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project plan examples for students

5 STEM Project Plan Examples for Students [ep.131]

5 STEM Project Plan Examples for Students [ep.131]

project plan examples for students

Check out the full episode on 5 STEM Project Plan Examples for Students:  

 

 

 

Episode Summary

Do your students struggle with effectively planning their designs for their STEM projects? If yes, you’re not alone. This was something I saw with many of my students when I was a STEM teacher. They would create plans, but they weren’t plans that supported them in the building process. Knowing this needed to change, I pulled from my teaching experience, tested out different ways to support students with planning their projects, and came up with five effective ways to teach students how to plan effectively. In today’s episode, I’m breaking down these five STEM project plan examples for students.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • STEM project plan examples for students 
  • The benefits of implementing each of these STEM project plan examples for students
  • Tips and strategies for supporting students with planning their designs 

Resources Mentioned:

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:


Having students plan their designs when they're completing STEM projects can feel like quite a chore. Sure, you might be having them draw their ideas before they start building, but is there a better way? In this episode, I'm gonna be sharing with you five ways that students can plan their designs before they get into building their STEM projects. The inspiration for this episode came about from my own observations of my students when I taught k through five STEM and in those beginning stages. Once we were getting the hang of the engineering design process for pretty much all the projects that we were completing together, I was having students plan their designs. But what I noticed with their plans is that their plans weren't very good, and their plans weren't even helping them with the building process anyway. They were just scribbling something down on their paper just to say that they created a plan, and well, that's about it.


Naomi Meredith [00:01:41]:


Does this sound familiar in your classroom? I knew that this needed to change and that the plan is actually a really important step when it comes to thinking about your design. So, I took a step back and thought about my classroom teacher days. I was a classroom teacher for 6 years Before stepping into my K through 5 STEM role, and I thought about when we were doing the writing process and how the planning stage is extremely important to pull out all of those ideas. So, of course, you have ways where you are building backgrounds, and we were doing that really well in our engineering design process projects, But the plan wasn't that great. So I tried and tested a lot of different ways to plan, and from there, we had way better plans that were actually thoughtful and helping students. And I even have a little story I'm gonna share with you in a little bit in this episode where the students actually really like to plan more than they thought. So, let's jump into these 5 ways that students can plan their designs. You don't have to do all of these with your students.


Naomi Meredith [00:02:57]:


Pick and choose what works best, But I'm going to explain what these things are and how they helped out my students' plans. The first way that students can plan their designs is to just talk through their ideas. This is the quickest way to plan, and this works really well if you're doing one-day challenges. I didn't do this method very often, But it was great when we were in a pinch, and we were going to go through the engineering design process pretty quickly in our time together. One way that I did this is that I had to co-teach with our PE teacher at the last minute because she found out that school pictures were going to be in the gym and not in our main hallway that day. So my PE teacher and all of her classes for the day Had to get moved to a new location, and I volunteered to have her and her classes come into my room so we could do a fun STEM challenge together. There were some simple building supplies for this challenge students were creating a catapult to launch into a basketball hoop. I don't currently have a lesson for this, but I do have a video on my YouTube channel where you can actually see how we built the catapult.


Naomi Meredith [00:04:17]:


But before students built their designs, their catapult, and the basketball hoop, they had to talk through their ideas. And that was it. That was their plan. We gave them a couple of minutes to talk, and then they got the materials, and then they got to build. That was all that we did. Funny enough, a few years later, I had an interesting week with 1 of my 5th-grade classes, And they were working on my Rube Goldberg Ecosystem project, which is in my TpT shop. We had a weird week where they didn't have the full 5 days in a row, and they still needed to plan their ideas, but I really wanted to get them to build. So I gave them the option that they could just talk through their ideas and then jump into the actual building.


Naomi Meredith [00:05:08]:


Well, funny enough, mind you, this is when I've had these kids for 5 years. I have had them since 1st grade. It was so interesting because I gave them the option where they just had to talk about their designs, but all of them ended up trying their designs anyway. So think about what you're doing if you're really being purposeful in the way that you are having students draw their designs. They might want to do that anyway. But they did have the option to talk through it because, again, we had a weird week. But it made me so proud as a teacher that the kids actually wanted to do a step in the engineering design process that they actually wanted to do. The next way that students can plan their STEM projects is kind of similar to the first one but a bit more hands-on, and it's that students can gather their materials and talk about it, but there is a caveat to this: you don't let them have any sticky things yet, so no glue and no tape.


Naomi Meredith [00:06:13]:


The reason for this is really great where, again, if you are pressed for time, if drawing isn't an option, you're doing a quicker challenge. And this is really great for younger learners where drawing and labeling can be so taxing on them. Think about the time of day you might have your youngest learners. Mine were in the afternoon, right after my lunchtime, I believe after their lunchtime, and they were tired. And drawing and labeling every single time we did a project wasn't going to happen. The one time I did have kindergarten in the morning, we flip-flopped their times because of a field trip. They are different children. And you know I love kindergarten so so much, but they are completely different in the morning.


Naomi Meredith [00:07:03]:


They are nice to each other. There are kids who are friends I never knew were friends because all they did was fight when they were in my class, so this method, when you are gathering the materials and having them talk about it, is another great alternative. I did this one time again, another co-teaching lesson with a kindergarten teacher they came into my classroom for a bonus STEM lesson, and we were doing a gingerbread man boat challenge. So they were doing a whole gingerbread unit in their class and reading different variations of the gingerbread man. And we talked about What if the gingerbread man was actually smart and had some building skills and could actually build a boat to get away from the fox. I had different materials laid out. Those were the things that they could choose from, and we gave them a limit of 5 items that they could take. These 5 items did not include the gingerbread man, the tape, the water, the scissors, all of that, those were not included in their count. However, they could gather 5 items with their partner that would help them with their gingerbread band design.


Naomi Meredith [00:08:19]:


Once the students grabbed their 5 items, they had a few minutes to talk about with their partners how they were going to use these items together to create their design. This is really great because while they were talking, sometimes students switched out their items because they might have grabbed something that wouldn't work. And I did add some items in there that purposely wouldn't work. I wanted to see if they could figure that out, like coffee filters, paper, and things that would get wet and eventually sink. So once students had the time to talk about the supplies with their partners, we gave them the sticky things, we gave them some tape, then we gave them scissors, and then they could build their design. The 3rd way that you can have students plan their design is probably what most of you are doing, but there is an additional step, and that is draw, label, and explain the steps in your design. Back in a guest interview that I had with Kelly Hogan, She talked about this where she actually has students write out the first few steps of how they're going to get started with their project. This is really great because this is going to help students be very purposeful with the materials that they're going to have and not be wasteful.


Naomi Meredith [00:09:39]:


She doesn't have them write out every single step of the entire project because, again, you do want students to actually get to building and not take the whole time to plan, but this is a really great way for them to be thoughtful and how everything is going to connect together. This is definitely the opposite of the Ikea building plans. If you've ever bought furniture from Ikea, When you get the plans, all of the plans are in drawings. There are no words. I've heard different theories behind this as to why there are no words, and this actually makes my teacher honey, very upset because he wishes there were words. And so we actually have a plan when we build. I find the pieces, and I tell them where to put them because I like reading the plans. But anyway, when you have students draw, label, and explain, This is again a great way for them to be thoughtful and why they are designing it the way that they are.


Naomi Meredith [00:10:38]:


The 4th way that you can have students plan their designs is adding on to the previous tip, but it's to create a shopping list. This doesn't work for every type of stem project. This one is really great when you are doing Makerspace projects, and they have tons of materials to choose from. So let's say you are not keeping the supplies limited like I did for that gingerbread project, but they have open access to all of the supplies. Having students draw and label their plans thoughtfully but also adding a shopping list does add a different element to their plans because it is a plan. I always tell the kids when I am going to make dinner, I make a plan of the ingredients that I need, and then I have to create a shopping list based on those ingredients and what I'm going to cook. So it's just like when you're building, you need to plan out what you are going to purchase. But this list isn't just a list of materials.


Naomi Meredith [00:11:44]:


It can be if you have younger students and you don't want to add in math. But for the most part, it's adding in the prices of each of the items, how much it's all going to cost, if there is any money left in their budget, and how much they are going to spend. Back in episode 6, you can hear all about how I use this Makerspace money and menu in my classroom, and there's definitely a link in the show notes where I Have it all set up for you, suggested price plans, and literally step by step by step on how I do this with my students when I get into deeper Makerspace projects. This is also really great because if you are planning a STEM lesson and you need more elements of math, all students can benefit from counting with denominations of 1, 5, tens, and twenties. I don't add the fifties and the hundreds. You can if you want to have more change, but I have seen such benefits from this type of math with numbers within 20 and also doing a bit of mental math when they are checking out with me at the cash register. So, definitely check out that episode. Grab the menu in the show notes. It's all done for you.


Naomi Meredith [00:12:58]:


It's very, very helpful, and that was a huge game changer in my classroom. Also, my supplies didn't deplete as much because students were being way, way, way, way, way more thoughtful in the supplies that they were using and how to be innovative with the stuff that they purchased. And the last way that you can have students plan their designs, and this is also building upon the last 2 steps. You can do all of these if you want. I eventually did all of these leading up to this by having a rubric on which students can base their plans. This rubric for planning isn't something that I use for grading but really more for a self-evaluation tool to help students improve their designs. When I introduce this rubric to students, I like to compare it to when inventors are creating a patent to turn in so nobody can copy their designs.


Naomi Meredith [00:13:58]:


And in fact, if you're watching the video version, I am holding up an example. I found on one trip to Chicago, I was walking through the Chicago Cargo midway, and there was a little wooden shop that had all of these laser-cut items, and something caught my eye. I'm like, oh my gosh, I know what that Is it is the patent image of the Lego brick, and it is so cool. You can Google this, but mine's way cooler because it's etched into wood, and I had it hanging up by my 3D printers. But it's so cool and a great visual for kids to see because it's literally showing every single layer and every single element of the Lego brick. But if you look closer, there are a lot of numbers, there are arrows, There are little headings that say figure 1, figure 2, and I tell kids about this when I introduce this rubric that when inventors are turning in a patent, it's not just the drawings but they explain Every single thing about their invention so that nobody can copy anything from their design. And so all of those little numbers and arrows are referencing a huge document that is talking about each of those pieces. The students really like this example of a patent.


Naomi Meredith [00:15:24]:


It's a great way to get that little vocabulary and history lesson in there. Then, I present to them the rubric that I have for their plans. There are 4 different categories as to how their plans should be, and I talk about each level where they should be at for that grade level based on what's typical for that grade. And this has really been a game changer when it comes to their actual plans. This rubric also has examples of a sample project because students who are rushing through their plans just to start building have really slowed down to make their plans even better. Also, for me, as a teacher, this helps me help them as to what they can do to help with their plans. I literally have a reference on the screen that I can point to and tell them, hey, you need to add this to your plan. You didn't do it. And then the students believe me because it's like The law, as soon as I hang it up, it's like that is the rules, and that's what's gonna happen, and so they will go back and modify their designs.


Naomi Meredith [00:16:37]:


This rubric and how I teach it, the template, and what this rubric actually looks like is a new update in my STEM teacher 101 course. So there is a whole module that I'm updating with innovative practices, and this is one of those ways if you are looking to Level up your plans and your student projects. I break this all down for you, and I also include a sample video of me teaching How I would actually teach this lesson to my students. So you can hear that language of how you can introduce it to your kids, or you can even just play that part of the video of me teaching it, and then you can just add in your own 2¢ while I am talking. This course will be linked in the show notes, and there's also a podcast version where you can listen to the audio on the go. And if you have this course, make sure to log in and check out this new update because this template is not even in my tpt shop and definitely something that will save you time and also level up your plans. As a recap, here are the 5 ways that you can have students Plan for their STEM projects. 1st, students can talk through their ideas.


Naomi Meredith [00:17:51]:


Next is gathering materials and then talking about it, but don't let them have the sticky stuff yet. Third, students can draw, label, and then explain each step or just part of the steps on how they're going to build. Fourth, students can make a shopping list, and this can build off of that drawing and labeling. Fifth, you can build off the drawing and labeling and then build off that shopping list. Students can plan using a rubric. I hope with all these ideas of ways to plan will make this stage in the engineering design process way less stressful and also help students create meaning as to why this stage is important. Also, I invite you to join my STEM Teacher 101 course, where not only is this rubric lesson about planning going to be added to that module, but this is also a great course to help you build up your systems in your classroom or rethink the ones that you might be having, adding in those routines that are going to make a smooth flow of your classroom, and also find ways that you can plan different types of stem lessons. The entire course is available in a private podcast so you can actually listen to the whole thing on the go.


Naomi Meredith [00:19:12]:


You don't have to sit in front of a computer if you don't want to. And there are tons of templates and resources to help you be successful. You can grab that link in the show notes or find it at Naomimeredith.com/stemteacher101.

project plan examples for students

 

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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!

Simple Building Ideas for STEM Projects for Elementary Students

How to Teach Simple Building Ideas for STEM Projects for Elementary Students [ep.130]

How to Teach Simple Building Ideas for STEM Projects for Elementary Students [ep.130]

Simple Building Ideas for STEM Projects for Elementary Students

Check out the full episode on How to Teach Simple Building Ideas for STEM Projects for Elementary Students:  

 

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

Episode Summary

Have you been wondering about the best way to teach simple building ideas for STEM projects for elementary students in your STEM classroom? Well, I received this question from a listener, and I’m excited to answer it in today’s episode. I also share some tips and strategies for teaching students how to build.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • 3 ways to teach simple building ideas for STEM projects for elementary students
  • The stages of the Engineering Design Process in which I teach building techniques
  • Tips and strategies for effectively planning and implementing STEM projects

Resources Mentioned:

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:


When teaching STEM to our elementary students, we always want to encourage that creativity and even celebrate that all of their projects look different. That is an amazing thing. You don't want everything to look the same. It's okay if they see the solution to the problem all differently, but at the same time, we still want to teach our students strategies and ways to build different things so that it can push their creativity along and even make their designs even better. How do you balance both when you are teaching STEM projects? In this episode, I'll be sharing with you three ways to teach simple, building ideas for your elementary STEM projects to not only keep that creativity that they are showing in their designs but also ways that they can improve their projects. 


Listener Question [00:01:17]:


Hey, Naomi, thank you for your podcast, and congratulations on your wedding. I am new to teaching STEM this year, and a question that I have is, do you go over building principles with such as if you're doing a bridge, do you touch on different types of bridges in a minilesson and then let them go? Or do you wait on that until you're in the improve stage of the engineering design process? Also, for maker space stuff like working with cardboard, do you teach the kids different ways to work with cardboard and do different sorts of attachments, or do you let them figure out those things on their own? Just trying to plan my lessons and see what would work best for an experienced STEM teacher. Thank you!


Naomi Meredith [00:02:53]:


This is such an excellent question, and thank you so much for submitting this. If you want to submit a voice question like this, you can do this at naomimeredith.com/voice, and it's also in the show notes and in every podcast episode. You can find this link because I love hearing your questions. Not only this audio message did I receive with this question, but a lot of you have asked this to me over on Instagram as well at Naomi Meredith underscore, and it is a little bit of a tricky one. How do you balance the actual teaching of the project and also those building strategies, and when do you do it? The first few years when I started teaching K through Five STEM, I had taught for six years prior to this as a classroom teacher, and when I stepped into this K through Five STEM role, I was given a brand new classroom with limited supplies and zero curriculum. On the flip side, I also didn't know my students, and they didn't really have a stun class before. And let's be real, their projects weren't really good when we first got started. Yes, it was my teaching, but also, they weren't used to doing hands-on projects before, and they weren't that great. They didn't look very good. And so it really developed over the years. Of course, again, with my teaching, but also, this is a skill that students have to learn.


Naomi Meredith [00:04:12]:


They have to learn how to be creative and let that shine. And it's okay to make mistakes and also learn those building techniques. And this isn't to say that I had kids do everybody do the same project, everything's going to look the same. I don't believe in that in STEM projects unless it's a Lego build, that's completely different. But for the most part, everybody's projects are going to look different. And that is scary for kids where there's not exactly one right answer. But at the same time, you still want to teach them those techniques that are going to make their designs even better. What you are doing with your students when you're teaching STEM, whether you are a STEM teacher, a specialist, or even a classroom teacher who's implementing STEM, what you are doing is so important.


Naomi Meredith [00:05:06]:


Keep on doing what you are doing. This is so important for kids, and it's really going to shine. And they love these types of projects. Also, think about it too if you are teaching STEM as a special subject, you're not seeing kids as often as a classroom teacher. They are going to see growth a lot faster than you are. If you really think about it too, even go down to counting out the number of days that you see students and the amount of time you are spending on projects, it is way less than a classroom teacher, more often than not. And so that growth in their actual projects and what things are going to look like is going to take some time. The types of projects my students were creating my first couple of years weren't as detailed, and they were more simple because that's where my students were at.


Naomi Meredith [00:06:00]:


But by the time we got into the fourth and fifth years, their projects were more complex. They had more tools in their belt per se, no pun intended, but they had more skills, and they had a lot more background, experience, and knowledge with these types of projects. So, in turn, their projects got a lot better. This is going to take some time with your students. It can even take years. Don't forget to teach these things. So say, oh, they'll get it later. Every single year is extremely important.


Naomi Meredith [00:06:31]:


But don't put a lot of pressure on yourself if it doesn't work out exactly as planned because it is going to come. And so these strategies I'm going to teach you when it comes to actually teaching those skills when it comes to building your projects. Keep doing these things. But again, the students are going to get better and better and better, and it also depends on the project and even the experiences that they might have outside of your classroom. Now, two out of the three tips that I'm going to be sharing with you two of them go along with when you teach certain parts of the engineering design process. Now, if you want more background on exactly what the engineering design process is and more examples on how to teach it, I encourage you to go back to Episode 15, where I have a series all about the engineering design process. So, I break down every single step of the process to help you better understand what that is and what it can look like in your classroom. But for this episode, we're going to talk about a couple of different stages of when I teach those building techniques that can help out students' designs.


Naomi Meredith [00:07:41]:


The first time I will teach students different building techniques is during the beginning of the project, the Imagine stage. So, in the engineering design process, you have the ask, what is the problem they're trying to solve? And then the Imagine, where you're gathering as many ideas as possible before you start planning. This is when we first talk about different building techniques and getting as much information as possible. For all of my projects in my K through five STEM year-long plan bundle of lessons, I pre-research everything. And there are a couple of reasons why I do this for STEM in a specific STEM class, there's not a whole lot of time when it comes to an open-ended Google search, and that is a whole skill in itself. Now, if you are a technology and STEM teacher or you teach both subjects, definitely zone in on those research skills. They're very important if you're a classroom teacher, zone in on those research skills. I definitely did that, especially when I taught third grade.


Naomi Meredith [00:08:49]:


We focused a lot on how to research, but at the same time, I also gave them pre-researched resources because the goal is for them to have them gather information from these sources and if it's credible or not and all those things. So I really try to save time, and I pre-research everything so I know the resources that they are going to be looking at are going to give them the right types of ideas. So it's open-ended in a sense where they have some choice as to which resources they can use. But it's very focused also with that. If you are pre-researching, you might often come across times when you have this very high-level topic, but then there aren't any resources available for your grade level. One project that comes to mind is when I was designing a strap motion animation lesson that is in the bundle for pollination, and I was finding really great resources about different types of pollinators, but it wasn't really answering the question I wanted them to solve for this project. So what I did is I pre-researched using many different resources, and then I ended up writing my own articles. So that is also a time when you are getting that background information as a teacher so you can share that with your students.


Naomi Meredith [00:10:18]:


So, pre-research and have those resources in that Imagine stage. So again, maybe it's articles, maybe it is resources that will really help answer that ask. It can also be videos that teach the science behind it that can be really helpful as well. Maybe they are showing why things are happening or even why things are built a certain way. And that could even be like if you're doing something with birdhouses, like a birdhouse unit that I have for second grade, they create a birdhouse to help birds in the area. Well, we watched a video as to how birds build their nest and, using those ideas as to why they build a nest the way that they do, that helps students design a birdhouse that birds would actually like based on the nest that they make in nature. So, making those types of connections can really help when it comes to their building design. Also too, in this Imagine stage, this is a great opportunity for you to share pictures of real life examples.


Naomi Meredith [00:11:27]:


Again, I like to pull things that are related to the topic, not usually doing an open-ended Google search because we know the filters aren't perfect and they might find some inappropriate things like, well, I'm not going to mention what I've actually seen students look up, but you know what I'm talking about. So having those real life pictures is really helpful. And if you have done the project before, having physical models of what students have built in the past is really helpful. Or I go ahead and take pictures of my students' examples, and those are already there for you. So if you're teaching any of my lessons in that K through five semi-long plan, you actually have student examples to help give a basis as well. When you are adding in those real life examples or those student examples, it isn't really meant for kids to copy exactly what they see. But more so inspiration as a starting point, I will say when students aren't used to doing hands-on or creative projects and they have examples like this, more often than not, they might copy exactly what they see because really think about it, they're a little bit unsure how their own creative idea is going to work. So, they might feel more comfortable copying the idea up on the screen, which is fine.


Naomi Meredith [00:12:55]:


That is a great point. They are trying their best, and they're going to keep growing from there. So just give them some grace if that is happening. I don't say, oh, here, we're going to make this exactly like the picture. I usually say things like, oh, this is how another student thought of this project. Maybe there's something in this project that you really like. So, having those examples is really helpful. Now, I taught six classes a day, so K through five.


Naomi Meredith [00:13:25]:


I didn't keep every single physical example. That's why taking pictures and videos, you as a teacher, are really important. And even having students take their own pictures and videos are really important as well. That's why I loved using Seesaw in my classroom because we could have a whole bank of different resources, and I would often go through and even download the pictures that were really great in their accounts and then save them for later. Another way to give students some ideas during this Imagine stage, especially when it comes to a maker space or hands-on type of project, is having different examples of the type of thing you want them to build and having a T chart so two columns and have one column be try and not try. I did this with my build a shelter unit. Actually, most of the lessons in STEM survival camp, we did this where we saw examples of the thing that they were going to build, and then they would sketch or draw ideas of things they wanted to try in their design, and then things that they didn't want to try in their design. And this is also a great time to share some non-examples.


Naomi Meredith [00:14:37]:


Not everything in the videos is going to be perfect or even feasible for the materials that you were going to give them. So this is a really cool way to help students really think about how they're going to build their design by seeing something else in action and what they could actually try. And things that for sure they definitely couldn't do. Like with the Build a Shelter challenge, some of the shelters actually did not have doors on them in the videos that I gave them. And so some of them said, I actually want to add a door because for the purpose of our challenge, the videos weren't really showing examples that exactly matched what we were trying to solve. Likewise, our Hiking Backpack challenge it showed backpacks having zippers, and some students actually really wanted to try a zipper. But I did tell them, hey, adding in a zipper is a whole other skill when it comes to sewing because they are sewing a backpack prototype. So that is something for this challenge we won't be able to explore.


Naomi Meredith [00:15:44]:


So that is when students actually added that option to the not try because adding in a zipper would be great, but we just didn't have the time actually to add that type of item. The next place in your teaching where you can teach students simple building techniques is during the Create stage. Just because students have gotten all these ideas from the Imagine stage. They made a plan they're ready to create. It doesn't mean they know how to build everything. Again, this isn't a time where you teach students step by step by step. This is how you are going to build. This is a great way to show them strategies on how to build different things.


Naomi Meredith [00:16:29]:


If I am doing a maker space project and they actually have an open-ended selection of all the Makerspace supplies within reason, using our maker Space menu and money, which you can definitely check out in the show notes. I also have a podcast episode where I talk all about that and have the menu all set up, especially if there are things that are open-ended, and I'm showing them all of the supplies before they go start shopping for everything. This is a time when I might show them, oh, this would be a good tool for this. Or if you don't have enough money for this, you can use this instead. And it kind of does the same thing. So even giving them some suggestions on how materials can be used is really helpful. A lesson that I actually don't have in my year-long plan. But it was something that I did when I was co-teaching with first grade.


Naomi Meredith [00:17:24]:


We were talking about insects, and then they were designing an insect using all of the things that insects have. And I gave them some ideas of how materials can be used. For example, for the antennas on the top of their heads, I showed them that they could use a bendy straw as an antenna. So I had like on the poster antennas, and I gave some options on there. I also put some Qtips on the antenna side. For wings, we had tissue paper. So, I showed on that poster how tissue paper can be crunched up. So again, I wasn't showing them, oh, here's every step on how to make your insect, and all of your projects are going to look the same.


Naomi Meredith [00:18:07]:


Yay for you. You did it. It was just more of those strategies of ways that they could add this to their design. I also did this with my rock and roller coaster unit for fifth grade which is in the year-long plan. And they were building a roller coaster that a marble can roll through. And a lot of them wanted to use either tubes or straws to be the base to hold up their roller coaster. And they were having a hard time having the tube stay flat on their platform. They were building it on a cardboard platform so that their roller coaster could be moved at the end of class.


Naomi Meredith [00:18:47]:


So I noticed this while they were building. So they didn't have a problem of shopping for supplies. They knew what they needed. They were in fifth grade, but that strategy was really tricky for them, and they were actually wasting a lot of tape because every time they taped their pole to the cardboard, it kept falling over. It wasn't sticking to the base of their roller coaster, and it wasn't sticking to the platform. And so this was an opportunity where I actually paused the class during creating. We already had the minilesson or whatever, but I showed them, hey, there's a strategy I want to teach you. I've been noticing this issue.


Naomi Meredith [00:19:24]:


This is something that can actually help improve your tubes holding up things. And it's called a phalange. I'm not kidding you. It's called that. Look it up. I actually have a video on my YouTube channel. It's called a phalange. So what you do with the tube is you cut slits a little ways down on the tube, and when you fold them back, then it will actually make the tube stand up flat because you tape down the little flaps.


Naomi Meredith [00:19:52]:


So just a simple technique. I didn't teach them this right off the bat because you kind of want to see if they can figure it out. But I noticed no one was figuring this out yet. And so, just that quick teaching while they were building took me a couple of minutes. It drastically improved their designs, and they were able to keep their roller coasters steady. Now, some concepts during this Create stage, I will specifically show them how to do it. This doesn't happen very often, but if I know ahead of time, this is something they probably do not know how to do. And this is going to be a troublesome point, different than the roller coasters.


Naomi Meredith [00:20:37]:


They're actually doing fine. They just needed one little tip. But I'm talking more about something that is definitely going to hinder their design. And everybody's going to be asking you, how do I do this? How do I do this? You kind of want to problem solve and think, what is something they specifically need to know? And I will teach them that right before they start building. So maybe not so much during the plan. Some kids might even ask, oh, how will I do this? And I'm going to say, hey, we're going to talk about this tomorrow. When we get to the create stage, I'm going to show you specifically how to do this step. Put it in your plan, and I'm going to show you exactly how to do that.


Naomi Meredith [00:21:13]:


So, a big example of this is when we were doing STEM race cars in fourth grade, part of our STEM amusement park. And what we wanted for our race cars was that the wheels could actually turn, and they were making a race car out of maker space supplies. So when you think of if you're listening to this, you're like, oh yeah, how would you make the wheels actually turn? So, I pre-made a video, and this is in the lesson. Or you can pre-teach them, but I made a video where I specifically showed them how to add a piece to their car that will hold the axle that will actually allow the wheels to turn. I showed everybody in the class before they even started building because I knew this would be a troublesome point, and everybody had to have this in their car. Everybody needed wheels because they needed their car to roll. So that's a time when, okay, this is when I'm going to teach you all of this. Another thing that I've done this for is when we were testing flood inventions for third grade.


Naomi Meredith [00:22:20]:


So, in my Earth's engineer unit, students were going to be adding different measurements of water to test their design. So a little bit different. They already had built their designs, but I specifically had to show the class beforehand how to measure with a measuring cup because they hadn't done that before third-grade standards, but they were very excited to pour their own water. But I did have to show them specifically as a whole class, hey, this is how we get water, this is how we measure it, and then this is also how we keep track of it. So really think through your lesson. Not everything is going to have something very specific like this, but if you know it's going to be a troublesome point for all of your class, that's a great time to stop the class mid-teaching or just start it off. This is how you do this. And then they still have all those creative pieces.


Naomi Meredith [00:23:19]:


The last way to teach those simple building techniques in your STEM lessons is by having STEM stations. I highly recommend having a balance of STEM projects and STEM stations for your primary students. And I teach all about that in my STEM K through 2 planning workshops where you can go through the workshop on your own in 2 hours and learn how to do your own STEM stations and even have a unit plan for you. But having STEM stations where aside from the projects, this is a great time for your younger learners to experiment with materials they might not have tried before. Not all of my STEM stations are building stations, but again, it helps them see, oh, this is how some materials can balance on top of each other. This is a way that different materials can connect together. So give those time for your younger students to explore when they get to their maker space projects. Within that same school year or even years down the road, they have more experiences where they have been creative with different things, and they can make those connections with the materials they used at their STEM stations and also with their building projects.


Naomi Meredith [00:24:38]:


Also, with these STEM stations, it's a great opportunity for students to work in small groups and talk about the things that they are doing and problem-solving together. This is a low-stress way where they're using reusable materials. They are figuring out this is how this material works. Oh, you built it like this. I'm going to try it like this, where they can talk about how these materials are being used. Likewise, as a teacher, when you are introducing these STEM stations, you can give them some ideas on how to use the materials. And again, this exposure is going to be helpful with those longer-term projects. As a recap, here are your three tips for teaching those simple building ideas for your STEM projects.


Naomi Meredith [00:25:30]:


First, we talked about introducing these building ideas during that Imagine stage. Next, we talked about ways where you can add this into the Create stage. And finally, we talked about ways students can explore materials in those younger years by using STEM stations. Again, teaching these building skills is definitely going to take some time. It won't always be perfect. And for you as the teacher, you are going to be learning new strategies and things along the way. Just like listening to this podcast, you might have heard some tips or tricks that you hadn't thought before, and you can go back to teaching your students, which is exactly why you are here. But also for your students.


Naomi Meredith [00:26:15]:


They are going to be learning some tips and tricks from each other and from you, and their projects are definitely going to get better along the way. If you are looking for further support for your STEM lessons, as the elementary STEM coach I am, I have been behind the scenes working on updating all of the lessons in my K through Five STEM year-long plan with me actually teaching the lessons. This has been a highly requested feature, and I've heard you, and I am working on it. It's definitely taking me some time, but I feel like it's so helpful for you to hear me talk through all of the slides that are included in the engineering design process of that project and why certain things are laid out the way they are. But I also am teaching the lessons where you can actually hear the language of how I would teach these things to my students, including these building techniques. Now, at the time of this recording, not everything is updated yet. It's going to take me some time. So, definitely jump in on any of those lessons in that bundle.


Naomi Meredith [00:27:25]:


Now, whether you do the full K through five STEM year three through five fifth grade only, grab those now because as I am updating those new things and also new slides, the price definitely does go up. But I really feel like it's so important for you to have the support where not all STEM resources have this extra teaching component. So, thank you so much for requesting this. I hear you. I am working on it and definitely feel like there's a lot of value in this component in these lessons. I'm so passionate about creating for your students as I was about creating them for mine. Thank you so much again for being here and for sending me your request, your questions, and all those things. I hear you.


Naomi Meredith [00:28:11]:


I appreciate all of you so much, and I'll see you in the next episode.

Simple Building Ideas for STEM Projects for Elementary 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!

engineering design process projects

Should I Start the Year with an Engineering Design Process Project? [ep.114]

Should I Start the Year with an Engineering Design Process Project? [ep.114]

engineering design process projects

Check out the full episode on Should I Start the Year with an Engineering Design Process Project?:  

 

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

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

Episode Summary

One question I often receive is whether or not you should start the school year with an engineering design process project. Maybe you have this question, and you’re wondering when is the right time to introduce the engineering design process to your students. Today I’m shedding light on three misconceptions about when is the right time to introduce engineering design process projects and giving some tips for the best way to introduce this standard to your students.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • 3 misconceptions about when is the best time to introduce engineering design process projects
  • Why these misconceptions are false
  • Tips and strategies for effectively introducing this standard to your students

Resources Mentioned:

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:


Should you start off your school year teaching the engineering design process, or should you not? What if students have never heard of it before? How much pre-teaching of the engineering design process needs to be done? And don't they need to know more about the classroom and all of the routines before they start off a project like this? In my K-5 STEM yearlong plan bundle of lessons, I plan all of my big projects for kindergarten through fifth grade using the engineering design process, which, fun fact, is an actual Next Generation Science Standard in elementary. You can check out all of those lessons at naomimeredith.com/tptk5stem. I get this question a lot about the engineering design process. Should I start off the year with it, or should I not? So let's debunk these misconceptions together all about using the engineering design process.


Listener Question [00:01:38]:


I wanted to ask you, I love your idea about doing the STEM Survival Camp. That sounds so fun. Such a great theme to get everybody engaged at the beginning of the year. I have had one class with my little ones. I see them well with all of them K through six. I see them one day a week for 30 minutes. And I'd love to hop into the STEM Survival Camp, but my hesitation is we don't really have our procedures down pat. I don't really have maker space figured out. We haven't gone over anything with the engineering design process. Do you think I should wait and kind of get those things a little bit more settled with maybe some one-day challenges, or do you think I don't necessarily have to have gone through the engineering design process for the kids to be successful? I just want them to love STEM and start strong with it being such a positive environment for them. So if you'll let me know your thoughts, that would be awesome. Thank you so much. Bye.


Naomi Meredith [00:02:17]:


Thank you so much, Amberly, for your question. I love hearing whose voices are out there listening to the podcast because, funny enough, it's me just talking to a camera in my home office all alone, and my little dog Frederick gets to hear everything I say.


Naomi Meredith [00:03:15]:


If you want to leave a voice message like this one, you can do this at any time, easily on your phone. Just go to Naomimeredith.com slash voice. Also, Amberly talked about a unit called STEM Survival Camp which is my absolute favorite to start off the year. And if you want to hear all about it. This is a unit that I do from kindergarten through fifth grade, and a lot of it involves the outdoors. So you can check out an episode I recorded back in episode four, and I talk all about this really fun unit to do with your students for this episode. I'm talking about if you can start off the year with the engineering design process. So if you are choosing to do the unit STEM Survival camp or you're thinking about another one, this question can still apply.


Naomi Meredith [00:04:08]:


I have to tell you a little secret. Before I started teaching K through Five STEM, I was a classroom teacher for six years. I actually had never heard of the engineering design process before. Now, if I had an interview, let's say I had an interview now to be a STEM teacher, I would definitely mention that. But that's not something that I mentioned in my interview at all. And thank goodness, because I had no idea what it was. So I did some research. I kept hearing about it from other STEM teachers, and like, what is this? So I did some research and I figured out what it was.


Naomi Meredith [00:04:42]:


And as a quick synopsis, the engineering design process is the real process that engineers use to problem solve and think through real problems and creative solutions. There's more to it. There are some stages within that. So you have asked the question, so what question are you solving? You are imagining different solutions through research and other ideas out there. Then you plan through your design. You start creating, making modifications, experimenting, and improving, of course, that word iterates so you're iterating and trying things all over again. And then you share your design. It is not a linear process.


Naomi Meredith [00:05:24]:


So it's not like step by step by step, oh, we did it. We're never going back through the steps. You might not even get through the whole engineering design process when you do a project because there are things that are going to pop up and not work. And that's okay. But in a nutshell, that's what the engineering design process is. If you want to hear more in detail about this process and some examples of how I use this in my K through Five STEM space, I did a whole series about the engineering design process starting in episode 15 and goes all the way to episode 22. You can scroll back and listen to those episodes. Or if you just want everything laid out for you for free, this podcast is free.


Naomi Meredith [00:06:09]:


But this is also free. I have categorized all of my podcast episodes into like, topics. So, for example, if you want to learn more about the engineering design process, there is a free playlist that has all of those episodes organized for you. And you just click on the link. It will add it to your phone just like a regular podcast. And then any episode that I add in there that is related to that topic will pop up. So there's a handful of topics, same exact podcast as this one, but it's all organized for you, so you can grab that at naomimeredith.com/podcastplaylist. Also, every link I'm going to talk about will be in the show notes for today, so you don't need to go and write those down.


Naomi Meredith [00:06:52]:


I have it all organized for you. All right, so let's break down this question. Should I start off the year with a project using the engineering design process? So I broke this up into three misconceptions that go along with this and how I think through this question. Misconception number one, the kids have never heard about the engineering design process, so I can't use it yet. Well, just like I had never heard of it, the kids might not have either. And good thing that we are in school. And I would tell this to my students, good thing that I am a teacher because that is good job security, because I get to teach you and most things that when you come into this room, you probably won't know. And I would tell this also to my students.


Naomi Meredith [00:07:43]:


Spoiler alert, I don't know most things that I'm teaching you. Before I teach them, I have to go and research them myself. So that's okay. That's the cool part about STEM. And really any learning and teaching is most things should actually probably be new. So that is okay. What I really like about the engineering design process is it can be used over and over and over again with different types of projects and you can really zone in on different parts of the engineering design process. And also, depending on your time, how long you have with students, how long you have with projects, you can speed parts up, you can take parts out.


Naomi Meredith [00:08:29]:


And like I said, you might not get through every single step. And that is okay. A lot of times at the beginning of the year, I might even zone more in on planning based on what I remember seeing kids doing the year before. Or maybe I want to zone in more on imagining. So whether or not the kids have heard of it, you're going to have your own spin of teaching it anyway. The projects might be different. I might teach things way differently than another STEM teacher. But the process is pretty familiar, so it's okay if they have never heard of it yet.


Naomi Meredith [00:09:02]:


You're going to be embedding it throughout the year. So this really isn't a one and done. We're going to use the engineering design process one time. We're never going to use it again. Honestly, if you plan out all your lessons like this, like I did in all of my lessons 4K through five, you can grab every lesson that I taught my students in a whole bundle that is constantly being updated. So you can grab that naomimeredith.com/tptk5stem. Every single project. Not STEM stations, that's a whole other thing.


Naomi Meredith [00:09:35]:


But when it comes to the projects, every project used the engineering design process. And we were doing different things throughout the year. Whether it was STEM survival camp where we are using elements from the outdoors and maker space to build and solve a problem, or even if it went to video and audio production or 3d printing or robotics. We use this process over and over and over again in K through five. They actually did not get tired of it, which we're going to talk about that in a bit, but that way it's used in so many different contexts that it's okay if they don't get it right the first time. I would mess it up half the time anyway. It's all right. They don't get it right the first time because you're going to do it again all year long, in my opinion.


Naomi Meredith [00:10:23]:


I'm not really a fan of doing filler projects. I have it in quotation marks where you're kind of fake doing the engineering design process. Like, all right, guys, this is the imagine stage. This is the things we do and imagine and we're going to do blah, blah, blah. I really like it where it's embedded because again, if you're teaching this throughout the year, you don't need to do a filler project and be so explicit on, this is the step and this is what we do in this step. I don't really care if the students memorize it or not. They're going to be familiar with the process anyway, so why not jump into a project and it will start becoming familiar the more you use it? Misconception number two, whether or not you should be using the engineering design process right away is that mine maker space isn't fully set up yet. Well, guess what? Mine wasn't either.


Naomi Meredith [00:11:16]:


And half the time my labels weren't even on the correct things or I needed to add five more labels to my buckets and I never did it, so it's okay. And also, my work week back, I never got to plan for STEM. I actually had to do all of the school wide technology. I never planned anything the first week back to school, so my makerspace wasn't set up either. So the cool thing, especially if you are using STEM Survival Camp or you are doing some sort of maker space project, I actually don't recommend having a free for all when it comes to all of the supplies anyway. I pull out select items I want students to choose from, and they have to be creative with those constraints. It doesn't mean that all of their work is going to look the same. They look completely different to build and solve the problem.


Naomi Meredith [00:12:09]:


But it's not as overwhelming either for me as a teacher, I don't have to be concerned that every single thing is set up, just some necessary items that I will use for the project and also for students. That's overwhelming too, being jumping into all of the supplies. So that's different than jumping into the engineering design process. I'm talking more about jumping into all of the supplies. I do have a method to my madness when it comes to maker space. So if you head on back to just listen to these in order. So after this episode, go to listen to episode four, STEM Survival Camp. Then keep going to episode five where I talk about setting up your maker space, and then keep on going to episode six where I talk about the management piece.


Naomi Meredith [00:12:55]:


So there's definitely a method to the madness. But it's okay if your maker space isn't all the way set up. Just have some necessary supplies ready to go, especially your scissors and tape, and you should be okay. So less pressure on you. You can start filling in your maker space as you go. And misconception number three if you should get started with the engineering design process at the beginning of the year, is that I really want my students to love STEM, but I'm worried about the structure. I am a huge proponent of systems, routines, and structure in any sort of classroom, and that is a big lesson that I learned my first two years of teaching. And that is a skill that I have carried on throughout all of my years of teaching and has helped me be successful in any classroom setting, whether it was a classroom teacher or teaching 35 4th graders all by myself for 45 minutes.


Naomi Meredith [00:13:57]:


So it definitely is really important to have that structure. Now, the engineering design process isn't a behavior routine, but it is a structure for your projects. I was actually talking to a teacher the other day over on my Instagram in my direct messages at Naomimeredith_. You can find me over there. But we were talking, and it was actually about how she was heading up her classroom. But I was telling her that elementary STEM, it can get overwhelming and overstimulating very quickly for the teacher and the students. So having structures in place actually doesn't make it boring for the kids. It makes it feel safe, especially when you are doing creative projects.


Naomi Meredith [00:14:45]:


I've talked about this a few times on here, but when you're doing creative projects, it can actually be really scary for a lot of kids. You're so lucky bringing these opportunities for your students. And it's also very vulnerable when you want to do a creative project. And so if you have some structure in place I'm not saying do step by step by step. Your project all has to look like this, and it all has to do this. No, having a process to go through, not an end result. Their end result can be whatever if it's solving the problem, but having a process actually helps with that creativity. I was actually rereading one of the books in my membership, the STEM teacher bookshelf.


Naomi Meredith [00:15:32]:


And the book for August was lifelong kindergarten. And inside of there, it actually talks a lot about this, how having a full blank canvas is very overwhelming for students. So when you're applying this to the engineering design process, it's really narrowing down that big open ended question or big open ended project, and it makes it more attainable. So think of that when you're thinking about your projects that it's okay to start off with it. It's going to make it seem less overwhelming. You're breaking up the project. It's not this huge thing that you don't know how to get to it. It's little steps along the way.


Naomi Meredith [00:16:12]:


And like I said, kids are going to get more and more used to it. Actually, my students didn't like it a little bit at first, and it might also be because I didn't really know what I was doing anyway. But they're like, Why do we have the research? Why do we have to learn about this? But over time, they stopped complaining about it because they knew that what they were looking for was going to help them with their projects anyway. So in a STEM setting, especially if you're not a homeroom classroom teacher, it is going to take more time to build up those sySTEMs and routines than it would with a classroom teacher. They have them every single day all year. But as a STEM teacher, you don't. So it is going to take some time to build up with it. So the more you do it, the better you're going to get at teaching it and the better the students are going to get when implementing the engineering design process in their projects.


Naomi Meredith [00:17:03]:


As a recap in this episode, here are the three misconceptions that we broke down when it comes to implementing the engineering design process at the beginning of the school year or whenever you're getting started with this. Misconception number one is your kids have never heard of the engineering design process, so you can't use it yet. Misconception number two was my supplies and maker space aren't fully set up, so I can't really do the engineering design process yet. And misconception number three was, I want my kids to love STEM, but I'm worried about the structure. Just like with anything, it is all trial and error, and you are going to find your rhythm and your flow. So I say jump in on it. If it fails, it's fine. You get to do it again.


Naomi Meredith [00:17:52]:


A lot of the things that I've done have not worked, and there's a lot of lessons that were horrible that I don't really share with you because also, I kind of forget what they were, and they were so bad, I wouldn't want you to teach them. So it's okay. Keep going. You got this. And try it out. The engineering design process is great. I love planning with it. You can check that out in my K through Five STEM year-long bundle, where that's already done for you.


Naomi Meredith [00:18:19]:


But I appreciate hearing from you all and wish you the best for back to School, and I will see you in the next episode.

engineering design process projects

 

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!