Naomi Meredith  00:00

What should a first grade STEM curriculum look like? In this episode, I'm sharing with you an overview of a first grade STEM year long plan, an example of a lesson throughout the week, and tips and tricks when you are teaching your first graders a STEM lesson. This is part two of a six-part series where I am breaking down each grade level, K through five, and what it can look like in the STEM space. Whether you are a STEM teacher, a classroom teacher, or a specialist that implements STEM, I think you will find a lot of useful information in this episode when it comes to teaching STEM with your little first graders. 

Naomi Meredith  00:52

If you haven't had a chance to listen to the last episode, I talked about how I break down everything in Kindergarten. I do get a lot of questions when it comes to teaching STEM with the littles. So if you haven't checked that out, make sure to go back and listen. But not necessary, if you haven't listened to it yet, you can still listen to this episode and then go back and listen. Likewise, if you don't teach the younger students in STEM, don't shut off this episode. It's actually really good for you to hear where kids might come from when it comes to the STEM space. So maybe you don't teach the littles in STEM, but maybe there's an opportunity for classroom teachers in your building to teach them, and you could share this episode with them. So it's great as a teacher in the elementary space to see that long range of what it can look like in the STEM space. Likewise, I know it is super overwhelming when it comes to lesson planning in STEM, especially when you teach all of the grade levels. I came from being a classroom teacher for six years and entered the K-5 STEM space with no curriculum whatsoever. But I have figured it out with tips and tricks along the way and through my experience for the past five years. So I am excited to help you all the time. I am working on something behind the scenes that I want you to join in on to get that extra support. So you can join at Naomimeredith.com/special. And you will be the first to hear about this brand new to me thing that I have never done with you guys. So definitely jump in on that you definitely don't want to miss out. Also, if you're driving, feel free to DM me on Instagram at NaomiMeredith_ and I'm happy to send you the link there because again, it's something I've never done before and it's so exciting to help you out in the STEM space. 

Naomi Meredith  03:18

For this episode about first grade, a fun fact is that I student taught in first grade for quite a while. My undergrad program was definitely trial by fire. I was working in a title one school. So my school that I went to for college had a partnership with a lot of districts in the area, a lot of Title One schools to push student teachers into these spaces. And oftentimes we got jobs out of these, which I actually did end up working at the school I student taught at so it was a school, a district I had never heard of. But a lot of my time, like I said was spent in first grade. And I have a special love, if you could see my face right now, I have a special love for Kindergarten. I still do. Kindergarten is still my favorite even after teaching them in STEM for five years. And I did also student teaching first grade. It's just not for me. And I still feel that way. For some reason, a first grader and a kindergartner are very different to me. First graders are like tiny teenagers, I swear to you, my Teacher Honey is a high school teacher. And he's not the best at little kids when it comes to teaching them. I'm also not the best at teaching high school kids. So that's where we have our differences. But I told him he could definitely teach first grade because the things they say to me and their attitudes are what he tells me that his high schoolers have so we have a lot in common when I tell my first grade stories and he tells his high school teaching stories. So lots of fun to have there. But I'm going to share with you three different things when it comes to teaching STEM in the first grade setting. So I'm going to talk through a snapshot of the overview of the year. So the big main lessons that I teach my first graders, then I'm going to break down a sample week what that actually looks like. And then, in my opinion, three big things that a first grader should walk away with knowing in a STEM space. So let's get into it. 

Naomi Meredith  05:19

If you're curious to see the structure of my full year K through five, you can download the year long plan for free. If you go to Naomimeredith.com/yearlongplan or just go to my website, it'll pop up and you can put your name in. I have a lot of updates in store for this next year, especially when it comes to the primary grades, so you can see where it's at now. But like I said, there's going to be some updates. And then you can re-download the plan and see what those awesome fun things are. So here is how I break down my year when it comes to first grade. It's very similar to Kindergarten in the way I structure it. And so if you're thinking about how you could do things for primary and Kindergarten, they're very, very similar. I do teach different lessons when it comes to the major projects in first and Kindergarten. Now, when I do STEM stations, there are a lot of similarities or they might overlap the tools, but change out the content. So just keep that in mind. For this snapshot of the year, I'm just going to talk about the major projects and not the specific STEM stations. STEM stations are something that I started implementing in the past couple of years since I had more time with kids. And so that's not reflective yet on the year long plan. So just keep that in mind. Also, with my year long plan, I do plan in curriculum unit. So K through five, we have the same big umbrella topic. And then there's a progression of learning within that. So when you listen to this series, you're going to hear those themes over and over again, because everybody's working on a part of that theme that works best for their grade level. First, I start off the year to welcome kids back to school with STEM survival camp. And the first graders are tasked with the challenge to build a fishing rod or a fishing pole to catch the fish. So we talk about the Engineering Design Process. They use the materials in my classroom and things from outside, and they actually design a fishing pole. And there are different fish that I haven't caught in my classroom. It's so cute, they love this challenge. They do take them home, we make sure they go in their backpacks right away. But some of my students have come back and told me they brought their fishing pole on a actual camping trip, which is so so cute. From what I know, no real fish were caught with those fishing poles. But I love how they were taking the learning outside my classroom and into their own real worlds. Next, we get into digital citizenship for our next unit. And of course, digital citizenship is something that is taught all year long. It's not a one time thing. And my vision of digital citizenship is that as a STEM teacher, you are giving a STEM twist. And really I think that about all the lessons that you should teach. So a classroom teacher is of course, and should be teaching digital citizenship, but you are also teaching it in your space, because it's extremely important. I use a lot of Common Sense Media's curriculum, it's a completely free. I highly recommend they have some great video clips. And I have a STEM project that relates to those topics. So I know for sure that kids aren't doing this lesson with their classroom teacher because I made it up. So what we talked about is safe online activities. So what are green means go activities, what are things that are good for kids at their age, because that is important. There are things made for kids out there, but they're just not ready for it yet. So that's when we talk about those yellow light online activities. So things that just want you to grow into. And then those red stop, those are not made for kids. We need to be cautious and really think about the things that we are saying online. So it's really helping students with that metacognition, and what activities are safe, not safe and like a definitely big no, no. So we talk about the internet traffic light and we create a traffic light and we sort the different activities that I give them to help them understand what are different situations that can pop up in their little worlds. After that, we move into Makerspace month, and we are talking about bioluminescence in first grade. So there's a standard that talks about how there's Earth light. Well, we take it in a different direction, Earth's light and living things. So not all light is coming from electricity, or even the sun, moon and stars but it can also come from living things like glowing mushrooms and anglerfish. I'm telling you first grade has some really great science content, first grade is hard for me kidwise. I love their science, they have some really fun content, and they have a lot of stuff about animals. So they love this topic, they are so enthralled by it. I wrote articles for them, me reading them out loud, to help them research more about bioluminescent things, and then they have to think of something that they wish was bioluminescent, and create that living thing and explain what that bioluminescent part helps them with. After that, we're moving into November and this is a new lesson that I have been testing out with first grade, so it's not up yet in my store. But they did an awesome job. And we talked about the sun, moon and stars things we can see in the sky during the day, during the night and both. And we're doing a first grade version of video production. Now, there's not a whole lot of editing involved. But kids can still make a thoughtful video that isn't just rambling, if you know what I am talking about. So we talk about how the days are longer and shorter during different parts of the year, and how the Earth rotates around the sun and has that orbit. And students create props to represent these items, we create a guided script together. And then students help one another to use these props to demonstrate the concept that they learned. It is so cute to see the kids collaborating. Yes, we have the same script, because the whole goal is to really get them to be comfortable on camera, and also explaining their ideas thoughtfully. So one student is holding the camera, the other is doing the props, and they're talking. And they're really understanding these concepts and how the seasons work during the year. After that is the Hour of Code. So December is Computer Science Week and computer science month. And this is again, a great time to do this. I've said this on past episodes, I have a whole episode about the Hour of Code. But you really do want to do the Hour of Code during those December months because the kids are a little restless and it's very low prep. This is one unit, I don't do a whole lot of my own creation because there are so many great coding tools out there. So for first grade, I don't do a whole big project. But I pull out a lot of different coding experiences, where they can explore different types of coding. A new one that I started implementing was the Osmo coding kit, which is excellent with iPads and Kindles. It's a hands on coding, which I talked about it in the last episode, that Kindergarten episode. So I do this with first grade and it's awesome. We are back from winter break and then we go from coding in December. And then we come back and work on some robotics. Again, another lesson that I tested with them. We were talking about animal babies and their adults and how the adults care for their babies. Not all animals care for their babies. So we talked about the ones that do. And there are different signifiers that help the parents take care of their young, like giving them shelter, giving them food, and giving them comfort. They always giggle when I give them the example that I am the animal parent of my dog, Frederick the dog. And if you are watching the video version, he is always sitting behind me in his little bed listening to me record. And I do all of these things for my little baby boy. So they giggle and laugh. And for this project again, another one that I am testing. It's not up yet. So there's a lot of updates coming to this year long plan that aren't even written on the year long plan. Um, students were researching about their favorite animal that Epic Books had and how they care for their young. We create the animal baby and their adult. And then we have a zoo, where they code their robots to visit the different animals in the zoo. And you can use whatever robots in this one. So this is really fun, a quick challenge. We also do some STEM stations that are winter themed throughout the week. But that's what I do for robotics. Next, we get into 3D printing. And I've said this before I do 3D printing K through five. And another standard that is in there for first grade is all about animal family traits. So again, we do some research about how parents and their young are similar and different in appearance. We talk more about their appearance, not so much their attitudes. And then again, they choose their favorite and then they design the baby animal and their adult and our 3D print program. And we print it out and then we add those physical features. So they're so proud of themselves that they created. That is 3D printing. Next and I'm not sure if I talked about this in the Kindergarten one but I do switch it up and do my LEGO education kits. So currently in the year long plan you're gonna see I do LEGO education at the end of the year. I actually switch that up and do LEGO education during the springtime because the kids are a little antsy and they need to work on that collaboration. In the LEGO we do 1.0, which is an older kit. You can't get them anymore. So you can substitute the LEGO education kids however you want, if that's something that you have. Now, if you don't have the budget to purchase LEGO education kits, I recommend having some sort of task or challenge when it comes to LEGO, maybe not necessarily a build and take apart in one day's situation. But think of a unit that they could do that's related to standards that they could build and work on that. One kit I really am loving right now is the LEGO spike essential kits. It is diverse for first through fifth grade. So look into that if you are looking to buy some LEGO. I'll do an episode about LEGO in the future and how I set that up with my students. But if you're looking to buy something I highly, highly recommend. It's so diverse, it can do so many things. Jennifer Mahin and I talked about it in her guest episode. It's awesome. It's really good. After that, if we have time in the year, we will get into stop motion animation, and we will talk about biomimicry. So how a lot of inventors use different things from animals. We will talk about the different things that humans see in nature that will inspire them for their designs, and really play off of those different things like think about a turtle. The design of it is a lot like a turtle shell it protects our head just like how it protects the body of a turtle. So students will research more about biomimicry, and then they will create their own invention that's based off of biomimicry and all the articles that I wrote for them. And then they'll create a stop motion to share their ideas. Then we will finish off the year with my favorite and the kids new favorite, it's a close tie between STEM survival camp and we have STEM-musement park to end the year, they always ask about these two units. And we talk about how we can communicate things using light and sound. And how at carnivals they communicate using light and sound to attract customers to their station and also communicate if points are won. So students have to design a game that will have some sort of communication, whether it's to draw customers in or it's something in their game, and with light or sound, and they have so much fun designing this. 

Naomi Meredith  17:20

Now you heard the whole recap of the whole year. So what does it look like during the week. Like I said, it's very similar to what I do in Kindergarten. But sometimes the projects can last a little bit longer in first grade, especially since they are used to me at this point. If you want to see how I actually go through and plan those, I have a K through two STEM planning workshop. It's all recorded now, just two hours of your time. And you will be awesome at STEM planning and look at it from another perspective. So when I have my first graders, when I go back to that 3D printing example, I will do the project for about one to three days, I have kids five days in a row. But if you have a different schedule, you could do this too. We will work on the project for about one to three days. And then the last two days, we will do STEM stations, again, very similar to what I'll do in Kindergarten, but I will change out the content. So I shared with you that 3D printing example when we're talking about animal families and their traits. So we will go through that Engineering Design Process quickly for their grade level during those three days. And then the last two days are STEM stations. So some stations that I have done in conjunction with this unit is we have done pixel animals, so pixel art animals, I love using the blocks billboards for this or any similar type of small block that helps with their fine motor skills, then we will do some geoboard animals, and then move into a Seesaw lesson where there is one I created or one that I actually found off seesaw, which there's been some really good ones in there lately. So definitely check that out. And then they will also do a robotics coding station where there are different animal traits on a board. And then they have to compare the baby animal and the adult, how they're the same and different. And then code those different traits. Again, something else I am testing and working on. So this unit is going to get some revamping. First graders do an awesome job at stations. I know they do it with our classroom teachers. So I love doing stations with first graders and kindergarteners, once they get the hang of school. They're really great and they are so calm. So if you want to see again, in my workshop, I'll show exactly how I plan stations. When you think about the whole unit. It is an absolute game changer. 

Naomi Meredith  19:31

So you're probably wondering, in my opinion, what are the top three skills that a first grader should walk away with when they are leaving a STEM class and are using those STEM skills? Maybe you're a classroom teacher. What should they be able to accomplish? Based on what I've seen, here's what I think a first grader should walk away with in no particular order. First is being able to use all of the elements of the Engineering Design Process or whatever method you are constantly using with your students. I do I use that with my students, but we really can get into it in first grade and being able to do that at a level that works best for them. So they should be able to walk away with a basic understanding of how that works, and being able to use that repetitive process. Next, as a first grader, I hope that they are able to collaborate in up to groups of three. So yes, with a partner and Kindergarten we talk about hopefully, you can collaborate with a partner, not just doing that parallel play. But sometimes in first grade, we can move up to a group of three when we have very specific roles. So that is something I really challenged them to be able to work on. And finally, I would love a first grader to leave my STEM space, being able to thoughtfully explain how their design works. So you get a lot in Kindergarten, look, look what I made. Look, see, see, see what I did, which they're excited. Good. Awesome. Yeah, I'm so glad you worked. And you are creative on that. As a first grader, I still want them to be excited. I want all kids to be excited. But how does your design work? Tell me more about this. What does it do? What problem are you solving? And this is a great opportunity to share their thoughts in Seesaw because they love to chat. 

Naomi Meredith  20:18

As a recap, here is how I would set up my first grade STEM curriculum. We first talked about the overall year and how you can break that up over the course of the month and giving a whole bunch of different experiences. Next, I shared with you the structure of the week and how I would break that down for a unit. And finally, in my opinion, the top three skills that a first grader should walk away, leaving your STEM classroom with now I know again, it is so overwhelming and I am here for you, I am loving this podcast that I know you guys are too I love all the messages. And so there's so many things I've created for you to help give you support, I have that new thing coming up. So that will be officially announced on May 1 2023. But it don't want you to miss out on that. So just make sure you sign up using the link naomimeredith.com/special. And you will hear all about what that new to you and new to me thing is that will definitely support you. And also all the lessons that I'm talking about and the future updates who will be included. So those are all linked in the show notes for you. So the K through two STEM planning workshop, there is a bundle of just the first grade STEM lessons if you only want those lessons, but I also have it broken into K through two STEM lessons as a bundle and also K through five you can get the full year. Again, there's going to be a lot more updates in this upcoming year as I have been testing things with my students and trying new things out. And especially when it comes to the STEM station. So if you grab any of those today, you'll get it at the cheapest price. And you'll get all those updates for free. So I really try to analyze and make these work best for you and things that I've seen work well with students. Thank you so much again and I will see you in the next episode when we are going to talk all about second grade.