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stem-curriculum-scope-and-sequence

How to Write Your STEM Curriculum Scope and Sequence [ep. 14]

How to Write Your STEM Curriculum Scope and Sequence [ep. 14]

stem-curriculum-scope-and-sequence

Check out the full episode on How to Write Your STEM Curriculum Scope and Sequence:  

 

Watch the video version on YouTube here:

 

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

Episode Summary

When you first become a STEM teacher, you most likely weren’t given any curriculum. This was my experience when I left the regular classroom and jumped into teaching K through Five STEM.

Through trial and error, I have written a year’s worth of K through Five STEM lessons connected to the STEM standards.

In today’s episode, I share the behind-the-scenes of my method for creating STEM curriculum scope and sequence.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn the three major steps in how to write your STEM curriculum scope and sequence:

  • Review your overarching themes
  • Backwards plan and find relevant standards that connect to your theme
  • Brainstorm lessons related to those standards

Resources Mentioned:

Episode Transcript: 

00:00

When you’re first walking into your STEM classroom, you are most likely met with zero curriculum. Like many of you, I left the regular classroom and jumped headfirst into my K through five STEM role with a handful of supplies and zero curriculum. Yet, through trial and error, I have written a year’s worth of lessons for K through five connected to standards. I’m going to be sharing

 

with you my behind-the-scenes method in this episode. 


01:01

Some schools are fortunate enough to purchase a specific curriculum for their STEM programs. If that is you, that is absolutely amazing, and I hope that works well for you. Now, based on teachers I have talked to on various platforms, most teachers in the STEM world have to write their own curriculum and start from zero. I know where you’re coming from since that was me. So, through trial and error, I built a K through five STEM program that has a progression of learning and standards and a mix of different themes and topics that students learn throughout the years when they come into my STEM space. Now, I will say this isn’t perfect. But, this is what has worked well for me in my classroom. I am constantly updating and trying new things with my students as the years go by to ensure that I am teaching relevant and meaningful lessons to my students. You can get a whole view of this year-long plan for free. This will be linked in the show notes. You can find it also at this link, naomimeredith.com/yearlongplan. 


02:18

I also want to mention that my first year teaching K through five STEM was all about building relationships and basic skills. The things my students do five years later compared to when I first started are completely different. I had to backtrack and build up the skills of my students, even when it came to basic technology like logging into the computer, learning how to use Seesaw to document their work, and how to collaborate with others, which collaboration is something we are always working on. So don’t feel like you have to do all the things you plan in one year. You can build up to all these lessons and perfect them as the years go on. So this is the future you that we are talking about. But at least you will get a great foundation for your year-long plan and where you want your STEM program to go. 


03:18

When first starting your year-long plan, you want to brainstorm the overarching themes that all students K through five will be learning in your classroom. In Episode Two, we talked about what STEM education means in the elementary space. I highly recommend this episode to help you build your background knowledge on what STEM is and what STEM should look like in the elementary space. When thinking about those themes, I am talking about Makerspace robotics and Hour of Code. Hour of Code is a freebie, and there are tons of resources out there already that are free for you. So you might not have to do much planning on that theme, but add it to your year-long plan. Your overarching themes can also include video and audio production, digital citizenship, and LEGO education kits if you have the funds. When you purchase the LEGO education kits, they come with their own curriculum that is connected to standards. So, if you are looking for something to purchase for your STEM space, I would save all of your money for LEGO education and kits. Also, if you can, add 3D printing to your lessons. If you don’t have 3D printing, you can still have students plan and go through the process of creating a 3D design online, but they might not have the opportunity to print it, which is okay. But, again, that is something to save your budget for, if possible. Once you have a well-balanced mix of those themes, plan them out for the month you will see kids or works best for you.


05:00

In Episode 12, I talked about creative ways to plan your lessons with students, especially if you see groups of kids one day at a time. When planning this year-long plan, I saw students five days in a row. This overarching theme can vary for you. I use the same theme for the whole month. But if you see kids once a week, maybe you want to keep the same theme for two months. But again, have an overall balance of themes you’re going to teach your students. 


05:34

For the purpose of this episode, I’m going to be using my theme of maker month and earth systems as an example to help you see how I planned out this overall unit. I wanted students during the third month with me to dive into our Makerspace and use that space independently. This is where I taught students how to gather supplies, use our money system, and plan a budget. This is a big part of this unit when it is connected to Earth System standards. Also, go back and check out episodes five and six, where I talk about how to set up your Makerspace and how to use the money, menu, and system. So for this theme, in my third month of STEM, students use Makerspace. Once you have all of your themes planned out for the year and you have a balance of different topics, you will backwards plan and tie in those relevant standards. In my opinion, you’re not going to teach all of the standards in your classroom. Most likely, you are an extension of the general classroom, especially regarding science. I don’t think STEM should be a replacement for regular science lessons. In fact, science in the regular classroom is so much fun. That is something I do miss sometimes, planning a fun science experiment. 


07:01

Your role as a STEM teacher is taking the science standards, integrating other standards, and giving them your own STEM twist. Now, maybe your principal and district have a different opinion. This is just me and how I interpret what STEM should be when the students come into my classroom. When planning my lessons through backward planning, I like to use science as my base and build on my other standards. From there, I use the NGSS, the Next Generation Science Standards. You may use your state standards for this planning. Start with your base for science and then integrate your common core state standards, including English, language arts, and math. I like to look at the English and language arts standards when reading informational text. When students build their background knowledge and research, they use a lot of informational text in different formats to gather that information. Check out those standards that will help you plan those imagined stages in your lessons.


08:22

When it comes to your math standards, you may be using specific standards regarding geometry, fractions, and telling time. But you might also want to consider the mathematical practices recognized in your classroom. For example, there’s a mathematical practice that talks about making sense of problems and persevering when solving them. That is a huge concept in STEM. So don’t forget about those mathematical practices. They are very relevant in the STEM space. Also, when you’re in those common core state standards, look at those speaking and listening skills. Again, there are so many things that you are working on in this STEM classroom when it comes to sharing work, participating in a discussion, and being able to collaborate with others. These are some great standards that you can target in your STEM space. 


10:19

I also like to integrate the ISTE standards for students. These are technology standards that have their own overarching themes. There is also one about digital citizenship, which you can easily tie into your digital citizenship lessons. They have their overarching themes and then little themes within those. Definitely become familiar with those. Those are also a must in your STEM space. Again, keep the science standards as your base, and then integrate the ELA, math, and ISTE within that to create well-balanced lessons. When thinking about assessing your students, when it comes to the standards, I would probably assess them how they show proficiency with the science standards. The other ones are skills that will help them to get there. But my assessment tool would be the science standards. If you are doing grades in your classroom, pick one or two that students can attack. You’re zoning in on that specific standard in your STEM way. For this example, for my maker month and Earth Systems, I was looking for standards related to earth systems when possible and standards that talked about students demonstrating through building a model, creating, or building, which made the most sense to me for a Makerspace standard. Those connected well. I went through and highlighted those on my computer and then really brainstormed ideas from there. 


11:53

That leads me to my third part, which is to brainstorm your lessons. Now that you have your overarching themes planned for the months, you know which standards you want to teach each grade level. This is where you can bring all those ideas to life, all of those different things you have been saving on Instagram, that you have been pinning on Pinterest, and that you have been googling. This is where you are going to bring in those ideas that are connected to standards. If you don’t feel like brainstorming, I have all these lessons made. It’s in a growing collection in my TPT shop. It’s also in my monthly membership where you can access the year-long plan lessons and other monthly lessons and resources to help you in your classroom. If you don’t want to do this part, I know it’s overwhelming for K through five; that’s six different grade levels. I have it all set up for you. I’ll link that in the show notes. When brainstorming your lessons, think about how you can bring a different experience to your classroom that is different from the regular classroom. You might have tools that a regular classroom might not have, so play upon that. Can you show lifecycles by using robotics? Can you use Makerspace to demonstrate a model that classrooms might not always have? Take those standards in another direction so you’re not repeating the same ideas for students, and they get to explore differently. 


13:29

I’m going to be sharing with you two different lessons in this maker month and the Earth Systems lesson and how you can see how I approached this standard with a STEM angle while the teachers are still covering it within their science and reading instruction.


13:46

Here’s what I did for the Kindergarten NGSS standard that discusses constructing an argument about how plants and animals can change the environment to meet their needs. I zoned in on ants. I was kind of a little unsure about talking about ants with Kindergarteners. I wasn’t sure if they were going to like it or not. Now, if you know, you know, with Kindergarteners, they might love something or they might not. They’re a complete mystery, and I love them. They’re my favorite grade. I could do a whole podcast about Kindergarten. But we talked about how ants change their environment to meet their needs. It is amazing how ants build their whole colony underground and above ground that comes literally from nothing. When you look deeper at their colony, they have a space special for the queen, a different room for their eggs, a different place for the baby ants, and another room for their food. It is amazing how they change the environment from literally nothing to meet the needs of their entire colony. So as a class, throughout the week, we looked at different videos, books, and images about ants. Then students, in their own Makerspace way, built a cardboard maze that showed the different spaces that ants have in their colony and then had a little marble that would roll through the different rooms to go and check them all out. This was appropriate for Kindergarten. I knew that my Kindergarten teachers weren’t talking about it specifically. They could still teach that standard while I taught it differently in my STEM classroom. For fifth grade, in this same unit, I picked two related standards that go together and how they could demonstrate their knowledge. It was the first NGSS standard that talks about developing a model to describe the movement of matter. The second related standard was to use models to describe that energy. For the standard within this Maker month and Earth Systems, fifth grade made a Rube Goldberg ecosystem. The students researched an ecosystem of their choice using the different tools I provided. This is a great opportunity to use epic books within your STEM classroom. Students researched their ecosystem and all the different components that come in it. Then we learned about Rube Goldberg machines and how it forms a chain reaction. With both of these pieces of information, students used materials from the Makerspace and other supplies I had on hand to build their Rube Goldberg machine to show the chain reaction of the movement of matter within their ecosystem. It was a very simple Rube Goldberg machine, but it was a great way for kids to be talking about that movement of matter and how different reactions should hit other or multiple chain reactions depending on what their ecosystem was. They were so excited about these Rube Goldberg machines. Many kids went home and started making their own and sent me videos that I could include on our school-wide news. 


17:09

These examples are two different ways, from the littlest kids to the oldest, we can take these science standards, integrate other standards within them, and have a progression of learning where they can show it in their own STEM way. As a recap, here are the three major things we discussed when planning your K through five STEM year-long plans. First, look at your overarching themes. Second, backwards plan and find relevant standards that connect to your theme. And finally, the super fun part, brainstorm lessons related to those standards. Of course, everything is linked in the show notes for today’s episode, including the free year-long plan, the ultimate STEM resource library, and the lessons that I talked about, so you can get a better idea of how this can work best for your classroom and your students.

 

stem-curriculum-scope-and-sequence

stem-curriculum-scope-and-sequence

stem-curriculum-scope-and-sequence

 

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

STEM Favorites that You’ll Enjoy:

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!

5-different-stem-classes

Help! I Teach 5 Different STEM Classes a Day! [ep. 12]

Help! I Teach 5 Different STEM Classes a Day! [ep. 12]

5-different-stem-classes

Check out the full episode on Help! I Teach 5 Different STEM Classes a Day!:  

Watch the video version of this episode here on YouTube: 

Episode Summary

Are you a STEM teacher that teaches 5 different classes a day?

Do you feel overwhelmed with figuring out how to structure your time throughout the day?

Teaching 5 different STEM classes a day is the equivalent of teaching the entire school.

In today’s episode, I share different ways to structure your STEM lessons when you teach different classes daily. Using these strategies to restructure your STEM lessons will help you feel more confident in the lessons you teach and less overwhelmed.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Three ways to structure your STEM lessons when you see different classes daily
    • Challenge of the day lesson
    • Condense larger projects into 1-3 day lessons
    • Create STEM sessions where students have four total stations to rotate to but only do two stations a day
  • Examples of STEM lessons you can incorporate into your classroom

Resources Mentioned:

Episode Transcript: 

00:00

Help! I am a new STEM teacher, and I see five different classes a day with a total of 25 different classes for the week. I am feeling a little overwhelmed with how to structure all of this time. Any advice? 


00:17

Does this sound like you? In today’s episode, I will be sharing with you different ways to structure your STEM lessons when you see different classes every day to help you feel more confident in the lessons you teach and less overwhelmed. 


01:03

Before we get started in today’s episode, I want to read another review that I got on Apple podcasts. Like I said before, I read these reviews, which make me smile. You guys say the sweetest things, encouraging me to continue this podcast. This one is written by M Kircher 04. They said, “What a great idea. I can see myself growing my new STEM program now. Thank you because you always have fun and practical ideas.” Thank you so much for your review! That is so kind of you. Like I said, I do read all of these. So if you listen to me on Apple podcast or watch the episodes on YouTube, leave a review or comment.  I read these, and this helps encourage me to continue to create content for you that will be valuable in your STEM space. 


01:57

I’ve been talking to many teachers on social media and through email. Many of you teach STEM with five different classes a day, which equates to seeing all the kids in the entire school! I completely get it. In fact, within my five years of being in the STEM space, my schedule has been different and ever-changing all across the years. So let me give you a little snapshot of what my role has been in STEM. Currently, I see the kids five days a week, K through five, with a total of six different classes a day for 45 minutes. I see them Monday through Friday, the same classes, which I feel like I’m fortunate because I can continue and go deeper into those bigger projects. However, it hasn’t always been like that. Actually, the year I first started in STEM, my first few days of the week, I was co-teaching with teachers in their classrooms to help them integrate technology and innovative practices.

Then, Wednesday through Friday, I would teach K through 5 again for 45 minutes a week. So my lessons were a lot shorter when it was only three days. Another year on Mondays, I would teach eight classes a day. I think it was about 35 minutes per class with no passing time. Then Tuesdays, I would co-teach in the classrooms. I would teach K through five STEM 45 minutes a day on Wednesday through Friday. So I’ve had a mixture, which means I totally understand when it comes to seeing a lot of classes in one day and not seeing them again for the rest of the week. 


03:42

When I had that schedule where I saw the eight classes a day on Mondays, it didn’t always line up with the kids I saw Wednesday through Friday. So I treated my Mondays more as isolated lessons rather than combining them with my regular instruction. Because I felt like the times always didn’t line up, and it didn’t always just make sense. Oh, and not to mention, I have always been our technology lead at my school. We don’t have a tech teacher, so that is me. So I completely get it when you feel overwhelmed with things because I sometimes feel it too. So that is real life, and I’m here to share with you some tips that have helped me in the classroom that I know will also help you. Here are three different ways you can structure your one-day-a-week class with kids, where it can still be a meaningful experience for students, be rooted in standards, and be meaningful with your short time with them. 


04:43

I feel like this first way to structure your lessons is the most common way to start with planning. I recommend you start with this, especially if this is your first year in STEM or your time has also been shifted. These are one-day lessons if you see the kids once a week. These lessons allow you to start and end on that same day. I like to call them a challenge of the day. So even though you have that one day, name it the something challenge of the day. So here are some ways you can plan a challenge of the day lesson. One way you can do this is by having a STEM in stories lesson. Now there are a ton of picture books out there that are geared towards STEM. For example, the questionnaires with Rosie Revere Engineer and Ada Twist Scientist fit perfectly in the STEM space. Also, consider other stories that aren’t always used in STEM that could also have a place. So books that have a clear problem and solution are great to integrate into your instruction and allow you to hit those ELA standards in your classroom. Sometimes it is tough to get through a whole story, especially when kids are transitioning in, you’re getting to know them, and they want to chat with you. 


06:06

So try this little hack when you are reading stories in the classroom. Of course, you could look up the story on YouTube. However, I think it is more meaningful when you, the teacher, are the one reading the story. I have a whole blog post about this. I will link this in the show notes, Different Ways That You Can Create a Virtual Read Aloud. I know you’re in person, but still, use those virtual teaching tools in person. Here’s what I mean by this, I recommend getting an e-book version of the stories you want to read or even taking pictures of the hardcover version and adding those to your Google Drive. Have digital pages of the story you want to read to your students, and then share that on your screen and screen record yourself with your picture and video in the camera. You can play that with your students. You will be surprised by how much more quickly you can read this when you are online instead of in person. This will help speed up the time when you have a really short time with your kids. I do this still even though I have 45 minutes with the kids. I still screen-record myself reading specific stories. They are not on my YouTube for copyright reasons. I save them in my personal Google Drive. I read the stories with my little dog Frederick, and I introduce him to the camera. So that’s fun, too, for the kids to see. So I highly recommend recording these stories at home because you can add in your little pets, and the students can make that connection with you. Screen recording yourself reading the story can help speed up the time when you’re planning a STEM in stories lesson.

When you plan your lesson, you might not always get to the part where they’re planning and drawing their design. Instead, their plan could be talking to a partner about how they would like to attack the problem. Then they can build the solution using reusable materials like blocks, LEGO bricks, hashtag blocks, anything reusable that they can build, possibly take a picture in seesaw or Flipgrid cleanup. Then there’s no storage at the end of class. So you are done with that whole thing from beginning to end: story read, the creation is built, they share in some way, and they are on their way. So this is a great way where you don’t have that storage issue.


09:47

Another way to plan a challenge of the day lesson is to create it in a somatic theme. One way that I did this on Mondays with my eight classes a day is Dot Day, which is coming up. Now, we will have an episode about Dot Day. This is September 15ish. The website even says ish, but Dot Day is September 15. This is a great one-day celebration in the STEM space where you can have a quick activity; again, tie it into the book that the kids can do with you, have a short experience with STEM, and be on their way. When planning STEM and story or even thematic lessons, I recommend combining grade levels. So for Kindergarten through Fifth, you can combine lessons that can help you save on the materials you need to plan, shorten the cleanup time, and the amount of time it takes to prep things. This is especially helpful if you have a short transition time between all those classes. 


10:54

Another way to plan your lessons is by condensing longer projects spanning one to three days. In my K through five STEM year-long plan, I have a year of different lessons you can teach K through five. You can find this year-long plan at naomimeredith.com/yearlongplan. It will also be linked in the show notes. When I originally planned these lessons, they could span about five or more days. However, you can choose what works best for you and your classroom. I always provide more than enough content because I know everyone’s situation is different, and you all have different needs for what you need to teach in your space. There are also digital materials included in the year-long plan. So you don’t have to make many copies every time unless you want to. 


11:53

The other day, I was talking to a teacher about this on Instagram. We discussed how she has the year-long plan and is picking and choosing what works best for her within her first year of STEM. Shout out to her. This is a great way to save time when you’re planning. When looking at a lesson that spans about five days following the engineering design process, you may wonder how you could do that when you have limited time with kids. The first day could be all about building background knowledge and doing some research about the challenge at hand using all of those different research tools that we’ve talked about in the past, like podcasts, videos, ebooks, epic books, to lots of different materials to get the kids excited and build background on the topic. During that same day, have students plan their designs. They can do that by drawing, labeling pictures, and possibly making a shopping list. In episodes five and six, I talk more about the management and setting up of your Makerspace. If you haven’t listened, go back and check out those episodes. That will help you with your management for all these classes that you see. On day one, you have the background built, and then they create a plan the next week that you see them, day two, maybe three, this is definitely up to you. Day two can be looking at their plan, reviewing that information, and building their creation. I also recommend keeping those projects very small, so small enough to fit in a gallon-size Ziploc bag if you want to store them. This also helps you save on materials and all of that prep work. You can build day two, and if needed, keep them and go on to day three. Or you can even be done with building day to try it out. But that’s not much storage for you over the long term, and you could fit it in over that week. 


13:53

The last way that you can plan your lessons when you have an interesting schedule with five classes, different classes, and a day is you can implement STEM stations. This strategy isn’t something I would recommend starting immediately at the beginning of the year. As a classroom teacher, Stations are built up during those first couple months of school. As a STEM teacher, I recommend following that pattern and getting into the stations around the fall when students are used to routines and following multi-step directions. I like to use STEM stations with my K-One students. When I started my STEM role, I used stations with K through five. This helped me as a teacher learn how to use the tools and how things worked with different grade levels and test things out with minimal materials. Again, you can do this with K through five yourself or if you want to do this for the younger students. Definitely up to you. I recommend only having up to four stations and completing two stations a day for your short time. That way, you can have students complete two stations on day one and the following week, complete stations three and four. You could even carry on the following two weeks, three and four, or days three and four, and repeat those stations. That will help save you time on planning. You may get a little bored with explaining the directions 25 times, but it will be a new experience for the kids. 


15:33

Here’s one way that I plan first-grade stations in my classroom. Each station follows each letter of STEM, so science, technology, engineering, and math. There is a station that goes along with each one. Of course, these are very integrated stations, so they don’t necessarily have to be that letter. It’s a good way to help remind students what station they’re at and what STEM means. One station was constellation creations, where the students built different creations using geoboards. They had the images at their station and then a laminated sheet with a list where they could check off the ones they created that day. Another station was a space engineering inspiration board where students had different images related to space. They could build those different things with LEGO bricks. The third one was moon phase puzzles, where students had all eight moon phases cut up into puzzle pieces. They had to layer them on top of the full images of the moon phases and learn about them along the way. The fourth station was day and night robotic coding. So using robots, students rolled a dice, and the dice said day or night. On the grid they were coding on were different things that could be seen during the day, during the night, or during both, which was fun for them to think about those conversations and things that they have background knowledge about. At the beginning of class, I reviewed all of these stations and how to do them, then students had enough time to go to two stations the first day and then two stations the next day. If you’re interested in these stations, these will also be linked in the show notes so you can check those out and modify those for your classroom. 


17:28

As a recap, here are the three ways you can plan your STEM lessons when you see different classes every day. The first way is the challenge of the day lessons. The second way is to condense longer projects into one to three-day lessons. The third way is creating STEM stations where students have four stations to rotate through two stations a day. I go into more detail about these lesson planning methods in my STEM teacher 101 course, and it has different examples for you to check out. You can get all that and all the links from today in my show notes for this episode. Thank you so much for joining me today. Let me know if there are other ways to support you, and I will chat with you soon.

5-different-stem-classes

5-different-stem-classes

5-different-stem-classes

5-different-stem-classes

 

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

STEM Favorites that You’ll Enjoy: 

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!

how-to-manage-transitions-in-the-classroom

How to Manage Transitions in the Classroom [ep. 9]

How to Manage Transitions in the Classroom [ep. 9]

how-to-manage-transitions-in-the-classroom

Check out the full episode on How to Manage Transitions in the Classroom:  

 

Watch the video version of the episode here on YouTube:

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

 

Episode Summary

Being a STEM teacher is so much fun, but going from teaching in a general education classroom to a STEM classroom usually means time goes by faster.

Your transitions between classes might only be a few minutes long or nonexistent. While you can’t change the time that you are given, you can change how you use your time throughout the workday.

In this episode, I will be sharing with you strategies on how to manage your transitions in the classroom so you can accomplish what you have planned with your students and have those awesome STEM lessons. 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Three strategies to help you manage your transitions in the classroom:

  • #1-Time management and boundaries as a teacher
  • #2-Setting up systems and routines
  • #3-Find ways to build student independence and responsibility

Resources Mentioned:

Design Your Digital Classroom Summit: Google Style

STEM & Makerspace Labels | 180+ Labels

Episode Transcript: 

00:00

Let’s face it, being a STEM  teacher is so much fun, but you may have realized that compared to the general education classroom, time goes by even faster. Your transitions in between classes might only be a few minutes long or nonexistent. While you can’t change the time that you are given, you can change how you use your time throughout the workday effectively.


00:26

 In this episode, I will be sharing with you strategies to help you manage your transitions throughout the day so you can accomplish what you have planned with students and have those awesome fantastic STEM lessons. 


00:48

Both behavior management and overall classroom management go hand in hand before even getting into the meat of your STEM lessons. Back in episode eight, we talked about behavior management in the classroom. If you haven’t checked out episode 8, make sure to go back and watch or listen. 


01:29

Being a former classroom teacher myself, I was so surprised by how fast the time went in my classroom. I went from teaching third grade all day with all the subjects to being a K through Five STEM teacher teaching six classes a day, with only a few minutes in between each class to transition from one to the next. Everything flew by so fast, and I had no idea what had happened. 


01:59

Along the way, I have learned some tips and tricks and altered what I used in the general education classroom to make it work for the STEM space. Now, I am able to accomplish what I have planned for the most part in my K through Five STEM classroom. 


02:15

Here are three major tips that have helped me. I know that you’re going to benefit from these tips, have an awesome year, and make what works best for you. 


02:25

The first tip for setting up effective transitions in the classroom begins with you as the teacher, and that is setting up your own time management and boundaries. I am a recovering yes person. I used to say yes to everything. I’m not saying that I am mean, but I have learned that saying no for myself is absolutely okay. So what do I mean by that? Well, first of all, I use my plan time to actually plan. I love chatting with people, don’t get me wrong, I love my friends. I love getting to see everybody come through my room. 


03:04

Now, my planning time is so sacred to me. I use that time to research lessons that are coming up for the next unit, going through materials that I might need for a lesson, testing out robots, researching things, or planning my after school clubs. I’m really using that time to focus. 


03:24

With that, I am really lucky what time my planning time is in the day. Mine is first thing before I see any students. So I actually get to school really early before my contract time. That’s just me. I’m not saying to do this. But I get to school really early. So the building is nice and quiet, and then it flows right into my planned time so I can get a big chunk of my work done. For me, at the end of the day, I am really brain dead. So at the end of the school day, I’m not as effective with my time. I will save things that I know I don’t need a lot of brainpower for. Those first couple of hours of my day before I even teach kids, I get that stuff done so when it is the end of the day and the end of my contract hours, I can leave and feel successful for how I used my time.


04:12

When it comes to lesson planning, I really try to leverage digital tools in my classroom. No, the kids are not on technology all day, but I really try to think about how can I use technology to make my lesson planning and materials even easier. One tool that I love to use in my classroom is Seesaw. I use Seesaw K through Five to help students share what they’re doing by taking videos, pictures, recording their voice and drawing what they are working on. This is also another great platform because I can share digital engineering design notebooks with them for each of the challenges and we will go through and work on those throughout the week. 


04:54

Another alternative, or one I might use sometimes as well, is Google Classroom which has a lot of similarities as Seesaw, but I feel like Seesaw in the STEM space can do a lot more since it has picture and video capabilities within the same platform. Another platform I also love to use when it comes to research is epic books. This is also a another free for teachers tool. I love using this because I can create collections with my students, share it with them digitally, and use it for each grade level. If you are going to use epic books with your students, create one class account and name all of the students in the epic books class with a number. So then you only have one class code to worry about. A lot of the classroom teachers have started using epic books as well, which is amazing. I don’t use their class code. I just have students use my class code. It’s a good skill for them to learn how to toggle between two different classes anyway. So that’s my little hack if you want to try to use epic books in your classroom. 


06:02

Another boundary that I like to set in my classroom that has really helped with the transitions throughout the day is that the end of each class, I actually close my door. This is also partially a safety thing as well. I might need to go to the restroom in those couple minutes of time in between classes, so closing my door just ensures that I don’t have students running into my room when I’m not there. There are lots of different materials that they can get into.  That way, if a class comes early, I still have that time to set up any last minute materials, change out what is on my screen and be ready to go as well. Sometimes you might also be speaking with another student for behavior, so just having your door closed can be really helpful. 


06:48

In episode one, we talked about things that you should work on when you’re a STEM teacher. One of the main things we talked about was systems and routines. One of those routines is where do you want students to line up at the end of class. Now based on the layout of my building, what works with my classroom is I have kind of like a dead hallway right outside my door. I used to have students line up in my classroom against the shelves near the classroom door. However, this became a problem because when students needed to put their supplies and work away, the students who were all cleaned up were in the way so it just created a lot of chaos in traffic. 


07:25

Instead, I have students line up right outside my door in this dead hallway. There aren’t any other classrooms right there, but they line up in this hallway, and they are ready to go for their teacher. They can be ready for the hallway, especially when I have an overlap of class, then the class who I just finished with is in the hallway and the new class can come right in. So this has really helped with the transitions, especially when teachers are early or late picking up the kids are in the hallway and they’re ready to go. Really think about these time management hacks and different types of boundaries that you can set for yourself so that when you don’t have students, you can really be productive in those pockets of time and not have to stress throughout the day because the bulk of your work is done. You have all these little tips and tricks to help you be productive. 


08:48

The second biggest thing to help you with the transitions in your classroom are your systems and routines. You are going to hear me talk about systems and routines all of the time because these are the backbone of my productivity in and outside of the classroom. I wouldn’t say I’m the most clean person and if you know me, you know me. I am fairly organized when it comes to physical products and also digital things. This helps me do all the things as much as possible. The same is true in your classroom. 


10:09

In episode five, we talked about Makerspace organization. So even the way that you set up materials that are presented in your classroom can help prevent you from scrambling for projects. Once I have my Makerspace set up, I don’t really touch it ever again. The only thing I have to do with my Makerspace is restock supplies when I receive them. So it is set up for the whole year. I can even pull out drawers for specific projects with specific things that kids might need. But this has really helped with those transition times where I’m not scrambling in my cabinets looking for specific things. I have everything out ready to go labeled with pictures and words. So being prepared even before the unit even happens, like a Makerspace, is extremely helpful along those same lines when you’re thinking about planning your lessons. Yes, a Makerspace has a lot of materials, but think about your lessons going forward. How can you use the least amount of materials as possible? It eases up on your cleanup time with students and the amount of time you need to explain things for kids. Kids can be productive when they have to be creative with constraints, which is a really great challenge for them to learn. 


11:26

I like to give kids this example: when I bought my townhome years ago, I didn’t have unlimited money or unlimited supplies to make it beautiful. I had to be creative with what I got. So that’s a great lesson to teach kids. And again, it will really help with transition time. 


11:47

Also with those transitions, think about those routines in your classroom that will stay the same all year long. I have a lot of different units that I like to teach kids, which is the whole point of STEM: to expose them to lots of different areas of what STEM can be in their world. However, those routines that stay the same are how the kids enter my classroom and sit on the floor, how they go sit at their seats, how they gather supplies, and where supplies go at the end of class, and, of course, lining up. I keep these things the same throughout the year so we can be productive. The kids know what to expect in a general sense, and the only thing that is new that they have to worry about is the awesome lesson that they’re going to attack. 


12:33

Finally, to help with the transitions in your classroom is how you can have students be responsible and independent within that time with you. You don’t necessarily have to do classroom jobs. I know a lot of STEM teachers try implementing this in their room, which I think is amazing. For me that hasn’t been super successful. I might have kids help me with specific projects for the time being, but as a whole, I really want students to be responsible within our space and create opportunities for them to be independent and have ownership over their work. So here are some ways that I like to do that. 


13:08

One big thing is to really keep my goals for my lesson at one or two things I want students to attain. It can get overwhelming in STEM very quickly and you will want to throw a lot at the kids. When you’re throwing a lot at them, it’s hard for them to manage what they really need to focus on. So when I have students at the beginning of class, we have our short mini lesson. I will show them the one or two things I really want them to focus on, review really quickly what we did the day before, if it’s applicable, and then I’ll go into our lesson and ask any questions. So keep that mini lesson really short. 


13:47

We can have future episodes about how I like to structure my STEM lesson and how I teach that. But for now, when you’re thinking about how you are focusing your kids, and those transitions, have one to two goals in mind for that lesson. Also, for that student independence and responsibility, you want to have specific rules for specific materials. We’ve talked about this in past episodes as well. Again, a lot of these relate to each other. But if you have those specific things you want students to do when they’re using materials like robots, for example, this is going to help students know how to use that tool successfully, and how to use it the right way so that other students in the future can use it and things aren’t getting broken. 


14:32

Also think about things that students might be able to bring from the outside into your classroom to help with those transitions and the independence. My classroom, before it got remodeled, used to be a computer lab and there were a lot of desktop computers lining the classroom. Now I’ve told you before I was so lucky that when I got this job being a K through five STEM teacher, I was gifted a brand new classroom and a brand new job at the same time. I didn’t have any computers left in my room once it was converted to a classroom. A way that I’ve been able to problem solve this, and it’s actually worked really well with that independence, is students in second through fifth grade actually bring their devices from their classroom when they have STEM. We might use them, we might not, but it’s really great to have kids bring those in, because they are used to logging into them. They know where their usernames and passwords are in their classroom. It subconsciously helps students connect that this same device that is used in STEM is the same one used in their classroom. These skills can actually transfer back and forth. STEM isn’t really an isolated subject. It might feel that way, since they are going to a different location to learn the skills. This has just been a great little hack as well. 


15:47

Another thing that I like to do with the younger kids, and also the older ones, too, depending on what the project is, is I have a cart of iPads that I can use. You can use Kindles for the same thing. But I have a cart of iPads that I like to use when using Seesaw and specific apps that are related to maybe LEGO education or different coding apps or even robots. This has made logging in a lot easier when I use the iPads for Seesaw. With seesaw, you could use a QR code to quickly log in. This has also helped with that independence. If you can, try to use some tools that classroom teachers might be using because students might be familiar with those things back in their regular classroom. They can apply the skills in a new way. 


16:34

When I send my engineering design notebooks for the older kids, I like to share them in the form of Google slides through Seesaw. That way, students are still practicing their Google skills, but they’re using it within the STEM space and they might actually learn something new that they can use back in their regular classroom. So really trying to make those connections within their other learning opportunities in your classroom can be so beneficial and really help with that transition time. This way you’re not always reteaching something new. 


17:04

These transitions in your classroom are definitely going to take time as you figure out your students and how you like the flow of your classroom. These three major tips definitely are going to help set you up for success. If you are diligent with them, and really making them work for you, you are going to have even more time than you can ever imagine. 


17:27

So as a recap, here are those three big things that we talked about to help you with those classroom transitions: First, is time management and boundaries as a teacher. Next, is setting up those systems and routines. And third, find ways to build student independence and responsibility. Thank you so much again for listening to this episode. I can’t wait to chat with you soon.

 

how-to-manage-transitions-in-the-classroom

how-to-manage-transitions-in-the-classroom

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!

makerspace-in-the-classroom

Managing Your Makerspace in the Classroom [ep.6 ]

Managing Your Makerspace in the Classroom [ep.6]

makerspace-in-the-classroom

Check out the full episode on managing your Makerspace in the Classroom:  

Watch the video version of the episode here on YouTube:

Episode Summary

Setting up and organizing a classroom Makerspace is half the battle. The second half is managing the supplies and ensuring students can be independent when using them in their work. 

Now that you’ve set up your Makerspace, how do you manage it?

In this episode, I will be sharing with you my Makerspace management hacks that have been a game changer in my Kindergarten through 5th STEM classroom.

Whether you are a STEM teacher, classroom teacher, or library specialist; this episode will make this process more manageable and easier for you!

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Management hacks for a Makerspace in Kindergarten through 5th STEM classrooms
  • Steps to complete before, during, and after implementing the Makerspace menu and money
  • How to incorporate math when implementing Makerspace supplies
  • How to make your Makerspace supplies last for more than one lesson

Resources Mentioned:

Some items are linked to my Amazon Affiliate account. When you purchase through my link, there is no added cost to you, but I receive a small commission in return.

Episode Transcript:

Introduction

Setting up and organizing a classroom Makerspace is half the battle. The second half is managing the supplies and ensuring students can be independent when using them in their work.

I will be sharing with you my management hacks that have been a game changer in my Kindergarten through 5th STEM classroom, which makes managing your Makerspace a lot of fun. Yes, the kids are very excited to build, but this system is so much fun, and the students get even more excited about this part of the Makerspace unit. I can’t wait to share all these tips with you in this episode. 

Are you tired of running out of Makerspace supplies after one lesson with a class?

Are you wanting kids to be independent with their supplies but not sure how?

Or how can you add more of an element of math when implementing Makerspace supplies?

I totally get it. It can be a lot to manage with a small class of 25 or even all the kids in the school. 

Do you want to know my secret? It’s having a Makerspace menu and money assistance!

In this episode, I will explain the steps you need to do before, during, and after the lesson using the Makerspace menu and money. This will answer all of those questions. And again, it is so much fun, and you’re really going to love it too.

What to Do Before Teaching a Makerspace Lesson:

First, let’s talk about what you’ll need to do before teaching a Makerspace lesson and a little prep work before diving in. If you haven’t already, make sure to listen to episode five, where I talk about how you can organize your Makerspace and gather materials for your space so that you are ready to go. This is a big part of ensuring you have enough materials.

Now when you’re asking for donations, something that I like to ask for is grocery bags. You might already have a ton at home, making shopping for supplies much easier. Also, when in between classes, students will keep their supplies in these grocery bags along with their money, their plans, and the small things they have built. The grocery bags are going to go inside a big box. I like to use the IKEA fabric boxes.

The next time they come into your room, you just pull out the box, and everything will be right there for them. Of course, you’re setting this up based on a lesson you want to teach using the Makerspace. I don’t use this system for every single lesson. I didn’t use the money system in my first Makerspace lesson, STEM survival camp – episode 4. I actually will only pull out the supplies that they need. So this is something that you probably want to work up to.

As you get started, it will take some trial and error, but again, you’re setting this system up for success. You can use it for multiple grades and multiple times throughout the year.

About a week or month before the lesson starts, depending on your time, you want to print out all of the money and have those different denominations you want students to use. Now our money is all green in real life, but I like to print out the Makerspace money, the different denominations, in different colors. It’s really helpful having those visual cues when students are counting things out.

When I’m counting things with them, we can easily see which money is what. It’s almost like having Monopoly money in your room, but it’s your Makerspace money, and they know it’s fake, adding to the excitement.

Once I have printed and cut out all the money, I like to store all of the money in my bank, which is just those simple little photo boxes you can get at Michaels or Amazon. I have three: one for the $1, the $5, and the $10 bills. I pull those out when I’m ready and lock them up when I’m done. It’s just an easy way to have a bank account. I also would really love to have one of those waitressing aprons. I still haven’t bought one, but that’d also be helpful.

You can have your bank out while walking around the classroom so students can pay you on the go. During these times, having a little apron could be helpful.

Next, set up a budget you want students to have when designing their project. I keep my budget around $25 to $35 per project. If students work alone, they will have a $25 budget. If they’re working in a group of two or three, they must share the $25. So make that very clear with the kids. It can be a bit confusing initially but think about the budgets you want to make.

I like to pre-make their little wallets. Now again, nothing fancy. Just grab those little snack-sized Ziploc bags and make the wallets. You could also have an older student help you create these money wallets.

If you have the wallets created ahead of time, this will save you time the week of starting the Makerspace project and keep you from scrambling to put together money for your students. Also, in this setup project, edit your Makerspace menu based on the materials you have and want the students to use.

For certain projects, some kids might have specialty items. For example, during a first-grade project, they needed to have glow sticks to show their bioluminescent animals. I didn’t want any other grades to shop for those things, so they were listed under specialty items for the first-grade class.

On your menu, you can have all the regular items from which all kids can shop. At the bottom of the menu, you could have a section discussing specialty items that only certain grade levels can buy. This is important because if you are planning your lessons with the standards, there are specific things that their projects may require.

I won’t put specialty items in the regular Makerspace. I put the specialty items in a bin that I will pull out separately because they are special. Make sure you organize your supplies that way.

What to Do During a Makerspace Lesson

Now you are ready for the fun part.

How will you use this time with the Makerspace money and menu during the week?

Trust me, you’re going to love this so much!

Of course, you have to have your project in mind. You’re going to introduce the project to the students. We’ll talk more about planning in other episodes.

Have the students build a background about the problem they’re trying to solve. They can research using different mediums, epic books, podcasts, videos, pictures, and books you have available in the classroom. 

Next, I will introduce the Makerspace menu. Even if we have used the Makerspace menu before, we will go over it again just to ensure we’re clear on how to use it. I will talk to them about their budget, what supplies are on the menu, where supplies are located, what items are free, and which items are not available.

I include free items like paper, glue sticks, crayons, markers, and materials for cutting and designing. We’ll talk about where everything is in the classroom so they know where to find it and how to use it.

Then they will ask any questions they may have. Part of that planning process is creating a thoughtful plan by drawing and labeling the design. The other part of the planning process is they need to create their shopping list.

The shopping list will help students think about how they want their project to look based on how much money they can spend. I use the same process for all my kids. I usually start this in Second grade, so second through fifth grade will use this system, and then I’ll use a modified system for First and Kindergarten.

My students thoughtfully plan their designs and create their shopping lists. They have to write down all the items they would like to buy, how much of each item and how much it will cost. Then, on their paper, they’re going to total up all those amounts and then write down how much money they might have left.

Once they have thought out their plan and shopping list, they must show them to me. You might have a better way of doing this, but this has worked well for me to make sure that there are some checks and balances in this system. This system ensures kids aren’t just rushing into my Makerspace.

When taking things out, students will show me those things, and I’ll give them some feedback. If they’re missing things or not, I will always check their math right away. Once they come back with their supplies, we add up their items’ costs.

Don’t worry too much about the math; you can, but you’ll check what they’re adding up anyway and even do more mental math with them. Once they’re good to go, I tell my students, “yep, you have a great plan. Yes, you have enough money. Here is your shopping bag.”

Then the students will go into my Makerspace. Everything is at the students’ height and labeled with pictures and words. They will shop for all their supplies, put everything in their shopping bags and grab what they need.

Once they’re done shopping, they will come back in line to wait their turn. I talk to my students about how real stores work, and you may have to wait your turn. I also remind them that they don’t come and put things in my face.

Once they wait their turn, I’ll take everything out of their bag. I make sure to have the Makerspace menu on the TV for them to view. If you use the same menu for the second through fifth graders, your students will start memorizing the prices, and there won’t be a question about the costs.

I’ll take everything out of their bags and then tell them their total. For example, I will tell a student, “you have two plates and a ball that cost five dollars and three dollars. So five plus three is…,” and I have them answer me. This allows us to work on a little bit of those fast facts and mental math.

Once they have added that up, they’ll count their money and pay me. Then I’ll put it in the cash register. They can always come back and shop for more items or make returns. While students are shopping, some kids may still be working on their plans, which is okay. This system differentiates itself and helps kids be independent and work on their needs.

It’s really fun having this whole system in your classroom, where they feel like they’re in charge of their projects. I am checking in with all of them to see and discuss their designs, which is exciting.

So the shopping part will take place at the end of day two. So let’s say you have five days for this project; this will happen at the end of day two. Day three is the biggest shopping day, and kids might be returning a few things here and there on days four and five. Some kids might be purchasing a couple of things like a straw. That’s why having a little apron helps.

There’s this whole flow in the classroom. It’s super exciting and energetic. The kids take charge as they get going with this project, and I’m not managing so much.

Students will always ask questions about returns. They will want to know if they can return something. I tell them yes, as long as the item can be reused.

For instance, if they bought a straw that has only been bent a little, it can be reused. But if they bought a straw and cut it into tiny pieces, they can’t get their money back. I also don’t let them get their money back for tape or hot glue gun use unless they didn’t use it. I don’t give them their money back even if they use a little bit. But for most things, they can have their money back.

Tape and the hot glue gun are expensive items that they can purchase. They can have the option of buying a little bit of tape for $5. I don’t think they actually can buy a little bit of hot glue gun. They can buy a small amount of tape for five dollars, unlimited use of tape for ten dollars, or unlimited use of the hot glue gun for $10. That’s about half of their budget.

The kids are so funny! Some will not want to spend anything and only use free items. Nothing happens if they don’t spend their money. I could have an incentive, and some kids spend it all right away.

What’s awesome about this process is when kids are in that planning stage. They will start bringing stuff from home as they build and want more things. I don’t ask them to bring things from home. They don’t have to since I have plenty of materials unless we need more grocery bags.

Some kids will even think about how they can use their breakfast trays. I had some girls who wanted a specific size bucket for their design, so they decided to use the bowls they used for breakfast that morning. They rinsed out their cereal bowl at the end of breakfast at school and brought it to class for their project. Your students may even get creative with the trash and recyclables they’re using already.

What to Do After a Makerspace Lesson

On the last day of the lesson, make sure you leave enough time for kids to clean up all of their materials. That is part of taking care of the space and the whole process of the Makerspace menu. Give them about 10 minutes to put back any supplies they didn’t use, return any money they didn’t use, and any projects they don’t want to keep.

They can take apart the unused projects and put back items that can be reused. Again, some kids will bring things from home, and they’ll let me keep the rest, which is awesome because I’m restocked for the next group of kids. Having the students clean at the end must be added to the system. Don’t say, “Okay, good job, you’re done. Bye,” and your room is a disaster.

Part of the Makerspace experience is cleaning up. I tell my students, “I don’t care if you make a mess, but I care if you don’t clean it up.”

Conclusion

I know this sounds like a lot, so I wanted to make this setup even easier for you. I have made you a Makerspace bundle for getting started that comes with the Makerspace menu and money that I just shared with you about.

The bundle includes 180 plus supply labels with words, pictures, and different colors to match your classroom theme. The Makerspace bundle also consists of an editable donation letter, anchor charts, and getting started lessons. This will all be linked in the show notes, or you can grab it using this link Naomi meredith.com/tptMakerspacebundle.

Thank you so much for joining me today! I can’t wait to hear how this system works in your classroom.

makerspace-in-the-classroom
makerspace-in-the-classroom

makerspace-in-the-classroom

makerspace-in-the-classroom

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

STEM Favorites that You’ll Enjoy: 

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!

makerspace-in-schools

Top Tips for Creating a Makerspace in Schools [ep.5 ]

Top Tips for Creating a Makerspace in Schools [ep.5 ]

Check out the full episode on Makerspace in Schools:  

 

Watch the video version of the episode here on YouTube:

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

Episode Summary

Having a classroom Makerspace is a wonderful opportunity to help students think of the world in new ways and design creative solutions with simple materials. 

How do you get started creating one? 

In this episode, I’ll be sharing with you my top tips when setting up your Makerspace. 

Whether you are a STEM teacher, classroom teacher, or library specialist; this episode will make this process more manageable and easier for you!

In this episode you’ll learn:

  • Setting up your space & storage
  • Organizational systems for supplies
  • Gathering Makerspace donations

Resources Mentioned:

Makerspace Organization Options



Some items are linked to my Amazon Affiliate account. When you purchase through my link, there is no added cost to you but I receive a small commission in return.

Episode Transcript: 

0:00
Having a classroom Makerspace is a wonderful opportunity for students to think about the world in new ways, and design creative solutions with simple materials.

0:10
But how do you get started creating one? In this episode, I will be sharing with you my top tips for setting up your classroom Makerspace.

0:19
Whether you’re a STEM teacher, a classroom teacher or library specialist, this episode will give you actionable tips to make the process more manageable and easier for you.

0:29
I am so excited to talk about this topic today; setting up your Makerspace. I have to be honest, this has taken a lot of trial and error in my own classroom to figure out systems and routines that worked for all grade levels, K-5.

1:27
I definitely had moments where during the lesson things weren’t working out, whether it was where I put the supplies, what supplies was being used… (I definitely have some stories to tell you about that!) These are my tips and tricks to help you get started right away so you can have a great foundation in your own classroom and not have to go through all of the mistakes that I made.

1:51
I will be sharing with you three major tips and breaking down each of those tips so that you can have a great Makerspace year.

2:00
The first thing when getting started with your Makerspace is decide on the storage and space, you’re going to house everything.

2:08
Now this is definitely up to you and a case by case situation; all classrooms are different. I was very lucky! Ehen I got my brand new job, I was gifted a brand new classroom. I felt like I had won the lottery! But I know that’s not the case for everybody.

2:23
Some people may prefer having one designated small location where it has all the Makerspace supplies. Some might have materials spread out along the room. Whatever you decide, make it work best for you. Now, we will talk about organization later on in this episode, but really figure out what space do you have to work with.

2:43
You can make it all work, just work with what you got!

2:46
Once you have that figured out, decide if you are going to have a grab-and-go method where students are going to grab their materials from that location or locations and take it back to their seat, or if you are going to pull out bins as needed for the project. There are benefits to both and I actually use both methods for different times of the year.

3:08
I will start off the year K-5 by pulling out bins of specific materials I want the students to be using. My Makerspace is spread out along my classroom, and everything is organized at kid-height. I will have specialty items in the closet for specific projects put away in my cabinet, but the majority of materials are out on the floor.

3:30
Even when you think about when you’re shopping at a store, you might ask, “Do you have anything in the back?”, I usually don’t have a whole lot hiding in my closets. I just don’t have room for extra things!

3:41
Everything is out in my classroom at kid-height. I get started by pulling out the bins so whatever specific materials that students will need for their project, they will grab the items that they’re allowed, or however many I say they can get, and then bring those items back to their seats.

3:58
For younger students, if this is hard for them to remember how many, even if you write it on the board, a simple tip that I have for this. Grab a little sticky note, write a number. Let’s say I want them to have three straws, I’ll write the number three. Then I’ll draw three dots on the sticky note and put the sticky note on the bin.

4:16
This is something I will definitely use even if the students are grabbing things from the locations in my Makerspace it helps so much so that helps build their independence. Then, they’re not relying on me asking, “How many straws can I get?” This simple little trick has just been a great hack in my classroom.

4:34
Another major thing when setting up your Makerspace in your classroom is have designated locations for projects. Now I know this is actually one of the most tricky things in classrooms because some teachers even see all the kids in the whole school the entire week!

4:51
You definitely want to make sure you have space for all of those projects. (Now I do have a tip that will make storage a lot easier later on in this episode; and you’re definitely going to thank me later for this one!)

5:03
Think about where those projects are going to be stored. I like to have on my open shelves, a shelf for each grade level. I just have the grade level written down on an index card with an arrow pointing to the shelf. For smaller supplies, I have a big fabric box from IKEA, the fold- out boxes, I can take apart and pop up whenever I need. Students will place their loose materials in a grocery bag or Ziploc bag with their plan inside. Then, the bags will go in the bucket at the end of class.

5:35
This is really helpful after I teach the mini lesson in our group meeting area, I’ll pull out that bucket I might even pull out all the bags and lay them in a row on the floor to help students get their materials faster. This little trick has just worked for so many different types of Makerspace projects.

5:53
Not only are you setting up those materials, but set up a place where the projects can be stored when the class is done for the day.

5:59
The second major tip when setting up your Makerspace is the organization of your materials. Now keep in mind, I was given a brand new classroom, so some of the furniture is very expensive in there. I will look up other things that are very similar that can help with your organization as well.

6:26
Before I start asking for donations, I like to have my organization system set up first. That way I know how much of things that I can ask for and actually hold on to. This is really important! Instead of asking for supplies, let’s get organized first! When you are organizing all of your bins and drawers and buckets, make sure to label all of your things with pictures and with words. (We talked about this in Episode 1 when you’re creating your systems and routines.)

6:55
This is a great tip and helpful for all learners because that way they know where things go, they might even learn new vocabulary of what things are called. Also as a teacher, you will know where everything goes too! I swear, you will find things on the floor no matter how much you have a class clean up. This will help you know where everything goes in the classroom.

7:15
Even further with your organization, I like to have different categories and locations for those different types of materials. I have a cardboard station where all of the little cardboard pieces will be; thin cardboard that will cut into pieces, cardboard tubes, eggs cartons… anything that is cardboard related will go in one section (and those are labeled, of course!)

7:40
The other station is the paper station. I will have all of the construction paper set up for them, lined paper for planning, scratch paper for building and for planning, and graph paper. All of those can be found together to make it a lot easier for what they’re looking for.

7:56
Finally, are the Makerspace items, the other little fun things that they can build with; the pom poms, popsicle sticks, cups….all of those are found in the same location. In another part of the classroom, I have all of the crayons, glue sticks and scissors.

8:12
Now when I first got started, I thought it was a really good idea to have a big bucket of crayons and place it on each table group for kids to use. The older kids had no problem with this.

8:24
I distinctly remember it was my first week teaching STEM, and I had 1st grade. It had been a while since I had 1st grade and taught them. I taught 1st grade when I was student teaching and then 2nd grade my first couple of years when I was teaching, So it had been a little bit of a while. I hear crying and think, “Oh great… Who’s crying? Why are they crying??”

8:46
I go over to the table and the kids are telling me, “Oh! He’s not sharing the crayons.!” I say, “Well, okay. You need to share the crayons! The crayons are here for everybody!”

8:55
Instead of giving the crayons back, he decided to put the crayons that he had taken in his mouth, chew them up and spit the crayons into the bucket. So nobody could use the crayons at that point…. and then there were more tears.

9:11
I knew I had to change my structure of even just how crayons were in my classroom.

9:16
For some time, I did use little supply boxes. In each box there was a pack of crayons, scissors, glue sticks, 2 pencils and an eraser.

9:25
I also found out quickly the lids kept coming off of those buckets and they weren’t the best quality. The pencils were getting mixed up and the Kindergarteners were really excited that they had scissors in their box. (I don’t think they had scissors in their supply buckets in their classroom always out.)

9:42
So, here has worked best for my crayons, glue sticks and scissors and markers. I have them in one area of the classroom. These actually get used more than my Makerspace. I have the crayons in little metal tins with a little handle and buckets can go on each table. This is really great when students are helping pass out supplies, they can carry these buckets. Or if I’m passing them out really quick in between transitions, this has worked great. Two students can share one bucket which is way better than a giant bucket in the middle of the table.

10:17
Then I have an another container for the glue sticks and the scissors. Sometimes I might only need crayons for a Makerspace activity or for something else, students might only want crayons.

10:31
Now it’s also helpful having the scissors and glue sticks separate because the younger students love playing with the scissors and you don’t want anybody accidentally cutting their hair. (Not saying that ever happened to me! Wink, wink.)

10:49
Markers are in little drawers that are organized by color. If students want to use markers for a project, they can go grab the colors that they need. On each of the tables in the classroom, I keep this out year round, are metal buckets with two big erasers and sharpened pencils for all the kids to use whenever they want. Those simple materials are really easy to grab whenever needed.

11:13
Finally, when setting up your Makerspace after you have figured out the space, you have everything ready to be organized, you’re ready to collect items. In Episode 3, we talked more about how to get creative when gathering supplies. There’s some tips and tricks to help you be creative when collecting supplies. Also at the end, I talk about a spreadsheet you can download for free, where I inventoried my whole classroom Makerspace supplies included, that will help you get an idea for what you might want to collect for your classroom.

11:48
I did mention you want to create a space where you students can put their projects. This if you don’t get anything else from this episode, this is something I want you to remember; small items make small projects They take less time to build, they take up less storage space, they take up less use of materials.

12:12
On the flip side, big items make big projects, they take longer to build, they make bigger groups, and they use more items to build. Also think about the amount of tape! (You know how I feel about tape!)

12:27
I learned this the hard way. I let students create whatever size project they wanted and I didn’t have room for anything. I ran out of supplies so fast, that I didn’t even have enough for the same classes in one day. When I shifted my mindset to where projects can be smaller, be a prototype and accomplish the same task, it’s okay! It really changed how materials are being used in my classroom.

12:56
When I’m asking for donations, I actually don’t ask for large pieces of cardboard, big milk jugs, water bottles, I don’t have room to store that. They’re awesome to build with, however, in my classroom space, I don’t have room for that. I really aim for smaller items that can easily be stored and I can get a lot of it. Again, I have those smaller projects and I have more room to store them.

13:21
If you’re thinking about a size, what is a good size? Think about a large gallon sized Ziploc bag. I try to aim students, if possible, to create something that could fit in that bag. Now there are some exceptions to some of the projects, but we’re not making ginormous things that have nowhere to go in the classroom.

13:42
Creating a donation letter can be very helpful. Instead of sending a mass email out to families, maybe you could think about sending that donation letter to one grade level a month and you can build connections with those families. Each month could be a different grade level. In turn, if you have a specific project that you are going to do with a grade level, you could send out a donation letter to that grade level and very specific items that are specific to that project.

14:10
You probably will get a better response with a smaller group and that way, and then you can really target what you need for the project.

14:17
Also for specialty items, sometimes I’ll just send out a staff email and see if anybody has that at home. For example, I needed bubble wrap for a projec. I sent out an email and the next day, all these people brought in bubble wrap for me.

14:31
I might even ask students in the class during a project for items. I needed more grocery bags to store our supplies. I didn’t have a lot at home (I really try to use reusable bags; not perfect, but I really try!) and we ran out of grocery bags in our classroom. I told the kids, “Hey, whoever brings in grocery bags tomorrow, I’ll give you some Makerspace money that you can spend on your project!”

14:54
(Now if you’re wondering what Makerspace money is, we’re going to talk about that in a future episode. So hold your horses; that is a whole thing that we will dive into.!)

15:03
There’s a lot of creative ways that you can gather materials and donations and easily get things for your classroom.

15:09
I also have a few places for dropping off materials. In my building, I have a box by my classroom and in the front of the building. I would love to add another box in the teacher’s lounge. So just really great high traffic areas where students and families can drop things off that can be used in my room.

15:27
Another way to gather supplies in your classroom is to have students deconstruct. Now some students are obsessed about taking things home, which is awesome. Some kids really don’t care. They loved the building process, but they don’t have a desire to take it home. So after they take a picture, and Flipgrid, Seesaw or any other platform that you’re thinking of, students can take apart their projects and then put away the supplies like be can be reused for other projects. This is a great little in the moment mini lesson to talk about conservation and materials as well.

16:00
On the last day of your projects, while students are deconstructing, just make sure you leave enough time for them to put everything away and clean out those bags. I will also reuse bags when possible if they don’t have any holes or they’re not broken. The more that you can reuse in this space, it’s just really great. You can get more life out of all those materials.

16:22
As a recap, here are the three major things when setting up your Makerspace for success, so that you have a great system that will work all year long.

16:32
First, is to set up that space and storage and where everything is going to go.

16:37
Next, set up an organization system for all those different types of materials.

16:42
Finally, think about ways that you can gather Makerspace donations.

16:47
To make this setup even easier. I made you a Makerspace Bundle for getting started that comes with 180+supply labels with words and pictures, different colors, an editable donation letter and Makerspace Menu with money (which we will talk about in the next episode), anchor charts for specific supplies and getting started lessons.

17:11
This will be linked in the show notes or you can grab it using this direct link: naomimeredith.com/tptmakerspacebundle.

17:20
Thank you so much for joining me today for all of these Makerspace tips. I can’t wait to see you in the next episode!

makerspace-in-schools-2makerspace-in-schools

makerspace-in-schools

stem-donation-letter

makerspace-labels

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

STEM Favorites that You’ll Enjoy: 

 

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!

need-for-a-stem-classroom

What Do You Need for a STEM Classroom? [ep. 3]

What Do You Need for a STEM Classroom? [ep.3]

Check out the full episode on what you need for a STEM classroom:  

 

Watch the video version here on YouTube:

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

Episode Summary

Are you in charge of setting up the STEM space in your school? Have you been gifted a classroom with a collection of supplies but not sure what to keep, what to toss and what to buy? 

And let’s mention budget; what should you be buying within different budgets and balancing that between consumable and non-consumable items? 

Let’s break down what you actually need for your STEM classroom and create a system that will work best for you.

In this episode you’ll learn:

Tips and tricks gathering materials when setting up your STEM space: 

    • #1- List those current assets 
    • #2-Create a budget 
    • #3- Be creative when gathering materials 
    • #4- Plan ahead

Resources Mentioned:

Some items are linked to my Amazon Affiliate account. When you purchase through my link, there is no added cost to you but I receive a small commission in return.

Episode Transcript: 

Are you in charge of setting up the STEM space in your school? Have you been gifted a classroom with a collection of supplies but not sure what to keep, what to toss and what to buy? 

And let’s mention budget; what should you be buying within different budgets and balancing that between consumable and non-consumable items? 

Let’s break down what you actually need for your STEM classroom and create a system that will work best for you. 


The first step when setting up your STEM space is to list your current assets. Now you might be starting with a blank canvas, so you have nothing to list; you can skip this step! But you might want to keep it in mind for next year so don’t write me off completely! First, pull out everything that you have in your space and notice: 

-What are some things you absolutely want to keep? 

-What are some things that you can toss or recycle? (like an old Boombox or CD player. I’m sorry you’re definitely not going to use that!) 

-What are some things you can donate within the district? 

-Are there items that are actually not age appropriate? 

Maybe the items are actually too young for your students and you can get them to other schools or preschools that are within your district. Maybe even your ILC/SPED programs in your school would like them. 

You might even have items that are actually too advanced for your students; that could be a possibility for an after school club. Or they actually might be better suited for your middle school or high school programs. 

I actually had a lot of these types of supplies when I entered my STeM space that were purchased by other STEM and tech teachers who were in my school [before me]. I was able to donate those to our middle schools and they could definitely get more use out of them. 

Once you have the items that you know you’re definitely going to keep, think about what type of balance of materials. Are you overloaded with robots? Are you overloaded with coding materials (like I was) and are you in need of more building materials? Or maybe vice versa! Maybe you have a lot of Makerspace items and don’t have any robots at all! 

Definitely think about the balance because when you move forward with these supplies, this is going to help you keep in mind the types of lessons that you want to be planning. Again, you definitely want your lessons to have a balance. 

Once you are aware of all of the assets that you definitely have in your classroom, next you need to think about creating a budget.

Budgets are really tricky, especially in the STEM space. Some teachers don’t have a budget, some have a little bit, some have a lot. There are opportunities to gather materials whether you have money or not; we will be talking about how to be creative with the funds you may or may not have. 

First, you want to know how much money that you have available and when you actually need to spend it. Some schools are really particular about when money needs to be spent at certain times of the year. Some of them are flexible and let the funds carry over year after year. Find out what this means for your school and how and when you need to spend your budget. 

Once you know how much you do (or do not have), this is a great time for you to create a donation opportunity. Amazon has a great selection for you to get started on a wishlist. You can easily get that set up and keep adding items throughout the year. You can share with your families and friends outside of your school. 

Donors Choose is also another awesome website where you can create a grant opportunity and they walk you through step by step how to create that grant. They actually will gather the supplies once the funds are fully funded. The process is so easy; I’ve definitely had things funded in the past and now paying it forward into other classrooms and helping fund their projects as well. 

Another way that you can be flexible with your budget that actually won’t cost you anything is to reach out to other STEM and science teachers within your district. They might have items that they have purchased already and they might be willing to let you borrow them for a unit. This can really help you as well to try things out if you do or do not or actually want to buy them! Likewise, you might also have items that another teacher would love to try as well and you guys can do a little bit of a swap. I have a few friends in my district where we do this and it’s such a great opportunity to help out their students that they have enough supplies and vice versa.

That last suggestion actually goes into this next tip; be creative with materials. There are a lot of ways to build up the supplies in your classroom that doesn’t cost anything. 

Think about consumables and non-consumables in your classroom. What I mean by this is consumables are the things that once students use them, they are used up; you can’t use them again. 

No matter what your budget is, you want to somehow get your hands on lots of tape. Kids LOVE tape. I think it’s the new pencils; I’m pretty sure kids eat tape. Definitely set aside a budget for that! I set limits on tape, I make baby tape rolls (where I wrap a certain amount and wrap it around a popsicle stick and that’s their tape limit), but I swear I don’t know where this tape goes. They love it! 

Think about those consumable items that students love, and how you can have a budget for that. 

Sometimes you might want to purchase things that are a little bit more expensive because you know are going to last a longer amount of time. 

My best example is when I’m thinking about robots. There are the code-and-go mice and the BeeBots. They are very similar robots; they pretty much do the same thing. When teaching over 500 kids, the code-and-go mice are not the most durable. The code-and-go mice are awesome for a home robot and I suggest this for students if they love coding at home. This is a great robot. It’s about twenty bucks or so.

I do purchase the BeeBots. or even the BlueBots. The BlueBots even cooler; they can connect to iPads using Bluetooth. If you can invest in BlueBots and have iPads to connect to, I definitely recommend those. 

Either way, the BeeBots and BlueBots are a great investment of my money. I will buy one or two each year based on my budget because I know that they’re going to last. They’re durable and also they don’t use batteries. They have a rechargeable battery so they are worth the investment.

When purchasing, especially when it comes to those non-consumable items that will eventually become out of date, you don’t always need a class set. A big part of STEM is being able to collaborate and use those materials as a team. So if you’re buying one for every kid, where’s the collaboration!? 

Think about how you could buy items where it works for about half of the class, where they can work in pairs. Could they work in groups of 3 or even even smaller; how could they work in a station rotation? If you’re unsure about a material you would like to buy, start small, enough for where it could be a station rotation, and build up from there. 

Don’t go all in when you’re none getting started! You might not even like the tool or have found you don’t even have time to use it. 

Another way to build up your materials is to ask for donations. You can get very creative when you’re asking for those donations! You know at the beginning and end of the school years when teachers are cleaning out their closets teachers are getting rid of stuff and you’re so tempted to not look but you don’t need anything? 

Okay, as a STEM teacher, go look! You will be amazed by how many science supplies you will find from past science kits, math manipulatives that kids can build with, even lined paper which is great for planning. You can find a ton of stuff in your own school building! 

Even sent out an email. Some teachers have kids who are growing up and they want to get rid of a big bucket of LEGO (take them up on it)! There are resources in your own building that you can definitely pull upon. 

If you know you’re going to start a Makerspace project, set out a box in your teachers lounge. Have teachers put in the boxes from their breakfasts and lunch meals that they’re heating up in their microwaves and save that cardboard for your projects. That is the best cardboard to use by the way; all kids can cut it with regular scissors. 

Be creative with the things that already are happening within your school building! 

Another way that you can be creative when gathering your materials is to have a LEGO Donation Day. Have kids bring in those little snack bags filled with some basic LEGO bricks. If you have about 500 or so kids in your school, that’s a lot of basic bricks that you can add to your collection! That would be a really cool thing to do for your Back to School Night! 

Have kids bring you in a snack size bag filled with the LEGO and maybe you give them a cool sticker in return or another little behavior incentive for thanking them for their donation. 

Also consider reaching out to local businesses. Businesses are looking for ways to have tax write offs, especially when it comes to STEM education. This is a big opportunity that businesses are just waiting for. They might have materials from their company they would love to give you. Or even if you write a grant, in return, they’ll purchase items that you’re looking for. 

Finally ,when you are building up the supplies in your STEM classroom, you want to plan ahead. You won’t get everything that you want your first year. [If you do, I want to come to your class because it would be amazing!] Having an ongoing list of supplies that you would love to have. 

This is great because what if a business reaches out to you and they ask?, “What do you need?” You will have a list of things you already know that you would want and you can hand it over. Same with PTOs or parents; you will be prepared with that list also for your planning ahead. 

Also, plan for repairs you’re going to set all those systems routines and rules for all of the things in your classroom, but things will break. Now less things will break if you do have those systems and routines and rules, and you won’t have as many repairs. But, accidents happen, things break with wear and tear. If you can set aside a budget or what you’re going to do if things do break, have a plan for that.

Let’s have a recap of now that you have all of these tips and tricks for setting up your STEM space. 

#1- List those current assets 

#2-Create a budget 

#3- Be creative when gathering materials 

#4- Plan ahead. 

Now that you have this system for setting up the supplies in your classroom that you can use year after year, you probably want to know, “What exactly do I need right now? Just tell me exactly the things I need to buy!” 

I actually went through and inventoried my whole classroom and created a spreadsheet of the must have items that work well in K-5.  You can download that whole inventory spreadsheet for free here: naomimeredith.com/stemsupplylist

Thank you so much for ah thank you so much for hanging out with me today I will chat with you in the next episode.

 

need-for-a-stem-classroom
Have a Makerspace donation box outside of your classroom and near the front entrance of your school.

need-for-a-stem-classroom

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!

dash-rob

DIY: Paper Dash Robot Instructions

dash-robot-instructions

DIY paper Dash robot instructions that guide you through making a cute decoration for your class. The larger than life robot is a crowd pleaser and can be made at any time of the year.

Dash Robot Instructions

This robots is one of my most favorites to use with kids in my K-5 STEM classroom. It’s durable, easy to code and can be integrated into any content. Check out more in detail what I think of Dash and other awesome robots that can be used in the classroom.

 

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

 To make Dash, you’ll need:

  • Teal poster board
  • Black poster board/construction paper
  • Bright orange poster board/construction paper
  • White poster board/construction paper
  • scissors
  • tape
  • pencil
  • 3 bowls of various sizes (large, medium, small)

dash-robot-instructions

Dash Robot Instructions

First, using the largest bowl, trace 3 circles onto the teal poster board. Then, cut out the circles. I was able to get three on the same sheet, so play around with different bowls in your kitchen to find the perfect size.

There should be some teal poster board left. Cut off a corner to make a large triangle. This will go in the center of dash to connect all of the circle together.

 

dash-robot-instructions

dash-robot-instructions

dash-robot-instructions

To connect the circles, tape the triangle in the middle of the group. Flip Dash over so you can’t see the tape and where everything is connected.

Next, using the medium bowl, trace one orange circle. Cut out.

Then, using a medium bowl, slightly smaller than the first, trace and cut out a white circle.

Finally, using the smallest bowl, trace and cut out a black circle.

dash-robot-projects

dash-robot-project

Stack all of the circles that were traced and cut out, center and tape together. Tape on the top circle of the Dash outline to create its cute little face.

Finally, ddd the triangle embellishment underneath Dash’s head. Like the center triangle, cut a corner off the black poster board to form a triangle. Next, cut a corner off the white poster board to create a smaller triangle.

Again, stack and tape these triangle right below Dash’s head.

To secure all the pieces, add any additional tape on the back. If allowed, laminate your giant Dash so it can be used year after year without getting destroyed!

dash-robot-projects

dash-robot-projects

My paper Dash made its first appearance at our 5th grade parade. I taped him on the back of my car (along with my LEGO MiniFig creation, sorry no tutorials for her yet!) When school starts, Dash will fit perfectly in my K-5 classroom with my large bulletin board letters.

dash-robot-projects

 

For the real robots in your classroom, these fun signs help teach students the rules when using robots during lessons. They also give the robots a “voice” while adding another fun decorating element to your classroom.

dash-robot-instructions

Other blog posts you might enjoy:

Where would you hang your paper Dash in your classroom? Feel free to tag or 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!