Motion: How Animals
As individual students or teams begin working on the Swim, Jump, Slither and Glide.
descriptions of their habitats and animal features,
National Park Service: Our Wild Neighbors
monitor their progress and ask questions. You can also
use graphic organizers as tangible check in points. National Geographic: Creature Feature

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

Dream Room Design
Students explore length, width, perimeter, and surface area, convert measurements, and work
with 2-D representations of 3-D objects.

Apps: Wixie® or Pixie®

If you are working with older students, teach them how

Task
to find the area of polygons by breaking them into
Are you satisfied with the design of your bedroom?
component shapes and estimating.
Have you seen advertisements for posters, TVs, or a bed
you just have to have? Your parents are never going to Assign students to take some basic measurements in
give you your dream room, unless you can accurately their rooms at home and calculate the square footage.
describe the items in it and why they are necessary. Have them measure some common bedroom elements
Using measurement skills, create your own dream such as beds and dressers.
bedroom design!
Brainstorm with your class the elements a bedroom
Engage might have, such as bed, dresser, and television. Which
Introduce the concepts of length, width, and perimeter items are needs and which are desires? What should a
to your students. Make sure that they know how to bedroom do for the occupant? If it contains a bed, do all
determine the surface area for simple rectangular beds have to be exactly the same?
shapes (width x length).
Create
Have students practice their measurement skills in your Have students begin by creating a paper sketch of their
classroom, determining the dimensions of your dream room. You might create a worksheet that has a
classroom and objects in it, such as your desk, student 12 x 12 room with gridlines every 6 inches.
desks, and any chairs, tables, and bookcases.

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

The designs should include major elements that make it best. If you have adequate time, let students duplicate
obvious this is a bedroom, like a place to sleep and a the page with their design and make adjustments based
place to store clothes. Encourage on other student’s ideas and
them to think about accurate or feedback.
appropriate space between objects.
Return to your brainstorm about
You may also ask them to add what makes a bedroom. Compare
architectural details such as power what the students have included in
outlets, doors, windows, cable their designs to the elements they
access, and telephone access. How came up with on their list. Have the
will they designate these items in students’ opinions changed about
their drawing? How will they show what a bedroom should contain or
them to scale? Have students be?
develop a key for their design using shapes and color.
Once students have a general idea of their room’s
Assessment
layout, have them launch Wixie to complete their Use the students’ measurements of their room to
design to scale. They can begin from a grid template to determine if they understand how to take
more easily create accurate and appropriately sized measurements and determine surface area.
representations of objects like rugs, dressers, beds, and Use the design sketch and finished Wixie project to
desks. evaluate students’ ability to convert measurements,
Encourage them to use colors and add text descriptors draw objects to scale, create 2-D representations of 3-D
for clarification. When their visual design is complete, objects.
have students add a page, or pages that includes a
Evaluate their room description for the use of
description of their dream room and the objects in it.
descriptive adjectives, voice, and organization.
If students are new to descriptive writing, talk about
putting together a descriptive paragraph. You can use Resources
the burger analogy: the meat, or main idea, of their Hallam, Linda. Decorating Kids’ Rooms: Nurseries to Teen
paragraph, surrounded by juicy details, held together by Retreats. ISBN: 069620729X.
the bun of introductory and concluding sentences.
Brunetto, Carolyn Ford. MathART Projects and Activities.
ISBN: 0590963716
Share
Have students use the text in their descriptive essay, Writing with Writers
along with a picture of their dream room, to share their
Unique Furniture Designs
design ideas with the rest of the class. After all the
students have presented, discuss the ideas you liked the

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

Design a Polar Park
Students design enclosures for animals that live in the Arctic or Antarctic regions, reflecting
the animal’s natural habitat, as well as its air, water, food, shelter, and activity needs.

Apps: Wixie® or Pixie®

Task different seasons and how their behavior (food,

When zoos and aquariums design animal enclosures, clothing, activities) changes when the temperature
they make sure they are both safe and interactive for changes.
the animals. They also work hard to ensure the
Ask your students which season, or weather (climate),
enclosure reflects the animal’s natural habitat.
they think animals prefer. It may take a little prompting,
In this project, your class will work together to design a but students should soon see that different animals may
Polar Park with a variety of exhibits that showcase the have different preferences. Ask them to explain and
animals in the Arctic or Antarctic region. It is your task elaborate using specific animals, and their
to design an enclosure for a specific animal that characteristics, as examples.
considers the survival needs of the animal, accurately
Read a book such as Polar Bears or Penguins by Gail
reflects their natural habitat, and helps visitors learn
Gibbons. Discuss the unique adaptations and
more about this unique species.
characteristics of polar animals. Discuss how the
Engage environment in which these animals live compares to
the environment in which your students live.
Begin by engaging your students in discussions about
weather, climate, and animal adaptations. Next, ask students if they have ever visited a zoo or
an aquarium. What was their favorite exhibit? Why?
Ask your students what type of weather they prefer. Do
What specific features made it memorable? What do
they prefer summer where the weather is warm, or
they think the animals in the enclosure felt about
winter where they bundle up to play in the snow? Ask
the exhibits?
students to explain how they do different things in

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

Show students a picture of a penguin, or a group of  A map of the entire enclosure.
penguins, in their natural habitat.  Textual information about what the enclosure
includes.
 A detailed visual example of one part of the
enclosure.
 Important things to know about the species in
enclosure.
 Ways the enclosure meets these needs.
 Details about the daily routine of the animals in
the enclosure.

Students can use a tool like Wixie to organize their

presentation. Have them use the Paint tools to create a
map, marketing important features in the animal
enclosure, as well a locations where visitors can view
the animal. They should also clearly mark areas that will
Ask the students to describe what they see in the be hidden from the guests for the caretakers to prep
habitat. Which of those features could be replicated in a food, care for sick animals, and store equipment.
zoo exhibit?
Students should also include a more detailed example
Let the students know that your class will be designing a visualizing what one area of the enclosure will look like,
Polar Park. As a class, decide if you will focus on Arctic haring special features of that space, as well as how the
or Antarctic animals or if you will mix animals (but label animal (or animals) appear in that space.
or group them) from both regions.
The presentation should demonstrate their expertise
Form small teams of students to design an enclosure for about the animal itself. They should share facts about
a specific animal. Since the focus of this project is on the animal as well as showcase their knowledge of its
habitat and requirements for life, let students choose to unique characteristics and adaptations that help it
make their exhibit any size and using any survive in their natural environment.
budget/materials.
Students should also include text and pictures that
Have teams begin by researching their animal. They describe how the enclosure reflects the animals original
should be encouraged to become an expert on this habitat and is uniquely suited to helping the specific
animal, its unique characteristics, and needs. Provide animal thrive.
them with graphic organizers, such as clusters, to keep
notes on plants and physical features that are found in Share
this animal’s natural habitat. Have student teams present their designs to “critical
friends” in your classroom. After sharing feedback,
Create teams should make tweaks to the design and edits to
Let the students know that they will be responsible for their presentation.
sharing their design through informational text and
pictures, as well as formal presentation. Invite a local zoologist, park ranger, or even
veterinarian to evaluate student designs and the
You may want to help provide structure to their presentations of those designs. Student teams can
presentation and design portfolio by establishing each make an oral presentation of their design, or
requirements like: have them showcase their work more in the style of

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

science fair, where evaluators visit each booth to learn Check in with students as they complete their initial
more about their enclosure. animal research and organizers to clarify
misconceptions before they begin the design process.
As a class, work together to develop a map, or
design, for the entire park, showing the location of Ask students to talk about their maps, visualizations,
each enclosure, and discussing and describing the before they present so that they have practice
visitor experience. articulating their work. Have teams submit descriptions
and other textual information to you, so you can
Have your entire class showcase their work at a Polar provide comments and feedback before they add it to
Park Faire. Invite parents, as well as community their design portfolio/presentation.
members, interested in polar animals to talk with your
student experts and tour the proposed design. Support student presentation of their materials as they
share their work with one other team. Use this
Assessment opportunity to ask clarifying questions. You may even
Initial discussions with your students will help you want to have the teams present their work to you,
assess their prior knowledge about arctic animals, as when they think they are finished, so you can provide
well as how much they have thought about animal feedback before final whole group presentations.
enclosures at zoos and aquariums they have visited.
Resources
As you work together to explore and research one
species together, their ability to glean facts and Jackie Glassman & Lisa Bonforte. Amazing Arctic
information from the story will provide you with a sense Animals (Penguin Young Readers, L3).
of their research ability. This work as a whole group will
provide information that will help you group students Molly Aloian & Bobbie Kalman. The Arctic Habitat
for maximum success in the project. It will also help you (Introducing Habitats).
determine if you need to develop additional research Barbara Taylor. DK Eyewitness Books: Arctic and
resources and supports to help students meet the goals Antarctic.
of the project. Switch Zoo: Build an Online Habitat

Penguin Coast: Maryland Zoo

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

How Does Your Garden Grow?
Students design a functional and beautiful garden, developing a scale model, determining
costs and materials, and creating a guide explaining how to care for the garden.

Apps: Wixie® or Pixie®

days. Use this interest to help engage them in the study

Task
of plants and their role in small ecosystems.
Your local garden center wants to encourage people to
plant their own gardens, and is hoping that interest in If students’ families have a home or community garden
environmental issues can help boost interest in plot, ask them what crops are grown. With some
gardening. They have asked for your help in creating a prompting, they may also be able to tell you different
variety of small garden designs that they can show to plants that are grown at different times of the year.
customers who are interested in saving water, cooking Depending on where you live, students may also have
with foods they have grown, or just “greening up” their fruit or nut trees in their yards.
home environment.
If students live in apartments, prompt them to think of
Student teams will design a small garden that is unique “gardens” they have seen in small spaces. You
uniquely suited to a specific environment. They will might prompt them with examples, like a cherry tomato
work together to create a scale drawing, a list of needed plant on the porch, a small pot of cilantro by the sink, or
non-plant materials and estimated costs, a list of a bonsai tree in the living room.
suggested plants and estimated costs, as well as an
instruction manual with the basics of care for the Encourage students to brainstorm other unique gardens
garden. Teams will present their garden designs and they have seen. Botanical gardens usually have all types
implementation materials at a community garden fair. of plants, but students may have also heard of or visited
a xeriscape garden, an aquatic garden, or even a park
Engage with a restored prairie. You might even get them
From conserving water to organic gardening, interested with an excerpt of National Geographic’s
environmental issues have most students talking these Pond Stars!

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

Depending on your goals for exploring ecosystems and Designing with a specific user in mind makes it easier to
movement of matter, this may be a time to bring up define the problem and narrow the scope of the
concepts like organic and genetically modified, as well project.
as stories about pesticide use such as DDT and other
chemicals with effects that are beneficial to plants but Have students complete a cluster organizer or character
disastrous to animals. trait worksheet to practice descriptive writing as they
identify and define who they are designing for. Give
You can also connect what your students are learning students parameters and requirements for their work
about American Colonial History and ecosystems in such as:
science by exploring the colonists’ utilization of the
“Three Sisters” style of companion planting. The Three 1. A scale design for a garden.
Sisters name was coined by the Iroquois and used 2. Suggested plants for the garden and an
widely by many Native Americans groups. explanation of why these represent a healthy
ecosystem or habitat.
In this “companion planting” style of gardening, corns, 3. A description of the design, as well as who
beans, and squash are grown together. Beans use the would benefit most from this type of garden.
corn stalk as natural place to climb, help to stabilize the 4. Care and maintenance instructions for the
corn stalk in the wind, and boost nitrogen content in the plants in the garden.
soil, which benefits the other plants. Squash grows
around the base, shading the soil and preventing both
the growth of weeds and the loss of moisture. The
sharp hairs on the squash also help to keep pests like
mice and raccoons from eating the crops.

Once you have piqued student interest in plants and

gardening, let them know that they will create a garden
design and develop materials to help people interested
in this type of garden implement on successfully.

Create
Form small teams of students. It will be helpful to include
a science “expert” in each group to serve as the visionary
who can evaluate the accuracy and quality of design.
You may want to provide more specific expectations,
Instead of starting with a specific garden type in mind, such as choosing a particular planter size available at a
have the team focus on the type of person they are typical garden center. When you share the project
creating the garden for. Does the person want to: assessment criteria, you could also let students know
that a list with three suggested plants will earn 10 points,
 Landscape while saving water. while a list with more than 10 will earn 50 points.
 Grow their own food or herbs.
 Add a water feature to their yard. Once you determine parameters for their work, let
students choose how they will meet them. For example,
 Create a garden inside their home or
their design description could take the form of a poster,
apartment.
brochure, slide show presentation, or even a video
 Create a garden habitat native to the region in
advertisement. You might want to brainstorm as a
which they live.
group different ways students can share information as
well as the resources available to them.

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

You may also want to choose roles for each team center to have students present their ideas to
member, such as lead designer, architect, researcher, customers at a special event. Explore additional options
writer, editor, and speaker. Depending on your goals for for distributing and displaying materials created by your
their learning, you might also have every team member students.
take the role of research and writer for a day or specific
component of the project. Assessment
Once you begin discussing the Three Sisters planting
Once student teams have chosen their audience and method, you will get a sense of student engagement in
the type of garden they think will be most attractive to the topic, as well as begin evaluating prior knowledge
this audience, have them begin researching. They need and experience.
to learn about the plants, soil, nutrients, care, and pests
for a successful design. If you have students write about their target customers,
you can evaluate their ability to empathize and write
As they explore the plants that would work in their descriptively. If you implement this project more than
garden, encourage them to collect research in a three- one time, you can skip also this part and
column organizer that includes the plant name, distribute/assign the first year’s examples!
description, and pros and cons about its use. Students
could also create a larger table with additional columns The research students do to develop their list of
for size, water needs, sunlight needs, and feeding. They suggested plants will give you both a window into their
should not choose the first plants they find; rather, their grasp of plant needs and ecosystems as well as help you
research should help them choose the best plants from see where they need additional support in organizing
the many they learn about. research information and note taking.

Once they have chosen plants to include, the team The scale drawing or design of the garden is their first
should work together to organize the plants into the chance to apply the knowledge gained in their research.
allotted space. Encourage them to consider how the Evaluate their drawings’ accuracy for size,
customer will access each plant for care, how it will complementary grouping, and maintenance. You might
appear (color and beauty), as well as how companion need to prompt the teams with questions about
plants may be mutually beneficial. reaching plants to weed, prune, or pick.

Once they have a design created, team members need Be sure to evaluate each team’s overall presentation.
to think about how they will present a general Confirm the content accuracy and rate the effectiveness
description of their garden as well as care and of their presentations. Did they share their ideas
maintenance instructions. They should be thinking creatively? Were they easy to read, find, hear?
about all of the materials they want to have available to
Enlist the help of gardening center staff (or parent
share with potential customers at a garden fair.
experts) to help you evaluate the designs and the
Share presentation of the design to potential customers.
Have student teams present their designs to “critical
Resources
friends” in your classroom. After sharing feedback,
Celebrate the Three Sisters: Corn, Beans and Squash
teams should make tweaks to the design and edits to
their presentation. Companion Planting

Have students showcase their garden designs to Plant care for edible gardens
interested community members. Host a Gardening Fair
at your school or partner with a local nursery or garden Xeriscape Plant Requirements

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

Plan an Event
Students plan for an event, including food, theme, and decorations, and create a proposal
demonstrating how the event might look and how much it would cost for various numbers of attendees.

Apps: Wixie® or Pixie®

Task Before you begin

Everybody loves a party! Well, everyone except maybe This project engages students in a variety of activities
the person who has to pay for it. People hold events all requiring them to apply mathematics. This project isn’t
the time for a variety of reasons. Businesses host events just about budgeting. Students will perform basic
to introduce clients to new ideas or to say thank you for computation as they research cost of goods, practice
being a customer. Families hold events to celebrate measurement as they look at room setup and layout,
important dates like birthdays, anniversaries, and and work with ratios as they calculate costs for various
marriages. numbers of people and the costs for supplies.

In this project, you will choose an event or party you Depending on your goals, you may want to structure
would like to plan for your school. For example, you the project instead of leaving it open-ended. You could
could plan a thank you dinner for volunteers, a establish a budget, choose 3 numbers of participants for
celebration for your school’s teacher of the year, or a ratio purposes, and even direct students to specific
party for your class or grade. Once you choose an event, vendors for food.
you will write a proposal that describes the theme,
To save time on research, bring in sample menus and
decorations, and food and calculate how much the
invitations. Locate and set parameters for web sites and
party will cost for various numbers of attendees.
locations where students can find and price out party

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

supplies and catering. Most chain party supply stores, Create
like Party City, have web sites. Other vendors, like Once student teams choose an event, they will be
Shindigz, only exist online. If you have a BYOD policy, responsible for developing a proposal that explains the
students can research using their phones and tablets. goal of the event and describes what will happen.
Proposals should include specific information about:
While students can keep track of numbers and costs on
paper, this project is an excellent opportunity to  Location(s) and layout(s)
demonstrate the value of a spreadsheet as a tool for  Time of event and duration
tracking and analyzing data. While they should be  Menu, including drinks and paper products
demonstrating on paper how they solved ratios using  Decorations
addition and multiplication, tape diagrams, and/or  Entertainment
coordinate plans, you may also want to encourage  Invitations and/or advertising
students who have mastered these skills to apply them
The proposal should include the cost of the event for
to design formulas in the spreadsheet to update
different group sizes, such as 25, 75, and 150 attendees.
calculations automatically when values change.

The final proposal should be shared as an oral

presentation, supported by charts, graphs, documents,
and plenty of writing that both informs and persuades,
using the cost analysis to achieve a goal or benefit.

Engage
To introduce the project to students, ask them about an
event they attended that was fun and exciting. What
was the theme? Was their music, dancing, good food,
friends, new people, and/or colorful decorations?

Ask them how the goods they listed are appropriate for
different kinds of events, like an awards ceremony or You can choose the numbers of participants or have
cultural celebration. Help guide them to the idea that a teams choose their own levels based on their particular
successful event has a goal and that a skilled planner event. If students plan a cultural celebration designed for
minds the budget while paying attention to the needs one class, suggest that they also determine the cost to
and desires of the audience. hold the event for multiple classes. If they plan a
fundraiser, remind students that a larger group increases
Let students know they will be planning an event to be the cost, but also increases the potential for revenue.
held at their school. (Planning to hold the event at
When considering food options, students should create
school eliminates the need to rent tables and chairs,
and show a ratio of selected menu items to the people
helping simplify the process to focus on money and
attending to help make sure there is enough food. Do they
ratios.)
have a plan for those who take more than their share?
Divide students into teams of 3-5 members. Have them The oral presentation of the proposal should include
choose an event they would like to plan, such as: multiple forms of media, including text, voice narration,
and images. The presentation is a perfect opportunity
 a fundraiser for a music, sports, or school club;
to utilize multimedia tools like Wixie and Share that
 a thank you dinner for volunteers;
include event planning templates.
 a celebration for the teacher of the year; or
 a cultural celebration.

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

As students learn to make effective proposals and Have students present their proposals to your school’s
persuasive pitches, encourage them to include pages or principal, department chairs, Parent Teacher
slides about: Association, or school board. Ask these stakeholders to
help you evaluate the effectiveness of the idea,
 Event title and goal
presentation, and proposal and share their feelings
 Theme and how it addresses the goal
about the level at which they would fund the event.
 Entertainment
 Food You may want to speak with your principal or PTA to see
 Diagrams of layout/room arrangements if they would be willing to designate a certain amount
 Invitations and advertising of money to fund an event before you begin the
 Total cost project. You can use this as the way to establish a
 Cost and budget breakdowns for different budget. This adds an element of competition, so make
numbers of people sure this is consistent with your goals for the project.

Pages or slides should contain text that is both Assessment

informative and persuasive. Each page should contain
This project lends itself to assessments in different
images that also serve to inform and persuade. Images,
areas. For math, you can evaluate accuracy of research
colors, and background music are great ways to set tone
data and measurement as well as proper application of
and mood.
ratios to determine cost for different numbers of
Since the presentation is meant to be live, students participants. Require students to submit their tape
should work to ensure that the text they create for the designs or additional tables to demonstrate their
presentation is concise. They may also want to write out understanding of this part of the process. This is a great
a sample script to support their oral explanations and opportunity for a project check-in.
arguments. Practicing the presentation before giving it
is a great way to identify missing information, The proposal project file should provide examples of
encourage editing, and make iterative adjustments both informative and persuasive writing. You can also
essential to the design and planning process. evaluate students’ writing for their ability to develop
and communicate with images and diagrams.
If students are new to descriptive writing, talk about
putting together a descriptive paragraph. You can use The presentation provides an opportunity to assess
the burger analogy: the meat, or main idea, of their speaking and oral presentation skills. You may also want
paragraph, surrounded by juicy details, held together by to consider evaluating the project management,
the bun of introductory and concluding sentences. teamwork, planning, and organization that occurred
during the process.
Share
Teams should present their proposals as an oral Resources
presentation, supported by charts, graphs, and other Judy Allen. Event Planning: The Ultimate Guide to Successful
documents. Presentations and proposals should include Meetings, Corporate Events, Fundraising Galas, Conferences,
Conventions, Incentives and Other Special Events.
expository writing and speaking that informs as well as
persuasive writing and speaking that seeks to have their wikiHow: Plan an Event
proposal funded.

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom

STEM and STEAM in the Elementary Classroom