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Back to School STEM Activities Shopping Guide

back-to-school-stem-activities

Back to School STEM Activities Shopping Guide

This Back to School STEM Activities guide is to help you find resources that will be perfect for your STEM & Technology instruction. Whether you are teaching in-person, hybrid or remotely, I have resources already created to meet your needs. 

 

Back to School STEM Activities Shopping Guide: How to Get the Most Out of It

  • Print this out to read it like a magazine or view digitally
  • The clickable Table of Contents will direct you to a topic you’re interested in learning about more
  • All images are clickable and will take you directly to the product they are show
  • All images also have a corresponding number. Find the corresponding description for that page to read more about it

Click here to grab this FREE download!

 

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What’s included in this guide?

  • How to use this guide
  • How to get free TpT Credits to Spend on Future Purchases
  • 6 Back to School Essentials for Any Classroom Setting
  • In-Person Learning Resources
  • Google Tools Scavenger Hunts
  • Digital Interactive Notebooks
  • Distance Learning Resources
  • Thank You!
  • Connect with Me!

Click here to grab this FREE download!

 

Other blog posts you will also enjoy: 

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Need more help finding a resource that fits your Back to School needs? Feel free to direct message me on Instagram, @naomimeredith_ and I would love to chat with you!

Want more resources to support Technology & STEM all year long? Grab this FREE downloadable guide that I’ve put together for you!

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5 Spring STEM Activities & Technoloy Lessons You Need Now

spring-stem-activitiesThe end of the school year is the best time to experiment and try new things with your students. Here is a list of 5 Spring STEM Activities & Technology lessons that your students will love!

This post contains affiliate links. When you purchase through the link, no extra cost to you, but I receive a kickback from purchases. 

 

#1 Spring STEM Activities & Technology Lesson: STEM & Stories

Integrate your favorite Spring stories with a fun STEM challenge. Try these two STEM & Stories lessons for After the Fall by Dan Santat and The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.  

 

After reading the story, integrate a STEM challenge to help build comprehension. Build a wall for Humpty Dumpty to sit on to keep him safe. You can read more about how to teach this lesson by clicking here.

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 Reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar? Code the robot version of the caterpillar to collect the food in the order that he eats it. In addition, have students create the food to fit the mouth of the the cardboard version of the caterpillar. You can find the entire lesson plan here.

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#2 Spring STEM Activities & Technology Lesson: Digital Interactive Notebooks

Cutting and pasting paper is wonderful but can definitely get an upgrade. Try these digital interactive notebooks. With this format, students can learn content by building their technology skills at the same time. Read here how these can help with remote learning as well!

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 My 3rd graders loved having access to colorful websites from National Geographic Kids and listening to engaging podcasts from Brains On! which were added to the notebooks. 

 

Diagrams and places to keep track of butterfly or ladybug science observations are also provided. This was especially helpful when we were keeping track of the ladybug life cycle daily! By the way, I had NO CLUE that ladybugs have a similar life cycle to butterflies. The things we learn while teaching! Here is the kit we used to see the ladybug life cycle in action.

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#3 Spring STEM Activities & Technology Lesson: Engineer Inspiration Boards

Create objects that represent the Spring months with these Engineer Inspiration boards. By using any items available in the classroom or at home, create the different objects presented on the board. 

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These boards can be printed in color or black & white. Digital versions are also available and can be shared on any platform of your choice with students.

#4 Spring STEM Activities & Technology Lesson: Digital Reading Comprehension Worksheets

Mix up your reading comprehension routine with digital versions of the worksheets that you might be using in class. Use books, articles and websites that you already have on hand and use. 

 Just pop these comprehension worksheets into Google Classroom or Seesaw. Track students’ comprehension of the text while also embedding important technology skills. 

Need help with Google Classroom? I have a FREE 3 part video series that will help you with:

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#5 Spring STEM Activities & Technology Lesson: Coding & Multiplication Facts

This low-prep STEM station has high engagement and is perfect for multiple grade levels. Use your favorite robot to practice multiplication facts. Don’t have robots in your classroom yet? Check out my top picks that are high-quality that I truly believe in and work well with kids. 

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With this station, there are three ways to play!

  • Code & write the equation
  • Code, write & keep the card
  • Coding Math Fact Memory

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Which Spring activity above have you tried? Which one are you wondering more about? Feel free to direct message me on Instagram, @naomimeredith_ and I would love to chat with you!
Want more resources to support Technology & STEM all year long? Grab this FREE downloadable guide that I’ve put together for you!
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3 Kid Made Mother’s Day Gifts for STEM & Technology

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Help mom feel special with these 3, kid made Mother’s Day gifts with a STEM & Tech twist. All of these activities are low-prep and can be down in-person or virtually. 

 

#1- Kid Made Mother’s Day Gifts: Social Media Themed Card

Mom’s love cards, but make it different this year. Create a card that is social media themed. 

Using a phone template, insert a cute photo and write a caption underneath. This option works well since it can be printed out or left in a digital format on the computer. 

Click to grab this lesson for your class! 

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#2- Kid made Mother’s Day gifts: Cardboard Flowers

Real flowers are beautiful, but make something that will last a bit longer. By using cardboard already in the house, create a 3D flower. While building, learn basic engineering techniques such as: a L-brace, flanges and creating symmetrical designs with a pattern. 

Click here for the link to the YouTube video. 

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#3- Engineer Inspiration Board

Want to create something else but don’t know where else to begin? Use this Mother’s Day themed Engineer Inspiration board. By using any items available in the classroom or at home, create the different objects presented on the board. 

These boards can be printed in color or black & white. Digital versions are also available and can be shared digitally with students. 

Click here to grab this lesson for your class! 

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kid-made-mother's-day-gifts

Resources Mentioned in this post:

  • Mother’s Day Social Media Post Gift
  • Cardboard Flower Tutorial
  • Engineer Inspiration- Mother’s Day Theme

Other Blog Posts You Might Enjoy:

 

kid-made-mother's-day-gifts

Which Mother’s Day activity will you try with your students this year? Feel free to direct message me on Instagram, @naomimeredith_ and I would love to chat with you!

 

Want more resources to support Technology & STEM all year long? Grab this FREE downloadable guide that I’ve put together for you!

earth-day-activities

7 Earth Day Activities for STEM & Technology

earth-day-activitiesSpring is in the air and it’s a great time to remind students of ways that they can continue to take care of the Earth and make a difference. Earth Day is a great celebration of this. In response to that, here are 7 Earth Day activities that integrate STEM and technology to commemorate this day. 

 *Click any of the images or headings of the resource to be redirected to the link. 

Earth Day Activities #1: Caring For Our Earth Interactive Notebook

Ditch your paper notebooks for a few days and have students explore and record their thinking with my colorful slides. There are 21 editable templates that you can edit and share in Google Slides. Students will define important vocabulary, a podcast to listen to, make observations about a graph and more! 

Click here to grab this lesson for your class!

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Earth Day Activities #2: Recycling Plant Makerspace Lesson

Help students understand the benefits of recycling and learn how it works. By using the collection of objects and labeled bins, students will build their own recycling plant. The goal is to have students create a system to help sort the items into the correct categories.

Click here to grab this lesson for your class! 

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Earth Day Activities #3: Our Planet- Netflix Series

Learn more about our Earth and different species from around the world and how their lives are impacted by humans. It is a series, but you can definitely watch out of order to meet your classroom needs. 

 

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Earth Day Activities #4: Taking Care of Earth Reading Comprehension  

With these graphic organizers for Earth Day, it will help students record their thinking and find text that is relevant to Earth Day. There are printable and digital options that will work on any device.

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Use any resource you have on hand to accompany these graphic organizers. Epic! Books is a great place to start! It’s a free-for-teachers online digital library that has books for any occasion and every learner. Have access to eBooks, read-to-me, audio and videos. 

 

Earth Day Activities #5: Earth Day Engineer Inspiration

Use any building materials available to recreate the images from the inspiration sheet. The one page of images look great printed out, in both color and black and white. Or save paper by viewing the images digitally. 

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Earth Day Activities #6: The Brains On! Podcast

Podcasts are a great way for students to build their visualization and comprehension skills. The Brains On! podcast is highly engaging and education. It’s a lot like listening to episodes of Bill Nye the Science Guy. You can listen directly online from your computer, or connect your phone by using any podcast app. Episodes that are perfect for Earth Day are: 

Earth Day Activities #7: Bundle of Activities

Need even more inspiration? Check out this fun bundle of STEM & Technology activities to use with your students. Some of the activities above are included as well as others the help celebrate Earth Day. Everything can be printed or shared digitally to fit your sharing needs.

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Resources Mentioned in this post:

Other Blog Posts You Might Enjoy: 

 

How do you integrate technology in your Earth Day instruction?  Feel free to direct message me on Instagram, @naomimeredith_ and I would love to chat with you!

 

 

 Want more resources to support Technology & STEM all year long? Grab this FREE downloadable guide that I’ve put together for you! 

 

 

 

 

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Must Have STEM School Supply List

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Must Have STEM School Supply List

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. 

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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)

 

Assorted Chenille stems: Replace once they are too twisted and bent

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.

makerspace-donation-letter

 

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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.

Colorful Dice: Great for math games & coding challenges

Stackable Storage: organize and sort materials in easy to carry and clear containers

LEGO-like Mini Figs: Add an element of storytelling by adding characters to STEM designs

LEGO-like build plates: The original version can get pricey. These are compatible with real LEGO and helps make some structures more sturdy. They also work great in stop motion animation and green screen

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.

Sphero Mini Robots: Great for more advanced coding and a nice addition when on a budget. You can read more about how I like this robot and others in this blog post.

LEGO WeDo 2.0: A great coding & building addition that is a must have. Multiple lesson ideas are included on the app.

Felt plastic needles: Great and safe for little hands

 

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Other blog posts you might enjoy:

Need more help with your list? Feel free to direct message me on Instagram, @naomimeredith_ and I would love to chat with you!

Want more resources to support Technology & STEM all year long? Grab this FREE downloadable guide that I’ve put together for you!