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1st year STEM teacher

3 Things I Wish I Knew as a 1st Year STEM Teacher [ep.107]

by Naomi Meredith

3 Things I Wish I Knew as a 1st Year STEM Teacher [ep.107]

1st year STEM teacher

Check out the full episode on 3 Things I Wish I Knew as a 1st Year STEM Teacher:  

 

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

Have a STEM question? Leave a voice message for the podcast!

Episode Summary

As I reflect on my STEM teacher role, I can’t help but think about what I wish I knew as a 1st year STEM teacher. I faced so many challenges in my 1st year as a STEM teacher and learned so much along the way. In today’s episode, I’m sharing three things I wish I knew as a 1st year STEM teacher.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • 3 things I wish I knew as a 1st year STEM teacher
  • How not knowing these strategies impacted my STEM teacher journey
  • Tips for applying these strategies in your STEM classroom

Resources Mentioned:

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:


When I first got started as a K through Five STEM teacher, I was a classroom teacher for six years, and I was excited to start a new adventure in teaching. So I applied to this job, where I ended up interviewing and getting the job. If you want to hear all about it, go back and listen to episode one. I spill all the details on how that interview went, but I ended up getting the job as a K through five STEM teacher and coach, and I was absolutely thrilled. But in turn, this was a brand new to me school, brand new classroom. I didn’t know any of the students or the teachers, and there was limited supplies and zero curriculum, and not to mention I was the only STEM teacher in the building and I had to figure it out all by myself. Now, spoiler alert, I did figure it out. It took some time and a lot of trial and error, but if I were to go back and tell myself past Naomi, past STEM teacher Naomi, at the very beginning of it all, what are some things that I wish I knew at the time? And lucky for you, if you are first getting started in the STEM space or if you are thinking about that back to school mindset and you are wondering what to work on, what are those things that Past Nami wish she knew when she first got started in STEM? Well, in this episode, I am sharing that all with you, and I think that you’re really going to be able to relate to all of these things.


Naomi Meredith [00:01:36]:


Whether this is your first year jumping into STEM or if you’ve been doing it for a while, there are some connections that we are going to make together. Before we jump in real quick. I get emails when I get new podcast reviews, which is super exciting, and I wanted to read this one for you. Now, the podcast reviews are really silly with the usernames. They just make something up.


Naomi Meredith [00:02:30]:


So maybe you made this up or maybe you didn’t. I don’t know how to change it when I write reviews for people, but I love this review so much. So this is from C Waddell 14, and they said the STEM teacher job opportunity was sprung on me out of the blue at the end of the school year. And although I was excited to try something new, I was feeling very lost and overwhelmed. As I had no idea where to begin, I stumbled upon Naomi’s podcast, and I’m so glad I did. She has a great way of connecting with her listeners and making you feel less stressed and more confident. Thank you, Naomi, for creating this podcast and helping guide all of us to the amazing STEM world. Thank you so much for your review and taking the time to do that out of your busy schedule.


Naomi Meredith [00:03:24]:


I appreciate it so much. Not just selfishly hearing nice things about the podcast, because the weird thing about a podcast is, like, we’re not talking together. You know what I’m saying? You’re hearing me, and I’m looking right at my camera when I’m doing this, so I’m pretending it’s you, but I don’t know who it is. So leaving a review really helps not only letting me know what you’re enjoying on the show, but also helping other teachers who are just like you be able to find something that can help them in their STEM journey and make this whole elementary STEM world a little bit smaller. So thank you so much for writing that review. All right, so what are those things that I wish I found out sooner when it came to the elementary STEM space? Now, maybe they will seem obvious to you. They kind of are and kind of aren’t. What’s super interesting about being in the STEM space, especially if you’re a classroom teacher before, there are so many similarities, but there are a lot of differences.


Naomi Meredith [00:04:26]:


And I’ve talked about this before in a past episode. Like, what surprised me the most when I became a STEM teacher, these are the things that I wish I actually knew. So, yes, there were surprising things, but these are the things that I wish I knew. And once I figured them out and created a system and structure for them, then it was literally like magic and changed my life in the STEM world and really outside of teaching in general, let’s be honest. So the first thing I wish I knew my first year teaching STEM is that there are a lot of different structures when it comes to teaching a STEM lesson. Like I said, as a classroom teacher, you use all of these structures, stations, working with students one on one, whole group instructions, splitting the class in different ways. All of those different ways where you structure your class and structure lessons can actually still apply in the STEM setting. What I was starting with a lot more often than not, was whole group lessons, and especially when you don’t know any of the kids.


Naomi Meredith [00:05:31]:


So when you’re teaching over 100 kids a day and you’re doing whole group, that’s actually really hard. And that’s where I started. There’s all these materials and all these things I wanted to try and to get to know the students. So I quickly realized that I can do a station model where it is smaller groups of kids and really setting up those parameters. And that way I could really test out the supplies, get to know their skills, get to know their names, and really help them navigate all of those things while I was navigating it myself. Let’s be real, the things that I did my first year, there are a lot of things I don’t do anymore. But a big thing with that is you don’t have to teach whole group all the time. It is really helpful to teach whole group.


Naomi Meredith [00:06:15]:


It’s obviously the quickest. But again, when you set up those structures and think about STEM stations, especially with the younger kids, I talk all about this in my K through two STEM planning workshops, which you can grab. And everything I’m going to be talking about is in the show notes. All my workshops are at naomimeredith.com/workshop. So upcoming recorded. But STEM stations were a huge game changer for me, especially for the younger students, because whole group doesn’t always work well for 45 minutes when you are under the age of seven. And so that was something that was definitely a game changer for me.


Naomi Meredith [00:06:50]:


And the way that I plan STEM stations, I wish I knew that a lot sooner, where I could be more successful and really my kids could be more successful as well. Another thing too, when it comes to the structure of your lessons, is there’s one day lessons and multi day lessons, and there’s a time and place for both. And I’ve had some really weird schedules over the years. One year I was funded through a grant only on Mondays, and with that I was providing an extra plan time. And so I got students for that one day. It didn’t really line up with their specials rotation, so I really considered as a one day of a week. And I taught eight classes a day in one day. And so that was the case where I really did need a one day lesson that just made more sense, maybe.


Naomi Meredith [00:07:39]:


I just saw a class last week, we just finished their project. Does it make sense starting something new? So a one day lesson really made sense there. But when I saw kids Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, the same six classes in a row, that’s when it really made sense to do multi day lessons. And you can still do multi day lessons if you see everybody in the week and just once a week, maybe your multi day is among the different weeks. That can definitely be a possibility too. So with that one day option, for me, it was once a month. So I saw eight classes a day. It was once a month.


Naomi Meredith [00:08:16]:


So we kind of modified things after they got a little crazy. After eight classes, I don’t even know if I got a lunch. I don’t really remember, but it was crazy. So definitely knowing the difference between one day and multi day lessons can actually help out your planning as well. Another model too, if you have the opportunity, is co teaching and all those structures within co teaching in itself and what other teachers are used to. My good friend Becca, who is on the podcast on episode 40, she actually does co-teaching 100% of the time in her STEM role, which is really interesting and not a wrong way, but just another way that STEM can be taught. And that’s also something that I did in my role as well. I told you my schedule is really weird over the years.


Naomi Meredith [00:09:00]:


But having that co teaching model can be really interesting, and especially when you’re getting into the planning and making sure the content is aligning, teaching those lessons, modifying, coming back and reviewing, that’s a whole different way of planning as well. Also part of that coplanning and co teaching, maybe you’re copanning with those teachers. They’re doing something in your STEM classroom, and then they’re taking that thing from the STEM classroom into another place. Or maybe you’re coplanning and co teaching. They’re creating something in art. This is something I actually recently did. They are creating something in art. They’re bringing it into STEM, and they’re adding on some different components.


Naomi Meredith [00:09:40]:


So if this is something you’re interested in, send me a message if you’re interested more in coplaning and code teaching when it comes to STEM because this is definitely an interesting model and I feel like it can go this way a lot, especially if schools don’t have a lot of STEM. So this is something that I definitely figured out my first year. Another thing that I wish I knew my first year teaching STEM is that high quality lesson planning is an absolute game changer at first. Just like most of us in this STEM space, you get this position and not only are you thinking about the lessons, but how should you set up your classroom? How am I going to learn all these kids names, all these meetings I have to go to? Maybe you’re in charge of technology. You have all of these things going on that a lot of times it’s easy to get into this bad habit where I’m going to tell you why, but easy to get into this bad habit where you are literally planning day to day. And sure, you have lessons go out on the table, but when it comes down to it, you might even be wasting more time than you think. You’re going day to day today, not thinking ahead far enough. And then you might be spending your weekends lesson planning.


Naomi Meredith [00:10:50]:


Maybe you’re coming in and instead of enjoying a nice day out in fun in the sun with your dog, you’re bringing them into your classroom and watching The Bachelor rewinds. Not to say that I did that more than once, but that can just really create the cycle where you’re doing more work on yourself. And that even goes back to the different lesson planning structures. You don’t have to do a brand new lesson every single day. It doesn’t have to be a brand new thing, a brand new experience think about, especially if you were a classroom teacher, you’re not doing something brand new every single day. In fact, you are building up on those sySTEMs and routines the whole entire year. And maybe you’re switching up the content. Your STEM space can be the same way.


Naomi Meredith [00:11:37]:


And if you are a classroom teacher implementing STEM, maybe you have STEM Fridays. You can have that same structure and you’re switching out the content or you’re reemphasizing something you’ve already done. So it doesn’t have to be brand new every day. So after that first year, I really took the time. I sat down one summer and literally mapped out the whole entire year. I took a look at the standards also the lessons that I taught. I was planning with standards, but not as thoughtfully as I thought I was. And really looking through, okay, what is the time I have with kids? What are the things I can realistically do within that time? Maybe it took a couple of months to get through a project because at the time I was only seeing them three days out of the week, sometimes two, with things popping up.


Naomi Meredith [00:12:27]:


So it might take longer for a project, but we’re really getting to that content. And how can I really go through these standards in meaningful ways and also using the materials in meaningful ways that were low prep and high prep, having a mixture of all of that? And in turn, my year long plan definitely evolved into the lessons that they are today. And they are still evolving with updates and changes and things that are being added to help students be successful. So really thinking through your lessons and having high quality planning and taking a step back, whether it is during the summer or taking a few weeks to really think through the whole year, where you aren’t planning day to day, your plan time is for actually planning. Maybe you have an idea of what the lessons are going to be, but you’re actually planning through those during your plan time, how you should. And so you are getting your weekends back and you are enjoying the things. You are a person and you’re a teacher. You’re not just a teacher.


Naomi Meredith [00:13:25]:


And it’s okay to separate those two things. So that whole year long plane you can definitely grab. But if you need support too, I do have spots available in my one to one coaching that you guys have been asking for for a while. I know that my podcast says the elementary STEM coach. The STEM coach is real. I can be chatting with you and we can actually talk and meet live so that’s available in the show notes or go to Naomimeredith.com coaching and we can start working together to really think about those high quality lessons. And the third thing that I wish I knew my first year teaching STEM is that you actually need to go out and seek professional development opportunities. This is so different than being a classroom teacher, because I remember being a classroom teacher that sometimes there was too much professional development opportunities and too many things that they wanted us to do.


Naomi Meredith [00:14:24]:


And on the flip side, being a STEM teacher, a lot of those classroom things can still apply, but you might not be using the same curriculum as them or the testing methods maybe you are. And it can actually get frustrating pretty quickly because the professional development isn’t always tailored to you and what you need. And depending on your district and the opportunities that they have, they may or may not have anything that you are searching for when it comes to STEM professional development. And so that was a huge thing that I realized where in a way, as a classroom teacher, you’re kind of spoiled it’s like handed to you almost too much, but it’s handed to you. And then, as a STEM teacher, I needed to seek those things out so that I could still be innovative and relevant for my students and giving them the opportunities that they absolutely deserve. Here are some ways that I sought out different professional development that was really helpful for me as a 1st year STEM teacher. And also going through the years, I actually didn’t come into this space with a master’s degree. I just had my general education degree.


Naomi Meredith [00:15:33]:


I actually never knew what to get my Master’s in. So I found one that I really enjoyed, and I eventually got a Master’s in STEM Leadership. And so through that process, definitely learned a lot of things that helped me refine my teaching and improve what I was doing in the classroom. Likewise, if I had products in my classroom that I had inherited or things that I wrote grants for, I didn’t have anybody to teach me. And so what’s really great about a lot of these companies and a specific reason why I picked certain products over others is that these companies had different tools to help me learn the product. So if I didn’t know how to do it, I would go to their website, go through their tutorials, go through their items to really help me get a base understanding of how the product worked. And then while I’m implementing with students, I learned alongside with them. If you go on my Instagram, you see me all the time.


Naomi Meredith [00:16:24]:


I am reading constantly. I was a bookworm as a kid as well. I’ve always read a ton of books. Fun fact about me, I usually have about three books going at once. I’m listening to a nonfiction. I’m reading a nonfiction for the Sum teacher bookshelf membership. And also I’m reading a fiction to keep everything separated. But reading is a really great way to again stay relevant and keep you in that mindset.


Naomi Meredith [00:16:50]:


Even if you’re not implementing every single thing that you read, it’s just so good to fill your brain with those things, align with other people in the world who believe what you do in STEM education. So I just love having that always going. And in the STEM teacher bookshelf membership, we’re always reading a new book a month to help us stay motivated, along with that reading guide to implement some of the things that we learn. Another big thing, too, that I wish I knew sooner as a first year teacher is connecting and finding people over on social media and also podcasts. I don’t know if there was any podcasts at the time. I wish I knew there were. But finding those people again that you connect it with, whether it’s me or other people, just to continue the learning and get a sneak peek of what it’s like in their classrooms. A big reason why I am doing what I am doing for you is quite a few things.


Naomi Meredith [00:17:48]:


Of course, pushing out STEM to more kids all over the world, because that’s a world we’re living in and they’re growing up in, and you are the teachers who are motivating them as well. You are inspiring me. Past naomi is inspiring me. I want to be that person for you that you can connect with and have some guidance in this STEM education world. It is so exciting. There are so many resources out there, but I know there is a need for help with learning and talking to somebody who gets what you get. So I have all these things out there. The podcast is still going, and again, we can definitely connect with my one to one coaching where we can talk about those things that we can relate on.


Naomi Meredith [00:18:32]:


Like, for sure, kids eat masking tape. If you figured out where all that masking tape goes, let me know. It’s not always their projects either. So things like that where we can connect and talk and set goals and really work on the things that you are passionate about in your classroom so that you aren’t feeling alone and that you are feeling inspired for the next step in your journey. What is so interesting about this STEM job is that, yes, it’s teaching, but it is very unique, and you can definitely talk about it with other teachers. And there’s a lot of similarities in teaching that any teacher would get. But there’s something about STEM education that is so unique. And even my now husband, who was my fiance when I interviewed him on the podcast, you can go and listen to that one.


Naomi Meredith [00:19:20]:


It might be episode 94, I’m not 100% sure, but it’ll be linked for you. He’s a high school Spanish teacher, and I was an elementary STEM teacher. They are completely different. Completely different. He didn’t understand hardly anything, what I’m doing. He’s like, good job. That sounds really fun. I don’t know what that means, so there’s just something to be had talking with someone and connecting with someone who gets what you’re doing to help you move along and reach your goals in STEM education.


Naomi Meredith [00:19:53]:


As a recap, here are the three things that I wish I had known when I was a 1st year STEM teacher. First, there are different structures to teach lessons that will definitely make your life easier in the long run. Next, high-quality lesson planning is an absolute game changer. And finally, you still need to seek out those professional development and learning opportunities. Thank you again so much for being here. What are some things that you would add to your list? Are they big or small? Let me know. Send me a DM on Instagram at NaomiMeredith_.


Naomi Meredith [00:20:32]:


I would love to hear what you have to say, and I will see you in the next episode.

1st year STEM teacher

 

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Connect with Naomi Meredith:

 

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is a former classroom teacher turned current K-5 STEM teacher and coach. Her role not only includes teaching over 500 students in her school, but also leading professional development and co-teaching with teachers to help them integrate STEM & Technology.

With over a decade of experience along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM certificate, she helps teachers navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM & Technology in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

STEM Lesson Plan Auditing

The Power of STEM Lesson Plan Auditing [ep. 106]

by Naomi Meredith

The Power of STEM Lesson Plan Auditing [ep.106]

STEM Lesson Plan Auditing

Check out the full episode on The Power of STEM Lesson Plan Auditing:  

 

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

Have a STEM question? Leave a voice message for the podcast!

Episode Summary

If you want to create lessons that are meaningful, engaging, and aligned with the standards, then STEM lesson plan auditing needs to be part of your classroom strategy. In today’s episode, I break down the importance of STEM lesson plan auditing and give some tips and strategies for conducting your own lesson plan audit.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • How to set up your STEM lesson plan audit
  • Tips for conducting your STEM lesson plan audit
  • How to review your STEM lesson plan audit

Resources Mentioned:

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:


One of the most time consuming tasks as an elementary STEM teacher is planning lessons. While planning lessons is one of my most favorite things to do as a teacher, it does require a lot of work, especially if you are teaching multiple grade levels. How do you keep track of it all, not to mention make sure that you are adding in the necessary content for the year along with grade-level standards? If you’ve taught STEM for even just a year, it’s important to take a step back before you just dive into your lesson plans and see what you have taught so far. How I like to do this is by conducting an overall lesson audit. And what do I mean by the words lesson audit? In this episode, I’ll be sharing with you how important a STEM lesson audit is and what this means for you and your future planning. If you are listening to this episode as it is coming out, I am so happy to be back. So I’ve had a bunch of episodes still come out in the month of June. Shout out to my podcast manager, Andrea. She kept the podcast running like she always does, but she’s amazing. And we made sure that two episodes a week were still coming out for you while I was getting married and then going on my very long honeymoon. So I apologize if I’m a little bit rusty in this episode, but I’m just so happy to be back. It was the most memorable month of my entire life. And now here we are back in action when it comes to all of the STEM content and all of the goodies and things that I have planned for you and help support you in your STEM space. In fact, while I was on my honeymoon now, I didn’t do a whole lot of work, but here and there, I would check-in. I got this really sweet message from one of you out there, and I wanted you to take a listen. 


Kelly [00:02:36]:


Hi, Naomi Meredith. I just wanted to say that your podcast is absolutely awesome. Thank you so much for making it so many awesome resources for students. So excited to just keep listening and implementing some of your ideas into my second-grade science classroom. Thank you so much, Kelly Babb from Murphysboro, Tennessee.


Naomi Meredith [00:02:55]:


Thank you so much, Kelly, for your kind message. It absolutely made my day. If you want to leave a message like she did, or even if you have a question for me, you can do that. It’s absolutely free. Super easy to do off of your phone. If you go to Naomimeredith.com/voice, you can leave a voice message just like that one. 


Before you jump into your researching and brainstorming and STEM lesson planning, it’s always great to take a step back and reflect on how the year went. And oftentimes, because we are so busy with our hands in so many baskets and planning the lessons, going to the meetings and running the after-school clubs, and cleaning out our rooms for summer, we don’t necessarily take the time to actually do this and think about our overall year and how everything went. And if we don’t take a step back and actually do this, we might even find ourselves in a space just like before, where you are rushing from lesson to lesson. You don’t know if things are working, but you just made sure you had a lesson go out there. But it might be a little bit random. And then it’s this vicious cycle, and you just never feel like you can catch up. So taking the time now when lessons are fresh in your mind, doing a STEM lesson audit can be extremely valuable. Also, when it comes to this, this is really going to make sure that the lessons that you have taught are actually meaningful. STEM class should be really fun. Okay, don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love it. It is an absolute blast. However, it still needs to be meaningful. You can still have these really fun lessons for your students that are also high level and even work on collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and also are tied to standards. It does take a bit of pre-planning on your part, but let’s take that time now to do that lesson audit to really think through those lessons. 


So when you are planning, you are keeping all of these important factors in mind. I sometimes get messages from you over on Instagram at Naomi Meredith underscore if you’re not already following me over there, but I get a lot of messages over there. And many of you have admin who aren’t super supportive of what is going on in the STEM space. Trust me, I absolutely get it episode to come in the future. I’ve had non-supportive admin before when it comes to STEM, but there are a few factors that can come into this, and there are some things you cannot control, but some things you can control. And more often than not, it’s the curriculum that we’re teaching because we are walking into these spaces that have limited supplies and zero curriculum. So instead of just going for that wow factor like, oh yeah, let’s play with robots today. Oh, let’s play with Lego bricks today. There are some ways to use these awesome tools but still be meaningful with them. And I talk about this all the time, and again, I know it’s a lot of work. I’ve done it. I totally get it. But my goal here, especially with this podcast, is to help you be successful and prepare you with these tools and tips, and resources so that you do have high-level lessons and you do have an amazing space that your admin is extremely proud of and wants to tell everybody about it. I know that you love what you do. Almost every STEM teacher I talk to absolutely loves the position that they are in. But let’s be real. 


Think about your lessons. Are your lessons just fun and fluffy but really don’t have anything to back them up? Or are your lessons still fun but have really highly engaging learning experiences that are cross-curricular and standards-based? So this lesson audit that I’m going to walk you through in this episode is really going to give you that deep thinking and reflection so that if there are adjustments, you need to be made, which is okay because that’s part of teaching. You don’t get it right the first time. I never did. So this is all part of the teaching and learning process and just how you can prepare going forward with your lesson planning. To do this audit, first, you need to set it up so you can do this. I would prefer digital. That way, you can link things. Sure, go ahead, do this on paper. But I would just say do it digitally. And then you have unlimited room. But anyway, create a table or a spreadsheet. And on that spreadsheet, you’re first going to have major categories when it comes to STEM themes. So those things that I am thinking about are Makerspace, digital citizenship, 3D printing, coding, robotics, those major themes when it comes to STEM, those big major things that you are going to teach your students, you’re going to have those big categories and have different sections. You could create a different spreadsheet for each of these, or you could just have them all on one page. Then you’re going to have different columns for things that you are going to analyze for every single lesson that you taught your students and for every single grade. So like I said, you probably want to do this digitally because there are a lot of things you’re going to analyze to make sure that you are teaching these high-level lessons. So what are those things that you need to look for for each of these lessons? Here are some indicators that you want to add to your columns. The type of lesson that you’re teaching, is it a multi-day lesson? A one-day lesson? A STEM station. What kind is it? Are you seeing patterns? Are you doing the same type of lesson teaching? How long is it taking you to teach that lesson? If you are doing a project, what kind of structure if you are using when it comes to your lessons, are you doing too many structures? Are you using the engineering design process? Are you only using it one time in the year, and then you’re frustrated that kids don’t know it? Keep track of these things. Also, look at your lessons from year to year to year. Is there a progression of learning, or are your lessons really random? Are they not building off the year after next? They don’t have to. But when it comes to having the same kids year after year, is there a way that you can have your lessons build off of each other? Yes or no? Also, keep track of the standards that you taught. This might be a little bit annoying and frustrating. Maybe if you’re not planning with standards, you can also hear little Frederick in the back squeaking his ball. So I apologize for that. But this is very important. Even though most of you don’t have STEM standards currently, your lessons need to be rooted in something. It’s not just some fluffy random lesson. I’m going to say that probably a lot, but keep track of all of these things. So for every lesson, as I said, that you teach all of your students and all of the grades, you’re going to go through all of these indicators and just keep track of the things that you have done or maybe you haven’t done them yet. 


Again, this is more of an audit, not so much a plan. So if you have some holes and gaps, that’s absolutely okay. Leave them blank. You don’t have to fill them in quite yet. That’s when you’re done with this audit, you’ll actually get into that lesson planning. Once you’re going through and conducting that audit, this will really help you organize your whole entire year. So you have that spreadsheet set up. You’ve gone through every single lesson that you’ve taught kids. Then comes the part where you’re actually reviewing the audit. So you have filled in this information. What are you going to do with it now? So here are some important things that you should definitely think about. Which STEM topics are you really strong at? Are you really strong at doing those maker space projects? Is that something that you are doing in your classroom all the time? Are there other areas that you would like to try or that you haven’t even touched in your classroom? Maybe you’ve been a bit wary about 3D printing, but you do have a 3D printer. Or maybe you don’t have a 3D printer, and you still can do 3D printing. Side note, I do have a whole playlist about 3D printing. So I have actually categorized all of my lessons based on the topics that I’ve talked about here on this podcast. So if you go to Naomimeredith.com/podcastplaylist, you can see all of those categorized playlists, and there’s one all about 3D printing. 


So with this audit, think about those big major themes. Are there things that you are really heavy in, and are there areas that you are a little bit less than or you haven’t even taught yet? Also, compare grade levels when it comes to this. All grade levels can do all of these topics. It’s just going to look differently for their age. So are you doing some things more than others? So there are a lot of different questions when it comes to even just those major themes in STEM. Also, look at what types of lessons you are teaching. Are you doing all whole group the entire year? It’s easy to start off with a whole group, and I actually recommend that as you get to know your students. But there are a lot of different structures that you can use in your classroom if you prepare students to get to these structures and you keep practicing them, they are extremely successful, just like STEM stations. That was something I was scared to do, but it was absolutely magical in my primary classes. So look at the types of lessons you are teaching that also go into whether you are teaching a lot of one-day lessons or multi-day lessons. Sure, maybe you’ll see the school for an entire week, and you don’t want to manage multi-day lessons. But at the same time, you are planning week to week to week because you have to have a brand new lesson every single week. So think about that. You can mix it up, have a variety of multi-day lessons and also one-day lessons. There is value in both, but this will actually help you look at, oh, that’s why I’m feeling rushed. I have to plan a brand new lesson every week. Fun fact you don’t it’s okay to repeat things with kids and help them feel confident in their skills. They’re probably not doing what they’re doing in your class at home, and it’s okay to do it again. So don’t feel like it has to be a brand new surprise every time it is okay. Think about a classroom teacher. Most of us here were classroom teachers before we set up those systems and routines with kids. And they might do a lot of things over and over and over again every single day of the school year. So same with you in a STEM classroom. It’s okay to repeat things a major thing too. When looking at your audit, are you teaching standards? Are you only planning with some standards? Are you only planning with your science NGSS standards? Have you even touched the math standards or the ELA, or even the ISTI standards for students? Yes, there are many standards to look at but become familiar with them, and then it will be automatic. This is really important to add in your audit whether or not your admin looks at your lesson plans. It’s good to keep track of those standards that you’re teaching, especially when you have all of these grade levels. You want to make sure that you hit most of those things in your classroom, and you’re like, oh wait, we’ve already done a big unit about this, then let’s do something else. So here and there, I get an idea. I’m like, oh, I’ve already taught a lesson like that. I can save this for code teaching or vice versa. 


And also, I mentioned this before. When you’re looking at your audit, do you have a progression of learning with your lessons? This is a little tricky in filling out the puzzle pieces. Where do you want your students to be in kindergarten and then all the way up to fifth grade? Or do some of you even have up to 8th grade? How do you want them to progress through their skills over the years? And this might change a little bit too. When we talked to Jennifer Mayhan in her episode, when she was talking about grant writing, we had a lot of similarities where we saw in our programs the first couple of years, the students were all around the same level when it came to their skills. But over time, we needed to progress their learning and really build off year after year so that students were building up their skills, and as they were learning, they were getting better, which is great. That’s a good thing. That’s really good. So think about your lessons. Are you always doing the same thing, k through two? Or can you start adding in that progression of learning as students become comfortable with their skills and diving in and learning more as a recap? Here is how you can have your powerful STEM lesson audit to help prepare you for your next set of lessons. First, set up your audit. So do that digitally and create a spreadsheet with those different categories and columns. Next. Well, actually do the audit. This might take some time to search through, and this will help you get organized too when you do start implementing your year Alum plan. 


And finally, it can be a little bit scary, but review your audit. You do want to go through and draw some conclusions because this is really going to help you be more cohesive with the lessons that you’re teaching your students and, again, make you feel like you’re not rushing with all of your things but you’re being prepared for the entire year. Now, this spreadsheet is actually a template I have already created. This was one of those things that was floating in my mind for such a long time, and then I had to draw it down. I have all these notebooks I carry with me, but I had to actually draw them and then create them. And this is actually part of the beginning of the STEM into summer group coaching program. So this is actually what my students are doing in this program where they did a whole year-long plan lesson audit, and I gave them feedback and along with that a supply inventory. So this was super cool for me because I got to see behind the scenes in these teachers’ classrooms. I got to see exactly how their years have gone so far, the materials that they have on hand to give me that background of, oh, okay, here’s how your program is and what you’re doing with all these grade levels so that I have been able to prepare lessons that we’re going through each week to then build up their year-long plan. So this is, again, a really great way to put together where your program is at and how to build for the future. 


So this template is all in my STEM into Summer group coaching program. You can actually still jump in. It’s not too late. So, again, if you’re listening to this in real-time, it is July 2023. You can still jump in. It’ll be at a discounted price. So check that out at Naomi. Meredith.com STEM into summer. And I mentioned this here before, I’m really excited about this, but the elementary STEM coach is coaching. So I have group coaching, and a lot of you have reached out that you have been interested in working with me one on one. So maybe a group setting isn’t your thing, but you want to spend some time with me. And so now that I’m all married up, back from my honeymoon, I have spots available as well when it comes to working with you one on one. So there are different levels of time that we can work with. So it’ll be for the short term overall, but there are different amounts of time that we can work together. So whether it is this lesson audit, if that’s something you want to work on, we can work on that together, give you the spreadsheet for that, or if it’s even something else that you would like to learn and explore, maybe you want to create a whole robotics unit with me, then that is something we can also work on. So whatever your needs are, I’m the coach. I’m your guide to help you along the way. But if you are interested in that, you can go to Naomi Meredith.com Coaching. Again, thank you so much for having me back here on the podcast. And I am so excited to help support you with this other layer that is here in this whole elementary STEM coach world and online space, and so thrilled to have this opportunity to work with you, live and be with you every step of the way. So thank you so much again for being here, and I will chat with you soon.

STEM Lesson Plan Auditing

 

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

 

Connect with Naomi Meredith:

 

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is a former classroom teacher turned current K-5 STEM teacher and coach. Her role not only includes teaching over 500 students in her school, but also leading professional development and co-teaching with teachers to help them integrate STEM & Technology.

With over a decade of experience along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM certificate, she helps teachers navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM & Technology in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

3d printing with primary students

Easy as 1, 2, 3D Printing with Primary Students [ep.105]

by Naomi Meredith

Easy as 1, 2, 3D Printing with Primary Students [ep.105]

3d printing with primary students

Check out the full episode on Easy as 1, 2, 3D Printing with Primary Students:  

 

 

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Listen to the audio on YouTube here:

Episode Summary

Have you been wondering about how to incorporate 3D printing into your classroom but are not sure if it will work for your younger students? 3D printing with primary students is possible. Today’s episode is the audio recording from a virtual summit I spoke at. In this episode, I am sharing tips and strategies for implementing lessons on 3D printing with your primary students.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why you should do 3D printing with primary students
  • Tips for planning and implementing a 3D printing lesson
  • Examples of 3D printing lessons I’ve implemented in my classroom
  • 3D printing tools I use with my primary students and tips for using these tools

Resources Mentioned:

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:


3D printing isn’t just for older kids. Little kids can 3D print too. And I am talking more than just keychains for every grade here. The actual design of the print might not be as complicated as the older students, but this is a great opportunity you don’t have to miss out on in your classroom. And your students aren’t missing out on either. Make sure to check out the last episode if you haven’t already, episode 104, and I talk all about 3D printing there as well. Also, this isn’t the first time I have talked about 3D printing on this podcast. I have a free podcast playlist that is dedicated to all the episodes about 3D printing, and you can get that for absolutely free.


Naomi Meredith [00:00:45]:


And a whole spreadsheet with all of the other podcast playlists that I have, along with all the timestamps, and you can keep track of your professional development. You can grab that naomimeredith.com/podcastplaylist. While the audio from this episode has never been heard here before on this podcast, this is a presentation I did at a past online summit. In this session, I’ll be sharing with you practical ways on how you can get started with 3D printing with your primary students.


Naomi Meredith [00:01:46]:


Easy as one two 3D printing with primary students. It’s not as scary as you think. And I think by the end of this session, you will feel confident and excited to try 3D printing with those little ones in your classroom. Let’s face it, they are some of the most creative kids that I have in my class. So harness that creativity, and let’s get them to 3D printing. So before we get started, a brief introduction. I am Naomi Meredith. I am a current K through five STEM teacher and coach, and I love helping teachers navigate STEM and technology in their own K through five classrooms.


Naomi Meredith [00:02:26]:


So wherever you are, you are in the right place, even if you’ve never 3D printed before. I had never 3D printed before two years ago, and I have learned so much. So definitely stick with me because you can learn a ton of ideas to help you with this 3D printing journey. I am also a dog mom to my little boy Frederick, and that is my boyfriend right there, my teacher, honey. He is also a teacher, like I said. He teaches high school Spanish, so we have a fun mix in our house. So why in the world should you 3D print with the littles? Well, like I said, they are so creative.


Naomi Meredith [00:03:08]:


They have such awesome ideas. So we want to harness that creativity and also build that curiosity about new tools. Whenever I have the 3D printers going in my classroom, they are absolutely obsessed and memorized, and 3D printers actually, when you watch them, they are really calming. They go in layers. So there’s a great video by National Geographic kids that I always show in my classroom. It’s a couple of minutes long, but it talks about how 3D printers work, and it’s just like icing a cake. So it’s melting plastic and layers upon layers. So the kids love it.


Naomi Meredith [00:03:44]:


They think it’s super amazing and it is really cool. It’s super cool. Also, if you get started when they’re younger, and you’re thinking about being in your position for a while, whether you are a classroom teacher, a STEM teacher, or a library media specialist, and you know that you are going to have access to 3d printers, starting them younger will actually help them learn skills that can be built on year after year. So when I started in my K through 5 STEM position the first year, oh my goodness. We had to build up so many skills with not just 3D printing but a whole lot of other projects. But it has gotten a lot easier in a lot of ways because kids have those basics that they can apply to new projects. So it might be hard at first, but like I always say, everything new is hard at first. So this is a great time to get started.


Naomi Meredith [00:04:35]:


And also, once you have those 3D prints done, there is so much pride in their work. It’s pretty amazing seeing what the kids have created digitally, and then it’s sent to a printer and then printed it out. It really brings their work to life. Yes, we do a lot of hands-on building in my classroom and digital designing in other ways. But it’s not always, of course, 3D printed. So that’s pretty amazing seeing your design come to life. So when you’re getting started to set up a 3D print lesson, these are the things that have really guided me through the process. I do 3D printing from kindergarten through fifth grade and with my younger students.


Naomi Meredith [00:05:17]:


These are the things that have really helped me. First of all, of course, we are trying to connect those standards and integrate them in meaningful ways. I’m really big on that, even in the STEM classroom. So when I am planning my 3D print lessons, I’m always looking at the standards keywords. So not everything works for 3D printing. Let’s be honest. Not everything works for engineering, design, process, or the scientific method. But when it comes to that 3D printing, here are some keywords I typically look for when I’m brainstorming lesson ideas.


Naomi Meredith [00:05:48]:


So, create, make a model, and design a solution. Those types of words really lend themselves to a 3D print project. Also, with the little kids, especially if this is your first time, create something simple. They’re still going to be proud of themselves. It doesn’t need to be complicated, but it can still be a meaningful lesson. So if you are purposeful in your planning, if you are backward planning, yes, backward planning in STEM, then your actual design with kids doesn’t need to take a whole week. In fact, the lessons that I teach don’t take the full week. But we’re still working on those course concepts as a whole.


Naomi Meredith [00:06:28]:


So I’ll show you some examples in the next slide. Also, taking that classroom teacher experience that I have is that creating a small group is very helpful with 3D printing. I have tried, sorry, whole group instruction when it comes to 3D design, but that was kind of a disaster. So I highly recommend, once the students have planned their designs, pull small groups to work with you to create those 3D designs. This could be over a span of a couple of days, and it will be a lot more successful, with less frustration between the students and with you. So let’s look at some examples of what I’ve done in the primary grades. On the far left, we have a little keychain, and the standard talks about communicating ways to take care of the earth, a brief version of that Next Generation Science Standard.


Naomi Meredith [00:07:27]:


So during the week, we talked about ways that we can take care of the earth. We read lots of different books, and watched videos. We even one day created a recycling plant separate from this 3D print. And then, by the end of the week, we planned our 3D print designs. And I did pull small groups to draw their design. We will talk about different platforms in just a bit. So, hold on, I know you want to know what did you use? What did you use to make this? So with that little earth keychain, they actually did draw their design. So that was what a student created.


Naomi Meredith [00:08:00]:


You notice around that earth, there is that weird flat part that is called a raft in 3D printing. So that is a base layer that I can choose to get printed before their actual design goes. This is really helpful for this project because they are drawing with their finger on the iPad is what I used. And so all of their stuff doesn’t fall apart. If I had more time, this is during this weird COVID year. I didn’t see the kids. This is the last project we did this year. But if I were to see them again, I would actually have them add details using Sharpies and paint markers.


Naomi Meredith [00:08:37]:


You notice that in the second example, the students had time to do that. For the keychain, I used one of those little leather pole punchers. It’s for making jewelry. So I was hammering in the raft, and then I added in a keychain. So the kids are really excited about that. So they have a charm to remember about their communication. For the second one, it’s talking about for the first-grade Next Generation Science Standard about animal babies and their adults and what traits they have that are similar and different. So again, we researched throughout the week.


Naomi Meredith [00:09:12]:


We used a lot of epic books. We looked at webcams of different zoos and different pictures that I pulled of animal babies and their adults. Again, lots of videos. So we researched a lot. Again, like for kindergarten, in a different way, we researched a lot about the animal of their choice, and then they planned the animal they wanted to create. And they had to write about things that the animal babies had that were the same as their adults and things that they had that were different because it just depends on the animal. There are a lot of similarities and differences. So we built upon that vocabulary.


Naomi Meredith [00:09:49]:


I then printed their drawings again. So they drew these on the iPads. We did do this in small groups, and these printed really fast. So, something to keep in mind. This is part of the tips. Keep your 3D prints really small because you can actually get it all done. I keep all of my prints K through five to about an hour of print time per kid that is still in my school. Over 500 hours of printing.


Naomi Meredith [00:10:13]:


But I was able to get it done with no problem. I have pretty good printers. So these little guys are really small, they can fit in the palm of their hands, and they were very excited that they could play with them. So that was their final design. The third one is a second-grade example, the little bird. I actually found that design online, so a kid did not make that. However, I could have kids make a bird, but their goal was to it’s talking about animal patterns and things in your area, something like that, for second grade. So we looked at different examples of birdhouses that were natural and also man-made.


Naomi Meredith [00:10:52]:


And students designed and then created a prototype of a birdhouse that they could actually build in real life. So a lot of kids were really excited once they got their little design. They were excited to take this home and it inspired them to build it out of real materials. So, big question. You’re probably wondering what tools you are using for kindergarten in first grade. At the time. I am using Doodle 3d Transform. As of right now. I know that it is an iPad app.


Naomi Meredith [00:11:22]:


I was doing a little bit more research on it. I was able to find it on the computer. So, what’s really cool about this Doodle 3D is that on the left-hand side, students draw their designs, and then simultaneously, on the right-hand side, they can see what their print is going to look like in 3D. So it helps them build that math vocabulary. The difference between 2D and 3D. They can add colors to their design. And we’re going to talk about some tips. It doesn’t actually print in color unless you are fancy and get some filament that plastic you put in the printer that has lots of colors.


Naomi Meredith [00:11:58]:


I usually try to print in lighter colors that they could color with real markers. So 3D Doodle design has been really successful. You can pull the prints off of the iPad into the 3D print file of your choice. So my 3D printers use STL. That’s the one it prefers. So I’m able to download it that way. The other app that is really great for elementary students as a whole, so I use this for second through fifth grade, is Tinkercad. This is a free doodle.


Naomi Meredith [00:12:30]:


3D is a little bit paid. It’s not expensive, but it’s worth the money, especially if you’re going to use it a lot. And a lot Tinkercad is free. It is a little difficult for second graders, especially if it’s their first time. However, they are capable. And like I said, if you’re starting Tinkercad at minimum at second-grade level, by the time they get to fifth grade, they’re going to be creating really detailed projects. So I was really excited for my second graders this year because they were building upon those skills. So Tinkercad is free.


Naomi Meredith [00:13:00]:


They can sign up with their Google account, but you don’t have to have a Google account to use it. There is now an iPad app, but also it is a web-based version as well. So whatever they work on at school, they can also work on at home. And it saves multiple projects, which is super great. And you can also, again, download their designs and then send it to your printer when you’re thinking about using Doodle 3D. Here are some tips that I have found. I’ve done this app with hundreds of students, so here is what I have noticed. Make sure that the drawings are flat on their surface.


Naomi Meredith [00:13:33]:


You can get more detail. They make things pop out. But in the examples that I showed you, the designs were flat, and then they still had a thickness to make them 3D. Also, make sure that all lines are connected. When we made those baby animals, we did an outline of the animal, and then they filled it in with the paint bucket so that it could be solid and draw the little details later on. There’s a little tool in there. When they’re drawing, there’s a pencil, which is the automatic default. I actually recommend using the paintbrush.


Naomi Meredith [00:14:06]:


The paintbrush produces a thicker line, and it prints a lot better. The pencil makes this line that’s really skinny and breaks easily. So have them make sure they use the paintbrush. You can use the colors of the rainbow to help visualize the design. A lot of kids actually like doing that to make sure that they added details, but they don’t need to color it in the app. It’s just an extra bonus. Just to help with that visualization, there is a camera to take a photo of the paper design. I have tried this.


Naomi Meredith [00:14:36]:


I haven’t found it super successful. The kids actually get more frustrated tracing what they took a picture of. So we actually still plan on a piece of paper for everybody, k through five. We still plan on paper, and then we end up drawing or designing in the digital platform. If you’re thinking about using Tinkercad here again, you could sign up with Google, but you don’t have to. It’s very helpful, especially if you’re going to have the same kids year after year. If they stay with that same email address, all of their work actually saves over the years, and they just have to put in a class code. So that’s really helpful to gain access to their work, especially if this is your first time.


Naomi Meredith [00:15:19]:


Allow students time to explore and look at all the options. Tinkercad is more difficult than Doodle 3D. I would not use Doodle 3D beyond first grade unless you need some students with some accommodations. Tinkercad has a lot of tools, so the kids really like looking through everything and trying stuff out. And I don’t give it all away the first day. They often will figure stuff out on their own, but I will give them some guidance. So once we have some exploration time, I’ll teach a new skill each day that they can apply to their design. So maybe the first day, I’m talking about stacking shapes, and the next day, I’m talking about how to add a hole in their shape.


Naomi Meredith [00:15:56]:


The next one is flipping their designs, so adding that gradual release in there is super helpful. Also, having clay available for you as a teacher to model the concepts that you are teaching, or also to have students build on the side what they’re trying to build on the computer, is super helpful. I have done so many demonstrations with clay and the kids. Having that physical model in front of them is extremely helpful in visualizing that abstractness on the computer. And a really big thing before you get things printed, make sure you check every single design as a teacher with the students, that everything is smushed together. So just like when you are using real clay, if you’re firing it in a kiln, you don’t want things just side by side. You want them smushed together so that all the pieces stick. Managing 3D prints can be a lot, but my tip for this is that I would save their designs with their first name and then their teacher’s name after it.


Naomi Meredith [00:17:01]:


Just in case something gets messed up, you have to print it again. You have it all ready to go. Keep all of the prints together in a folder on a device. So have each folder for a class. You can AirDrop or email from that 3D Doodle app. So I will do that with my iMac and our MacBook Pro, and I will AirDrop to everything and then keep their planning sheets to organize prints so I’ll have a class list when I am printing, and then I will put their planning sheet on top of the printer if that’s the one that’s getting printed. When the print is finished, I’ll put the planning sheet and their final design in a bag. Keep all the bags together for one class, and then I’ll keep them when I see them again or deliver them depending on what we are doing.


Naomi Meredith [00:17:45]:


So I made for you guys a resource to help you get started. Remember all of these apps and some other little things to try out. So if you go to that link, it’s been on every slide. It’s naomimeeritis.com 3d printpresent. You will have all of these slides that I’m using right now to help you with the notes and also a separate document that will give you some more tips, tools to try, planning sheets for the kids, and planning sheets for you as a teacher. Thank you so much for joining me today. I’m so excited for you. Even if you’ve done 3D printing before or if this is your first time, just dive right in.


Naomi Meredith [00:18:22]:


The biggest thing actually is learning your printers, and that’s a whole other session, but hopefully, this will give you some guidance when you are working with your primary students to help them be successful. Of course, reach out if you have any questions about 3D printing or even STEM and Tech in general. My email is contact naomimeredith@gmail.com. I also have my website Naomimeredis.com. I love me some Instagram, so it’s at NaomiMeredith_ and if you want to follow me on my Teachers Pay Teacher Shop, Naomi Meredith from the STEM Tech Co. You can get updated when new STEM and Tech lessons, including my 3D print lessons, will be posted, and you can implement that in your classroom. Thank you so much again, and I hope to hear from you soon. This presentation had a ton of visuals, and I bet you are dying to see all of the examples and handouts.


Naomi Meredith [00:19:15]:


You can grab the video recording of this episode, the video slides I referenced throughout, student examples, and bonuses for only $5. That’s less than a fancy coffee drink. This will all be linked in the show notes, and you can check it all out here naomimeredith.com/pdreplay

3d printing with primary students

 

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

 

Connect with Naomi Meredith:

 

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is a former classroom teacher turned current K-5 STEM teacher and coach. Her role not only includes teaching over 500 students in her school, but also leading professional development and co-teaching with teachers to help them integrate STEM & Technology.

With over a decade of experience along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM certificate, she helps teachers navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM & Technology in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

3d print with the standards

3D Print with the Standards in Mind [ep.104]

by Naomi Meredith

3D Print with the Standards in Mind [ep.104]

3d print with the standards

Check out the full episode on 3D Print with the Standards in Mind:  

 

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

Have a STEM question? Leave a voice message for the podcast!

Episode Summary

Today’s episode is the audio from an online summit I spoke at. In this episode, I am sharing how to incorporate 3D print projects into your classroom with the standards in mind. Whether you are new to 3D printing or experienced, I share a lot of great takeaways for you to incorporate into your classroom.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • The benefits of implementing 3D print projects into your classroom
  • How to incorporate 3D print in your classroom with the standards in mind 
  • Tips for incorporating 3D print into your classroom in a meaningful way

Resources Mentioned:

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:


Whenever I’ve had new students come into my STEM classroom and see that I have 3D printers, a common question I get asked is, “Are you going to print us whatever we want?” I say no. And I say, “No, you’re gonna actually make something that’s going to get printed.” They don’t like that answer at first, but then they realize it’s okay. It’s an okay answer. Too often, I’ve seen 3D printers being used as a hub to print little toys that students print without any real purpose in mind. I’ve said this before in this podcast, but when I started doing 3D printing with my students, I had never 3D printed before myself. Any new tool can be scary, but this is actually a skill in how to design and do 3D printing that I love to teach my students. And, honestly, the hardest part about doing a 3D printing unit is actually managing the prints anyway. Not so much teaching the students how to create the 3D design. It’s keeping up with all those prints. Well, the audio from this episode has never been heard before on this podcast. This is a presentation I did at a past online summit. In this session, I’ll be sharing with you how standards can actually inform your 3D printing projects and how you can use this innovative tool in a meaningful way. 


Naomi Meredith [00:01:54]:


Hey there, and welcome to this session on 3D print with the standards in mind. I am your presenter, Naomi Meredith, and I am so glad that you are here today. Whether you are a STEM, tech teacher, or general ed teacher, you are in the right place. Whether you have experience with 3D printing or you are brand new to this, there are lots of great takeaways that you can add to your classroom and help you with your future or current 3D print lessons. So a little bit about me before we get started, I am a former classroom teacher turned current K-5 STEM teacher and coach, and I love helping teachers like you navigate STEM in technology in your K-5 classroom. There’s a picture of my little family and that furry little guy, little with the big ears, not the one with the sunglasses, is Frederick the dog, and he is a sweet little naughty boy, which we are so happy to have. 


So why in the world should we be concerned about 3D printing, and why should it take place in our classrooms? 3D printing is a great way to prototype designs. Building with cardboard and clay and all of the hands-on types of things should not go away. Don’t take those away. Those are still powerful and meeting people. This is just another way where students can create with technology and not just be consumers and create their prototypes that can actually be printed out in typical plastic in a classroom setting. However, you could have very advanced 3D printers and lots of different filaments that can print out for you. Also, 3D printers are becoming not only more common in schools and libraries but they’re becoming more common in various industries. There are a lot of companies that build buildings that use ginormous 3D printers to print out some of the materials that they’re actually going to build with. This saves on shipping costs; they can print things on-site. If they run out, they can print more, and there are so many benefits to that. Likewise, 3D printers are being used in the health industry. They’re messing around with biological tissue print out things that can be used, and also, some restaurants are trying 3D printing with food and how they’re using sued as a filament to print that out. So it’s pretty amazing how it’s becoming more and more common, which is great because then the cost of 3D printers in the filament, the plastic that goes inside, is a lot cheaper, and we’ll have more and more in our houses. Also, 3D printing is a way for students can collaborate online with digital tools. So the way our world is going digital is not going away, and students need to be able to collaborate effectively when using those digital tools. So it’s a really cool way that students can see their designs and share those technology skills. 


So just like any lesson with cool tools, it’s really not about the tool, but it’s how you set up that lesson for success. So it’s all about how we can look for the great standards that would make sense for these 3D print lessons. So when we’re looking at our standards, we wanna think about those words like create, make a model, design a solution, Those will actually work best when thinking if you wanna do a 3D print lesson. Not all standards are created equal, so not every standard’s gonna work well for 3D printing, which they shouldn’t. Not everything’s going to be 3D printed. So really analyze your standards and see where students could create something to demonstrate their learning. From there, once you have your standard in mind, typically, we’ll look at the science standards, and we’ll go into the process later on this in this session. You wanna have a process for creation. So maybe you’re going to use the engineering design process, which is also a standard. Maybe you do some project-based learning, design thinking, wherever the flow of your lesson is going to go, this works great for 3D printing. Also, if this is your students, and maybe your first time using 3D print software, you definitely wanna balance out the time for learning the tool and also demonstrating the standard. So if this is a first time kind of thing, you’re definitely going to have to have more modeling of how to use the tool. And then from there, students are able to apply it. So the first few time, I’ve noticed that with my students, the first time I used 3D printing, it did take us longer to design, and the designs were more simple. But the years after that, the kids were a lot quicker, but they did have more details in their design since they had some more tricks than their tool belt on how to use the software. 


So just like anything, when you’re thinking about, especially technology tools, there is that progression of learning, some are gonna be really quick at it, some are gonna need more time, but definitely allow more time than you think when you’re in that creation space. So when we’re thinking about that first part looking for the standards and the keywords, I like to use all of these when planning any STEM or technology lesson for my classroom to ensure that I am using things that are common for the gen ed, which you could also do this in a general education classroom. So I use the common course state standard to the math EMEA, also speaking and listening, the common core mathematical practices, the next generation science standards, or you could use whatever science standards your state or district requires, and also the ISD standards for students. So if you’re not familiar with those, Those are technology and innovative practices to help kids be amazing learners for our time now, but also beyond. So let’s take a look at how I would think about the standards when I’m going to create a 3D print lesson for 3rd grade. So you could apply this to the grade that you teach. So I like to, so I know I’m gonna do 3D printing. Of course. That’s why you’re here. And so from there, out of those standards I showed on the last slide, I actually start with the next generation science standard. So every this is my core of the lesson, and everything else is going to fit in within that. So the standard for this 3rd grade 3D print lesson, I looked at those keywords and it’s something like developing a model to show the birth, life, and adulthood of a living thing. So, basically, life cycles. That’s what that one’s saying. And so develop a model I thought would be excellent for this 3D print lesson. And, actually, I was inspired by going to museums and aquariums. I like to travel a lot, and I go to a lot of museums and aquariums and zoos. When I’m traveling, and they always have models and interactive models that you can touch and feel. And I thought, oh my gosh. These could definitely be 3D printed. What if my students created this, then this could be something, I guess, even further in a museum or a zoo. So I get kids excited about that, and they actually share examples of when they have seen this as well. So it brings to life what their 3D print actually is. 


Why would you need a model? Well, here’s an example of why you would want a model of a life cycle. Alright. So from there, we have the common core standards. So I like to look at the reading informationals will be using some research to help them with their model. So we will read that informational, and then we will write down our think to help them get to the end of the year grade level standards. Part of their writing will be digital, so one of the standards goes along with that. They will eventually have to share and talk about it through presenting. So whether it is having a little museum presentation or it might have them record using a digital little tool online. There are those speaking and listening standards along with that collaboration. So definitely become familiar with not only your typical reading informational standards, but the speaking and listening and the writing and how that can integrate as well. This is also where you can add in the common core math standards as well depending on your grade level. So I know with 3rd grade, there is a lot about geometry and shapes, which the platform I like to use for 3D printing uses a lot of shapes. and identifying shapes to help create the things. Other grades and beyond, we can talk about lines and angles. So once you’ve become more familiar with platform, you can definitely even add in more of those specific common core math standards here. 


From there, we have our mathematical practices, which is great because these are A lot of those, like, long term skills that can apply in any setting. So the one that we chose for this lesson is number 5, whereas students are using tools strategically, which they definitely have to in this and manipulate the shapes and the objects in their design so that it makes sense and represents what they want to show. Finally, we have our NST standards for students and students are taking on their role as innovative designers, so they’re thinking about how they can use the pictures of life cycles that they have researched and read about online. and how they can create it in a 3D format. And so they can there are some animals in the platform they can pull from. But overall, they have to figure out how they’re going to design those living things in their program. From there, so we really dive into the research of the standards. And the standards actually are gonna take the longest amount of time when you are creating your lesson. which is great because you know your lesson is going to hopefully be purposeful and make sense with the whole 3D print design. I like to use the engineering design process when we are in that creation mode. So the question was how can we create a model to demonstrate the life cycle of a living thing. Imagine we look at lots of different life cycles of living things in ways that they’re shown. Through their plan, we do some research using online tools, and then to create and experiment and improve. There should be an arrow back and forth from experiment and improve. There’s a lot of that going on with this 3D print program. So no matter what program you use, there is a lot of experimenting and improving and creation And then finally, once it’s printed, definitely allow yourself a lot of time to print these, then they can share like we talked about in person or using online tools. 


So here are some student created examples. I actually personally have not created any of these. The kids always up with better things than I do. On the far left is an example of 1 of the life cycles of a frog. So they use different shapes to show that, and there is an option to type. So it’s about the size of my palm. These are all very small, by the way. That is a little tip. Make your print the design small so you can get through them a lot quicker. The middle one is a 4th grade example. We tied it to a standard about light and how there’s a transfer of energy from the battery to the circuit tape, that shiny tape on there. So students created a night light, so they have to design their 3D print hollow and then have a hole on the bottom so that when they placed it on top of the light, it could shine through. The last one is a 5th grade example, and it goes along with a standard that talks about how or resources need to be protected and preserved, so students research different problems that are happening to Earth like not natural disasters, but things in the environment. And then they designed a invention or improved an invention to help with that problem. So that’s a student’s design. I believe it went with something with water when hydroelectric power. You noticed there’s a little thing too. These are just the colors of filament. Filament is the plastic that comes in the 3D printer. These are just the colors that I happen to have. I don’t necessarily let students choose the colors since I don’t have a whole lot of opt So this is just things that I had you could with lighter colors, use Sharpie or paint pens to color the designs if you wanted to, those have been successful in the past for me. There are lots of 3D print tools out there, but when you’re thinking about getting started in the class 


These are 2 very popular platforms, and they are free to use as of the time of this recording. So we have TinkerCAD and Sketchup. Both have really great similarities and differences. Doesn’t usually matter what 3D printer you have, They are just creating in these platforms, and then you can download it as the type of print file, your 3D printer reads. put it in that program your 3D printer talks to and go from there. So you don’t have to have a specific 3D printer. Also, if you are watching this and don’t even have a 3D printer still have kids design, and they can still share. It just might not be printed or you can send it off to maybe a local company, and they’ll print them for you. So don’t be held back if you don’t have a 3D printer. You can’t do this. You definitely can’t. You can just show the model on the computer. Now when you’re thinking about just some little teacher tips and when you’re teaching 3D printing. I have done 3D printing for every kid in the school, k through 5. So every year, I’d print at least 500 plus prints. So these are things that I know work. Is possible, depending on your school, have students create their account using Google. It’s just really easy to sign up. That way both platforms pretty sure use Google. That way they can save all their work from year to gear, so that’s really, really helpful. Of course, allow kids time to explore. So about the first 5 to 10 minutes, if they’ve never used the platform before, Let them play around and see what they discover, and you can have a discussion. What did you notice? What are you wondering? What tools did you find so then they can be more comfortable with the tool. Also, when you have the balancing, demonstrating the skill, demonstrating the standard and teaching new skills, I will have a mini lesson each day. So the students know, okay. We have done our research. We’re going to create our model. They know that’s what the goal is. However, I still teach them a new skill each day that they can apply to your design. 


Now I teach 24 classes in a month. We use the same program for almost all of them, so I highly recommend this is another teacher tip not on here. Make videos of yourself teaching about the tool, quick little videos that you could play as your mini lesson because that way you won’t forget anything. and then students who are absent can rewatch it. So very helpful tip. Also, using clay to model what’s happening in a print, is very, very helpful. I always have modeling clay or Play Doh on hand so I can have students build what they’re thinking of in their brain because it is that abstract thinking when you’re creating it on the computer. But, also, when you’re teaching a lesson, you can model it with the clay. I also have foam 3D shapes, which I will use them to help name the shapes and manipulate and show how the tools will work in a program. Also, make sure everything in a design is smooth together because sometimes when you look at designs, there’s just a thin layer of things floating, so you want everything to be smooshed together. so that it doesn’t fall apart no matter what platform that you’re using. Also, when you are man managing these 3D prints, I recommend having students save their design with their name and then put a dash or a slash in their teacher’s name. That way, you can download all of their prints, put it in one file, and then you have them all organized and can check them off on a checklist, a roster of the student names. Also, again, AirDrop, email download, have it all in one folder on one device. Keep it all in one place. Depends on your program. 


Maybe you have to put a flash drive in your 3D printer. Sometimes you might need to reprint something. Maybe you wanna make multiple copies of something. So if you have all of the prints downloaded, at least when you are 3D printing, it’s really helpful. And then keep their planning sheets. I always have students still plan through drawing on paper. I keep their planning sheets, and I like them to see how their plans developed into their final model, but also helps me stay organized so I have all their planning sheets I know I’m printing so and so’s design, and then I put their planning sheet in a bag with their name on it. And then it keeps me all organized, keeps all the papers organized, and then they can use that for their final project. So we are almost at the end here, and I wanted to give you a good takeaway with this 3D print toolbox. So there’s a couple of outlines to you plan using the process that I showed you with the standards along with some standards broken down from 3 through 5 where I think they would work great for 3D printing. So thank you so much for joining me today. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns or how you can use this in your classroom. My email is on there. ContactNaomiMeredith@gmail.com. You can also find me on my website, NaomiMeredith.com, Instagram, and Twitter at NaomiMeredith_, and also at my TpT, teachers pay teachers, shop, Naomi Meredith. Thank you so much again, and I am so excited to have you try and keep adding to your 3D print tool belt. This presentation had a ton of visuals, and I bet you are dying to see all of the examples and handouts. You can grab the video recording of this episode, the video slides I referenced throughout, student examples, and bonuses for only $5. That’s less than a fancy coffee drink. This will all be linked to the show notes, and you can check it all out here at naomimeredith.com/pdreplay.

 

3d print with the standards

 

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

 

Connect with Naomi Meredith:

 

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is a former classroom teacher turned current K-5 STEM teacher and coach. Her role not only includes teaching over 500 students in her school, but also leading professional development and co-teaching with teachers to help them integrate STEM & Technology.

With over a decade of experience along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM certificate, she helps teachers navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM & Technology in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

engineering design process

STEM Survival Camp & The Engineering Design Process [ep.103]

by Naomi Meredith

STEM Survival Camp & The Engineering Design Process [ep.103]

engineering design process

Check out the full episode on STEM Survival Camp & The Engineering Design Process:  

 

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

Have a STEM question? Leave a voice message for the podcast!

Episode Summary

Today’s episode is the audio from a presentation I did at the Seesaw Connect Summit. In this episode, I share how I merged the Engineering Design Process with my STEM survival camp unit in my K-5 STEM classroom. 

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • The history of how STEM survival camp was created
  • How to integrate the Engineering Design Process in my STEM survival camp lesson
  • How to integrate Seesaw with the STEM survival camp challenges
  • Examples of how I implemented this in my K-5 STEM classroom

Resources Mentioned:

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:


One of my most favorite units I have ever taught is STEM survival camp. If you are looking for a way to easily double your Makerspace supplies for practically free and have the opportunity to take your students outside, then this unit is perfect for you. While the audio from this episode has never been heard before on this podcast, this was a presentation I did in the past at the Seesaw Connect Summit. In this episode and session, I’ll be sharing with you how I merged together the Engineering Design Process and this fun, hands-on unit into my classroom with this K through 5 STEM unit with examples. If you wanna hear more in detail about STEM survival camp, I just did a re-release, and you can even scroll back all the way to episode 4. And I talk in that episode specifically about every single challenge in the STEM survival camp. If you need more background knowledge when it comes to the Engineering Design Process, I do get into it in this session, but I’m linking the 2 together. So STEM survival camp and the Engineering Design Process.


Naomi Meredith [00:01:05]:


So if you wanna hear more about each of those stages, go all the way back to the episode series all about the Engineering Design Process. So that starts in episode 15, then it skips to episodes 17 through 22. So you can listen to that first Or listen to this episode, and then go back and listen to those episodes that I just listed, and that can give you some more background knowledge to understand what I’m talking about. So let’s jump into this fun episode to talk about one of my most favorite units. 


Hey there, teachers, and welcome to the session that’s going to help kick off your year using the outdoors STEM survival camp. I am your guide, Naomi Meredith, a former classroom teacher turned current K through 5 STEM teacher and coach. My role not only includes teaching over 500 students in my school but also leading professional development and co-teaching with the teachers to help them integrate STEM and Technology. With over a decade of experience, along with a Master’s in STEM Leadership and a STEM certificate, I help teachers worldwide navigate the best practices, strategies, and tools out there.


Naomi Meredith [00:02:53]:


I truly believe that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM and Technology in their classrooms. I can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide during STEM survival camp in our short time together and other adventures. Here is an overview of the session and how we will spend our time together at STEM survival camp. First, you’re going to hear the origin story of how STEM survival camp got started. Next, you’re going to learn how to integrate and understand what the Engineering Design Process is, which is used in these STEM survival camp challenges, then you’re going to see real examples of ways that you can integrate Seesaw with these STEM survival camp challenges, and then you’re going to have some resources that will help you implement this in your own classroom. Let’s gather around the campfire campers, and let’s hear the origin story of STEM survival camp. Everybody likes a good origin story, and where things come from, so I think you’ll like this one. This unit was born during the summer of 2020, and I was in the middle of a pandemic just like you. My school district was still planning on going back to school 100 percent in person for elementary students, along with the possibility of going remote at a moment’s notice.


Naomi Meredith [00:04:18]:


The units I had done in the past, during August, wouldn’t work since students would share classroom materials and most likely didn’t have the same items at home. I needed to create something that could be shifted no matter what, and students could still have the same STEM experience. At the time, I was watching this survival show alone. And if you haven’t seen it before, people are forced to be creative to survive, well, alone, by building their necessities, gathering, and protecting their food, traveling the land, and for those that stay really long staying entertained, thus STEM survival camp was born. This is one of six units I taught in my K through 5 STEM classroom, and we had an absolute blast. So much so that this is a unit that I taught again and will be taught each year coming back to school to help ignite creativity, create engagement, and improve critical thinking skills. I’m excited to have you learn more about this experience so that you can start something similar in your classroom. Before you dive into the actual STEM survival camp lessons, it’s important to understand the basics of what the Engineering Design Process actually is.


Naomi Meredith [00:05:43]:


In my own definition, the Engineering Design Process is the real process engineers use to ask questions, find solutions, iterate ideas, or try something over and over again. So why is this important in the elementary space? Why is this even relevant? Well, the Engineering Design Process is part of the Next Generation Science Standards, even starting in kindergarten. Of course, there is a progression of learning among all the grades, but this is something that needs to be taught to our students. Now depending on which state you’re in, your state might have even different variations of the Engineering Design Process and your standards and what they have adopted. So check that out and see what the science portion is for your state and district. Also, the Engineering Design Process is different than the scientific method. This doesn’t mean getting rid of the scientific method, either. So I would say the scientific method is using science to prove and investigate a problem, and there typically is that scripted outcome or reason why something happens, at least in that elementary setting.


Naomi Meredith [00:06:58]:


It’s great to integrate the Engineering Design Process along with the scientific method. So different types of experiments, different lessons, but the Engineering Design Process is used to plan, build, and solve a problem with multiple outcomes and solutions and, often, this comes with inventing. So, again, both are very different. Both are relevant. Both are needed. You typically don’t teach both in the same lesson. So that’ll help you understand the difference between the two. And also, when you’re teaching the Engineering Design Process, this is a great opportunity to promote that creative problem-solving and also creativity with constraints.


Naomi Meredith [00:07:43]:


Students are creative beings, and it’s amazing to tap into that. But also giving them those challenges where things aren’t unlimited, they have to be creative with what they have. And you will see in these STEM survival camp examples that I’ll be sharing with you that there is some creativity with constraints, which is really important to have so that students are problem-solving in a different way. In this course, I will be providing you with some free resources to help you get started when planning using the Engineering Design Process that will help you with these STEM survival camp challenges along with other STEM challenges that you want to implement in your classroom. Now that we have a basic understanding of what the Engineering Design Process is let’s see how we can integrate that with Seesaw when we are accomplishing STEM survival camp. I’m going to be showing you these examples from kindergarten and 5th grades to the same challenge for each of those 2 individual grades so that you can flex up or down depending on the age of your students that you and you might even teach all of the students as I do as well.


Naomi Meredith [00:08:57]:


Now you already know that Seesaw has some amazing creative tools that you can use with any type of lesson and any type of subject, and I will use a mixture of both tools depending on the time and experience my students have with Seesaw. So, of course, you have the green add button. And when you click on that button, you get a variety of tools that pop up on your page, just like what I’m showing here. And then you also have those same tools that are embedded with activities. So, again, depending on their experience, you might want to it up. So, for example, my kindergartners don’t have as much experience with Seesaw when coming into the school year. So I will typically start with one-page activities with them that have one goal in mind, or I will do a one-day challenge with the green add button. So maybe that is, let’s just take a picture of our work today.


Naomi Meredith [00:09:52]:


Now for my older students, that I have had more time with, the years and more experience with Seesaw, not only with STEM survival camp but other challenges we do during STEM. I will use more of a mixture of multi-tools. So we might do let’s take a picture and record our voice on top using the arrow tool. or I might even send them multi-page activities that we will edit throughout the week and go through during our time together. So really mix up the creative tools when you are using CSA with your student. The 1st stage in the Engineering Design Process is at. Now you are asking the problem that needs to be solved. This problem can be teacher or student-directed depending on the time that you have and what you’re really trying to accomplish.


Naomi Meredith [00:10:43]:


Since I have limited time with my students, I typically will have the ask the problem already written out for them, and I will keep this question really open-ended. So when you’re thinking about the problem that you’re trying to solve, shift from can you do this, which is typically a yes or no answer, to how can you, which keeps it more open-ended. So just shifting those few little words can really change the outcome of your challenge. So for this STEM survival camp experience, kindergarten has the question, how can you create a solution to help you cross the river safely? And 5th grade’s challenge is how can you create a shelter that will withstand different types of weather. So both are very open-ended for the challenges that they are going to attack. The next stage in the Engineering Design Process is the imagined stage. Now, again, depending on the time you have, you probably want to pre-research a lot of these resources for students to explore. just so that they can attack what they need to. Again, research is a really great tool, and skill for students to have.


Naomi Meredith [00:12:00]:


That isn’t always in my STEM position, what time we have for. I really want to get kids into building and collaborating. So I will pre-research in a lot of ways and provide those resources for students. So you see on the left that there is the shelter inspiration, so I found different images of shelters that are built in real life by people. My students are gonna build little small prototypes of these or whatever they choose to plan. And if you’ve done challenges before, really think about how you can take pictures and videos as students work in action because that’s really helpful for kids to see what real kids have done. Now this isn’t a means to copy each other’s work, but just seeing different examples that will give them a basis of understanding. The cool thing with Seesaw is you can even go through your past classes in Seesaw and save work with those QR codes.


Naomi Meredith [00:12:56]:


So if you click the three dots under a student’s post in a journal, students could scan that QR code, and they can check out work that way, or you can even create a list of links to past student work. Also, in the Imagine stage, you can find videos online, websites that are related, podcast whole podcasts or even podcast clips, or even create a collection in Epic Books that you can share with students. So the more pre-research that you do as a teacher and giving those tools to students, that can really help you save time and help them focus on what they need to know for their challenge. Group students have gathered ideas from all of the imagining resources. It is time for them to plan their design thoughtfully. Planning designs is important for all grade levels and is possible for all grade levels, no matter what their abilities are. The planning stage is also where I will tell them how much of each item they’re going to be able to use. So in this unit for STEM survival camp, there are predetermined amounts of materials they’re allowed to use along with anything that they collect from the outside.


Naomi Meredith [00:14:05]:


So here is an example of a kindergarten plan, and this is from a different related project. So you notice it says Pumpkin Bridge. It’s from something else; however, the challenge is how you can create something to help cross the river safely. So a bridge would definitely work in this situation. So ahead of time, in this one-page activity that I sent my kindergartners, I added in the predetermined materials that they would be able to use for my classroom. So, for example, they will be able to use popsicle sticks, cubes, and cups. You can even limit this even more and have a set amount of popsicle sticks, cubes, and cups; that is entirely up to you. Now for this challenge, they are also able to use anything that we collect from the outdoors.


Naomi Meredith [00:14:51]:


There are some rules that will go over in the create stage for that. So students use Seesaw, the drawing tool, to draw their design, and I really encourage them to use colors to really think about how their plan could look like in real life. They can also label their drawing as well. I’ve seen students draw lines from the materials list to their actual drawings, or they like to use that text tool to label on top. So depending on their experience with Seesaw and how you want to go with this. Those are a couple of options for planning for those younger students. You can also leave that material section blank if you don’t have time. Or, if you want to use Seesaw tools even more, students can take pictures of the materials that they’re going to use in the classroom, and then they can put that in that empty space.


Naomi Meredith [00:15:43]:


For the older students, I do still have them thoughtfully plan their designs. And what I have found is that drawing their plans on a separate piece of paper can really bring out those details just based on the types of devices that I have that they use Seesaw on. Older students will often get frustrated drawing their plans just using their fingers because there’s so much that they want to add. So I still have them plan on a piece of paper. I’ll send them that planning sheet, but then they will take a picture of their plan. and then also they can talk about their design using the microphone tools. So, again, they can use the c sub tools in a different way. When the older students are planning, I will try to encourage them to draw more than one view of their plan based on our planning rubric, label the parts, and also explain what each of those parts will do.


Naomi Meredith [00:16:34]:


So in this example, they’re going to use 6, a bag, a wrapper, and string, and you notice that they describe what each of those parts is going to do. During this planning stage, if you are thinking about using the money for students to purchase supplies, this is the stage that you would do that. I do use money in other units. For STEM survival camp, I just have the set amount of materials. But if you are thinking about adding money and a budget, the planning stage is where you want to do that. Now that the plans are underway, it is time to take, which is the students’ favorite part, especially since they get to find some materials from the outdoors. So like, I mentioned during the planning stage, I will tell them the amount of the predetermined things for my classroom that they are able to use within their design.


Naomi Meredith [00:17:25]:


So, of course, it goes back to that creativity with constraints. It’s always good to let students be creative and design whatever is in their heart’s desire that is school appropriate, but also have those constraints when it comes to the material because when you think about things that we build in real life, there usually isn’t an unlimited amount of materials and students need to realize that. and be creative with what they got. So we’ll go over those things that they can use from the classroom, and then they can go outside to collect the materials that they want to add to their design. So this is really fun, especially when the weather is nice, so keep that in mind as well. So when we go and collect things from outside, I do have some ground rules that I go over with all of the classes. So these are the same rules for k through 5. So these are my biggest things that we are collecting, is only take what you need.


Naomi Meredith [00:18:20]:


So we don’t wanna be excessive with what we’re taking from nature. But based on the plans, we only take what we need. I will have one initial day that we will go outside to collect materials. And then depending on the class, some classes do want to go back out a few days later, and some of them will actually take things back outside and then collect something new. So I also don’t have students bring bags with them because I did that the first time, and then they came back with bags of dirt and all sorts of things. We had a spider and a slug. So happen to be able to carry what they take from the outside indoors. Next is that living things stay living.


Naomi Meredith [00:19:03]:


So we’re not picking up all the grass out of the ground, taking leaves off of trees, taking small little creatures on purpose; those living things need to stay living. And then, along the same lines, sticky, slimy, and wet things stay in nature. So that might even include, like, a bag wrapper that they find that is all wet and soggy. Let’s leave that outside. probably even put it in the trash. So that way, things that are coming indoors aren’t as filthy. Your room will be a little bit of a mess, but this will help with that collection piece. Once students have gathered their materials from the doors and also used the things in your room, they are going to create.


Naomi Meredith [00:19:48]:


So here are some of my 5th grader’s examples with the build the shelter challenge. From me, they were able to use one foot of string, one grocery bag, one foot of tape, and 2 brown paper bag pieces. You notice there are other things in their designs. They did actually find a lot of things outdoors, and then they decided to combine designs after we tested them. For kindergarten, they had other materials for me as well, along with things that they collected from the outdoors. So for them to cross the river, however, they chose. They had one foot of tape, one piece of bubble wrap, 3 small pieces of cardboard, 4 popsicle sticks, and one plastic top. I did give them more material since it’s their first-ever challenge with me, and I wanted them to experiment with things that sync and flow, which we’ll talk about in the experiment section of this little course.


Naomi Meredith [00:20:38]:


You also can see in the picture of one of those kids. There is a little Lego person. They happened to have that in their pocket. They wanted to add it to their design. I said sure. And then I added water on the last day, so they built their designs for a couple of days. And then the last day is when we tested with the water, which again will go over in the experiment and improve. The improve stage really goes along with the create stage as well. Now with this done survival camp, they are fairly separate because students really do need to be pretty much done with their design before they experiment.


Naomi Meredith [00:21:15]:


However, when you’re thinking about other challenges that you do in the future using the same process, there’s a lot of experimenting and improving that go back and forth. So with the 5th-grade challenge, how can you create a shelter that can withstand the elements? After students have built their shelters, we will have an experimenting day. So they have a slide, a modification, and a testing checklist, and this actually got improved with my student suggestions. but they have different tests that they will put their shelter through. So they will actually guess before they test which rhymes. But they wanna guess, do they have an entrance for people to get in? Yes or no? Will it keep the inside dry? Does wind not get in, does it protect against snow, and can it be moved without breaking? So this isn’t for a grade, and I remind students that this is just a way to test how you designed your shelter. So they will go through and guess using Seesaw, and they will either use the shape tool to add a little star or even just the drawing tool. And then, they will go through and test their design, which I will have set up around the room.


Naomi Meredith [00:22:26]:


So we have the wind station. The snow is glitter. And then there’s a water station. You can kind of see in the picture that there is a little basket, and then there’s another bucket with water. They put this sponge in the water, and then they squeeze it on top of their shelter with their shelter in that basket. So then they’re not flooding. They’re designed completely. It might be based on how they designed it.


Naomi Meredith [00:22:50]:


And then, from there, they will go back to their checklist and then check off what actually happened. I do have another agency saw where I have students take a picture of their design before and after testing, which is really helpful. and I will have some towels on hand because a lot of students if they have time, will actually go back and improve their design and test again. So it’s really great having Seesaw. Make sure to keep it away from the water. But having Seesaw available because they can really showcase what is happening during those experiments. Similarly, with kindergarten with the crossing the river challenge, I have them if they take a picture of each other’s work and add it to their modifications. So they’re thinking about if certain things would sink or flow, and you could do this part after their building piece or even beforehand, depending on the flow of your lessons.


Naomi Meredith [00:23:46]:


So, again, Seesaw makes it really easy to record the results and things that paper might not be able to do. From there, students can share their work either by taking a picture, or a video adding to those pictures that we’re taking for testing the experiments, sometimes I will take the picture for them and put it in their Seesaw account depending on our time. Other kids will help each other take pictures of as well of their work, which is really helpful. And then, I always make sure to have some questions at the end to reflect on. And I use these questions throughout all of my different types of units because the responses will definitely change over time. and based on the types of projects that we are working on. So students can either use the text box tool to type in their thinking can record a video answering the responses. Some students prefer not being on video yet, so they might use the microphone to record their voices as well.


Naomi Meredith [00:24:47]:


For younger students, I will maybe ask them one of these question prompts, and then they will respond back, and you can hear my voice on the recording as well. We might do all three, or maybe I will type in their answer for them. So there are a lot of opportunities for students to reflect on their work throughout this process. Thank you so much for joining in on this little journey, campers. Now that you have seen the examples used in kindergarten for a STEM survival camp, along with how it can be taken to higher levels in the 5th grade, you can now explore and create your own STEM survival camp challenges that you can use during back-to-school time. I have included some free resources to help you plan using the Engineering Design Process, so make sure to check those out, And these planning pages can help you when you’re designing STEM survival camp challenges along with other Engineering Design Process lessons that you may be teaching in the future. If you have any questions and make sure to reach out, I can be found in a lot of different places. You can find me on my website, naomimeredith.com, send an email, contactnaomimeredith@gmail.com, and @naomimeredith_, where I share a lot of STEM and technology content all the time.


Naomi Meredith [00:26:08]:


And then also on YouTube where I have more video tutorials and also things for students as well. Thank you so much again, and I hope you have a wonderful school year. This presentation had a ton of visuals, and I bet you are dying to see all of the examples and handouts. You can grab the video recording of this episode, the video slides I referenced throughout, student examples, and bonuses for only $5. That’s less than a fancy coffee drink. This will all be linked in the show notes, and you can check it all out here at naomimeredith.com/PDreplay.

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More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is a former classroom teacher turned current K-5 STEM teacher and coach. Her role not only includes teaching over 500 students in her school, but also leading professional development and co-teaching with teachers to help them integrate STEM & Technology.

With over a decade of experience along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM certificate, she helps teachers navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM & Technology in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

google tools to improve steam

Essential Google Tools to Improve STEAM Instruction [ep.102]

by Naomi Meredith

Essential Google Tools to Improve STEAM Instruction [ep.102]

google tools to improve steam

Check out the full episode on Essential Google Tools to Improve STEAM Instruction:  

 

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Episode Summary

Google tools have helped me so much in my teaching journey. They have helped me streamline my workflow and create more consistency for my students. The audio for today’s episode is from an online summit where I did a presentation on Google tools to improve STEAM instruction. In this episode, I am sharing four of my favorite Google tools and sharing some fun and engaging ways you can incorporate them into your classroom.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • 4 Google tools to improve your STEAM instruction
  • An overview of each Google tool
  • Tips and strategies for incorporating these Google tools into your STEAM classroom

Resources Mentioned:

  • 100th Episode Giveaway Details:
    • Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, take a screenshot before you submit your review, share your review to your Instagram stories, and tag me @naomimeredith_. If you don’t have Instagram, email me the screenshot of your review at contactnaomimeredith@gmail.com
    • The giveaway ends Saturday, July 8, 2023
    • Prize: A FREE 30-minute coaching session
  • Grab the video, presentation slides, and other resources for this episode here: naomimeredith.com/pdreplay

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:

The first time I ever used Google tools was when I left my second-grade teaching position across town and started teaching third-grade in a new district. I was so confused by these tools, and I absolutely hated them. I’m actually a pretty techie person, but I didn’t understand them at all. But I did give them a chance, and I am so glad that I did that. I fell in love with all things Google and how they help me streamline my workflow and help me be more productive. In fact, I am still using Google tools to help my teaching instruction and also for a whole lot of parts for producing this podcast. While the audio from this episode has never been heard, been heard, been heard, been heard, been heard, been heard, been heard, been heard, been heard, for on this podcast. This is a presentation I did in the past online summit. One sad trend that I have seen since teaching during COVID is that a lot of online tools are being ignored.

Naomi Meredith [00:01:00]:

In a lot of ways, I’ve seen tools being used less than they were before COVID even happened. I get that using technology can be overwhelming to introduce to the students. I hundred percent get it. I did it all day with a hundred and 50 kids a day, k through 5, whether or not their classroom teacher was integrating tools. It can be really, really frustrating. However, we owe it to our students to help them be problem solvers and creators with technology. I know that the tools are going to change over time, and I even tell my students this. But the more practice they have with resources in meaningful ways, the less stressful it is to try new technology in the future.

Naomi Meredith [00:01:46]:

In this session, I’ll be sharing with you 4 examples of Google tools and how they can enhance your stem or steam teaching to help you rethink these resources as a teacher. Hey there, and welcome to this session, the essential Google tools to improve your STEAM instruction and make it easier on YouTube. I am your presenter, Naomi Meredith, and this session is geared towards elementary teachers of all levels k through 5 STEM and STEM teachers, library teachers, and homeschool parents. If you would like to use more Google tools in your classroom, and you don’t necessarily have to have a Google account for all of these that I’m gonna talk about, then this session is perfect for you.

Naomi Meredith [00:02:59]:

As I said, I am Naomi Meredith. I am a former classroom teacher turned current k through 5 STEM teacher and coach, and I have over a decade of experience teaching in the classroom along with a master’s degree in STEM leadership. My goal inside of the classroom and out side of it is to help teachers like you navigate STEM and technology in the K35 classroom. I am also the host of the new podcast, The Elementary STEM Coach podcast. So make sure to go and check that out on your favorite podcasting platform, and also run my website, neomy marinates dot com. You can see in the picture my cute little family and that little guy with the big ears, not my fiance, that little brown guy is Frederick, and he is a 10 pound little doggy full of tons of love. So if you follow me on Instagram, you probably will see him all the time. He is my 10 pound shadow.

Naomi Meredith [00:03:50]:

You’re going to see this link in the corner of every slide in this presentation, but I’ve put together a free resource free guide for you to use. And there is also a worksheet included in this summit that you can follow along. It’s I also put the same worksheet within this PDF for you. There are some tips and tricks in there to help you keep track of all of your learning and ideas that you wanna apply after this session. So you can grab the add naomimeredith.com/steamgoogletools. We’re gonna talk about 4 different Google tools today. Some of you may have heard of them but haven’t thought of how to use them in your STEAM or STEM space, and some might be completely new to you.

Naomi Meredith [00:04:30]:

So for each tool, we’re gonna talk about what the tool is, just a brief introduction, why you should use that tool, and how you could use it in your steam space. So some example lessons that you could try out. The first one is Google Jamboard. Now this is a newer Google tool, and this is so amazing. And I wish that they created this a long time ago. Google Jamboard is awesome. It has all of these slides, and it’s very similar to a tablet. If you’ve used a tablet in the past, it’s almost like having a giant whiteboard that you can add sticky notes on top of it.

Naomi Meredith [00:05:05]:

What’s really great about Google Jamboard is that you can add different elements on top. It uses a lot of the same Google tools, and it is a very interactive experience for you. To get Jamboard, it’s within all of your Google tools. So once you log into the Google app as a teacher, you can create a new Jamboard just as if you were creating a Google Doc or Google Slides. It looks like this. It’s a giant whiteboard and has all of the limited tools on the side. And, again, it is really easy to share with students. So if you change the share settings just like you do with the other Google tools so anyone with the link can edit, you could make a QR code and share the link with students that way so they don’t have to log in to their Google account to respond.

Naomi Meredith [00:05:48]:

You could also share the link with students in a platform like Google Classroom, so you saw whatever LMS you actually use. And that way, it is easy to get access to. One little quick tip. This is not a Google tool, but you’re gonna thank me for it later. It is called classroom screen, also a free tool, not Google related, as I said, but you can actually create a QR code on there and use other widgets on your screen. Super helpful tool. So as you can see, it’s a really easy to use platform, and students can interact in a variety of ways and have simple response tools. This is a great chance to give students a voice to respond and reflect on a variety of different questions and prompts that you may have for them.

Naomi Meredith [00:06:31]:

You can also save the responses and refer back to them later. So this is helpful if you have a slide deck for each grade level, for each project, and you can compare and contrast responses. At the very top, you can even add more slides. So this is really great. You can go back to the responses later. When you want to use Jamboard in STEAM, here are some ways that you could integrate this into your lesson. First, you can use Jamboard as a connection piece. Maybe you set up questions beforehand, and have them listed on the Jamboard.

Naomi Meredith [00:07:02]:

You can even change the background. So if you don’t want students to delete things, you can create an image separate from Jamboard. Save it as the background so it’s not movable. But you could have a stem warm-up for the day. It could be a question of the day related to the content they’re gonna learn about. STEM topics that are happening around the world, like current events, or even just random questions that you want to get to know students. This would be great for all classes, especially if you teach multiple classes in a day. It’s really hard to get to know kids.

Naomi Meredith [00:07:32]:

And see all those unique things about them. So this could be a really cool way as students come in. They answer the question, you talk about the responses, and then move on with the lesson. You can also use Jamboard as a Wonderwall. This goes back to the similar concept with real paper and real sticky notes by your digitizing this, this could be a way where you can assess students about prior knowledge about a topic. So maybe you have the topic as what you’re gonna learn about for your STEM project. Maybe you’re going to learn about ways to help the environment, and then students can write questions, wondering about things that they know. And they could add all those little digital sticky notes.

Naomi Meredith [00:08:11]:

And this is a great way to assess what they know, what they don’t know, and the direction you might wanna take the lesson. If they need more support or not. So this would be a cool way to keep progress in starting off the lesson. You can also use Jamboard as a way for students to share at the end or during a project. Students could take pictures of their final work, so you saw that there’s an add image button. They could add images that are already saved in their Google Drive. They could take fresh pictures, and this would be really cool to have a final collage that you could share with the class. If you wanted to, you could even present the collage of students’ work at a back-to-school night or an open house opportunity, a STEM night. And these are all pictures from the student’s perspective.

Naomi Meredith [00:08:55]:

You can also have students share a strategy that worked well with them during the project and also help others keep going throughout the week. So maybe before students clean up for the day, they add a quick little group sticky note or response on there. What work went well for you? What do you need to keep going? What questions do you have? And then, you could discuss this at the end of class or the beginning of the next day, so this will give strategies for students to keep going on their projects. Again, you can use this even more as a reflection tool, so I like to use the same questions for every STEM challenge throughout the year. So students are used to the questions, but their responses are going to change because the projects are so different. The questions I like to use are I am proud of If I were to try this challenge again, I would change, and then something that was challenging for them. No matter what, there’s always gonna something challenging, so it’s good to reflect on those things. So having those same questions every time, students could put that on a jam board.

Naomi Meredith [00:09:55]:

Maybe even each group has a slide on the GM board, and they reflect that way or each student. So it’s just a cool way to keep things organized and have the experience be interactive where every student gets a voice, it’s easy to share, and the tools are easy to use as well. The second tool that you definitely want to use in your STEM or STEAM place is Internet Awesome. Now I might also go call this Google Interland. It’s the same thing. The technical term by Google is Internet Awesome. And this is a free digital citizenship curriculum developed by Google. Available for upper elementary and even a little bit of middle school.

Naomi Meredith [00:10:35]:

Why would you want to use this? It is so much fun, and the kids beg for Google and Interland all the time. So we’re gonna talk about when you could use this. So it definitely engages the older students in tough digital citizenship conversations. It can also integrate well with the common sense media curriculum. I do use a combination of both because I feel like both have very important messages for students and ways to talk about those things. And it also gives that sense of gamification. As you can see on the screen, there is a game for every major lesson that students can apply their learning. And so it really makes a hard topic more fun and interactive.

Naomi Meredith [00:11:18]:

There are also digital resources for lessons. This is a fairly new feature of the Internet Awesome. It integrates Pear Deck. So Pear Deck is a Google extension with Google slides where students can interact with the slides. So this curriculum actually has the slides already created for you. You can edit them for your needs, so make a copy and edit them in Google Slides. And then, if you add in that extension with Pear Deck, Pear Deck is a freemium. So there are free tools and then premium tools.

Naomi Meredith [00:11:49]:

So once students add in that code, they can interact with the slides and respond that way. So I’m not gonna go too much into Paratek in this presentation. Pear Deck is a cool Google tool. Definitely write that down if you haven’t heard of it. It’s a great interactive piece as well. I actually used this Be Internet Awesome curriculum when we rent remote in the fall of 2020. Spring 20 20 was so different. But in the fall of 2020, I used this. And I didn’t feel like I lost it in learning because I knew I was gonna use this in my STEM classroom anyway, and we had access to the resources as soon as we were able to respond and be reflective.

Naomi Meredith [00:12:25]:

There is a lot to this curriculum, so I would suggest picking 1 topic. For that grade level and then carry it into the next year. You don’t have to do it all at once. Now if you’re a classroom teacher, you could use this as your whole curriculum for the whole year. Digital citizenship isn’t just a one-month, one-day thing. It’s part of our real world, part of being a good citizen online. It is needed starting in kindergarten for sure. So definitely use this as a tool to help with those conversations.

Naomi Meredith [00:12:57]:

Here’s how you can use it to enhance your steam instruction. Again, you are promoting digital citizenship, which is needed all year, and it’s those home resources are really helpful, too, especially with how to communicate with parents. As teachers, especially, we see why digital citizenship is important for our students within the classroom outside of the classroom and how technology is used for academic and fun purposes. There is a purpose for both, but we just need to have that good digital citizenship all year. Sometimes parents don’t always know how to have those conversations with students or what may or may not be a problem. So this is a great stepping stone into those resources to share. You can also use Google Interland as an academic behavior incentive. Maybe you have a technology-free day that your class is trying to earn.

Naomi Meredith [00:13:46]:

So this is a cool option to add in there for kids. This is way better than the cool math games, and we all know cool math games are not really math, and kids will sneakily play that. So If they’re gonna play a game, how about they work on their digital citizenship? This is also a good way if you need last-minute sub plans. I am not a huge proponent of having kids just sitting on the computer and doing nothing. However, if you need something last minute, it is something productive for them to work on. And kids really love playing it. And then, of course, we could have this as an early finisher. You could add this to a digital choice board. This is something that I will do for the second of the year.

Naomi Meredith [00:14:25]:

Some of the teachers actually use my digital choice board as just an extension of their homework if that’s something they wanna work on at home. You could even have Interland be a station rotation if you don’t have a lot of devices in your classroom. Maybe you have a few set up in a station, and students can choose to go to that 1. So there’s a lot of possibilities of using it once you’ve used those core lessons and taught through that just to help them keep learning and applying the lessons. You can use this throughout the year. The third tool out of the 4 is Google Drawings. I feel like Google Drawings doesn’t get enough attention that it deserves. In fact, this is way better to start kids off instead of starting with Google Slides, which we will talk about Google Slides. But it’s really great because it has all of the same tools that Google Slides does, but it is way less overwhelming.

Naomi Meredith [00:15:19]:

The way that I like to think about Google Drawings, it’s like having a sheet of paper. So you have 1 slide, 1 sheet of paper to worry about. You can change the size of the Google drawings. So if you know you’re not going to print it out, you can even make it a square so that students have more room on the side to create with. You can even change the size 2 a sheet of paper that will get printed out. If you know, that’s going to be an option as well. Again, it still practices the same tools as Google Slides, but students are going to get lost resolving the pages. If your students don’t have a lot of experience using Google tools, I recommend starting with Google Slides or Google Docs first.

Naomi Meredith [00:16:00]:

Google Docs isn’t as much creation. It’s more of that text editing. But if you want students to be creating more, definitely start them in Google Google Drawings first because they get familiar with how the tools work and how to use them. What’s really great too, and this will help with some of the examples and projects, is that you can create PNG. So that’s an image file type that can be downloaded with a transparent background. You can actually do that in slides also, but this is a quick way if you need to create something that doesn’t have a background. You wanna layer it and, on top of something, create it in Google Drives. Now thinking about how to use this in your stem classroom, There is that vocabulary development. You can use the drawing tool, and I don’t think it’ll play from the beginning on this slide, But you can actually use the drawing tool.

Naomi Meredith [00:16:51]:

At the top, there’s, like, the different pens, and there’s 1 that’s like a polyglot polygon, like a tracing type of pen. Students can actually trace images that they insert into the slides and help them understand where different parts of things are. I went to a session, and there was a session about Google and all of the updates. At a conference recently. And this lady, when she was a teacher, actually would trace maps and end up having students trace maps. And was able to create little PNG images that could be used for different things. So then eventually, she had students trace the maps digitally. They were talking about the place and understanding what it looks like, and this actually helped with their geography skills. I’m even thinking about how you could use this for labeling different parts of students might have an image of the life cycle of a butterfly, and maybe they have to trace part, and this can help them with that vocabulary development and also create a digital image and help them be successful with digital drawing, which some students actually might really enjoy.

Naomi Meredith [00:17:54]:

Can also have students create an infographic, and so this could help them synthesize information about a topic that they’re researching, which later they can use that information to help them with their project. Maybe they make an infographic about the topic. You print it and then work with a makey makey, which is a little tool that looks little, but it does a lot. A little tool that has clips that you can connect to things. And then, when you touch a clip or when it’s touching something connective, it will then perform the task that’s coded on the computer. So there is some coding. So you could have them make an infographic that’s interactive. So when it’s clipped to different parts, when you touch a clip, then it’s going to say something of the computer about that piece.

Naomi Meredith [00:18:38]:

You can also have students create video graphics that they could layer within their videos. So maybe they’re creating backgrounds for a green screen. So if they’re designing something for your school-wide news, maybe they are doing a little project. Maybe one group is in charge of creating the backgrounds within Google Drawings. You can download that and then insert that into the video. Maybe they want to create characters for a stop motion video, and they create the characters within Google Drawings, download them as a PNG so everything excludes together without a background, and then they can create a Google Slides stop motion animation. I’ve also used Google Drawings in a way for how I can use I have 2 cricket machines. Crickets are those, and I might be saying it wrong. But crickets are those machines that cut out things with l razors, so it reads the image off the computer, and then it cuts it onto paper or sticker paper.

Naomi Meredith [00:19:32]:

I have 2 of those in my classroom since I think it’s a cheaper way to go for that type of 2 d cutting. So I’ve had student students create images for their design using Google Drawings, then I was able to download them as a PNG and insert it into the cricket platform. And then cut it from there. This is a lot easier to do because cricket isn’t really known for being made for the classroom setting. So that way, I didn’t have to create an account for every single student. We already have Google accounts for the kids. They could easily share their image with me within Google Forms. And then choose the color they wanted.

Naomi Meredith [00:20:11]:

So we did this for digital citizenship. So on the left, you can see some of the final designs that were cut on sticker paper. And our goal was to create an actual one, and we used Google Interland for part of this lesson to build the background. So they had to create a sticker that could be 1 to keep and 1 to give away, so cut out 2 for them that talked about the digital citizenship lessons throughout the week. So we really talked about how to layer designs, how to use thick and chunky fonts, and how to create something that would make sense that could be cut out. So there was a lot of layering involved, and so their digital stickers look exactly like they would when it’s cut out, which was really important to think about the future and how their project would actually work. And the last tried and true favorite, which you probably already used, but here’s how you can use it in your theme space, is Google Slides. So this, I feel like, is more advanced for students once they have more experience using some of the Google tools.

Naomi Meredith [00:21:13]:

They could definitely get live within slides, but it is so powerful and definitely needed in a STEM space. So why would you wanna use this? Well, it’s definitely great for long-term projects. You can have students work on specific slides for the day. So let’s say you send out a whole engineering design process notebook that they will be using throughout the week. You might have specific slides that they’re going to work on instead of printing everything out. Now when you’re thinking about creating your slides, add those movable pieces to make it more interactive. How can you make this even better than paper? You see, here I have QR codes that students can watch videos. They are connected to YouTube.

Naomi Meredith [00:21:52]:

Sadly, in my district, YouTube is blocked for elementary, so I can actually watch it as a teacher. So I’ll play the video, and then they’ll respond. But think about how you can make it more interactive. Can you add audio? Yes. You can add audio to Google Slides. I’m gonna link in that resource for you actually how I create audio and add that to a Google Slide. You can also embed videos.

Naomi Meredith [00:22:18]:

Maybe it is YouTube if your school doesn’t have it blocked. Maybe you create a video using Screencastify and embed that video as well. So make it more interactive how can your slides do more than a piece of paper? Likewise, students can make their slides more interactive too. They can insert their photos throughout a project, so maybe when they have the planning section, when they go to the planning side, you have them draw on a piece of paper. Then take a picture of their design and put it on there so they always have their plan. Maybe you have them take a video and insert that on their slide where they talk about what their work looks like. Maybe they add a photo.

Naomi Meredith [00:22:56]:

This is really great too when students are working in groups who really wanna encourage collaboration, but they have a chance to keep their project by way of photos. Some kids actually don’t even like keeping their projects, especially if they’re made out of cardboard. They’re not huge fans. So that way, they can document their work, and then they can’t get rid of it or take it apart or have someone else in the group take it. And again, when you think of Google Slides since there are more advanced features compared to other Google tools, students are continuously working on those digital skills and ways that they can showcase their work. So when thinking about using this in your room, again, this is a great way to have a digital notebook that can do even more than a piece of paper. I teach over 500 kids in the course of a month, So this is definitely my go-to. Once I have my slides set up for the week, they have that digital notebook.

Naomi Meredith [00:23:45]:

I might send them other resources along the way that I forgot to include. But this is really helpful for them. We also talked about Paratek. So Paratek is an extension that you can add on. Oh, sorry. It’s not an extension. It’s an add-on that you can add within Google Slides. So that can make those slides more interactive, definitely check out Pear Deck. They have templates already set up for you, and they have a ton of different stem ones as well.

Naomi Meredith [00:24:10]:

So that’s a great resource to have in your toolbox. You can also have students create stop-motion animations using Google Slides. There are a ton of free resources and things on YouTube out there to help you get started. And then you could also have Google Slides in the stem space via digital portfolio. So after I have a blank digital portfolio document. So or your slides or maybe something that’s a template that you share with them at the beginning of the year, and they could keep adding on. So maybe after each project, students can take pictures, and add to their experience. Maybe they even have 1 slide per project, and this would be really cool for students to share at the end of the year with their families.

Naomi Meredith [00:24:49]:

Or even at parent-teacher conferences to help that parent communication. A lot of kids really thrive doing these STEM projects. This would be a cool way to document throughout the year. So again, if you haven’t already grabbed it and you haven’t noticed the link at the bottom, you can grab this resource, where you it’ll keep track of things for you and have some fun goodies in for you. Thank you so much again for coming today. Please reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns. I have my email contact Naomi Meredith at Gmail dot com. Check me out on my website, Naomi Meredith dot com, Instagram at Naomi Meredith underscore. It’s also the same for Twitter and 10 talked.

Naomi Meredith [00:25:26]:

I use Instagram a bit more. And then my TPT shop, Naomi Meredith. And then I didn’t put it up here, but like I said, go and check out my podcast. It’s pretty new, so super exciting, The Elementary STEM Coach podcast. Thank you so much again, and I hope to hear from you soon. Good luck with all your Google tools. This presentation had a ton of visuals, and I bet you are dying to see all of the examples and handouts. You can grab the video recording of this episode, the video slides I reference throughout, student examples, and bonuses for only 5 dollars.

Naomi Meredith [00:26:02]:

That’s less than a fancy coffee drink. This will all be linked in the show notes, and you can check it all out here at naomimeredith.com/PDreplay.

google tools to improve steam

 

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More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is a former classroom teacher turned current K-5 STEM teacher and coach. Her role not only includes teaching over 500 students in her school, but also leading professional development and co-teaching with teachers to help them integrate STEM & Technology.

With over a decade of experience along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM certificate, she helps teachers navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM & Technology in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

a lesson from ms. frizzle

A Lesson from Ms. Frizzle [ep.100]

by Naomi Meredith

A Lesson from Ms. Frizzle [ep.100]

a lesson from ms. frizzle

Check out the full episode on A Lesson from Ms. Frizzle:  

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Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

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Episode Summary

Oh my goodness! We have officially hit 100 episodes on The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast! To celebrate this incredible milestone, the audio for today’s episode is the keynote speech I gave at Wonder Workshop’s spring 2023 International STEAM Summit. During this episode, I share a lesson from Ms. Frizzle and the many lessons I have learned as a STEM teacher. It is my hope that this episode will inspire you this summer and as you gear up for the new school year. Also, to celebrate hitting 100 episodes, I am hosting a giveaway! One lucky winner will win a FREE 30-minute coaching session with me. Check out the resources mentioned section to learn more.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Lessons from Ms. Frizzle and how I have applied them as a STEM teacher
  • The importance of modeling a growth mindset for our students
  • Why your students need to see you make mistakes 
  • Stories of mistakes I made as a STEM teacher and how I handled them

Resources Mentioned:

  • 100th Episode Giveaway Details: 
    • Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, take a screenshot before you submit your review, share your review to your Instagram stories, and tag me @naomimeredith_. If you don’t have Instagram, email me the screenshot of your review at contactnaomimeredith@gmail.com
    • The giveaway ends Saturday, July 8, 2023
    • Prize: A FREE 30-minute coaching session

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:

Oh my goodness. I cannot believe I am saying this, but today’s episode is Bonu mental. We have made it to 100 episodes here on the elementary STEM Coach podcast. I wish I could say that this lined up perfectly with the release of my first episode of the show, but not quite. The first episode was released on July 18, 2022. However, this 100th episode is actually more closely aligned with when I release my trailer. Back before this podcast actually was introduced, I was actually preparing to go to the InEDCO conference in June 2022. My goal was to get my podcast trailer set up and published so that it would hold me accountable when I was talking to people at the conference that I had a podcast coming out, and I didn’t want to lie. And, actually, funny enough, I even made business cards with the name of my podcast on it, so then I definitely had to get this show published and make it happen. And funny enough, this is totally a testament to this podcast needed to happen. I had bought all of the materials for the podcast. You don’t need a whole lot to get started, but I did get all the tools and the microphone purchased, went up to the conference, and then I actually put my name into a drawing, and I’m not kidding you. I won a podcast microphone, and it is the same microphone that I am using right now, and I absolutely love it. So It was definitely meant to be to have this podcast, and here we are a 100 episodes later. I wasn’t even planning on staying with 2 episodes a week. However, you are all listening and chatting with me about how much you love the show and what kind of content you want to hear. So I’m continuing to pump out the episodes. I’m definitely not at a loss for episode ideas. The most random things will pop up and I will put them into my online organization. So I have a whole list of things and things to come all ready to go for you guys. To celebrate the 100th episode, I’m also doing a special giveaway for you. One lucky person will win a free 30-minute coaching session with me. Absolutely free. Again, to enter, it’s pretty easy. All you have to do is write a 5-star review of the podcast. Take a screenshot before you hit submit. It can take a while for it to process. So take a screenshot before you click submit. Post a screenshot on Instagram stories and tag me at NaomiMeredith_. If you don’t use Instagram, you can also send me an email with that screenshot so you can send me the email at contactnaomimeredith@gmail.com. This will not only let me know what you are loving about this show but also help other teachers know if this show is the perfect fit for them. This giveaway will end on Saturday, July 8, 2023, and I will let the winner know shortly after if they won the session with me. To honor this podcast achievement of the 100th episode, this episode is a special one. I was asked by Brian Miller from Wonder Workshop to be their closing keynote speaker for their spring 2023 International STEAM Summit. Side note, Brian was an awesome guest on the show, and you can go and listen to his interview on episode 32 and another collaboration I had with him in Wonder Workshop where I interviewed a NASA engineer in episode 57. I have never been a keynote speaker before, and this is something that has been on my vision board for the way off future. But we don’t always get to decide when things come to us, and this happened to be the right time. So it’s not always our timing. I actually presented virtually, and I wasn’t able to see anyone’s faces. So before you’re gonna hear the recording. But before I actually make a joke with everybody to take a selfie with them, which was funny because I actually couldn’t see their faces. So I said, get in closer. Let me get a picture of you. Oh my gosh. Your smile’s so nice. I couldn’t see their faces at all. And, by the way, this was live. So if I mess up, I mess up. I was also navigating the slides and the technology at the same time, and you’ll also hear me mention saying things about adding comments in the chat. I was able to interact with the participants live and talked with them throughout. So that’s what I am referencing throughout if you hear me say put something in the chat, add something blah blah blah. Enjoy this keynote speech for the 100th episode from me to you to help inspire you for summer and kick off your brand new school year!

Naomi Meredith [00:05:39]:

The moment right after I got my job interview for a K through Five STEM position and coach, I started to cry. I called my teacher honey, and I told him that I messed up the interview and there is no way that I got the job. I had extra time before I needed to go back to school to my classroom teaching position for 6 years, so I went and got a pedicure to calm down and then went back to teach for the rest of the day. I had no clue what the outcome of my interview would be and figured I’d be teaching 3rd grade for another year. which was totally fine. I loved my school and the lessons I was teaching and could definitely stick to teaching what I knew. Growing up, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher ever since I was a little girl and that I would go to school, then I would come home, and then I would teach my not-so-willing siblings when I got home. Teaching was my goal in life, and, boy, did I achieve it. But my dreams also took another turn that I had never imagined. Shout out to all my millennials out there, so put some things in the emojis or in the chats that shout out to you. If you watched countless hours of Bill Nye, the science guy, and the Magic School Bus growing up, I would put all of the like buttons on that one, or maybe you still watch them for fun or show them to your classroom. I know there’s a new Magic School Bus, but it just doesn’t hit the same, just not the same as the old version. And when you think about it from a teacher’s perspective, Miss Frizzle was definitely innovative for her time with all of the crazy antics and experiences she provided for her students. She constantly spouted out those words of wisdom, and you might even say it out loud with me. Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy. Also, when you are watching, feel free to take pictures or screenshots of me talking if there’s anything that you wanna remember. Side note, I totally dressed up as Miss Frizzle for Halloween a couple of years ago with my little dog, Frederick, and he was Liz the lizard. And this was totally worth our time because we won the Halloween costume contest at doggy take care that year. So a fun fact about me. As educators, we can take heart this message as well. How are you taking chances? how are you making mistakes? Are you having moments where things can get a bit messy? It’s so easy to stick to what we know, what’s comfortable, what works, and what we like. It’s safe, and it feels good. But those times, we jump out of our comfort zones and try some of those new things even if we don’t always know the outcome. It can be even better than what you think. So feel free to type it out in the chat. So think about something that you definitely wanna step out of your comfort zone and stir up your inner Miss Frizzle. You can feel free to type that in, or maybe you write it for yourself. Something that I tried this past week actually was having my students build their own robots. So that was very exciting. Something I had no idea how to do, and we were cheering each other on today when one of the students was able to light up a light. So there are always lots of things that we can step out of our comfort zones. Lana wants to explore AI. That would definitely be a really great topic to explore with your kids, especially how AI is changing our world. And there are a lot of different avenues with AI as well, so that would be a really interesting lesson. Take chances. The next day, I got a phone call from the job interview committee. I got the job. Not only did I get the K through 5 STEM teaching and coaching position, but I was going to be teaching at a new to me district and school. I didn’t know a single teacher or student in the building, and I would be teaching over 500 kids with limited supplies and 0 curriculum. Sounds like the ideal position. Right? Could explore some more of that AI that Lana was talking about. I clutched onto my 6 years of teaching experience. In all the trainings, where I talk about innovative practices, the books I had read, the conferences that I attended, like this International STEAM Summit, and I used these experiences to help me build a foundation and create a program that I dreamed of having. While overwhelmed at first, over the course of the next 5 years, I planned cross-curricular lessons that were rooted in grade-level standards. I took inventory of the supplies I had, found creative ways to get things and plan long-term for future purchases that would enhance my curriculum. Lessons were taught, retaught, and some were thrown out the window, but there were others that got to come back for a second round. And my students and I were loving STEM together and found passions that we never knew existed. Another big thing when stepping out of my comfort zone, and you probably can relate, is teaching during COVID, and that was definitely an interesting time. But it allowed me to get my Master’s in STEM leadership to further my teaching practice. And I always like to tell my students when they were learning, I would learn. So a lot of learning was happening during that time. So you can definitely like or add an emoji if you can relate. If you remember those COVID teaching days, It was an interesting time, for sure. That was a weird day. I actually did a balloon launch that day, the day we found out we worked coming back to school. And it was a whole school-wide event. All the kids were lined up outside and then had to go chase a balloon, and then I never saw my students again till the fall, so that was a very weird time. In turn, I’ve been able to help support teachers and students all over the world in their stem spaces with my resources, podcasts, and online courses. So when it comes to change, change can be a good thing. and it doesn’t always have to be a life-altering job switch or getting another degree, which totally can be those things too. Start small. Just like that little seed, start small. You’ve learned a lot of great ideas from educators this week, and let’s put them to good use. Think about a routine you might already have in your class. How can you spice things up and implement an innovative tool to make the routine more engaging? Are there teachers in your building or district that you can collaborate with and bounce ideas off to get a bit of a refresh in your content area? What about a lesson you always teach each year? Can you modernize it a bit? For example, when I was helping my 4th-grade teachers with a unit about ecosystems, they were having their kids make brochures all about ecosystems for years. The content and the way that the teachers were teaching were amazing, but the final product was a bit outdated. I don’t know about you, but I’m not typically sitting around reading brochures to get my information. Maybe when you go to one of those hotels on the side of the road, you might get a brochure, but that’s not typically my go to resource. Instead, I help the teachers teach their students how to create a website to share their work with a bigger audience while also refining their word processing skills, creating engaging text features, and also capturing what they had been learning throughout the year. Take a moment to write down at least 3 new things. You don’t have to overwhelm yourself, but write 3 new things that you want to take a chance on and that you’ll commit to trying this next school year. Even the end of the school year is also a great opportunity to try those new things, even though it might not feel like it. You can definitely put that in the chat. It could be one of those things too that you talked about before. Some people wanna start an after school club, like Cheryl said; Kristen wants to do more with games, but think about those lessons that you learned throughout the week and what is something that you could try out in your classroom. So thinking about those things, this definitely ties into Miss Frizzle’s next lesson, and is all about making mistakes. I’m the kind of teacher that loves to host after school clubs, so Cheryl, this one’s for you. And as a kid, I always involve was always involved in sports and extracurriculars and saw the benefit in my own life. And as a teacher, that’s something I’ve always implemented for my students to help them explore the world in new ways and find new passions. Clubs are also a great way to test out new lessons with less pressure. And this can help you with that thing that we just talked about. So if you’re a little bit scared, just try it within your own classroom. Think about an after school club, and you can explore in a less scary setting. This past school year, I hosted a robotics club at my school for 2nd through 5th graders, and we were coding with our fave, our guy Dash the robot. And there was such high interest for this club over 60 students signed up, so I had to get a bit creative with my scheduling so all the kids could participate, and it was so exciting. I was able to figure out how they could all participate. My district has given us had given us challenges that they wrote, and we would work on those with our teams. Then we brought our completed challenges to our district event. There are a ton of steps in each challenge. Technically not too hard, but just it was a lot to get through. I also highly recommend what Brian was talking about it. But if you’re looking for any ideas for after school clubs, the Wonder League Robotics competition challenges are awesome. So when that comes out again, definitely sign your kids up. I’ve done these before in the past, and they are a lot of fun. So with these challenges, the kids were so excited to attend our district event and see kids from other schools and how they tackled the challenges through creativity and coding. I rolled in my trusty wagon. If you follow me on Instagram, you know I love my wagon. Full of their built designs and our class set of Dash robots and organized our parent volunteers and the groups for the day. When it was finally our schools trying to compete, the kids were so ready. Or so I thought. The kids showed their coats that they had been working on for the past couple of months, their loops, their functions, and their variables, but it was wrong. Wrong; the judges kept saying that their codes weren’t right. The challenge wasn’t correct. I was so confused, and then I read through the directions again. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. I could not believe it. I told my students sorry. My students were amazing listeners and listened to me correctly and how I explained it, but I explained it wrong. Yep. You heard it right. This is even recorded. I explained the challenge wrong. I missed one crucial step, and thus the amazing codes that the kids had collaborated on and worked hard to complete were a bit off. And at that moment, the parents could see how horrible of a teacher I was and how I taught all of their kids wrong. The kids were a bit bummed out, but they were okay. And luckily, there was a day of challenge that they would be able to complete as a team and show off what they knew, and they knew a whole bunch about coding. I had just happened to teach them a little bit wrong. I totally unowned up to it, and I used this as a learning experience, the inner teacher of me did, and modeled how this could work for them. I said something like this that mistakes can help us grow and learn. It’s quite alright, everybody. Look how much you have learned with your coding, and collaborating with your whole team, this is a terrible fail, and feeling can be a good thing. In fact, it shows me Miss Meredith that I needed to slow down, and I just got too excited about teaching this challenge to all of you. It’s quite alright, and we have a new challenge that we are going to try and show what we know. And, of course, I like we know kids, they did great. The parents were impressed with their coding skills, and the challenges of the day were a success. Miss Frizzle says make mistakes while and we often tell that to our students as well. growth mindset and persistence is something that we’re constantly trying to instill in our students, and we should be. However, Are you afraid of making mistakes as an educator? Are you trying to be picture perfect for your students at all times? That is so stressful. Spoiler alert, I make mistakes all the time when I teach, and I let my students see that. We talk through it. We learn about it together, and it all works out. Especially in my k through 5 stem space, I came into my room not really knowing how to use any of the tools that were in there. Robotics, coding, 3 d printing, but I learned right beside my students, I even told them that I wasn’t born knowing to use all of these tools. And Neither were they. You can like if you agree with that. We weren’t born learning to know all of these things, but it’s so exciting because We get to learn all of these amazing things. Making mistakes is so powerful and how often when you really think about it, how often do kids get to see that in their lives where mistakes can actually be a positive experience. Think about some mistakes, and you probably when I was talking, think of these already that you have made in teaching or even lessons that you have taught. If you feel brave enough, you are welcome to share those in the chat. And there are many times that making mistakes are okay and you probably are so embarrassed in the moment, and then then it’s all okay in the end. And even collaborating with others is a great way to talk through those mistakes. Like Lana is saying in the chat, how the Wonder Workshop Facebook group is a great way to collaborate indefinitely. Having those opportunities to share your mistakes with your students, but also with each other with educators can be a great way to learn from each other. Definitely. And Miss Frizzle also says, well, get messy. I was so excited about a new I get excited about projects all the time, but so excited about a project that I was going to do with my 5th graders. and we were talking about GIS data or geographical information systems data and how we can use this information from the land to help us built a cohesive city. Students were given fictional data about an area and used the coordinates to color a grid. The colors represented different areas of land, grassy fields, a muddy patch, a lake, and a river, And then they were given another set of data to build up land on this grid to with using clay. Once the clay was dry, the students would have a landscape that they could visually see where they could plan their city and build their design as a team. So you could see some of the student examples up on the screen. Buying supplies for your classroom is definitely tricky on our teacher budget, and I know we’re all millionaires out there. You can like if you agree. Yep. We are all teacher millionaires, and we have a ton of extra cash lying around, but Sometimes we do need to get a little creative on how we gather supplies. I am a d o DIY kind of girl and remembered when I was younger, my mom would make us Play-Doh that smelled like Kool-Aid, and I figured, hey. I have a kitchenette mixer. I can channel my inner mom and make this. It’s so cheap, and I’ll have Plano for everyone. like or put an emoji if you are one of those DIY types of teachers and think that you can make everything. because that is definitely me. The next day in STEM, I brought in my homemade dough, and the kids were so excited for the next part of their challenge. They were going to build their landscape, and They did. Let me show you what ended up happening.

Naomi Meredith [00:23:11]:

And nothing can go wrong.

Naomi Meredith [00:23:14]:

Oh, no. No. It ro — Yep. That’s exactly what happens. Not only, was dough all over the grids. It was all over everywhere. The floor, their computers, their hair, my hair. Apparently, the dough didn’t dry out enough, and it was extremely sticky. Kids were screaming. Someone had gloves. This was during COVID time, so kids knew I had gloves. somewhere over by the trash can, scraping the dough off of their hands into the trash can, and it was an absolute disaster. I have a video of this somewhere. I will search for it, and I will repost this because it was an absolute mess. And I started to laugh. The kids started to laugh. It was so funny how disastrous my room was and how one turn of events could change the whole project. Once we cleaned up, I let them know that I probably won’t be bringing any more dough for the next day, but we will problem-solve and figure it out for the rest of the project. I really could have gotten mad in this instance, super mad, but I didn’t. You have to remember. We are working with kids. These are kids that we are dealing with. and these experiences are good for them. Sometimes things in our classroom can be a bit too clean and precise. And this also goes back to that make mistakes part. We, as humans, learn by doing. And in fact, There is some actual science on this, and you probably already know this, but this is really great to keep in mind. So according to the hands on approaches to science teaching questions and answers by David, Harry, and Peter Real Realo. I’m sorry. They say that students in a hands on science program will remember the material better, feel a sense of accomplishment when the task is completed, and be able to transfer that experience easier to other learning situations. And you can even substitute where it says hands on science program. You could substitute that for hands on reading, hands on math. So think about those subjects that they teach. It doesn’t just have to be STEM. It doesn’t just have to be science. That hands on is really, really helpful. And I see a lot of people already in the emojis liking that because we know that. We know that they’re kids. They like these hands on things. Well, I don’t recommend making your own Play-Doh. I do think that you should add an element of mess to your lessons. Take the kids outside and explore nature. Connect it with your math lesson. Have students build the setting of the read aloud book that you’re reading. as a class. Maybe you could even do that science experiment that you have been putting off that has a lot of materials and takes a lot of your time. Maybe actually do that science experiment. The kids would absolutely love it. The messy experiences are the ones that kids are going to remember. not that cute worksheet that you printed out in Color Inc that day. Think about those hands on things. Just ask my teacher, honey. The one thing that drives him nuts about me is how I can be messy. And I don’t think he just understands that Miss Frizzle has been telling me to be messy all of these years.

Naomi Meredith [00:26:55]:

Thumbs up to my messy people out there.

Naomi Meredith [00:26:58]:

Teaching is hard. It’s really hard. No matter what subject or grade you teach, it can be easy to stick with the stuff that you know and just get through the day. Do you really wanna just get through the day every day? You are here at the summit to get ideas. Whether you are watching this live or you are watching back the recordings, you want to get some ideas to try something new. So actually do it. Instead of closing your notebook full of ideas and never opening them again, use this as a jumping off point to feel energized for the rest of this school year and also the new school year coming up. And don’t take it from me. Miss Priscilla said it best. Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy. Thank you so much again for being here and listening to all the episodes so far and also for my first keynote speech. And, also, don’t forget to enter my giveaway in honor of this 100th episode. So before you listen to the next one, Make sure to go and write that 5-star review on Apple Podcast. Take a screenshot before you hit submit. Post that screenshot and then Instagram stories and tag me at Naomi Meredith_. Or if you don’t have Instagram, you can send me an email at contact Naomi Meredith@gmail.com. Thank you again for being here, and I will talk to you all soon.

a lesson from ms. frizzle

 

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More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is a former classroom teacher turned current K-5 STEM teacher and coach. Her role not only includes teaching over 500 students in her school, but also leading professional development and co-teaching with teachers to help them integrate STEM & Technology.

With over a decade of experience along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM certificate, she helps teachers navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM & Technology in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

cross-curricular connections

Cross-Curricular Connections: Robotics & Elementary Lessons [ep.99]

by Naomi Meredith

Cross-Curricular Connections: Robotics & Elementary Lessons [ep.99]

cross-curricular connections

Check out the full episode on Cross-Curricular Connections: Robotics & Elementary Lessons:  

 

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Episode Summary

When it comes to incorporating robotics and coding into your STEM curriculum, it’s important to be intentional about connecting them to the curriculum we are teaching. In today’s episode, I am sharing the audio from the presentation I did at the International STEAM Summit hosted by Wonder Workshop. In this episode, I am sharing cross-curricular connections for robotics and elementary STEM lessons.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • How to incorporate robotics and coding into your STEM curriculum
  • An overview of some of my favorite robots 
  • Examples of cross-curricular connections I’ve done with robotics, coding, and STEM lessons in my classroom

Resources Mentioned:

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:


Robotics and coding is such a great element to add to your elementary STEM curriculum. However, there is a major difference between using the tools and integrating them into your curriculum. In fact, there is a lot of great insight about this topic that is in the book for June that we are reading in the STEM Teacher bookshelf membership, which you can join in at any time. Join us at naomimeredith.com/stemteacherbookshelf. While there is room to have students to explore and see what the tools can do. You want to be purposeful about your coding and robotics and how they relate to the curriculum that you are teaching. Well, the audio from this episode has never been heard before on this podcast. This is a presentation I did in a past International STEAM Summit hosted by Wonder Workshop. I’ll be sharing with you examples for integrating coding and robotics in primary and secondary along with some fun bonus challenges.


Naomi Meredith [00:01:34]:


Hello, everyone, and thank you so much for joining me in my session today, and we are talking about cross-curricular connections, robotics, and elementary lessons. say that three times fast because I did, and I had to keep rerecording that part. Now this is intended for teachers who are interested in adding robotics into their classrooms at the elementary level. So whether you are a STEM teacher, a classroom teacher, or even a homeschool parent, this session will be perfect for you. Also, if you teach in older grades and you are looking for ways to differentiate for your students who might be more at an elementary level when it comes to their coding and robotics skills, definitely jump in. We would love to have you here. If we haven’t met before, I am Naomi Meredith, and I have a lot of different roles in my life. I am a K through 5 stem teacher and coach, So I teach over 500 students in my building while also supporting school-wide technology in my stem role and also have had the opportunity to co-teach with teachers in my building to help them implement STEM and technology. When I’m not busy teaching, I am also a business owner, so I love to help teachers like you implement, well, some technology and not feel so overwhelmed by that. You can find me in a lot of places, but I love to share a ton of ideas over at my podcast, The Elementary STEM Coach podcast. And at the time of this recording, I am a fiance, but by the end of the summer, I will actually be a wife, which is so crazy to me. I also didn’t share the little guy with the big ears, not my fiance, but that little furball, That’s Frederick the dog, and you can always check a little sneak peek of him over on my Instagram. So what we are exploring today is different options for how you can implement robotics into your lessons. So I think that one of the best ways to do that is just sharing a lot of different examples of ways that I’ve done this with my students over the years and just get your wheels turning on how you can make this actionable and usable for your students. So we’ll talk about primary examples, secondary examples in the elementary space, and then also some bonus challenges. So other ways that you can add robotics to your content. So this is way different than just throwing robots out there into the space where “Okay. Cool. Well, here’s a robot. Good luck.” That’s a great place to get started, but all of these lessons that I’m going to give you a snapshot of they are really, really intentional. So when you’re thinking about how robotics can fit into your curriculum, you still need to plan with the standards in mind. So like I said, I’m going to give a snapshot of these lessons, but all of these lessons except the bonus challenges, which are a little bit different, and you’ll see why when we get there. But all of these challenges took about a week, depending on what they were. So all of these were planned with the engineering design process, which we’ll also talk about. But all of these lessons were very intentional for the grade level that they were taught to. So they were researched and prepared with common course state standards, ELA, and math. Even thinking about those mathematical practices, which there are some excellent ones, as it relates to STEM projects. So definitely check those out. Then they also integrated the Next Generation Science Standards. Whether it came to the engineering design process, which is the Next Generation Science Standard, or if it was even more content specific when it came to specific science standards. So I have a mix of those, and we’ll share those in a little bit. And then, also, the ISD standards for students are another way to integrate that innovation and really be thoughtful in your planning. So I highly recommend checking those out if you haven’t already but really thinking about how your students can be innovators for today and our world tomorrow. So there are some really great technology ones in there, but also just the way they’re collaborating with a bigger community and sharing their ideas. So as I just mentioned, the engineering design process is a process that real engineers use to build and solve a problem. So this is my interpretation of it. Say, you might see similar words or some steps that are combined or not, but it’s generally that same process, and it is a Next Generation Science Standard. I know for sure in kindergarten, 3rd, and 5th, and I bet there is a version of it for the older grades. And so when you’re thinking about this when you’re planning your lessons, not all of your lessons have to follow the engineering design process. But if you want the students to build and solve a problem, this is a great method to think about. Not all of my lessons in my STEM space, whether it’s robotics or not, use the engineering design process. But, again, it is a great model for students to really think through those things. So we start with our ask what is the problem. You could develop that with your students, or you can have that question already prepared for them. Give them opportunities to imagine ideas, what are possible solutions out there, different types of research, how can students plan their designs thoughtfully, and creating, which is always their favorite part and wanna jump into, but really having those first three steps done can actually help design better things in that create stage. And then also giving them chances to experiment and improve. It’s not a one-and-done kind of thing. How can you experiment and make it better? And especially with robotics encoding, there is a ton of integrated experimenting, improving, and moderate modifications or a word that you hear very often iterations. and then giving students an opportunity to share their work. And so, how do you do that with robots? Well, I’ll share how I have them share. A big thing I like to use is Seesaw, so I have students take a video or take a picture. I said you can’t take the robots home, but you could take them home by taking a video or a picture. So some platform like that is really great because a lot of kids don’t have robots at home. They can get pricey. And so it’s really cool that students will have this experience in your classroom. And then, if they take a photo or video, they can share it with their families and really explain what was happening in their class. Alright. Before I get into the specific lessons for all of the grade levels, I just wanted to show you a variety of robots that are currently out there at the time of this recording in 2023. These aren’t the only robots out there. These are the ones that I have an experience with in my K through 5 STEM role, and they all do different types of things. So, really, think about what your budget is and what types of things you want your students to learn. So I categorized these robots as out of the box and ready to code. So once you literally unpack them, they’re ready to go, maybe download an app, and you are coding. Of course, we have our cute friend, Dash, which, of course, we are here in the Wonder Workshop summit, so had to include Dash. If you don’t have any other budget and you don’t know where to begin, just get Dash. You will be very happy you did. You can use Dash with K through 5. I made Dash really big because if you don’t need to get anything else, get Dash. And I’m not being sponsored by this, but I love Dash very much. He is my favorite, very favorite robot. Then we have the little sibling that I like to call them. We have Dot, and they can interact with each other, so Dot is a great addition. I didn’t add on here, but CUE is a little bit more robust robot when it comes to the Wonder Workshop families. So, definitely, those are some great out of the box ready to code robots. Some other options if you’re thinking about screen-free options, so you do need an app for Dash and Dot for them to perform their actions. They also have the virtual Dash as well, so that’s a really awesome feature. Check into that their class connects. But if you’re looking for something that is screen-free and very durable, I highly recommend the Bee Bot or the Blue Bot. The difference between the two, the Blue Bot has the capability of connecting to an iPad. It does everything that the yellow robot does, so it codes with directional coding so you can kinda see the arrows on top and it will perform the action. It’s been hit or miss when it comes to the Bluetooth capabilities. It might be my iPad. It might be the robot, but overall, super great robot. For a cheaper price, if you really, really don’t have a budget at all but you really want a robot in your classroom, the Code and Go Mouse does everything that the Bee Bot and Blue Bot does. Just not as durable. So think about that and how many students you teach at a time. But, again, if you need something for your younger learners, that is a great place to start. Especially if you’re a classroom teacher, you don’t have as many kids as 500 as I do filtering through the month, so I would definitely get a Code and Go Mouse. Then we have this cute one, the Code-a-Pillar. Super fun. So the Code-a-Pillar has different segments on its body. And when the student presses play on its back, it will read the segments in order and light up as it’s performing the action. So, again, it’s showing that sequential code and making it even more concrete than the Bee Bot. So the Bee Bot will remember everything that they do, but they don’t have a list saying, oh, what code did I do? The kids have to remember it. And so the Code-a-Pillar is even more simplified where it has those same types of movements and also has songs and sleeping mode in the segments, but students can actually visually see their code and as their robot is doing that. Another fun one that is new that’s good for, I would say, younger learners, but also, kKthrough 5 really like this one too, is the Sphero Indi, and it reads the code by the color combinations on these cards. So each card performs a different action, and the cards don’t have to be lined up, so Indi can read the colors and then zoom across and go to the next one depending on how you line up the codes. Very similarly, a lot smaller. I know it looks bigger in the picture. Probably on my computer, this is actually what the real size of this robot is, is the Ozo Bot, and so this one, depending on the model, you can actually code with the iPad, but this one will read color codes on the paper. So each code and the pattern that you write performs in action. So a little bit more complicated than Indi, but super fun. And then, in the bottom corner, we have the one that’s shaped like a tennis ball, and it is about the size of a tennis ball, which is the Sphero Bolt. It rolls completely like a bob. The company is based here in Colorado, where I live, which is super fun. But that one can have some more complicated coding opt options. There are some other models as well. There’s also a Sphero mini that’s about the size of a golf ball, again at a cheaper price. So if you’re looking for an affordable option and wanna add a variety, you can check that out. Then there are some other types of robots that I would categorize as build and code. So over the past couple of years, this isn’t a new concept, by the way. But when it comes to, like, the elementary space and thinking about how to take your learners to the next level, maybe you wanna add in an element of building and coding. So these are the, again, the only options, ones that I have experienced with or know at friends who’ve had been using these and just taking that coding and that manufacturing to a different level for your younger students. I did put Dash on there. Dash is a building code option, or I’m sorry. out of the box option, as I talked about. But there are some attachments that go on Dash and Cue, and you actually can build things, and Dash can use those things that you build, and there are other cool attachments you can put on Dash. I’m gonna show you later in this presentation something that my students built for Dash, And so that’s why I included Dash on here because there are some building elements that you could put on Dash to take it to the next level. At the very top, under the word building code, there are different options for VEX, VEX robotics. This one in the picture is the Vex Go, so a younger version is probably more appropriate for elementary. Just getting started with building and coding a robot. So similar to a LEGO kit, but not exactly. They do have the VEX IQ, which is a little more complicated. A lot of times, people will use VEX IQ in elementary but as an after school club. So Vexico might be a great option in the classroom, but Vex IQ, and you can check out their website. There are opportunities with competitions and all that. So definitely look into that. Dash also has competitions, by the way, the 1 or late robotics competition. So there are some building challenges and some creativity. So if you’re looking for another way to extend their learning. I also have the Lego Spike essential kit on there, and then Lego Spike Prime would be for the older students. We have Bird Brain Technologies, the Humminbird kit, which I just got some of these this year, and I’m gonna be collaborating on a project with my art teacher. So they’re gonna create something in art. And then, in STEM with me, we are going to build in code. And then a similar but different model, a different brand is the Sphero little bit kit. So lots of different options just when it comes to all of that. The examples that I’m going to be sharing are more when it comes to the out of the box types of robots, but think about how you can implement this with any type of robot. So that’s funny. In the picture, right there are kids with the Lego wedo’s. So that’s not the one I’m gonna be talking about, but I love some Lego wedos 2.0. Okay. So here are some fun examples is what you came for. All the stuff. But wanted to give you some background in case you didn’t know where to start. So we have right here an example with Greek. We were talking about communities, and teachers in their classrooms were talking about communities. And so, students were assigned a different part of the community and had to build that part then they had to label it with the predetermined labels. So when they rolled a die with those labels, they would code their robot to follow the pathway to get to those locations. So it was a really fun and collaborative activity, and it brought that building and coding to life and their classroom. And I am gonna explain these pretty short. As I said, all of these are literally a snapshot. These were more than a one-day challenge. These took at least 3 days to complete. So you get to see all the I’m doing the shared piece of the engineering design process. In a kindergarten example, is a new one that I did this year, but we were talking about animal habitats, and we zoned in specifically on the Arctic. And students were given a collection in epic books to research more about an animal of their choice, and they picked one of those animals to create and build using cardboard and paper, and they were thrilled that I taught them how to create an l brace. that will stand up their design and also the signs. And then at the end of the week, after all of their Arctic animals were created, we put them all on a grid. and then they coded their robots to visit all of the animals in the Arctic. So it was a great way for them to share. And then while they were coding and talking. They’re talking all about their animals and all the things that they learned that week. Another fun kindergarten example was connected to the very hungry caterpillars, so a great literacy lesson. This was actually one of four stem stations that I did in my classroom. after we read this story, that’s something that I like to implement. So I have a lot of resources to help you with that. But after reading the story, the students had the different items that the caterpillar ate in this story. They rolled the dice, and then they had to code to the thing that the dice landed on. You notice in the picture there are 2 dice. So if they were getting comfortable with the 1, then I added in the second dice, and they would have to code to one item and then code to the other, but their code had to play the whole time. So they couldn’t just code to one stop and then code to the other. They had to code the whole thing. You noticed in that back corner there’s the hungry caterpillar, but I disguised a bee bot. So the Bee Bots wearing a mask. So that’s fun too. Kids like to dress up these robots, so that can be a challenge in itself. In 1st grade, this one was very similar to the Arctic Animal one, but instead, we were talking about animal parents and how they care for their young. And so we talked about the main things that animal parents do for their young, the ones that do take care of their babies. That was a whole discussion too. Not all animal parents care for their young. Some just lay the eggs and leave, but the main things where how they feed, protect, teach, give them shelter, and give comfort. And so they studied, again, great books and epic books that they were able to explore. It showed 1st graders how to search. and also use the collection that I sent them. And then you can see they made the baby animal and their adult. They had to circle the ways that the parent takes care of their young and then very similar to the Arctic animals or habitat 1. They put them in a zoo, and then the kids got to cover robots to visit all the animals. This one was actually a one day challenge, again, another stem station, but this connected with the 1st grade standard. about day and night, and what are the things that we can see in the sky during the day, during the night, or tricky, tricky, both? So students had some of those pictures that you can see on there on a grid. They were printed in colors since it makes it a little more engaging, and also they can under and what they’re looking at. And so we talked about throughout the week, what are these different things? Like, what are stars? What are rainbows? So they had that background knowledge going into it when they went to that stem station, and then they would roll a die. And the dice said day, night, or both. and then they had got to choose where they coded their robot to travel to. So what item could they see only during the day? only during the night or both. Fun spoiler alert, moon goes with both. Okay. Moving on to 2nd grade. I know you only wanna hear all these things, but gotta move on everybody. Okay. So for 2nd grade, we were talking about and, again, these are things throughout the year, so don’t think, oh my gosh. I taught all of these in 1 week. These are things, like, through co teaching and other units. This isn’t, like, one thing I taught all the time. Okay? So this is a snapshot. Something I’ve done in 2nd grade is we talked about animal migration pathways, and so students research based on the articles that I wrote for them They were researching about different types of animals and why they migrate. And the reasons why they migrate aren’t always the same but there are some similarities and differences. And we use Ozo Bots for this one, but you could use whatever robot, and students were given a map that matched the animal that they wanted to learn more about based on the articles that were given to them, then using the codes that Ozobot reads, they had to create the migration path for the robot to follow, and they had to go to their migration spot and come back where they started. So the map did have some you can kinda see some stars so they knew where to go and numbers, but then they had to figure out the code. Another one is super fun. This is what I’ve always wanted to do when I taught third grade, and I didn’t have robots. But then I made it as a STEM teacher. So this one was fun. We were talking about predator and prey. And for this example, their robot was representing the baby grab it. So the baby rabbit on the grid and there is much more cards than this than they were cut out on a grid where the robot could travel to each of the spots. and their robot, their baby rabbit, had to get back home to its mommy. But the path for the robot wasn’t very very easy, so there’s different obstacles, but also good things along the way. So, you know, if there’s wildflowers that the bunny can baby bunny go through dandelions, go chat with his mouse friend, but he definitely wants to avoid the fox. So students had a fun time creating these pathways, so they had the chance to move the cards around and create a new path. I did tell them you can’t make it too difficult. It can’t be all predators and just, like, blocking because then the baby can’t go anywhere, which it is the circle of life. But this was a fun one. So you could do this for other types of animals. So talking fast, we just wanna make sure to get through all these again. Hopefully, you’re writing down good notes and getting lots of fun ideas. This is the stuff I love you. guys. I love creating lessons. Okay. So, count going into secondary, not much different, but more things to think about and things that are more content specific for them. So as a whole, this is just in general if you’re thinking about how to integrate robots with what you’re doing. Any grade, you could do use this as a practice tool. So in this picture, you can see that there are different math facts and whatever they land on they have to solve, and then they have to collect all of the math facts. Think about how you can integrate vocabulary or any skills that you want them to work on, maybe some social emotional skills, maybe putting things in order, a matching game. So You might even have flashcards already, but you can reuse them in a different way and add an element of coding. So you’re really making this more engaging. Our students want more engaging things. So what a great way to integrate that. So I just added that as an aside. This is a really good way to get started. For 3rd grade, we talked about the Winter Olympics. We also use those robots, but, again, you could use whatever robots you have. And we talked about how with the Winter Olympics, everything is above the equator, and you need to think about why. Why are they all above the equator? So we talked about that, and then students had to code the pass I would say, past 50 years, maybe not that far back. But past whatever years, in order of when they happened. So they really had to think about their mapping skills. And before this, they did actually go into Google Earth. and we learned more about those places and showed them how to use Google Earth. So integrating some other stuff in that lesson. With 4th grade, we were talking about lines, angles, and symmetry, and how snowflakes have all of those elements when it comes to those math standards in 4th grade. And so students used chalk to draw sketches of their snowflake on the floor, and they were absolutely like, enthralled by drawing in the flow of chalk. And then they taped their snowflake. They put tape over their chalk design, And then throughout the week, they had to figure out the code for their snowflake. Now I really made sure with this. They did use measuring tape measuring tape to measure their tape. Because if you really had a symmetrical design, you could add elements of your robotics with looping. I don’t have the video on here, but I did have a student who measured so precisely that their code was absolutely flawless, and it was on a forever loop. So the robot was tracing the Snowflake forever perfectly because the Snowflake was made perfect, and the code was very. So that was just a really cool way to extend this lesson, but also give a concrete way to apply their math vocabulary. Similarly, another winter slash spring because the Iditarod happens in, actually, the springtime. We added in that element of maker space. So we were learning a lot by about the Ididderad. And here in Colorado, students really don’t know what the Ididderad is. So it’s very exciting. It’s an engaging topic. They don’t know a lot about, and so you can see from the student plan that they were designing a plan for their robot to pull their sled throughout the Iditarod race. So we didn’t use a whole lot of materials, and they did have a pathway. So I did create the whole Iditarod track, where it had all of the stops along the way, and it was the track that matched that year because it changes every so often. And so students had to code it down the retroist treacherous pathway of the Iditarod. So a super fun lesson, and they were so proud of their designs. And then at the end, they did to race their robots because, let’s be honest, who doesn’t wanna do that? So, hopefully, those ideas just are getting your wheels turning in just some fun and engaging ways where robotics just aren’t an add-on. It’s something that’s integrated into what you’re doing. And that’s what we really wanna do. It’s it can be a natural part just like having a laptop in your classroom. It’s another manipulative. Yes. It moves, but it can do so many things. So it doesn’t have to be so scary and overwhelming. Think about lessons that you already have, maybe are a little bit boring. How can you add robots to make it more interesting? These are some bonus challenges that I’m going to be talking about. These were more so an after school club that I did, but If you’re scared to try robots, but you do have the opportunity to do an after school club, this is a little hack that I like to do as a STEM teacher. because it is a little more low key in a club where you have less students. It’s more laid back, and then you can try a challenge. This one is from an event that I co-planned in my district. Me and another teacher were in charge of our Dash robotics competition that was district led, so something that we did with the other STEM teachers. And he and I had plans for our whole side of Dash to be all about the Olympics. So there were all of these different challenges more than what is shown, but all of these different challenges that students had to apply their coding skills that they were doing after school with all of these different fun challenges. They kinda knew some of the things ahead of time. They had similar practice things, but they didn’t know it was going to be Olympic themed. As you can see on the left, they got to use the launcher to launch the ball into different basketball hoops and score different points. On the top right, they had to create a foot attachment to shoot the ball into the goal, and they got different points, of course. with that. And then, on the bottom, they had to create an attachment for Dash to carry an Olympic torch, so they had to make the Olympic torch and then code Dash to go all around the Olympic stadium. So this was super fun. It was a great event had a lot of fun planning this with that STEM teacher, and I even had some of my students help me make all of the little setups too. So that was just, like, another fun way. So even think about how you can collaborate with other teachers in your district. You could do something like this in person Or, again, Wonder Workshop has their Wonderly Robotics competition, and they have really great challenges every year, and you can implement that. And you can share your ideas there. So overall, I hope that you gain a lot of different ideas when it comes to integrating robotics into your lessons in the elementary classroom that are cross-curricular, but don’t let this session stop you there. I would love to connect with you after today’s session and also at my keynote speech. So definitely go and check that out at the closing keynote for the summit. But I would love to connect with you, and you can connect with me in a lot of different ways. As I said, I have a podcast, the elementary stem coach. I had Brian Miller, who you heard throughout this summit. On my podcast a while back, he had a great episode, so definitely go check out episode 32. You can email me or find me on my website, NaomiMeredith.com. I’m very active on Instagram, so you can check out all the things there and get inspiration at@naomimeredith_ And then you can also find me on YouTube or my tpt shop, teachers by teacher shop, and just search up Naomi Meredith. So definitely reach out. I’d love to help you on your journey with robotics, but for all things elementary STEM, I’m your go-to girl. But thank you so much again for your time, and I hope that I get to talk with you soon. This presentation had a ton of visuals, and I bet you are dying to see all of the examples and handouts. You can grab the video recording of this episode, the video slides I referenced throughout, student examples, and bonuses for only $5. That’s less than a fancy coffee drink. This will all be linked in the show notes, and you can check it all out here at naomiemeredith.com/pdreplay.

cross-curricular connections

 

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

 

Connect with Naomi Meredith:

 

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is a former classroom teacher turned current K-5 STEM teacher and coach. Her role not only includes teaching over 500 students in her school, but also leading professional development and co-teaching with teachers to help them integrate STEM & Technology.

With over a decade of experience along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM certificate, she helps teachers navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM & Technology in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

free STEM PD

How to Use this Podcast as Free STEM PD [ep.98]

by Naomi Meredith

How to Use this Podcast as Free STEM PD [ep.98]

free STEM PD

Check out the full episode on How to Use this Podcast as FREE STEM PD:  

 

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

Have a STEM question? Leave a voice message for the podcast!

Episode Summary

Are you looking for creative ways to get free STEM PD or professional development? In today’s episode, I share three ways you can use this podcast as free STEM PD. I also share about the free resource I created to help you track your STEM professional development hours as you listen to this podcast.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • 3 ways to use this podcast as free STEM PD
  • How to use the STEM PD spreadsheet tracker I created for you to keep track of your hours
  • Tips for effectively using this podcast as STEM PD

Resources Mentioned:

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:


Listening to podcasts is a great way to learn about a topic on the go. You’re already listening, and I know I don’t need to be telling you that, but instead of having your listening time be a passive activity, let’s put your learning into action. In fact, you can also use what you are learning here and get credit for it, which I’ll explain in this episode. Today, I’ll be sharing with you three ways you can use this podcast, the Elementary STEM Coach, as free PD or professional development for your learning.


Naomi Meredith [00:01:08]:


I’ve always listened to audiobooks during my college days, especially when I was student teaching with my teacher program. I actually didn’t get a choice as to which school I got to student teach at, which is fine. That could actually be really intimidating, actually picking a school, so I was okay with that. But my college had partnerships with local schools in the area and then placed us, which in turn helped me get my first teaching job, which that was pretty cool. I was living at home at the time, and my student teaching school was actually 45 minutes away, so I would be driving 45 minutes there in the morning, really early in the morning, and then 45 minutes, sometimes an hour, back home. I listened to a lot of fiction audiobooks at the time. I was listening to a book series that I really loved. Also, I hate it in book series when you’re listening, and then they have different readers for another book in the series, and it totally messes up how you interpret the characters.


Naomi Meredith [00:02:15]:


You get really confused. So that was a fun journey, but at the time, a lot of those were actually on a CD. Later on, the first podcast I actually got into, which is probably like most of you, was the whole series Serial. And it’s not like cereal that you eat. It was like a serial, like serial killer. Not that I shouldn’t be laughing at that, but sorry. I’m not too surprised I got into that.


Naomi Meredith [00:02:46]:


It’s really, really well produced. It’s a great podcast. From there, I got more into True Crime, and then I was obsessed with that for a while. I really got into crime junkie when I had my townhome. It was a fixer-upper, so I had a lot of time to listen. And then, during that time, I don’t know how it happened, I started getting into more business podcasts and learning while I was doing so, I’ve had a lot of inspiration for podcasts, and I’ve always dreamed of having my own. And in fact, this podcast, the Elementary STEM Coach, is actually my second podcast. Some of you here listening, I know, followed the first show that I co-hosted.


Naomi Meredith [00:03:31]:


I believe it started in 2020 with Spencer Sharp, the innovative teacher podcast. And I believe you can actually go back and listen to that one so you can hear early podcasting days, and it is different when you’re co-hosting. So I’ve always really enjoyed this whole platform of podcasting and learning through audio and taking advantage of those moments of time where you don’t have to be necessarily so focused. You can free up your brain. Well, you should be focused when you’re driving, but you know what I’m saying, you have that time when you can be learning on the go. So how can we maximize this time that you’re listening to me each week? I appreciate every single one of you that you are choosing me to listen to, which is so kind, and how can we maximize that time listening to this podcast and actually making meaning of that? So I have three creative ideas on how you can use this podcast for free, meaningful, professional development. So we’re taking that time that you’re listening and putting it into other ways that you can use all the information. The first way that you can use this podcast as free PD is to take notes as you listen.


Naomi Meredith [00:04:53]:


And this sounds like a simple idea, but I know, again, a lot of you listen on the go, and you’re like, oh, I’ll do that later. Oh, I’ll do that later. And then you forget what you learn. And also, you don’t have to do everything that I say you can, but you don’t have to. So a big way that you can make meaning after you listen or when you’re done with an episode, or let’s say you listen halfway before you get out of your car, or once you get home from walking the dog, is think about at least one major takeaway as you listen. If you’re on the go, you can actually create a folder on your phone in your Notes app, or if you use a similar platform like Google Keep, Asana, or anything like that, type down one or two major takeaways as you listen. And when you are ready to work on things for your classroom, you can pull out this digital record of those things that you listen to, and then that way you have some inspiration, and then you don’t feel like you’re scrambling, you have all those ideas. So I like to do this.


Naomi Meredith [00:05:59]:


You can even create a little folder for each podcast that you listen to if you want to keep everything sorted and organized. But that way, you are reflecting on the things that you’re learning, like what we do with our students really, we have them write down a major takeaway or the biggest thing that they learn. And so, for you as a podcast listener, this will help you keep track of all of the things that you’re learning. Another way that you can use this podcast as free PD is not only to keep the podcast and learning to yourself, but you can share it with your teacher besties. And there are a couple of ways that you can do this, like a book club. So think about like a format of a book club. You can decide together with your group which episodes you’re going to either listen at the same time. So you could do this in the same room.


Naomi Meredith [00:06:54]:


So maybe you have a time that you are meeting up together, maybe it’s in person, or it even could be virtual. You could have somebody play an episode, one person’s in charge of playing it off of their computer, and then you could all listen at the same time. Or let’s say okay, this week we are listening to the two newest episodes from this podcast, the elementary STEM Coach. And then we’re going to come back and talk about it together. So it is really taking ideas from the first way. I said you could share key ideas and then discuss the topic. This is great for the summertime especially. So let’s say you guys listen to the episodes, and then you come together. Maybe you’re texting about the episode.


Naomi Meredith [00:07:40]:


But also, if you are needing an idea for a committee to run, this would be a fun twist on a shared book reading. I actually talked to a teacher recently at a conference that I attended here in Colorado, where I’m from in EDCO Innedco, and they actually said this is how they’re using my podcast at our school. I felt so honored that there are teachers who are meeting up and then they’re talking about the things that they are learning. This is a fun way to not always have to be forced to read a book, especially if you are the only STEM teacher at your school or you feel like you’re only doing innovative things that you can choose your own adventure. So learning, of course, isn’t just through reading. We know that, and we tell our students that, but then a lot of times, our professional development for teachers isn’t that. So it’s just a cool twist that you could use this podcast in a creative way. If you’re doing this, if you are using this as PD as a group, take a picture and tag me on Instagram.


Naomi Meredith [00:08:46]:


I really want to see @NaomiMeredith_. Show me what you’re doing now. Also, on the side, if you do need a book club idea, there’s something I am not bashing reading. I love to read, I love to learn. I’m always learning in lots of different ways. But if you do need a book club idea, you can actually check out my STEM teacher bookshelf membership. And there’s a new book every month, which is definitely doable, especially with the books that I’m choosing. And every book gets its own guide.


Naomi Meredith [00:09:14]:


So whenever you join, you get access to all of the past guides and all of the content. So if there’s something that in my book club, you saw a book, you’re like, oh my gosh, that looks really great. It was in May, you could still get all of that stuff as well. So that’s another idea. You could do both. You could do the podcast, and then you could do the book and mix it in as your professional development. And the last way that you can use this podcast as free PD is you can pick specific topics that you want to learn. Now, I know when you first go into this podcast, the elementary stuff, because you look at it on your phone, you’re like, oh my gosh, that’s a lot of episodes. I’m overwhelmed.


Naomi Meredith [00:09:57]:


But you can actually just pick and choose the episodes that you want to learn about. You don’t have to listen to them in order. You definitely can. You can even go back to episode one, especially if you’re listening here in the summer. If you’re new here, I encourage you to actually go back to the beginning because a lot of that content is actually relative for back to school time. Because this podcast came out. If you’re listening to this live almost a year ago, July 18, I believe it was 2022. So if you go back to the beginning, you’re going to find stuff for back to school anyway.


Naomi Meredith [00:10:31]:


Also, I often record little series throughout, so there are multiple episodes in a row that apply to the same topic. So sometimes, when I’m talking about something, there are a lot of different ways that that conversation can go. So that’s why there might be a lot of episodes in a row that will go together. So you could definitely listen to those miniseries. Now, I know this podcast like the back of my hand. I often know what episode numbers are pretty close to. If someone’s asking, hey, do you have an episode about blah, blah, blah? I almost always can refer to it, or I can find it really fast. And so, with that in mind, I created a free podcast playlist where I already organized all the episodes for you.


Naomi Meredith [00:11:20]:


This podcast is free. The playlists are free. So this will be linked in the show notes. It’s at Naomimeeritis.com podcastplaylist. All one word, no spaces. So what it is, is it’s a spreadsheet where I have on the first tab of the spreadsheet all of the links to the playlist. So it’s really cool. And I was working with my podcast manager on this the best way to do this.


Naomi Meredith [00:11:45]:


So. Thanks, Andria. It works like the podcast here. So you’re going to see all of the categories. So coding and robotics maker space and STEM supplies, community engagement, different main categories that the episodes fall under. Now a lot of them fall under multiple things, but I try to pick the category that best fits. So you will see all of the different playlists, and then you could access all of the playlists. There’s no time limit on these as of now, so access the playlist that interests you.


Naomi Meredith [00:12:20]:


You’ll click on the link, and then it will prompt you to add the playlist to your podcast player, and it will pop up in your podcast player just like how this one does. So then, any new episodes that I add to the playlist they’re not exclusive episodes, by the way, so it’s all preexisting episodes. They’re just organized into categories. So whenever I am organizing other episodes that are new on this main podcast, they will go into the playlist. So then, you don’t have to read down those playlists if that makes sense. So you’ll have links to all that. You can add all of them. You can add some of them. So if there’s a specific topic that you are wondering about, you can grab that playlist.


Naomi Meredith [00:13:06]:


And then, the other tabs on the spreadsheet have all of the titles of those episodes in the playlist listed in order of when they were released. So you can see what episode number it is from the main podcast and then the title. And then, it also has the length of the episode rounded to the nearest minute. There’s also a checkbox you can click if you have listened to that episode. And then you just type in on the side how many minutes you listen to that episode. It could probably be the full thing. And then you’ll see that all of those minutes will actually start totaling up the amount of time you spent listening. So you’re like, well, why does this even matter? I have teachers all the time talk to me about how can I get credit for the work that I’m doing. I have to turn in these hours for this professional development that I’m doing.


Naomi Meredith [00:13:58]:


Not for college credit, but just recertification hours. You can keep track of all this time you’re listening on the podcast as recertification hours. So when you’re adding up all those minutes, you’ll have the minutes for each podcast for each playlist. Sorry, you’ll have the minutes from each playlist, and then you can total those up in a way that works best. Convert them to hours if you need to. And then inside of this whole freebie, there’s also a certificate where you can type in the total amount of time you spent listening to this podcast, the Elementary STEM coach, and then turn that in for your free professional development hours. So this is something that you are going to do anyway. But I know for you, sorting my own podcast in categories is going to take you much longer than I can because I’m like, oh yeah, it’s blah blah, blah, blah, blah.


Naomi Meredith [00:14:49]:


So I already did that for you. It will be updated every so often with the new episodes when they come out. So I will say when you make a copy of it, it obviously doesn’t update with the new episodes, but you can always type it in, too, if you see it pop up in your podcast player. You could just type in those minutes as well. So this is just a fun, creative way to earn those hours. And as I said, podcast listening is one of them. Reading is one of them. Actually, in my STEM Teacher Bookshelf membership, I give them a spreadsheet as well to keep track of the time that they are reading and participating in the STEM Teacher Bookshelf membership. So if you’re looking for a couple of ways and easy ways things you’re going to do anyway, use this podcast and track all of that time this summer or whenever.


Naomi Meredith [00:15:40]:


And then you can also join in on the STEM Teacher Bookshelf membership and track all of that time too. So both will be linked in the show notes where you can grab both of those, but definitely, just a fun way to keep track of the time and the time that you’re hanging out with me. Make meaning of it as a recap. Here are the three ways that you can use this podcast, the Elementary STEM Coach, as free professional development. First, take notes as you listen. Next, share with your teacher besties. And third, pick specific topics, and you can record that with the podcast playlist. Again, grab those free podcast playlists and the spreadsheet.


Naomi Meredith [00:16:25]:


I will keep it free for you to save you time, but grab that free podcast and playlist, and spreadsheet to track your minutes by going to Naomimeredith.com/podcastplaylist. Again, thank you so much for listening. I can’t believe we have made it to episode 98. It has definitely flown by. I never thought I would keep doing two episodes a week, but you guys are listening. I see the numbers, and I’ve been talking to people who listen. It’s so incredible. I love, love, love the emails that you guys send me, and I’ve even met some people at the conference that I just went to who listen.


Naomi Meredith [00:17:08]:


And I love being able to put a face to a number really of those who are out there listening. So I appreciate all of you spending time with me each week and letting me be your guide and your Elementary STEM Coach. So thank you so much again; grab that free spreadsheet and all the playlists, and I will talk to you soon.

free STEM PD

 

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

 

Connect with Naomi Meredith:

 

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is a former classroom teacher turned current K-5 STEM teacher and coach. Her role not only includes teaching over 500 students in her school, but also leading professional development and co-teaching with teachers to help them integrate STEM & Technology.

With over a decade of experience along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM certificate, she helps teachers navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM & Technology in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

creating engaging stem projects

Creating Engaging STEM Projects Using the Engineering Design Process [ep.97]

by Naomi Meredith

Creating Engaging STEM Projects Using the Engineering Design Process [ep.97]

creating engaging stem projects

Check out the full episode on Creating Engaging STEM Projects Using the Engineering Design Process:  

 

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

Have a STEM question? Leave a voice message for the podcast!

Listen to the audio on YouTube here:

Episode Summary

I have talked about the Engineering Design Process a lot on this podcast in episodes 15 and 17-21. In today’s episode, I’m talking about the Engineering Design Process again, but in a different way. Today’s episode is the audio recording of an online summit I presented at in the past. In this presentation, I share all about creating engaging STEM projects using the Engineering Design Process.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • What is the Engineering Design Process?
  • How to plan your STEM projects with the Engineering Design Process
  • Examples of students’ projects that were planned using the Engineering Design Process
  • Helpful tools for creating engaging STEM projects using the Engineering Design Process

Resources Mentioned:

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:


You’ve heard me talk about the engineering design process before on this podcast as a way to plan and also have students problem-solve through their projects. If you are curious to learn more about this process, I encourage you to go back and listen to episodes 15 and 17 through 21. While the audio from this episode has never been heard before on this podcast, this is a presentation I did in the past at an online summit. I’ll be sharing with you how to plan with the engineering design process, share student examples that are planned with this process, and helpful tools that you can use for planning.


Naomi Meredith [00:01:07]:


Hey there, and thank you so much for joining me today in this fun session where we are going to be talking about creating engaging Stem projects using the engineering design process. This session is geared towards teachers who are in the elementary space. Whether you are a classroom teacher, a specialist, a Stem teacher, or even if you are a home school teacher, this session is perfect for you. Also, for teachers who teach older students who are needing content at the elementary level, you can definitely gain some insightful information that you can definitely take back to your classroom and your students. If we haven’t met before, I am Naomi Meredith. I am a former classroom teacher turned current K through five Stem teacher. And my goal is to help teachers like you creating Stem amazing experiences in your classroom that are highly engaging and centered around standards. So definitely in the right place.


Naomi Meredith [00:02:06]:


We do some really cool things in my classroom, but they are very purposeful, and I’m hoping that you love to do those same things with your kids. So the goals for this session, there are four parts. First, we’re going to talk about what is the engineering design process. So maybe you have heard the term but are not quite sure what it is, or maybe you have an extensive background. We’re going to have a common understanding of what the engineering design process is. Next, we’re going to talk about ways that you can plan using this process. Then the fun part, well, it’s all fun, but extra fun. Student examples and then some tools that I have for you to help you with your planning. So, first of all, what is the engineering design process? Or maybe you have heard the abbreviation since we love acronyms as teachers, the EDP.


Naomi Meredith [00:02:58]:


Well, it is a real process that real engineers use to ask questions, find solutions, and iterate ideas. So this is a real life thing, and this is something that I tell my kids all the time when we use this process for most of our projects, that this is a real life thing, this isn’t some random thing that I made up that I’m teaching them. This is how projects are created in the real world. And sometimes, we go through that real process, and sometimes we don’t get through all the steps. Sometimes, we go back to other steps. But these are things that it’s a whole process that engineers are using to design these solutions, which is really applicable to kids, especially since they might ask you why are we doing this? It’s important for them to realize that also there is a big reason why to teach it. So yes, we know real engineers use it, but why should we even teach it? Well, first of all, a lot of us, and most of us, use the standards. So the next generation science standards actually have in K through two and three through five the engineering design process. So go and check those out.


Naomi Meredith [00:04:08]:


They are different than the content level standards, so they actually have their own categories. So definitely recommend going to see those. And the cool thing about it is that you can actually apply this to any type of content, so they’re not tied to just one specific thing like earth science or space science. You can use the engineering design process with any content area, which you’re going to see when I talk about the student examples. Also, the engineering design process is different than the scientific method, and in my opinion, both are good in different ways. When you read through the standards and when you’re thinking about your content, not every standard works well when it comes to the engineering design process. Not everything can be solved through this method. Likewise, there are times when you do need to conduct a science experiment where you do need to go through those multiple trials to compare solutions to have a sample that you are comparing to that is definitely appropriate for certain topics that you’re studying.


Naomi Meredith [00:05:14]:


And then there are times that you do need to dive in deeper and think of multiple solutions. Again, we’re going to talk about keywords and how you can actually pick out those standards that can work well for your projects when you’re planning these creative projects. And, of course, how it is different than the scientific method. And it’s very straightforward, and you have to draw conclusions in the scientific method. But with the engineering design process, you’re definitely promoting creative problem-solving. So yes, you have a solution, but there are multiple solutions to get to that answer, and you can even improve that solution you come up with. So it’s really cool to see when you do projects like this that all of your students’ work is going to be different. If you are really truly planning an open-ended project, the solutions are going to be different, and you’re going to want to encourage that.


Naomi Meredith [00:06:05]:


Yes, there will be similarities, but it’s not a cookie-cutter thing, which is so relieving in some ways because it can get boring to see all the same stuff. So it’s really great to pull out that creativity when you plan in this way. So, speaking of planning, how do you plan using the engineering design process? Well, it’s not as complicated as you might think, and it actually is a whole lot of fun once you get into it. So I went through the next generation science standards, and again, if you use different standards, you can definitely use this process, but you definitely want to become familiar with those. And especially for me, when I teach K through Five, I’m in the standards all the time because there are so many different content areas that I need to know about. But when it comes to your specific science standards, look for keywords. When you are planning with the engineering design process, you want to be thinking about those keywords. Like this kindergarten one, use a model to represent well, and you could definitely have students.


Naomi Meredith [00:07:09]:


Yes, they could use a model, but they could also create the model to show the relationship between the needs and different plants that it talks about in this standard. Another keyword you could look for generate and compare multiple solutions. Generate can be a physical model, and it could be a digital model, it could be a video, that could be the solution, it could be a drawing. So there are a lot of ways to generate a solution. It doesn’t necessarily just have to be writing out a paper, which it could be, but it can be more creative and fun than that. Also, another good one uses materials to design a solution. That right there definitely shows me I could definitely do a maker space project when I am teaching an engineering design process lesson. So, definitely become familiar with your standards.


Naomi Meredith [00:07:58]:


They aren’t a bad thing. And obviously, coming from somebody who was given a brand new classroom with a brand new to me district with zero curriculum and minimal tools. The standards have always been my base and my go to and along with the engineering design process, to really create high-level lessons out of nothing, and you definitely get used to it and really go through that planning process. So, as a snapshot, here are the different stages of the engineering design process. You might see them name different things or label them in a different way. This is how I break it down in my classroom. They’re similar words, different. But this is basically what it is.


Naomi Meredith [00:08:38]:


So first, you have an ask. So what is the problem that you are trying to solve? And there is a way that we’ll talk about how you should phrase this. Ask this problem, and you could definitely have pre-made as a teacher. So you could have this all ready to go. And so you could dive into the topic, or this could actually be created together based on investigations. Maybe you did do the scientific method the week before, and then you use that data to create an engineering design process flow. So what is the problem? Then you go on to the Imagine Stage. So what are the possible solutions out there? So, using a lot of different tools to research, multimedia tools to really gain information about the topic, this could be short video clips, infographics, ebooks articles, paper books that you have, real life research, a guest expert, so gathering lots of ideas to inform your decisions. And when it comes to the plan, you notice that the Create Stage isn’t the first stage.


Naomi Meredith [00:09:38]:


And the kids, of course, love that. Yes, we love the building, but even when I first started teaching Stem, the kids wanted to jump into the Create. And I’m all, yeah, that’s cool, but we can actually have a better project if we do all these other steps. And it did take some training along the way, and they’re so used to it, and their projects are so much better, and they make a lot more sense. So really, going through this process is super helpful. So using all those things that you find in the Imagine Stage that can help inform your plan. So what could your solution look like? It could be multiple solutions. What are all these different ideas that are buzzing around in your head that could help answer that ask? Now the arrows really should be going back and forth.


Naomi Meredith [00:10:20]:


You can go back to the stages at any time. But once you have a plan in place, a thoughtful plan, then you can actually bring your plan to life. And sometimes we always get stuck up on that Create. But yes, you do get to create. And through that creation, you want students to be experimenting, improving, so testing and making those designs better through different avenues and then giving them the opportunity to share. And that could look in a lot of different ways. So you could teach each process day by day. There really isn’t any rhyme or reason as to how long you should have an engineering design process.


Naomi Meredith [00:10:55]:


But I can go through the process all within five days, typically second through fifth grade. But sometimes, I even pare down those lessons even more for my younger students. So it definitely can be differentiated based on the needs of your students. So when we think about the Ask stage, so that is that first stage in the engineering design process; what is that problem? A great way to phrase things when you really want to have kids have multiple solutions, think about how you word the question. Instead of saying can you create blah blah blah, shift your question to how can just by changing those two words can really open up the problem. And again, open it up in a way like, can you? Yeah, I can do it. But how can is like, oh well, how can I do this? What could I do to solve this problem? So thinking about the way you word the question will really help out from there. So when you are planning out these projects, there are different project types.


Naomi Meredith [00:11:58]:


And these aren’t all of them, but these are really popular ones in the elementary Stem space right now. And I broke them into categories based on your experience level and where you might be, and what you might want to try. So if you’re just getting started with Stem projects in general or with the engineering design process, here are some places that I would recommend starting. So, of course, digital citizenship is super important. This is a lifelong skill for every person out there and how to interact in the online space with so many different things. And so you could even think of some Stem projects that could relate to the digital citizenship lessons that you are doing. And the engineering design process can fit within that. Then, of course, we have maker space lessons, in which you could use any materials that you have on hand, recycled materials.


Naomi Meredith [00:12:49]:


So building to solve a problem. And along with that, if you have Lego builds, this could include having a mixed bucket of Legos to build and solve your problem. Or maybe you have Lego education kits. There are a lot of open-ended projects in there and getting started lessons. So one or the other is really great. But if you’re just getting started, I would definitely start with these topics. Now, if you’re needing an extra challenge or want some more inspiration, the next great step for you, in no particular order, is adding an element of robotics. There are a lot of different robotics you can use with various grade levels, and you could tackle those projects.


Naomi Meredith [00:13:28]:


Then you can do some computer coding. There are a lot of great free programs out there. So definitely recommend checking out the hour of code, website or code. Then you can do some 2D design, say that three times fast. Two d design. And maybe you want to cut out their designs using some sort of cutting feature like a Cricut machine or a flashboard. Maybe they’re designing using things like Canva or Google Slides, things like that. So thinking about that digital, 2D design.


Naomi Meredith [00:14:01]:


Then if you want to move into some elements of animation, stop-motion animation is great. There’s a great free tool out there, stop Motion Studio. I almost got the name wrong. That’s another one to say. That’s really hard to say. Fast and then the green screen is also another great option when it comes to video production is you can have students present their work. So those are some great extra challenge pieces. And for the most part, most of that actually is not too bad to get materials.


Naomi Meredith [00:14:31]:


And then, if you want even more of a challenge, this might even come with what kind of materials you might need. 3D design is awesome and definitely can integrate with the engineering design process. You don’t necessarily have a 3D printer, and you can do all the design without it. But if you have a 3D printer, yes, you can do it. And when I say 3D design, I do this K through five. So even kindergarteners are designing something for the 3D printer so it can be done. Guys. Video production, which is a whole big thing, is a great skill for anybody to have as well.


Naomi Meredith [00:15:05]:


So that could be just recording on camera and or video editing. So they could edit those recording things or even add animations to those videos. Or maybe the whole video has different animations, and they have narration on top. So video production is a huge thing that can definitely level up anybody in our modern world. And then podcasting along with that. Podcasting can be a great tool. Not every kid loves being on camera, but they have a great voice for podcasting. So not to toot my own horn, but I have a podcast, the elementary Stone Coach podcast.


Naomi Meredith [00:15:43]:


So again, another great skill. And then this only thing on this list I haven’t experimented with yet would be drones. Drones are a huge, big thing, and that could be a really great addition to the types of lessons that you plan. So next, I’m going to talk about student examples just to get your wheels turning. And all of these examples that I’m going to share for you are kind of random. I picked a lot of different projects. I have one per grade level because I wanted you to see various projects that you can do with the engineering design process. I’m going to give you a snapshot of each lesson.


Naomi Meredith [00:16:20]:


Again, these don’t come together as a cohesive unit. So don’t judge, be like what? This doesn’t relate to the next one. Yes, they don’t. They don’t relate at all. They are just a collection of things just to give you some ideas. So as you are looking through those standards, then you can say, oh, I could do a maker space with this, or oh, I could do robotics. So just giving you a feel of how you can do that. The way I do plan my units I do use these project types. So if I’m doing digital citizenship, everybody’s doing digital citizenship.


Naomi Meredith [00:16:51]:


If I’m doing maker space, everybody’s doing maker space. So just keep them in mind when I’m explaining this. So if kindergarten is doing this type of lesson, everybody else is too, in their own way and with different content. So speaking of kindergarten, this lesson, went along with my Stem Museum park. So a hand on maker space unit where all of the grades were talking about things that had to do with force in motion. And for this one, students were creating one section of the Stem Musement Park, and they were talking about force and motion and how they can change the motion of the ball. And I’m going to be explaining the standards, but don’t judge if I get the standards wrong. Again, I’m giving you a snapshot.


Naomi Meredith [00:17:31]:


So students design their very own Walmaze using materials we have on hand and then see how many marbles they can collect in the bucket. This is really good for their fine motor skills, even when it comes to just ripping the tape and putting it up, but also thinking about what materials they could use and add on to their design throughout the week. So this project, I would probably say, takes about three days with kindergarten. And we go through that whole engineering design process for all of these. For this project, for first grade, we talk about the elements of 3D printing and how animal babies and their adults have similarities and differences when it comes to their physical traits. So a lot of times, the parents will pass down those traits to their babies, and it’s very apparent when they’re born, and other times, as they grow up, those traits seem to appear later on. So as we research these things, students pick their favorite animal through their research, and then they design their own little family, baby animal, and adult with our 3D printing software. And then once they’re done printed a month later, it does take some time.


Naomi Meredith [00:18:39]:


Then they color in their animal character with some Sharpies we have on hand. So this was our 3D printing unit for Earth’s Engineer, a different maker space unit. So students are taking on the role of an Earth engineer. And in second grade, we were talking about how there are different things that can shape the land, and we were talking about one specific way, and that was erosion and specifically more of that water erosion. So there are a lot of different types of erosion, but we specifically talked about water erosion. And students researched different types of solutions that are already out there to help slow down the effects of water erosion. And then, using those ideas, they thought of an original idea or progressed off of ones that they saw to create a design that will help slow down the erosion that is caused by the water. So you can see in the image that students were planning their designs thoughtfully using a digital tool.


Naomi Meredith [00:19:35]:


I love Seesaw. If you listen to my podcast, you know that I talk about Seesaw a lot, not sponsored. And then they use different materials, maker space materials, to design their solution and then test it, which there is some of that scientific method in there for a third-grade idea. If you’re thinking about getting into more of that digital production. This was a three or, sorry, not 3D. This was a green screen project. So the whole unit was about video and audio production. It was Earth and space science.


Naomi Meredith [00:20:05]:


And third graders were taking on the role kind of like a travel agent. And they were explaining more about the weather and climate and a location in the world and to get people excited to travel there and talk more about what it’s like during the different seasons. So students research. They wrote a script about their different location, and then they edited their background to match the words that they were saying. So you can see me there on the screen. I was very excited to do this. I didn’t give you the screenshots of the video that I made that it looked like I was messing up on purpose, but hopefully, you enjoyed that. This is all about Costa Rica, by the way. If you were wondering, for fourth grade, actually, a similar unit to that water erosion one that I was showing you.


Naomi Meredith [00:20:51]:


But the students were Earth engineers, and they’re taking on the role of a civil engineer and using GIS Geographical Information System data to create a landscape. So to create a map of the landscape that they were built to build their city on. So you can see on the right that students were using the data to color their grids. So there were grassy areas, there was a river, there were muddy areas. And then using that information that would inform their decisions on how they would build their city design, which included different elements. So they were shopping for their supplies, and then they started to build their city from there. I’m giving you a lot of maker space ones because these are a great way to get started. And then this one was the first unit of my year.


Naomi Meredith [00:21:34]:


So the first unit that I do with my students is actually about introducing the engineering design process, and that is Stem Survival Camp. So students come back from the summer ready to go in my class, and I decorate the classroom, all for Stem Survival Camp. I wear a different camp shirt every day. And for fifth grade, we were talking about different weather hazards, and that their challenge was to design a shelter to withstand the elements so you can see a student’s plan. They were thoughtfully planning that by drawing different angles, and they were also explaining different parts of their design and then using some materials that I provided them and also things that they collected from the outside. They had to build a shelter where they would actually test the different elements. So we tested the wind, the rain, and the snow. And the snow was glitter, which I know not everyone’s a fan of glitter in the classroom. I don’t mind a little sparkle on the floor.


Naomi Meredith [00:22:27]:


It’s like a unicorn ran through there, and I’m all for it. So this is a great way to start off the unit. All of their projects again were more simple and more basic, and get them accustomed to the engineering design process as a refresher and use some elements from the outdoors so they can even think about it for the end of the school year. How can you take some of that learning outdoors as the weather gets nicer and use it to your advantage? So I talked about a lot of different examples for you. Again, a lot of different hands-on and maker space things to help you really wrap your hand around all of these fun different things you can do in your classroom. As I said, most of my projects will take about five days. So if you’re thinking about your schedule, just leave yourself enough time when it comes to planning things with the engineering design process. Now I wanted to mention some resources for you that definitely you should check out to help you with this process now that your creative juices are spinning.


Naomi Meredith [00:23:24]:


Definitely check out the bundle pack that is part of this conference. There’s a whole session I contributed in that pack, so you can have a resource where I’ll walk you through how to exactly plan an engineering design process lesson. From start to finish, you will get planning templates, you’ll get planning slides, and then you can definitely tackle and really dive in deep into those engineering design process lessons. Also, you can check out this free podcast playlist that I put together for you. It’s all about the engineering design process. So I pulled from my regular show, the Elementary STEM Coach Podcast. But I put together all of the lessons from that show that talk specifically about the engineering design process. So I go more into depth into all of the different stages of the engineering design process.


Naomi Meredith [00:24:17]:


So the ask, imagine, plan, create, experiment, improve and share and then there are also some cool interviews in there. So definitely check that out. The link is up on the screen, or you can get that free playlist@naomimeredith.compodcastplaylistEDP or Engineering Design Process. And then also, if you just want to see how I plan with this throughout the year, you can download a free year-long plan. You can grab that at Naomimeredith.comyearlongplan and see how everything groups together using this process. Of course, I would love for you to reach out, so if you have any questions, let me know. I’m most available on Instagram, so at Naomi Meredith, you can definitely send an email my way contactnaomimeredith@gmail.com. Definitely check out my website Naomimeredith.com, and you can even find my podcast there.


Naomi Meredith [00:25:08]:


Like I said, the elementary STEM Coach Podcast. So thank you so much again for joining me today. I so appreciate your time, and I hope that you enjoyed this. I was well and have a great time getting started with creating engaging STEM projects using the engineering design process. This presentation had a ton of visuals, and I bet you are dying to see all of the examples and handouts. You can grab the video recording of this episode. The video slides I referenced throughout, student examples, and bonuses for only $5. That’s less than a fancy coffee drink. This will all be linked in the show notes, and you can check it all out here at Naomimeredith.comPDreplay.

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More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is a former classroom teacher turned current K-5 STEM teacher and coach. Her role not only includes teaching over 500 students in her school, but also leading professional development and co-teaching with teachers to help them integrate STEM & Technology.

With over a decade of experience along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM certificate, she helps teachers navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM & Technology in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!