I like my clothes the same way that I like my STEM & tech supplies… 1. Cheap & High-quality 2. Colorful 3. Purposeful Here are some cool finds for Prime Day that are worth checking out! DM me on Instagram, @marvelousmsm if there is anything else I should add to the list for everyone else!
Are you in a new STEM position and overwhelmed by the thought of what you are going to do the first month of school in your STEM class? Keep it simple with these practical back to school ideas for how to teach STEM.
Tips & Tricks for how to teach STEM
When I was preparing for my first year teaching STEM, I had no idea what to teach either. I teach my specials rotation Wednesday-Friday for students K-5. I have 4 rotations with over 600 kids. So I basically see each class 3 times/month. You can see more in detail what my week is like by reading about it here.
Having the background in the general education classroom before teaching STEM helped me realize that a lot of the back to school stuff applied to my new space, just in a different way.
Here is what I did and it really helped me have a successful rest of the school year and I think that it will help you too!
How to Teach STEM: Classroom Rules & Expectations
Every classroom needs to have a clear management system so students can feel safe and be successful in your space. Even if you don’t have the students all day, this definitely still applies in your classroom, if not more, since you have limited time!
If you’re coming from a general ed classroom like me, ask yourself those same questions that students need to know:
How do you want students to come into your classroom? Where do you want students to sit when they first come into your classroom?
When students leave the room & for the restroom, what are the policies?
How should students respond and behave during a lesson?
What are your expectations during whole group, group work and partner work?
How much time are you going to allow for a mini-lesson, student work time, clean up & reflection? (I need to work on my reflection piece for sure!)
Where do students line up at the end of class?
Is there some type of class reward for good behavior? What about individual students?
Along with that, these have been my go-to classroom rules in my STEM classroom and they also work well in regular classrooms when students are handling technology.
Click on the image to grab these posters for your classroom!
Teaching specials again and just reviewing rules with the kids? Think of how to make it a game like this one; which team can put together the puzzle pieces of the classroom rules the quickest?
For specific projects, new rules & expectations often need to be introduced during the year. For example, during the first month of STEM, robots aren’t typically introduced. However when they are brought out later in the year, additional rules need to be established to ensure the robots are cared for properly.
Classroom Materials
This one took me a few months to get the materials in places that made the most sense. Like I said, I teach K-5 and it will definitely take some trial and error to have a system that works for all grades.
For example, I thought having a bucket of crayons and scissors would work well with 1st grade. For some reason, this wasn’t the best fit and there were a bunch of sharing issues.
As a solution, I came up with STEM Supply bucketswhich have the basic tools and student might need during a project. If they need the supplies, they can grab their own box. This really helped build independence with my students of all ages.
In turn if germs are an issue, think of having students bringing their supplies boxes with them. That can help limit the amount of hands touching all of the supplies during the day.
Individual essential supplies to complete STEM projects. (click on image to grab labels.)
When specific supplies aren’t used all year, like robots, have a clear location to store and charge them. Also consider adding additional rules & expectations when using this tool.
Think about ways materials can be organized so students can get the tools that they need successfully without having to relying on the teacher constantly. I know baby ducks are super cute when they follow their mommies, but it’s not super cute when students follow their teachers all around the classroom.
Teach students how they can get their supplies, and put them away, for each class time and also which ones might not be needed for certain times.
If there are a lot of pieces required for a specific task, consider taking pictures of what it should look like cleaned up. Pictures go a long way and it’s a lot easier to explain rather than verbally.
Take pictures of how certain stations and materials should look when cleaned up. This will help students be successful.
Create a few spaces that are “teacher only”. My 2 places that are off limits to students is my table with my computer and my 2 storage cabinets. Otherwise, everything is available for kid-use!
Handling Technology & Passwords
I got really lucky and was fortunate enough to have a brand-new, renovated classroom to start my first year teaching STEM. The room before used to be a computer lab with desktop computers lining the walls. Those devices eventually got reassigned to other areas of the school building. There are a few laptops and iPads left in the classroom for various projects.
My classrooms 2nd-5th mainly use laptops for their projects. There are many times that I want students to bring their student device with them. I will schedule groups of emails to go out to my classroom teachers the week I have their class to let them know to have their students carry their student device to my room (with 2 hands of course) and/or roll down their class cart.
I actually don’t keep passwords on hand. Quickly, students learned that if they didn’t have theirs memorized yet, they kept a sticky note on their computer as a reminder of their credentials. For my younger students (K&1), I rarely need student passwords during STEM class. During co-teaching, that might be a different story which you can read about here.
This is an alternative option to charging classroom devices if your school is on a budget.
This is a system that has worked well in my building and has visually helped the students see that a lot of the work that we do in class isn’t just “stuck” in the STEM classroom and can be completed in other locations in the building.
Digital Citizenship
Digital Citizenship should be taught all year long in any classroom setting. However, especially if it’s your first year in your STEM position, digital citizenship is the perfect place to start the first month. This will help you gauge what your students know and don’t know about the topic. I go more into detail on how I teach digital citizenship, which you can read here.
At the beginning of the school year, teachers are working hard to build up their classroom community and how all the students in the room can get along and be successful. You will be a huge help by doing different team challenges in your classroom as well the first month you have kids.
Not only will this help students get to know one another in new ways, it will help you get to know them as well! There are millions of ideas on Pinterest. Start a new board with STEM Challenges or youcan just follow mine here.
Fail Forward
We all know that the first month of school is crucial to help build the rest of the school year. Keep in mind though, it definitely won’t be perfect.
Here are some fails my first month of teaching STEM.
I didn’t know that school’s wifi password and people kept asking me for it. Which makes sense since I’m the STEM teacher…
Half of my classroom walls weren’t finished. They were temporary with an awkward door so I ended up making it a graffiti wall for students to sign when they were done with digital citizenship.
I had a first grader eat crayons the second day of class and spit them back in the group crayon bucket. I guess he already ate all his other crayons back in class…
A kindergartener wound up in the 5th grade hallway even though my classroom is directly across from hers.
I had these awesome fancy mats for students to sit on that sounded like pool noodles being slapped on wet concrete when they were put on the floor. Multiply this sound by 150…
In conclusion, what do you typically teach the first month of STEM? Feel free to direct message me on Instagram, @naomimeredith_ and I would love to chat with you!
Stop Motion is one of the oldest filming techniques and was viewed as magic of its time. Do you remember Gumby or A Year Without a Santa Claus? Both are examples of intricate stop motion.
So why try stop motion with your students?
It brings stationary objects & topics to life
You only need minimal tools
Teaches patience & problem solving
Even when I have done stop motion with my classes, they even think that their own work is magic as well! I even used paper as the only prop for filming. Students had to create a video to teach others about a given topic. Here is my favorite about the human heart. {No sound.} They took over 200 pictures with tiny movements to make this possible.
Below are some typical questions that I’ve been asked when getting started with Stop Motion.
What devices & software do you suggest to use with this resource?
I would start with iPads or an iPhone. However, the same app can be purchased for Mac & Windows. I use the Stop Motion Studio {Free & Paid iOS app}, however, this resource can apply to any other stop motion app that you might already have.
What if I only have a few devices in my classroom?
Limited supplies shouldn’t limit what you can do with kids. This can be a great opportunity to create stations in your classroom. I do this ALL the time with my STEM classes. I teach you a few others ways to make this happen successfully in your room?
I teach in a Gen Ed classroom, is Stop Motion for me?
Y.E.S., YES!!! Technology & STEM should not be limited to just in the “specials” class. This can honestly be used across all content areas.
Are there ways to differentiate?
Definitely. Partnerships help with differentiating A LOT! Often times, my students who struggle with regular classroom instruction thrive with using technology. I would encourage the use of pairs to help with typical problem solving issues as well. Again, using guided tech groups are a great way to meet student learning needs. I find that working with students with technology in smaller settings is highly successful.
What is the youngest that you can start stop motion?
I think that you can go as young as kindergarten, depending on the task. With explicit instructions, the use of guided tech groups, you can definitely use this with all ages. I WOULD NOT suggest whole group with really young students. They can sometimes become lost with multiple steps. Want more inspiration and guidance? Check out my Stop Motion 101 Resource.
With over 100+ pages of content, I have put together the ins-and-outs of this tech tool from the teacher’s side, ways to implement in all content areas, detailed lesson plans, student resources, examples, vocabulary are more! Click here to download it for yourself! Stay marvelous! Naomi from Marvelous Ms. Meredith
Are you a classroom teacher looking to increase the use of technology in your classroom but need more training? Are you a tech or STEM teacher wanting to continue your practice? I’ve been in both positions and found that online trainings were a great option for me.
Here are 7 online technology professional developments that I suggest to continue your classroom technology knowledge! When you click on the name of each one, it will redirect you to their site. These aren’t listed in any particular order. Note: I am not endorsed by any of these companies. These are just ones that I have done and found over the years and believe in that are worth sharing!
1. BrainPop 101 {Free, if you have a teacher BrainPop account. No digital badge, but a printable certificate} Everyone loves the videos that BrainPop produces. Have you tried all of their other amazing features that are to the right of each video? Primary sources, coding, quizzes… There is even a teacher dashboard to explore! When logged into your teacher BrainPop account, towards the top right of the home screen, it says BrainPop 101. It will walk you through all of their features aside from videos and interact with them in an authentic way. You will also get a certificate of completion with one-hour of Professional Development Credit.
2. Common Sense Educator {Free, once you create your free teacher account. Receive a digital badge.} Common Sense Media is an amazing resource to help you stay updated with today’s technology, movies and social media. They also have great parent resources and talking points for all sorts of relevant topics that relate to the above. My favorite is their free digital citizenship curriculum. This training is more so how you use their curriculum with students and share the information with others. If you are already using their stuff, this is a great refresher to narrow down on how you are using their resource effectively with kids and other teachers in your building. 3. Code.org Courses{Free, once you create your free account.} I linked to the page that shares the progression of coding amongst grade-levels and the professional development opportunity that you would want to choose from. As a coding novice, this was a great learning experience for me to learn the basics of coding and be able to be a guide for my students in my classroom.
Find the big letters for your classroom by clicking here or on the picture.
4. Google Certified Educator: Levels 1 & 2{Level 1: $10, Level 2: $25. Must have some sort of Google account to log in; either school or personal.Receive a digital badge & printable certificate once you pass the tests.} These badges you have to pay for, but the content and the training beforehand are excellent. While I use Google tools all the time within my teaching and personal practice, I still learned a lot! You can review the training material for as long as you want before taking the tests. I try and do a session a day since it gets pretty lengthy. Whenever you feel comfortable, you can sign-up and pay to take your test. They do take a few hours, so much sure to block enough time for yourself! I honestly thought the tests were fun since they are application based and you have to show what you know in real-life situations by using Google to solve teacher’s problems. 5. Seesaw Ambassador{Free, application based. If chosen, will receive digital badge after training}. If you are already using Seesaw a lot with your kids and want to know more tips and tricks and effective ways to share your knowledge with other teachers, this program is worth looking in to. If you aren’t accepted or need to wait to get in, Seesaw has other AMAZING professional development webinars, PD in your PJs. They also save a bunch of them on their YouTube Channel that you can rewatch later.
I have some quick Seesaw Tips & Tricks that I think you’ll enjoy by clicking here or on my picture.
6. Microsoft Online Courses {Free, after logging in with Microsoft account. Some courses earn digital badges.} If your school uses Microsoft tools, this is a great resource for ongoing professional development and how to use those tools educationally. This is one that I am diving into more myself. I grew up using Microsoft tools at home, but haven’t used it much with students. Being at my new-to-me district that uses Microsoft, this is an area that I am growing in!
7.Epic! Books Master Teacher{Free, application based. If chosen, will receive digital badge after training}. Again, this one is a lot like the Seesaw Ambassador program. If you already use Epic! Books in your classroom and want to learn more and have input within the Master Teacher Private Facebook group, this is a good program for you. I have led many teacher professional developments at my school about this tool and have learned great ideas by being a part of this group.
I love the creativity and rawness when students record their own videos. For most, it takes a lot of practice to be comfortable on camera. {Of course, you have those students are a complete natural and you know they are going to be on TV one day.} To help students be confident in what they are trying to say and not hide behind their script, here is how you can create your own teleprompter in your classroom.
For items you see in this post, these are my Amazon affiliate links. When you purchase through my link, it’s no added cost to you and I get a little kickback in return. Win-win! Step 1: Beforehand, students can type their script. Have script displayed on computer in a Google Doc. Make the screen fairly large so it’s easier for them to read. **If the script isn’t typed, that’s ok! We have just taped the script right onto the iPad stand as close to the camera as possible so their eyes are looking up for the video.
Step 2: If there is more than one person talking, highlight each person’s lines in a different color.
Step 3: Connect a wireless mouse (USB or Bluetooth) and have one of the students scroll down on their script as they are reading so they can control their pace. Step 4: Practice, practice, practice! I had them practice without recording first, then record a round. They then watched and decide on what changes to make for their final recording.
Bonus Steps! Record in front of a green screen. Use an iPad stand to keep the filming steady. Place your “Teleprompter” directly in front of the iPad stand. The best app that is easy for students to use and is worth the money is Green Screen by Do Ink. How have you used a teleprompter in your classroom? Let me know and send me a message on Instagram @marvelousmsm
Stay marvelous! Naomi from Marvelous Ms. Meredith
P.S. Love the iPad stand in the pictures? You can grab it here and also see it in my {free} downloadable list of Top 20 STEM Station Must Haves.
During my first year as a STEM teacher, I lead a club weekly on Thursday for the entire year. I ran 6 different clubs, the last being a Makerspace Club. While planning this club, I kept my live for literacy and picture books in ming. In fact, My growing STEM & Stories collection integrates books and a corresponding STEM activity that works for multiple grade levels. Let’s dive into how STEM is integrated after reading the story Not a Box by Antoinette Portis.
**All links are clickable to purchase through my affiliate link. No extra cost to you, but I get a little bonus if you purchase through it!** After reading the story Not a Box {or listening to it online on YouTube}, students will first plan how they will create a marble maze or game out of cardboard and limited materials. I did just a marble maze since I had limited time with my 1st-5th grader club {45 minutes} and they were able to listen to the story, plan and build. Their planning can be done either on paper or digitally.
They can also utilize the Design Thinking checklist to help them keep track of their progress along the way through this challenge. This is also helpful if you need to extend this activity into multiple days or even during different time blocks in one day.
Keeping their plan in mind, they can build their design and make modifications when needed to have their game work. The maze is the most simple of the two challenges; all you need are straws {bonus points if they are neon}, masking tape, marbles and cardboard. With a basic sized shipping box from Amazon, you can get 12 pieces from all the flaps and sides. I had 24 students in my club so two boxes was all that I needed.
Again, for a harder challenge that will most likely take longer, they can also create a different type of game using cardboard and materials of your choice. I have a couple of videos for inspiration that they can watch and reflect on before planning.
Once students’ designs are built, I would encourage students to create rules to their games as well as gain peer feedback. This is of course, depending on the time you have for your challenge.
Of course, reflection is essential for continuing a growth mindset, and students can write, draw or even record using a tool like Seesaw, how the Design Thinking Process through this STEM activity worked for them.
My STEM students always get so proud of their creations and want to take their work home. For this challenge, I let them take their work home since they created it out of consumable items. The marbles were fairly inexpensive any way and I let them keep that as well. They were soooo excited about this! I even sent home this sheet {that you can get for free!} with other resources that will be helpful and continue to spark their cardboard creativity. Using Seesaw, I often have students take a video or photo of their work so they can continue that conversation at home with their families. Seesaw is always free. However, you can get bonus features with Seesaw Plus through my link.
This is a great STEM challenge that has so many possibilities depending on the amount of time you have, the age of your students and materials you use. You can grab all of the printable and digital student sheets, here. There is also a bonus anchor chart for taking clear photos of your work as a student guide.
How do you integrate STEM and literacy in engaging ways? Let me know and send me a message on Instagram @marvelousmsm
When I left the regular elementary classroom into my K-5 STEM position, it was really difficult for me to part with my extensive library. I kept some of my favorites of course, but most of my collection went into my friends’ classrooms to continue to benefit other kids. However, I still use literacy in my STEM instruction all the time! My growing STEM & Stories collection integrates books and a corresponding STEM activity that works for multiple grade levels. Let’s dive into how STEM is integrated after reading the story After the Fall by Dan Santant.
**All links are clickable to purchase through my affiliate link. No extra cost to you, but I get a little bonus if you purchase through it!** After reading the story After the Fall by Dan Santant {or listening to it online on YouTube}, students will first plan a way where they can build a safe wall for Humpty Dumpty to sit on. Their planning can be done either on paper or digitally.
They can also utilize the Design Thinking checklist to help them keep track of their progress along the way through this challenge. This is also helpful if you need to extend this activity into multiple days or even during different time blocks in one day.
Keeping their plan in mind, they can build their design and make modifications when needed to keep Humpty safe on the wall. Use any building materials you have on hand. Unifix cubes, LEGO and wooden planks work great. We used plastic easter eggs to represent Humpty. For an extra challenge, you can fill the eggs with a heavier material or even try wooden eggs!
Once students’ designs are built, they can use different units of measurement to measure the height and the width of their design and record their results.
Of course, reflection is essential for continuing a growth mindset, and students can write, draw or even record using a tool like Seesaw, how the Design Thinking Process through this STEM activity worked for them.
My STEM students always get so proud of their creations and want to take their work home. I use a lot of nonconsumable items and that isn’t always an option. However, using Seesaw, I often have students take a video or photo of their work so they can continue that conversation at home with their families. Seesaw is always free. However, you can get bonus features with Seesaw Plus through my link.
This was such a great Spring Time activity and was also easy for a sub to implement when I wasn’t in my classroom for a day. You can grab all of the printable and digital student sheets, here. There is also a bonus anchor chart for taking clear photos of your work as a student guide.
How do you integrate STEM and literacy in engaging ways? Let me know and send me a message on Instagram @marvelousmsm
The best resources to add to your STEM school supply list.
Perfect for:
Teachers wanting to implement STEM in their classroom
Materials to add to school redesign of their STEM lab
STEM classrooms that need a supply refresh
This list of 20 resources are what I recommend for elementary students. There is a mixture of consumable and non-consumable items to fit your needs.
STEM School Supply List: Consumable Materials
These are my Amazon affiliate links. When you purchase through my link, it’s no added cost to you and I get a little kickback in return. Win-win!
Case of Play Doh: Use by itself or integrate with other materials. Great addition to Stop Motion animation (which you can read more in my blog post here)
Masking Tape: Set clear expectations of how much tape can be used during projects or this will run out within a week
Velcro Dots:Perfect for labeling materials and also creating reusable STEM activities
Marbles:Technically, these are reusable. However, I seem to replace these each year as they roll into unseen corners in the classroom.
Felt Squares: These are a great size for little hands and this particular brand is a harder felt which is great for multiple designs.
Neon straws:Any straw works to build with, but neon is way more fun and colorful.
When collecting other consumables for your classroom, donations are a great way to get started. Here is an editable makerspace supply letter that can be sent home printed or digitally to families in the community.
STEM School Supply List: Reusable Materials
These are my Amazon affiliate links. When you purchase through my link, it’s no added cost to you and I get a little kickback in return. Win-win!
Brain Blox Wooden Planks:A cheaper version of Keva planks and work great for any STEM challenge. Comes with an idea guide that students can refer to during free choice.
Colored Domino Pieces: They don’t have dots on them, but this package comes with A LOT! A colorful building material students love.
Mixed bucket of LEGO:Of course, asking for donations might get you some as well. This is a great starter kit when on a budget. Add a bucket or two each year to add to the mix.
iPad Tripod:Improve student video quality with a steady camera. This tripod also has adjustable heights and easy to store when not in use.
Bee-Bot Robots: Great for beginning coders and, very durable and rechargeable.
Holiday shopping is already here! Whether you are looking for a way to spend a TpT gift card, buy something for your teacher bestie or just simply want to treat yo’ self, I have the most marvelous shopping guide for you!
I created it specifically for different price ranges and also to fit different personalities. You can grab everything you need from my TpT store here. I had such a fun time creating this and thinking of the different categories!
Click on the image to view the PDf version of the guide or go to the free resource library that you have access to as a Marvelous Member. Once you sign-up, not only will you have this great guide, but access to other freebies as well!
What is your favorite resource from this list?Let me know and send me a message on Instagram @marvelousmsm
Every year as a classroom teacher, I always stressed out about having the perfect gift for my students to give to their families during the holidays or at the end of the school year. As a person who enjoys giving gifts myself, I try to ensure that my gifts are purposeful and unique. I believed in the same concept as to what I was going to have my kids make. While I am a big fan of crafting, with 24 children, it can go bad real quick. Also thinking about how much it was going to cost each student to make their gift can get expensive! After some thoughtful planning, I thought of a way to integrate students’ use of technology into their family a gift to save time, money and still create something personal.
That’s where I came up with the Selfie Station Calendar. With a new year approaching, a calendar is very useful! I know that teachers will often times have their kids decorate each month with a little art project, but honestly, that seemed like a lot of work to me.
Instead, each month was decorated with their child and different props to represent each month. My first year doing this project, I brought in some items like sunglasses, hats, and all sorts of crazy stuff and a parent helped me take 12 different themed pictures of each child. As this project evolved each year, it’s been more student centered and less work for me. After all, it’s THEIR gift that that students are giving to parents! What did you use for the calendar? I created a calendar template for each month using Google Slides. The top portion I left empty for students to insert their pictures. I shared this template with the students in my class using Google Classroom so that it made a copy for each one of them. This also was great management when students needed tech support and I could hop onto their piece and work with them to solve the problem.
When the calendars were finished, I could easily find each students’ name and print. Another added bonus was for students who had divorced parents, I could easily print multiple copies and they didn’t physically have to make more than two. What did you use for the props? As I mentioned in the beginning, my first year doing this project, I brought in all sorts of random stuff I found at home and in my classroom. Any costume item that I owned was in my room for over a week. As this project evolved, I actually created my own printable props that were themed for each season of the year. This actually turned out a lot better because students had more prop choices for their photos, I could store them easier in just one file in my filing cabinet, and they actually turned out to be more vibrant and photogenic!
I printed and cut out each theme, sorted them by months and wrote in pencil on the back which month the prop represented. I then sorted the months around the room and students would grab one prop at a time to take their photo for that month. How did they actually add their pictures?
Students helped one another face their computer camera at the proper angle to take a picture for each month of their calendar and then insert in to template. You can have students make their own calendar or work together collaboratively and have a class calendar! That way, you will only need to print one! How did you manage their projects to ensure they were finished in time? Since my 3rd graders hadn’t ever done a gift like this before, there was a huge amount of buy in. They also thought that the props and my example calendar was funny so they were super excited to make their own. I also started this project the month before break so I could print and bind each calendar and then have students wrap them. That way if students were absent, I had plenty of time for them to make to make it up.
As far as the prop management went, I told students that they didn’t necessarily have to go in order for their calendar. That way not all the January props were gone at once!
We worked on these for about 30 minutes a day for 3 days and the majority of my class was finished. Those who finished quicker were able to help others or even type in important events within their calendar. How much did this gift cost you? Zero dollars. That’s right! Since I made the props and calendar template myself, it was free-99. I also had the benefit of having colored card stock paper to print on for the props and binding I could use to bind the calendars. I did have to print in black and white a couple of years because of restrictions we had on our school’s color printer. They still looked really cute! I also told the kids that they could definitely print in color at home and send to other family members as well.
I know that the cost might vary for different classrooms, especially if you use my template and props to get you all set up. Overall, this is a low cost project that is highly engaging for your students. There was a reason why I did it many years in a row. The families absolutely LOVED them!
How have you used a selfie station in your classroom?Let me know and send me a message on Instagram @marvelousmsm
Stay marvelous!
Naomi from Marvelous Ms. Meredith
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