Back to school STEM or STE(A)M is a crucial time for all elementary teachers.
Why? During the first weeks of school, THIS is when the foundations and fundamentals for a STE(A)M culture can be laid that will benefit all of the core subjects. These foundational posters will help you get started!
Yes… all of the core subjects!
Back to School STEM Ideas for YOU
So how should back to school STEM look? Is it a week of STEM challenges? Is it the start of a STEM project? Actually, back to school STEM doesn’t look like this at all! If you want students to benefit more from the STEM or STE(A)M projects that they work on throughout the year, FIRST they need to get what STE(A)M is. We can’t just say the acronym or say the words like science, engineering, and so on.
Imagine Yourself Using STEM
Imagine this: Put yourself in your classroom with a new set of students. You are excited to let them try a STEM challenge. You ask, and they agree they have heard of STEM before, but then you ask them to explain this question, “So what is science?” What do you believe they will say? I can almost guarantee they will not say that science is how we find the answers to the questions we have. I know for sure they probably won’t tell you that there is a process they should use to investigate those questions. Ask that same question for each STE(A)M area of study… What will they say to those questions? THIS IS A PROBLEM.
Back to School STEM Solutions
Don’t worry… I have the SOLUTION! What should we do instead for back to school STEM or STEAM? Instead:
- Before using STEM challenges or starting projects, take a deep dive into each area of STEM or STEAM in isolation while making connections within the areas as you introduce them. Here is an example: After introducing science to Kindergarten students, I began introducing technology the following week. One student interrupted with excitement to say, “So scientists can’t do their job without technology!” YES! It was starting. Use these FREE posters to help you out with this deep dive!
- Find ways to integrate the area of back to school STEM you are introducing into all the corners of your instruction! Using read-alouds, writing, and making it the content of your math problems are ways to do this.
- Allow for lots of thinking and discussion time when you introduce each back to school STEAM area.
- HYPE it and HOOK them! Hype each back to school STEM area of study up with something that creates curiosity! I love discovery walks, structured play or investigation like the expert, videos that wow, and of course great read-alouds! I love using See, Think, Wonder to create curiosity and start the engagement happening! Read more about See, Think, Wonder!
- Create a STEM Word Wall and add to it through the year!
5 STE(A)M Questions You Need to Ask!
So what do we want our students to be able to explain and understand for these abstract back to school STEM areas of study?
- Science is how we find the answers to the questions we have.
- Technology is anything created by humans to make completing a task or doing a job easier. (not just tablets and smartphones)
- Engineering is the process of building structures, products, and systems using math and science.
- Art is a way for people to express themselves in a way that we enjoy to look at and appeals to our senses.
- Mathematics is the science that involves numbers, amounts, measurements, and relationships of numbers.
I seriously used to say this…
It’s that simple, but SO necessary! To think, I used to say to my students, “It’s time for science.” I never even thought to think if they knew what science actually is. I can’t believe that was me. I want your STE(A)M activities and projects to be successful and give students the insight you are looking for. You really must start the year off with back to school STEM this way! So… these definitions listed above… you can grab them here! I’ve got them ready for you to print and use in the classroom!
I know you probably need a little more than just a set of definitions for back to school STEM! If you are a Kindergarten or 1st grade teacher, Tiny Minds STEAM is a complete 5 week introduction to STEAM that will really boost their understanding in many areas beyond just STEM. For teachers in grades 2-5, Introduction to STE(A)M is perfect for you and completely integrated into English Language Arts! Back to school STEM is important and sets the precedence for the year!
