5 Snow STEM Activities
Looking for a winter themed STEM lesson? Check out these 5 Snow STEM activities that you can implement into your classroom. There is a variety from robot coding to quick hands-on activities. These lessons can be taught in whole group settings or within a station rotation model.
This video originally aired LIVE on my Facebook Page; Naomi Meredith: The STEMTech Co.
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Snow STEM Activities | Watch the recording down below:
Snow STEM Activities | Sphero Snowflakes
A lesson that's been popular with 4th grade is Sphero Snowflakes. Using the Engineering Design Process, we explored the science and math behind snowflakes. Students plan their snowflake design using graph paper, then build on the floor using masking tape. The coding of Sphero involves a lot of angles and symmetry, which snowflakes have that in their design.
Click here to grab this lesson for your class!
Snow STEM Activities | Snowman States of Matter
Learn about the 3 states of matter & how to build the best snowman. Build your own snowman and use the corresponding states of matter activity and measurement activity.
Students will model what each of the states of matter are, according to a snowman.
For the next challenge, students will build a snowman as tall as they can and use different tools to measure their creation.
This is perfect for a station that students might rotate to throughout the week or even during a class party. The must-have material needed before getting started is playdough of some kind.
Click here to grab this for your class!
Snow STEM Activities | Winter Animal Migration
In this lesson, students learn about some animals that migrate in the winter time, why they migrate and where they go. I've typically taught this lesson to 2nd graders. Students will watch video clips and read various resources to research more about the animal of their choice from the list; walruses, salmon, sea turtles and monarch butterflies.
After taking notes, students will experiment and understand how the Ozobot robot works. Then, they will receive a map that corresponds with the animal they chose. Finally, they will code the winter migration path for their Ozobot animal.
Snow STEM Activities | Winter Olympics
This lesson also involves the Ozobot robot. Students will learn about some of the history of the Winter Olympics and where it's been held. This lesson I've typically taught 3rd graders and it doesn't have to be only taught during Olympic years. After researching about different Olympic years, students will find each location on a map.
Again, these students will also experiment with the Ozobot to understand how its coding system works. They will then code their Ozobot to travel to each Olympic location on a map in order of when it happened in history.
Snow STEM Activities | Igloo Building
For a quick, one day lesson with minimal materials, igloo building works well with younger students. Before building, we watched the video How Does an Igloo Keep You Warm? by Thinking Captain .
Using various blocks you may have on hand, students can build an igloo design. Some students wanted to ensure their design was circular and used recycled plastic tops from our Makerspace to build around.
Other blog posts you might enjoy:
- Best Robots for Kids for STEM & Technology Lessons by Naomi Meredith
- Winter STEM Activities Kids Will Love by Naomi Meredith
- Winter STEM Activity & Book Pairing Guide by Naomi Meredith
- Ep. 23 Winter STEM Challenges by Innovative Teacher Podcast
What questions do you have about these activities? Have any other ideas to share? Feel free to direct message me on Instagram, @naomimeredith_ and I would love to chat with you!
