Naomi Meredith  00:00

Are you complicating your STEM lesson planning? Teaching elementary STEM is such a highly creative subject to teach. But it can get overwhelming very quickly. With all of the cool ideas that you're seeing all over social media, or maybe even things that you are hearing on this podcast, you might be getting a little bit of FOMO or fear of missing out, you want to teach it all. Trust me, I was like this too, especially when you first are getting started teaching STEM, you feel like you have to do all the cool ideas that you see, or your students aren't going to get a great STEM experience. But guess what this could actually be contributing to your STEM, overwhelm, and making your lesson planning a lot harder than what it should be. So let's the solution. In this episode, I will be sharing with you the things that are probably contributing to your STEM, overwhelm, and some solutions to combat this.

Naomi Meredith  01:17

If you are listening to this episode live when it comes out, the doors are open only for a little short while to the STEM into summer group coaching program. With me as your coach, you will have 16 weeks with a hands on experience, along with other STEM teachers who are doing what you're doing. But also create a scaffolded STEM lesson plan that will work best for your space. Be prepared for the whole year, along with lessons that are actually going to work along with templates and lesson plans and resources that will help you along the way. Along with that you will have access to me with video messaging and weekly video calls. So you definitely want to book your spots before they all run out and really be prepared for this upcoming school year. You can jump on in and get started at naomimeredith.com/STEMintosummer. Also for being a podcast listener, you can get an extra 25% off, make sure to use the promo code STEMSUMMERPOD to get your special discount. As soon as you sign up, we will set up your bonus one to one video call with me so we can get to know each other and set you up for success. So join me and other STEM teachers at naomimeredith.com/STEMintosummer. 

Naomi Meredith  02:49

When I jumped into the K through five STEM space from being a classroom teacher for six years, I absolutely fell in love. And I was spending all my weekends doing the lesson planning going into my classroom, staying late at night and getting there early in the morning. And definitely I felt a ton of overwhelm. And the biggest thing with that not to mention teaching 500 plus kids and six classes a day. But it has a lot to do with the lesson planning. What's very different that I have found from being a classroom teacher to being a STEM teacher is you really don't have any curriculum to work with like not really even a little bit. A lot of different programs come with things to get you started. But then it's so hard to make everything fit and everything pieced together and make sure it's not random. Or maybe you are making things random, but having it all go together cohesively. So you are not rushing around from class to class and not knowing what to teach when you show up or not even feeling prepared. And it can get overwhelming very, very quickly. So let's take a deep dive into your lesson planning habits in your STEM space. And let's see if you are doing these things that are probably overcomplicating your STEM lesson planning. It is hard, however, it doesn't have to be that hard. And let's see if we can refine those things and make this end of the year and going into the next school year a lot smoother for you. 

Naomi Meredith  04:23

The first thing that is probably complicating your STEM lesson planning is you are doing too many ideas at once. That is actually a good problem to have. But it can make it very complicated. Maybe our lessons look like this. Let's say you are teaching all about landforms the first day you have kids doing robotics. The next day you are going to have them do a mini Makerspace project. The next two days you have a another Makerspace project. And then the last day is some free choice time Whoa, that was exhausting even explaining that, yes, all those ideas are probably cool, but you actually don't have to do all of them. Well, these are all awesome STEM lessons to teach, they are really all over the place. Back in the last episode, Episode 88. I talk a lot about this. So make sure to go back and take a listen. But this is really probably contributing to your overwhelm. You are rushing from lesson to lesson a lesson you are making sure, okay, we're gonna do this this day and do this this day. That's a lot of planning to keep up with. Likewise, you might not even be realizing this, but your students might also be feeling rushed as Well. So not only as you as a teacher, you're rushing from lesson to lesson a lesson. But so far your students, and they might not find that they are finding success, because they have to do something new every day. And you might be feeling as a teacher, “Well, I am the STEM teacher, I do need to make it fun.” It's like a party every day. It kind of is like a party. But it doesn't have to be something brand new. It's okay, if you are not implementing every single fun thing that you're seeing all over Instagram. You don't even know with these teachers if they taught this lesson five years ago, and maybe they're just posting an idea to give you some inspiration. You have no idea what's really going on behind the scenes, it really is a highlight reel. So don't feel like you have to change it up every single day to keep your kids entertained. In fact, this is something that I did when I first got started. And this is what was really taking up my weekends, coming up with new ideas every day. However, when I switched it to having more long term projects, where we were working on the same thing throughout the week, or throughout the days that I saw them if it was once a week, then what the new things that I would be implementing is the new things using the Engineering Design Process, or the process that we were using at the time. So students were able to improve and really think about the project that they were doing. Rather than switching from project to project to project to project. There's a book that I have read years ago that I highly recommend it is called the Talent Code. And it shows these case studies of famous people who are experts in their craft, athletes, people who are sharing content, artists, and it shows that they are more successful because they have more repetition and more ways to practice. So think about that with your projects. If you are rushing from project to project or project and they're all completely different, sure, you might be giving them some awesome exposure, but they're not really getting the time to really go deeper into that process, and really improve what they are working on. So in the long run, they aren't really refining what they are doing. One way that can really help with this too, is to take a supply audit, look at the materials that you actually have in your classroom. And this is actually going to really give you a big picture of how you can use these things in more effective ways with all of your different grade levels. Also think about are there things that are in your supplies that are outdated, maybe you need to replace a few things, maybe you will have things that are actually better suited for older students or an after school club. So understanding all of the materials and supplies that you have in your classroom can really help with this lesson overwhelm certain supplies. And I've talked about this in past episodes before, certain supplies can actually be used again, over and over again within the same grade level, or even multiple grade levels, but you're switching out the content, and they can practice it in a different way. So it all doesn't have to be brand new every day. That's exhausting. thing about being a classroom teacher, you don't always have to do brand new every day. So why do you have to as a STEM teacher, just because you're the STEM teacher. So thinking about that whole supply audit will really, really be helpful. In my STEM into center group coaching program, I actually have created a template, the same one that I used, when I looked at all of my supplies to really think about what do I have on hand? What do I need to get donations for what could be something I could write a grant in the future years, or what kind of human purchase with the limited budget that I had. So this will help you again, make that big picture and really help you not have to rush through all these different things, but zone in on the topics that you want to teach your students. 

Naomi Meredith  09:46

The second thing that is probably contributing to your STEM planning overwhelm, is all of the grades are doing different themes. So we just talked about how you're planning all these different lessons for one class, think about what you're teaching all the grade levels. Maybe you're teaching all different themes. So possibly first grade, you're working on animals, maybe fourth grade, you're working on space, third grade, you are working on fossils, that's a lot of content to track. You found all these cool project ideas, and again, you want to teach them all and keep track of everything. But then you have certain supplies for one grade level, and then you're switching it out for another, you need robots for this one. And then you're going over to 3D printing, you have all of these different things going on. It's not even controlled chaos, it's chaos, and you have all the supplies out too. That's a lot. You have Makerspace things out, you're charging all this stuff. What's happening in all there, it looks like a tornado hit your room. So what is actually the solution for that? Think about can you plan in your grade level theme? So let's say you have K through five, or K through eight? Can you plan in content themes. So if you are going to teach robotics, can you do robotics for everybody, K through five, they could be learning different standards within those robotics lessons. But that way, you're only worrying about robots at the time, maybe you have a handful of different kinds, that you can switch out throughout the classes, the robots will actually hold a charge better than you think I have tried it. So definitely try it out. But when it comes to your planning, if you are planning within that same theme, and maybe you also have that same, let's say you have earth science, and then robotics, you are doing this whole umbrella within the earth science and the robotics, and then this is going to get you in the mind as a teacher to find lessons and really think through those lessons that will work in that theme. This is also going to help you with supplies, some of you actually go into the classrooms and have to bring your supplies with you. So if you are planning within this whole consistent way, then you're not switching out things as often that you have all the things in your mindset, but also ready to go. So you're not switching out from Makerspace, through robotics to 3D printing, you have a whole consistency and differentiation within all of those different grade levels. So a great way to do this is having that big picture of your year long plan, and then taking an audit of the lessons that you are going to teach or the ones that you have taught for each grade level. And think about how long that lesson is going to go. What standards are going to apply to those lessons, what materials are you going to need, and really think through every single grade level in this way. And it's really going to help you with that progression of learning. And again, help you beat that overwhelm and that complicating of all the lessons, this is something that I actually did one summer, I used to have a little bed and my home office and me and my little dog Frederick would cuddle. And he loved all this time it took me because he got extra cuddles while I was lesson planning. But this is exactly what I did to help create my STEM year long plan. And this is something that I am also constantly updating as there are more materials come out and other ways to look at standards. So taking that time really sitting through during the summer. And this is something that I will definitely help you with and you're in the STEM into summer group coaching program is giving you that template with spreadsheets with drop down menus that will really help you think through those lessons. And this is also a really great time to to think about, oh, is this lesson even good? Or is this just a fun activity kids could just do for fun, but it's not really getting getting to the standard at all. So that will be part of the first thing that we will really take a look at in that first month together is the supplies and also your lesson planning so that you can be set up for success and then go from there and actually create the year long plan. 

Naomi Meredith  14:14

And the third way that you might be complicating your second lesson planning is planning the same way for all your grade levels. So I was just talking about how you can use those same content themes and STEM ideas for the grade levels. But when it comes to the actual lesson planning for each of those grades, are you planning everything the same? Or are you really keeping in mind the ages of your students and their capabilities? When I first got started, I kind of really didn't. I did and I didn't. I was really planning the same way and I was really getting so frustrated as a teacher because I felt like I was a failure. We weren't finishing the projects at all, especially With my younger students, we weren't finishing them. There wasn't any motivation of the students, I wanted to do a cool project over the course of five days. By day four, and five, they were super over it, and then didn't want to do it anymore. They just didn't have the stamina. Likewise, when it came to my older students, I actually was making the projects way too hard. “Nothing is impossible. Everything is figureoutable,” as Marie Forleo says. But the way I was planning things I had too much going on, I was changing up the process I was using each time the way that they were taking notes, adding in too much digital or even too much paper things. I was making things way too hard. I was too ambitious. And likewise, I was kind of planning the same for all the grade levels, and that wasn't going to work. So again, after taking that audit of my lesson plans and thinking about the materials that I had, this is when I actually figured out the hack when it comes to planning for K through two, and then three through five and above. And I kept that same system up for those grade levels, just changed out the content, change that the themes. And it was like magic. My planning was so easy. And also the way that I was teaching made it easier. The students knew what to expect. They weren't complaining about brainstorming and planning their ideas anymore, because they knew this was part of the process. This is what we do in the projects. I had my younger students begging me are we doing STEM stations today, I'm like not today we're doing our projects, like, okay, it sounds great. But really thinking through the way that I plan for my littles is helping prepare them for when they get to the older grades. And likewise, the ways that I was planning for my older grades was something that they were actually ready for, and not feeling overwhelmed. Once I figured this out for myself, I was way less stress coming into the classroom, I felt prepared, even if I was teaching something new I've never taught before, like 3D printing. And I think I've said this before, 3D printing is weirdly one of my favorite units to teach. There's quite a few I really like I really like video and audio production. I also really like 3D printing. Even if it was something new I haven't actually taught before, I still felt really prepared. Because I was using this same process of planning, I was just plugging in those content themes and thinking about those standards and creative ways that all the tools would come through, it would actually start working out those are just little troubleshooting things that as a teacher, that's what we do. Anyway, we're not going to know every single tool every single time. But it was exciting to try this new stuff. Because the structure of my lessons were very consistent. And again, for same for my students, the structure was consistent, but the other things would change out. So then they didn't feel stressed out overwhelmed, probably because I was stressed out and overwhelmed. Planning and engaging lessons is literally one of my most favorite things to do as a teacher. Even as a classroom teacher, I loved doing this. And I think sometimes my teammates would get annoyed with me, because I had all these creative ideas. But I think they were a little annoyed because I actually could do them. And they're like, Okay, I guess we'll do this. But it makes it so much fun. Come on you. If you're having fun as a teacher, so are the kids. So it's all for the kids. Okay, part of my role. Also, in this case, your STEM teacher position is also being a co-teacher and co-planner with the classroom teachers in my building to help them implement innovative strategies. So I was working with our first grade team, and they had an upcoming insect unit. And they had a whole system of things that they would do in the past, but they really want to make it more hands on and engaging, which I was so excited that they were on board with this. And we came up with a whole thing for students while they were with our classroom teacher. They were researching more about insects and all of the things on their anatomy. So we're thinking about their antennas, their segments, their eyes, they have six legs. So all of those things that insects have. And then they had to pick their favorite one. And they came into my space. We got donations from the parents. So this was something that we did. We played up to this. So parents had donated things. And they came into my space and they had the opportunity to build their insect or a new insect. And they had to make sure to include all of the parts that An insect has. And their little things that they came up with were absolutely adorable. And I gave them some strategies have different things that they could actually use to put on the insect. How could they represent the antennas? How could you represent the eyes? What could you use for the legs? So we'd talked about those different strategies, and then they had the opportunity to build. So this really beefed up their projects, they were actually just drawing things before great way to plan. But then we went from there and created this whole experience for the students that they were so proud of. If you are actually interested in this lesson, you can find the whole Makerspace lesson that uses the Engineering Design Process in my TPT shop, I will link that in the show notes. But this was a really great lesson, especially for the end of the year, getting those little hands busy. 

Naomi Meredith  20:35

Also, in my STEM into summer group coaching program, you will actually have a similar experience by being able to audio message with me, where maybe you have this idea for a lesson or maybe you have a standard, that you're not quite sure how to take it to the next level. Oh my gosh, this is my jam. And I love brainstorming with people. You can hear it in my voice. I'm like so pumped up about it. So this is something that we'll be able to do over the summer, it gets feedback on chat back and forth. We also have the live calls with the other teachers where you can feel successful and not feel like you're planning alone, because that can definitely help that can definitely contribute to the overwhelm as well is you are doing this all alone. And I didn't list that as one of the three ways because that's not really always in your control. You're not the one hiring other seven teachers usually. But there are options out there. And there are teachers I know who are feeling that same way. So let's support you this summer is a great time to feel inspired, you have the sunshine, you are ready to go. And I would love to be in your back pocket where we can chat with each other and really think about things that will work best for your classroom and the time that you have with kids. 

Naomi Meredith  21:52

As a recap, here are the three things that are contributing to complicating your STEM lesson planning. First is you might be doing too many ideas at once. Next, we talked about how all the grades might all be doing different themes. And third, that might be complicating things is that you might be planning the same way for all the grade levels. Like I said, STEM is such an exciting thing. And it's such a great opportunity that you are bringing to your students, and you are really getting their creativity and collaboration flowing. But it doesn't have to be as complicated as you might think. And again, I am here to support you here with my podcasts and all of my resources. And we'd love to be in your back pocket where we can actually chat and almost like bringing this podcast live a live elementary STEM coach, but I would love to chat with you this summer and join me in my STEM into summer group coaching program. You can reserve your spot so we can get started in June 2023. You can find that at Naomi meredith.com/stemintosummer