Tag: STEM project

3 Strategies for Grading with a STEM Project Rubric [ep.133]

Check out the full episode on 3 Strategies for Grading with a STEM Project Rubric:

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

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Episode Summary

Is grading STEM projects a task you don’t enjoy? If so, I can relate. Trying to figure out the best approach for grading STEM projects can feel overwhelming. In today’s episode, I’m sharing three strategies for grading using a STEM project rubric.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

3 strategies for grading with a STEM project rubric
The why behind each strategy
Things to consider and do for successful grading with a STEM project rubric

Resources Mentioned:

STEM Teacher 101 Course

Episode Transcript:

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:

Grading STEM projects. I don't love it; you probably don't love it, but in reality, this is increasing in popularity the more we gain elementary STEM in our spaces around the world. So, how do you even grade a project like this? In this episode, I will give you some strategies on how to grade a STEM project using a rubric.

Naomi Meredith [00:01:01]:

Before we jump into the episode, I wanted to read another amazing 5-star podcast review from one of you. This is from ParksTeam, and they say, “So helpful. I especially love the 6 part series broken down by grade level. I struggle with finding things appropriate for kindergarten, so this episode was so helpful. Thank you, Naomi.” Thank you so much for your review. Reading these definitely makes my day. I absolutely love that this podcast is making a positive difference in your teaching and, therefore, your students.

Naomi Meredith [00:01:38]:

If you wouldn't mind taking a moment and heading on over to Apple Podcasts and writing a 5-star review, that would mean the absolute world to me. It costs nothing and helps other teachers like you find this podcast. Over in my Instagram DMs at Naomi Meredith_ I got a message from 1 of you, and you wrote me saying, “Hi Naomi, just found your podcast and loved it. I tried to see if you already talked about this, but my STEAM is struggling with grading. Do you have an episode on how you do grading in your room?” This is an excellent question, and I have actually received similar questions from a lot of you out there over in my Instagram DMs and also by way of email. And it is an important concept to consider. Now, spoiler alert, I technically didn't have to grade and give grades when I was a K through 5 STEM teacher. I know that sounds absolutely insane, and you might be saying what, that's not fair.

Naomi Meredith [00:02:47]:

I know it kinda wasn't fair because the PE, art, and music teachers did have to give grades, and I did not. I was told because there aren't any STEM standards in Colorado that, I wasn't required to give grades, so I didn't. But I always thought about it if they ever changed their minds or they ever said when grading times came around, I had a plan in mind if that was something that I needed to do. And have no fear, this isn't a fluffy episode where I just pulled something out of thin air. This is literally exactly how I would grade projects. When I taught in the classroom, I would grade projects like this. And I also was on committees to grade things using rubrics and also to design them for these types of things. I did a lot of project-based learning when I was a classroom teacher, so I would be using that experience if I ever were to grade.

Naomi Meredith [00:03:43]:

So don't write me off saying you don't know what you're talking about. I do, and this is exactly how I would grade a STEM project and really any hands-on project. First, you want to make your STEM projects standards-based. Now, when you're thinking about backwards design and planning your lessons, you should be looking at the standards anyway because this will make it a lot harder to grade if your lessons aren't standards-based, to begin with. You do wanna keep this in mind, which is why in my entire K through 5 STEM year long plan of lessons, they are all rooted in NGSS standards along with an integration of common core literacy and math standards and the ISTE standards for students. All of my projects that I do k through 5 are revolved around this. And if it ever came down to grading, I wouldn't be stressed or stopped because I knew my lessons were standard space even when we were doing something with robots, even when we were doing something with Makerspace or coding.

Naomi Meredith [00:04:50]:

It all connected together. So you need to go and start there. I do have some episodes that talk all about how to plan a stem lesson. So those will be linked in the show notes if you need some help with that, but you need to start there. You need to have your lessons be standards-based because what are you gonna grade them on? Now, maybe your school grades on character traits like collaboration and critical thinking. Amazing. Awesome. There actually are some common core standards in speaking and listening that talk about explaining ideas and working together as a group.

Naomi Meredith [00:05:24]:

But if you're gonna have to really grade, think about your lessons. You might need to start there with the grading piece. If you're just doing surface-level activities where they're just playing with robots for the day. You might need to rethink what you're doing with your kids. From there. So let's say, okay, Naomi, I do this, I plan with standards in mind. How are we gonna do this? How are we going to assess these projects? And like I mentioned, I like to use a rubric because it has a whole variety of things when it comes to an actual project.

Naomi Meredith [00:05:59]:

And when you are designing a rubric, I highly recommend creating a rubric that involves the process versus the product. It has both of those intertwined. So again, if you are planning with the standards, you might have ways where students are demonstrating a specific science standard in their actual project, and that might be the grade level indicators that you put in the rubric, and then, of course, you go up from there. So I like to use a 4-point rubric, four being the highest, 1 being the lowest, and then 3 and 2 are in the middle. So 3 would be what I would expect for a grade level 2, they need to do it with support. Four is above and beyond. 1, they didn't do it all, like, they might have some things or were absent. And so, having those indicators maybe have those specific science standards.

Naomi Meredith [00:06:52]:

How are they demonstrating this in the project? How are they demonstrating specific math concepts in their project? Are they doing specific parts of the engineering design process? Are they demonstrating those things? So you're merging those standards together where they maybe have 5 different levels. Some of the standards actually would overlap. So, just the way that you write the rubric is really important as well so that students can find success. Also, if you create this rubric while you are planning, you know how you should teach the lesson so that students can succeed in this overall grade. You could give honestly whatever points you want. If you had 5 categories, each category is worth 20. That is correct.

Naomi Meredith [00:07:40]:

That is the correct math. That is the m and stem. Good job, Naomi. But if you do that, then you could have a score out of 100, and you would be good to go. Creating standards-based rubrics is actually one of the 2 updates that I am putting in my k through 5 stem year long plan of lessons because this is actually a really highly requested nature that I told you a lot of you have been asking about. So this is something if you see the lessons, my lessons are $10, if you see that price difference, then that means I have updated those lessons with me teaching the lesson. So you actually get to hear how I teach the lesson to students. I create a video about me actually explaining the whole thing in the product, and then there's also an update with standards-based rubrics and more math connections.

Naomi Meredith [00:08:31]:

So, the sooner you jump in on those, the better. You get all the updates for free, so you can have a rubric already set up for the main grade level that I plan it for. And then, if you need to adjust it for other grades, you can have a sense of what that could be like. And finally, when you are creating rubrics for your students, I highly recommend writing them in kid-friendly language. If you have students in 2nd through 5th grade, this actually might be a little bit easier because you're writing in a way that if they read the rubric or if they were self-assessing, they could understand what is happening. I recommend doing a self-assessment on these rubrics with your students that can be a whole other topic, but that way, you're not creating 2 different rubrics. When I taught writing, we graded on the student-friendly rubric, so there wasn't any miscommunication about what they needed to add, and then it made sense. This might be a little more tricky for k and 2, maybe a little bit of 2nd grade, where you might have to add some images on this student-friendly rubric.

Naomi Meredith [00:09:40]:

But honestly, you could do the same thing. You could still grade them on the same thing. It doesn't have to be this whole overcomplicated thing when it comes to creating a rubric for students, write it in a way that a student would understand. And that way, you as a teacher be like, okay. They did this, or they didn't do this. So then you don't need to create 2 different things. That is my philosophy on it, especially if you're making it standards-based anyway, why do you need to have the teacher's language? Now, maybe you have student examples on the side of, oh, here's what a 3 looks like, here's what a 2 looks like. Awesome.

Naomi Meredith [00:10:16]:

But really, it saves a lot of time. You're getting at the same idea. If it's standards-based, you'll be good to go. If you are interested to see in exactly how to create a rubric from scratch where it is a 4-point system, learning how to put the standards together, and putting together that Process First product, I invite you into the self-paced signature course of mine, STEM teacher 101, where there's a new module that is all about how to grade using a rubric. So there's a section already about self-assessment and explaining rubrics and different ways to do that and examples for you. And then the new module is actually going to walk you through how I create a rubric with that process first product and really the whole explanation of that. As a recap, here are the 3 ways that we talked about how you can grade students' STEM projects using a rubric. 1st is making sure that your lessons and the rubric itself is standards-based.

Naomi Meredith [00:11:25]:

Next, we talked about creating a rubric that combines the process of how the project is made and the final product. And 3rd, we talked about writing those rubrics in kid-friendly language. It will save you time. And also, as the teacher understands, hey, this is what is expected for this type of project. As a reminder, don't forget to jump in on my signature course, STEM Teacher 101. It is never too late to jump on in our community of teachers, and I am continuously listening to you and seeing the needs that you want for your stem space and adding in those modules. Also, the cool thing about it, I added a private podcast feature. So, if you are busy on the go like most teachers, every module has a podcast pairing.

Naomi Meredith [00:12:18]:

So when you sign up, you get that private podcast, and you can actually listen to the entire course and not feel like you have to be stuck on the computer watching my cute little face. So I invite you in there. The link will be in the show notes, and I will see you in the next.

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Connect with Naomi Meredith:

Check out more inspiration on her website: naomimeredith.com
Connect with her on Instagram: @naomimeredith_
Watch this episode on her YouTube Channel: Naomi Meredith
Join the Facebook Group, The Elementary STEM Coach Community | Technology & STEM for K-6 Teachers

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 Teach Students to Work in Groups for STEM Projects [ep.132]

Check out the full episode on How to Teach Students to Work in Groups for STEM Projects:

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

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

Episode Summary

Have you been wanting to implement group STEM projects in your classroom but aren’t sure of the most effective approach? As educators, we understand the importance of collaboration in fostering teamwork skills. However, it's not always easy teaching students how to work in groups. In today’s episode, I’m breaking down how to teach students to work in groups for STEM projects and sharing examples of each approach.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

How to teach students how to work in groups
Tips for effectively implementing these strategies to teach students how to work in groups
Examples of how I implemented these various methods for teaching students how to work in groups

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:

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:

We know as teachers that it is important for students to work in groups when they are creating collaborative projects, But it doesn't always go the way that you hoped and planned. In this episode, I'll be sharing with you ways that you can teach your students to work in groups on their STEM projects and the types of tips that I have used in my own classrooms to help students work together successfully. Before we jump into this episode, I wanted to read an awesome podcast review from 1 of you.

Naomi Meredith [00:01:08]:

This is from mamabarker0616, and they say, life saving. This podcast has given me so much Actionable tips. I cannot even begin to express how thankful I am that you put in your time and energy to help so many people. Any STEM teacher or teacher implementing STEM should listen. It is worth it. Thank you so much, mama Barker. If all of you out there haven't taken the time to write a review, I would absolutely appreciate it. If you wouldn't mind going over to Apple Podcasts, write a 5-star review.

Naomi Meredith [00:01:49]:

It would absolutely mean the world to me. It costs nothing, and it helps other teachers like you Help them find this podcast. More and more teachers these days are getting into elementary STEM, and I definitely wanna be in their back pockets like I am for you each and every week. I recently wrote an article for an upcoming publication in a STEM magazine for teachers and parents. and I was asked to give my perspective on really anything as it relates to elementary and maybe some lessons that I learned in that type of position of being a k through 5 STEM teacher. Now, I knew exactly right off the bat what I wanted to say, and one of the points that I made in the article was how collaboration is so important for students and a really big thing that we try to teach in the elementary STEM space. Once that article comes out, we will link it in the show notes. Not sure when the time frame is, but keep an eye out for that.

Naomi Meredith [00:02:59]:

Of course, especially as a STEM teacher, working in groups is so important, and continually sharing examples with students of how people work together in real life, especially in STEM roles, is extremely important so students can actually visualize why we're having them work together. One example that I like to use with Students is thinking about rockets built by NASA or really anybody who makes rockets. and I asked the kids, Do you think that 1 person built that entire rocket all by themselves? They built the rocket, they planned the rocket, they got all the pieces, they launched the rocket, they've tested it, and the kids giggle, and they say no, like, exactly. So when we are working together on projects, we need to use all of our skills and work together so that it can happen. This isn't a by yourself activity. I want you to talk and collaborate. Well, easier said than done in a lot of instances, but it doesn't mean giving up on having students collaborate in groups, we as teachers know it's important, but outside of teaching, in the books that I read in my book club membership, the STEM teacher bookshelf, 2 other business books that I listen to, Many of these books either directly or indirectly talk about ways that they collaborated with others. These people outside of the classroom are telling us how important collaboration is and how it is a vital skill that we teach our students so that they can be successful in the real world.

Naomi Meredith [00:04:55]:

Two books in particular that are on the top of my head that are related to STEM and one we read in the STEM teacher bookshelf, and one sneak peek that we will be reading, first one is Limitless Mind by Joe Bowler and the other book is Visual Thinking by Temple Grandin. That's not the whole base of their books, but they do talk specifically about why we need to have students collaborate together. Jo Boaler actually really gives some good suggestions inside of that book that you can check out. You can still join my book club at any moment. I have a reading guide that goes along with this book, and there's a whole section about collaborating with students. Okay. So we know it's important for students to work together in groups, but how do you teach them to do it? It's more than, alright, you're working in a group today, and the end. We need to be more specific in the ways that we teach students to work in groups, and we have to continually do it even if it's not working out the first time.

Naomi Meredith [00:06:03]:

Just like we tell our students, we don't want them to give up when things don't work, they need to continue working on being together in a group. and I do have some stories that I'm gonna share with you along the way. The first way that you can teach students to work in groups is to have a gradual release of how big the group sizes are. I don't recommend starting groups in groups of 4. That is a lot of kids, especially if you are starting this out at the beginning of the year, mid-year, where you haven't seen these students yet before. They don't really know each other, and there's a whole trust thing going on, and it might be an actual disaster. Likewise, if you are a specials teacher, you need to know the dynamics of their classroom coming into this space. This might be a little tricky if you don't ever leave the classroom.

Naomi Meredith [00:07:00]:

I recommend that you have an administrator or even a sub come in where you can actually observe students in their classrooms. I was lucky enough to do this because when I first had my role in k through 5 STEM, I did STEM as a specials, and then I also got to co-teach in the classrooms, and I was brand new to the school. I didn't know anybody. I didn't know the teachers. I didn't know the students. So I actually took the 1st week to see the teaching styles of the teachers in the building because I didn't know what was going on and also how students were in their classrooms. and throughout the year, I did have the opportunity to see how it grows because it is different at the beginning of the year, but that was extremely insightful for me. I had a 5th-grade class who could never collaborate together.

Naomi Meredith [00:07:52]:

They weren't allowed to be in their classroom. When I would go into that teacher's room, they actually sat in rows, and it wasn't a testing season. They sat in rows, they sat by themselves. When I would teach a lesson, I wanted them to work together, and the teacher didn't want them to work together. and it really wasn't a behavior thing where, oh, they can't be with this, they can't be with that. This teacher didn't believe in having students collaborate together. They always thought that it should be an isolated task and not group work. So that teacher is getting really stressed out when the noise level is going up a little bit because I wanted kids to work together, they didn't like that.

Naomi Meredith [00:08:33]:

Likewise, when these students came into my classroom, They really had a hard time collaborating because they didn't know how to do it. They weren't allowed to do it. and the art teacher saw the same thing, and so did the PE teacher. and I gave them that insight, this is something we're not allowed to do in their regular classroom. So we had to take a step back, and STEM and also PE, art, and music, where they had a lot of chances to work together, we had to take a step back and have them work in smaller groups. We had to figure out how to have them work together in just a simple partnership, and that was a great start. Eventually, I could get into bigger groups of 3 and 4, but we had to start small, and that's where that class was at. Sometimes, some classes might not ever get to work bigger than a partnership, and it might be a behavior issue.

Naomi Meredith [00:09:29]:

This was a teacher's philosophy. This was because they weren't allowed to do this in their classroom. I had a class when I taught 3rd grade, and I knew I was meant to be their teacher. I definitely was the right teacher for them, But having all those students in my classroom mixed up together was a horrible combination. I tried everything, classroom community, all the things. It was just oil and water every day, and the biggest groups we could ever have were partnerships. That's the best that we could do. That's literally where we were at with that classroom. So you just have to be comfortable engaging your classes to see where they're at.

Naomi Meredith [00:10:11]:

It might be smaller groups the whole year, like my 3rd-grade class, or it Might be something you start off small, and you work up to it. So keep in mind the sizes of your groups. The next way that you can teach Students to work in groups is hosting STEM stations. I am a huge fan of doing STEM stations with my younger students, kindergarten through 2nd grade. But I also did play around with STEM stations with my older students in 3rd through 5th grade, my 1st couple of years in STEM. In fact, this is something that we explored and planned for in my group coaching program, which will open back up in the summer, But this is something that we did where we actually planned out specific STEM stations that would relate to an overall theme. I really like this especially for the younger students, because working on a project for little kids doesn't take the whole week. I've tried it.

Naomi Meredith [00:11:10]:

It is like pulling teeth. It takes way too long. So, mixing in projects and STEM stations is a really great way to help them with their group work. With STEM stations, I see it as a form of parallel play. Sometimes, the task that they are working on at their station is something that they could work together. But a lot of times, they each have their own set of the same materials where they can talk together about what is happening, but they don't necessarily have to collaborate on the same task. So a lot of that parallel play where they're kinda working together, but not really. You see that a lot with toddlers.

Naomi Meredith [00:11:54]:

Now the older kids, they kinda older, meaning, like, kindergarten through 2nd grade, they learn to kinda help Each other out a bit better and they're more aware that there's other kids in their group. But this is a really great way to help them understand, okay, We are working on the same task together. We have about 4 to 5 kids in this group and we are going to get the job done. This also helps when they're cleaning up materials, making sure that they are on task, but there's not as much pressure when it comes to working in a STEM station as it is on a project where you have to really finish that. These Stem stations, the way that I do it, they have more of a flow where you get as far as you can and that's amazing. If you're interested in learning more about STEM stations, I have my on demand workshop all about primary planning. You can grab that at nami meredith.com/primaryworkshop and also one of the modules in my guided STEM teacher 101 course. There's also a whole section about STEM stations as well.

Naomi Meredith [00:13:01]:

and finally, the third way that you can teach students To work in groups is assigning roles. This really helps too if you have those smaller groups, you can actually assign roles when you are teaching them how to work in groups. and there's a couple of ways that you can do this. 1st is giving them the language of how they should talk to each other in certain situations. You can practice this as a whole class. This can be a mini lesson or it can also be something in the moment. Maybe you even have a different sentence starters that they can use when they talk together, which I do have that in my STEM teacher one zero one course where I actually give you the language that students can use with each other when they're working in groups. But having them have that language of how to speak is extremely important for all students, All of them.

Naomi Meredith [00:13:58]:

Not just students who are learning English, all students need to learn how to talk to one another. I had this situation happen the moment, you probably already do this more than you think, but I had a student in one of my LEGO after-school clubs that I host, and they were frustrated because there was a misunderstanding on the directions where the group actually was following directions. In the LEGO Education lessons, there's a little story, and I wanted kids to listen to the story, and then it connects to the LEGO build. Well, the student who was upset didn't get that part, and they knew that one of my roles is to stay on task so that they could get the work done. and that student was upset because they thought that the group wasn't staying on task when they actually were. They're doing exactly what they're supposed to do. So I went and talked to this student and finally clarified that, and then I was like, Okay. You can go back.

Naomi Meredith [00:14:55]:

Like, that's part of the challenge. and they really wanted the other group to welcome them back. and so I the other kids in the group were really, really sweet. I helped give them the language in that situation where I'm frustrated right now. Here's why. and hey, we're working on this. Do you wanna join us? Or even things like, Hey, how can I help? So a lot of times kids will shut down and if they're frustrated they don't know what to do. If there's a disagreement where this was a misunderstanding but if there's a disagreement That's okay.

Naomi Meredith [00:15:32]:

How can we problem-solve through this instead of shutting down and screaming at each other? So giving kids Specific language in certain situations, whether it's in the moment or something you guys even talk about as a mini-lesson is extremely important and also aids to that social and emotional learning. I have a whole episode that I talked With a guest, Jill Loesch, where we actually talked about SEL in the STEM classroom, we'll link that in the show notes. That's a really great one for you to keep in mind especially when you are talking about group work and how it actually just STEM projects in general does take that level creativity where it is more of a vulnerable situation. So assigning those certain roles, giving them that language and also having different roles for different tasks. It depends on the project that I'm working on, but I would say most Of my projects, I have specific jobs, especially if they're very hands on and everybody wants to do something at once, which great you want them to be involved, But you also want them to be involved in productive ways. So for different types of things like Lego kits, Lego building kits, they have different jobs. For robotics, I give them different jobs. Sometimes when we do makerspace projects, I'll give them different jobs depending on the class and what level of support that they need with group work and also when it comes to coding, I will give them different jobs.

Naomi Meredith [00:17:03]:

So this helps students realize, okay, when I have this role, I am responsible for this. and it also really, really helps kids who need that actual visual of how to work with someone. Again, in one of my Lego after-school clubs, I have a partnership of these 2 boys who take their roles very seriously, and they're extremely productive. They work Amazing together. But I have a student who needs that explicit level of support where I have a job, this is what I'm doing in the job, When we turn the page, we're going to switch jobs and they actually physically switch spots which is absolutely adorable. They don't need to do that. Maybe not the most efficient, but they are very clear on the roles that they have. and some students, they're just like, okay.

Naomi Meredith [00:17:54]:

Like, I'm gonna do this job for today. You can do it tomorrow. But there are some students, you could probably think of them right now, who need that explicit, this is my job and this is what I do and I am going to do it until we switch. You can think about switching if it's page by page, if it's like a Lego education build, Maybe when a timer goes off, you could set a timer. They have that job for that amount of time. When the timer goes off in the class, they switch or even day by day. and, again, it depends on the class and the groups, and also the project that you're working on. So inside of my STEM teacher 101 course, I actually give you different roles with visuals, a definition of what the job is, and how you can actually use it in different projects along with those sentence starters that are really helpful for kids when they are working in groups That could be something that is laid out for them or even things that you print out and hang on your wall that you can refer to.

Naomi Meredith [00:18:57]:

As a recap, here are the 3 different ways that we talked about how you can support students in your classroom When working on STEM projects and working in groups, first is starting small and building up to those larger groups. Next is trying out STEM stations, maybe with everybody, but really for those primary students. and finally, consider assigning roles. Having students work in groups is definitely a process but a very important one that we as teachers, I know can be really frustrating, especially when there's classes that it doesn't seem like that they can get along, But try out these things. It is worth it. I promise you. and for those different visuals and levels of support and considering the types of roles that you can have in those STEM groups, I invite you to join in the self-paced course by signature course, STEM teacher 101, where not only this is a lesson inside of the modules, but we also talk about systems and routines, so giving those a refresh in your classroom, different types of planning structures, and even ways that you can Have students self assess and have ways to help you with grading. Thank you so much again for being here, and I will see you in the next episode.

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Episode 31: Ideas for SEL in Elementary STEM with Jill Loesch

Connect with Naomi Meredith:

Check out more inspiration on her website: naomimeredith.com
Connect with her on Instagram: @naomimeredith_
Watch this episode on her YouTube Channel: Naomi Meredith
Join the Facebook Group, The Elementary STEM Coach Community | Technology & STEM for K-6 Teachers

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

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

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

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

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

Embed YouTube video hereSubscribe to the podcast <a href="https://pod.link/1629221483">HERE</a> on your favorite podcasting platform.Have a STEM question? Leave a voice message for the podcast! <iframe loading="lazy" data-src="https://www.speakpipe.com/widget/inline/xuz5gqaq2t2aspjudg0cjtg2hax48ofm" width="100%" height="200" frameborder="0" data-mce-fragment="1" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" class="lazyload" data-load-mode="1">

Episode Summary

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

In this episode, you’ll learn:

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

Resources Mentioned:

Episode Transcript:

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:01:41]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:02:57]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:04:17]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:05:08]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:06:13]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:07:03]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:08:19]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:09:39]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:10:38]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:11:44]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:12:58]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:13:58]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:15:24]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:16:37]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:17:51]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:19:12]:

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

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More About your host, Naomi Meredith

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!

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

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Episode Summary

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

In this episode, you’ll learn:

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

Resources Mentioned:

Episode Transcript:

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:

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

Listener Question [00:01:17]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:02:53]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:04:12]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:05:06]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:06:00]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:06:31]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:07:41]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:08:49]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:10:18]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:11:27]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:12:55]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:13:25]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:14:37]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:15:44]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:16:29]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:17:24]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:18:07]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:18:47]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:19:24]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:19:52]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:20:37]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:21:13]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:22:20]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:23:19]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:24:38]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:25:30]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:26:15]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:27:25]:

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

Naomi Meredith [00:28:11]:

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

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Connect with Naomi Meredith:

Check out more inspiration on her website: naomimeredith.com
Connect with her on Instagram: @naomimeredith_
Watch this episode on her YouTube Channel: Naomi Meredith
Join the Facebook Group, The Elementary STEM Coach Community | Technology & STEM for K-6 Teachers

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

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

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

Why Your 5th Graders Aren’t Motivated in STEM and How to Fix It [ep. 66]

Why Your 5th Graders Aren't Motivated in STEM and How to Fix It [ep.66]

Check out the full episode on Why Your 5th Graders Aren't Motivated in STEM and How to Fix It:

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

Episode Summary

So you've planned this STEM lesson. You've gathered the supplies, and you've made sure that the lesson is exciting. But your fifth graders just aren't having it. In fact, they don't even seem interested in the STEM project that you planned. In those moments, you’re probably wondering what’s going on. In today's episode, I’m sharing why your fifth graders aren't motivated in STEM and how to fix it.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

4 reasons why your 5th graders aren’t motivated in their STEM projects
Strategies for fixing their lack of motivation
Tips for implementing these strategies in your STEM classroom

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:

Naomi Meredith 00:00

You've planned this STEM lesson, you've gathered the supplies, and you've made sure that the lesson is exciting. But your fifth graders just aren't having it. In fact, they don't even seem interested in the STEM project that you planned. What is happening? In today's episode, I'll be sharing why your fifth graders aren't motivated in STEM and how to fix it.

Naomi Meredith 00:27

The other day, I hosted a quick poll on my Instagram @NaomiMeredith_. Thank you so much for filling this out. By the way, it was very, very insightful. So the question that I asked was, how are your fifth graders' attitudes about STEM: 22% of you said they are obsessed, 18% of you said that they struggled to stay motivated, and the majority of you said, at 60%, you said that sometimes they like it and sometimes they don't. So what gives with these fifth graders? Maybe you even have upper elementary students and sixth graders. What is going on? STEM is supposed to be fun, right? Okay, so here is my take on this. Based on my experience being a K through five STEM teacher, where I came from the classroom for six years and then went into a brand new to me school and district, and really, the kids didn't have STEM. And let me tell you all the things that I have seen and how you can combat this problem in your classroom. It isn't an overnight fix. But there are some small changes that you can make so that everybody is having an awesome experience, just like you have planned in your head and like the younger students are having.

Naomi Meredith 02:27

The first reason why your fifth graders aren't motivated in STEM is that your projects are missing multimedia research. Think about the ways that you are building background on the projects that you're doing in your class. Are you building background on the projects? Because students need to have some knowledge about the topic so that their work actually makes sense. Yes, we have all of the awesome building but when you're really being thoughtful about your planning through the Engineering Design Process or another model, building isn't the only step. Sure, you can have one-day challenges which I have definitely done. Especially when I had a Monday, one year when I taught eight classes in a row, I did still build some background knowledge. So think about how you're doing this in your classroom. How are you having students build this knowledge while also having them research in different ways? So think about the tools that you're using. Are you just giving them books to research? Are they just printed out articles? Is it a random Google search? I know that sounds super helpful, but that is a lesson in itself on how to teach with Google and how to search the proper way. If you're doing that, awesome. But are you just saying Google it? Are you really showing them how to Google it? So think about the tools that you are having students use to gain information so that it can inform the projects that they're building. Can you add video clips? There are a lot of great video clips that students can access that are not connected to YouTube on Epic books. Could you even play video clips that are on YouTube as a whole class to help spark the conversation? Maybe add in podcast episodes or clips from podcast episodes to hear another viewpoint. Maybe even adding infographics that you find or create your own, which I do all the time. That can be a way to gather information. Also, pre-researching and tailoring links can really focus students on what they are gathering at the time, and it doesn't feel so overwhelming. Maybe you do have to write an article but can you add an audio component so it can meet the needs of all learners? It is so nice to have that audio option because then if there's a word you're not familiar with, you can listen to that piece. So really mixing this in your projects and helping students feel confident about the topic that they are going to build in is super important in STEM jobs today. In the future reading and gathering nonfiction information is happening, and it's going to continue to happen. Even if you're not in a STEM job, you need to know how to access information to inform your decisions. So are you adding in all of these different tools within your STEM classroom? Yes, in STEM, and helping students interact with the world in those ways.

Naomi Meredith 05:23

The next reason why your fifth graders might not be motivated with your STEM projects is that they might not actually be ready yet. This was really hard for me to realize. As I said, I was new to the position new to the district and new to the school. I was given a brand new classroom with zero curriculum. I had all of these big ideas of what I wanted my students to do. I knew back as a classroom teacher, what I was able to have my third-grade students do and do amazing things in their classrooms. So why not? Can these students do it? Well, I had some lofty dreams, and I'm so glad I kept those dreams. But we were not ready yet. My fifth graders did not like my class. My fourth graders had a better time. I realized pretty quickly that my projects were honestly way too hard for them at this time. There were so many skills that they did not know, like typing in a website link or where their username and password were that I had all of these plans for these super advanced projects. But we actually had to get to the basics. And that's okay. What I'm doing now, five years from when I started in STEM, is completely different. Because the way that I have planned my lessons has built students up with their skills to help them be successful. So by the time they are in fifth grade, there is more of that motivation, and they have the skills to attack those projects that I had in my head five years ago. Yes, I had to build up those basic skills, and it can be frustrating. The students might be a little bit frustrated, too, that they don't know these things yet. But even paring down your lessons to make them more simple than you thought might just be where your students are at this year. And that's okay. Let me tell you why this is okay. I recently had an online chat with our middle school tech teacher who most of our students feed into. She wanted to talk about how she can support us in the transition into middle school. So part of my role, I'm also the tech person. I don't get paid extra for that. But I also manage our school-wide technology and all of that process. I've also co-taught in the past with the teachers. So I'm very familiar with what is happening in the building because I'm in charge of it. So we had a really good conversation. And this is actually really sad too. But it is extremely clear to her and the science teachers that these students have gone to school for elementary. The schools that don't have STEM it is completely clear that they did not have STEM and that those skills are things that they haven't been able to work on over the years. When they get to middle school, they're really struggling. On the flip side, the kids from my school, it's super clear that they're from my school because they've had those opportunities to collaborate and be creative and try those skills. So when it comes down to it, they weren't ready. In my fifth grade, my poor fifth graders who left me that first year were working on the basics, and I know I helped them. But really, thinking through your plans and how you can have a progression of learning over the years, you're definitely going to have to adjust on the skills and getting to know your students. That's what good teaching is, even as a specialist teacher, but thinking about the way that you are planning and giving them opportunities to practice these skills in a variety of contexts. With a variety of standards, they are standard space, that they are carrying those skills into future years, and that they can be successful and be excited about those future projects. You definitely do have to start somewhere. But hey, this is a great way for you to advocate why kids need STEM because sometimes it is those little things that can help you do those really big things.

Naomi Meredith 09:16

Along with them not being ready is that I noticed my fifth graders were actually really scared of being creative. And again, this goes along with the relationship that I had with them and the culture of a growth mindset. I've of course been building this up over the years. But it is so different when you're in this unique role, especially as a specialist teacher, because you don't have them all day every day. The time it takes to build relationships can take longer, especially if you only see each class once a week. So it does take time. Being creative is a vulnerable thing. We've talked about that in other episodes. It's scary for me to be creative here on this podcast and even have this conversation with you right now. And the same with kids, it's not natural to want to be creative in a new space, even though we think our lessons are very exciting, which they probably are. But it is a lot to be creative and put your ideas out there and have them be different, especially when they're at that age where opinions from their peers are starting to become very important. It's not as much for the teachers as it is for everybody else and what they're gonna think about their work. So really creating that culture where it can be safe to be creative and to have a growth mindset, it is going to take some time. But really having those smaller challenges and paring things down will really help as well.

Naomi Meredith 10:39

Along with that, your students might not be motivated in your STEM projects is that they actually might need more structure than you think. Being creative within constraints is okay. It provides that safety net, that it isn't a free for all. That is overwhelming for kids, especially when they have to be taught to be creative, that it's okay to make mistakes, and it's okay that it doesn't work the first time. This is going to take some time, but they definitely need some more structure. So maybe that's the way that you have materials in your classroom. Back in episode four, when I talk about STEM survival camp, which is my first unit of the school year, this unit is actually really learning about the Engineering Design Process in how you can be creative within constraints. I don't give them a free for all with the materials in my classroom. And I don't think that's a good thing. They actually have only a few things from me on their project. And then the rest is from items outside the classroom, which also creates constraints because it might not be what they found. But then it also gives them the opportunity to talk to each other and for me to talk to them and build that relationship. So building up to that, maybe so and so free for all, it can be helpful. When you do a Makerspace project, do you have a money system? We talked about this back in episode six where you have that structure, and they have a certain budget of things that they can spend, where yes, you have all of the supplies, but you have to be really thoughtful about what you're using. Also what that structure can be when it comes to working in groups. There's a huge difference between saying to kids oh, you get to work in a group, and comparing that to, oh, you're gonna work in a group, but you have very specific roles. And here's what you're going to do in these roles. And here's how you are in charge of these roles. Because it gives them an explanation of the importance of what they're doing. And they can't slack off because the role is important to the job. And if they don't do it, it's not going to get done. Again, it goes back to that peer thing. They want to impress their peers, so they're much more likely to be motivated. In the book Limitless Mind by Jo Boaler that I just listened to and highly recommend, hint hint will be in the future book club coming up in the spring. But she also has a part in there where it talks about kids don't really enjoy working in groups because it is overwhelming and they don't know what they're supposed to do and somebody slacks off. And so all of those things that we hear about, definitely recommend that book and also reframing the way you have structure in those groups, but really the structure within projects overall, because that can help build that motivation.

Naomi Meredith 13:16

And finally, the last reason why your fifth graders aren't motivated to do the projects in your STEM classroom is that the projects don't have enough empathy. Students, especially as they get older, they need to see why this project matters. I feel like a lot of times the younger students can actually really see why this is important. And it's easier to convince them. But as they get older, there's more like, I don't really care. Why do I need to do this? Why is this important? And that's a great challenge for you as a STEM teacher as to, “Well, yeah. Why are we doing this project?” I'm currently working on a 3D printing project with my fifth graders, and they are designing an invention that will help people to protect, prevent, or correct Earth's resources and why that is a problem. And we've really been talking about why this is a problem. What are nonrenewable resources? Who cares? Why is this going to affect you in the future? Why should we be solving these problems and really thinking bigger than ourselves? This is the world that you live in, and we need to create solutions even better than the solutions out there because it's not working. So really having them think about that empathy piece, and thinking about others and not always themselves. It could even be a school-based project. How can we help others in there? But thinking beyond themselves and giving them a purpose for their work can be really impactful and help again, with that motivation. They're doing this project for a reason and not for Oh, my teacher is just going to see this project. Awesome way to go. Along with that, give students the opportunity to reflect and to see each other's work. When we did podcasting, which I talked about that in a past episode, I do have students post their podcasts so that others can listen to their work and even comment on each other's podcasts. They are super motivated by this, they could care less if I hear their podcasts. A couple of them, my little STEM buddies, really want me to listen to their podcast, but they really are more concerned about what other people think about their podcast, and what they did well, and what they can work on. With that giving students the opportunity to reflect on their work will really help them think through the process of that project. What can they do better and what can they work on? And how did it go? Well, and if they did a project like this in the future, what could they do again, so really giving those opportunities where it's not just the building, but that their project has a bigger purpose, whether it's for people in their school building, whether it is for people outside of the school, or even thinking beyond that what their futures might hold, will really help them connect what you're doing in your classroom actually has a greater purpose.

Naomi Meredith 16:06

As a recap, here are the four reasons why your fifth graders aren't motivated with your STEM projects and how you can fix it. First, your projects are missing multimedia research opportunities. Second, your fifth graders might not be ready yet for this type of project. And the keyword in that sentence is yet. Third, they need more structure, especially when it comes to those creative opportunities. And fourth, your projects don't have enough empathy. These are all things that you can continuously work on as a teacher and reflect on and get your students to that point where you are in that part where they are excited about projects all the time and that you're not dragging their feet to finish them. Now, I know that it's a lot without planning. And I am actually here to help. And I'm so excited about this. But I am hosting a live third through fifth-grade virtual workshop where you can join me and other STEM teachers to help with your planning in the upper grades, where we will look at standards where you can integrate naturally STEM projects. And really think through that process of the multimedia research that you're giving them. The creative opportunities and opportunities for them to reflect and share their work. The info will be in the show notes. So if you're not able to make it live, then it will be recorded. But the live piece is really awesome because you can ask me questions, and we can tailor a lesson that will fit your needs. So jump in on that third through five STEM virtual workshop. I would love to see you there. And how two hours of your time can definitely change the way that you plan for the rest of the year. And also set up a foundation where you can be the one talking in this podcast where your students are motivated and that they are excited, and that your lessons are really fitting what they need. So can't wait to see you and that workshop.

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Connect with Naomi Meredith:

Check out more inspiration on her website: naomimeredith.com
Connect with her on Instagram: @naomimeredith_
Watch this episode on her YouTube Channel: Naomi Meredith
Join the Facebook Group, The Elementary STEM Coach Community | Technology & STEM for K-6 Teachers

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

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

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

Build a City STEM Project to Try [ep.63]

Check out the full episode on Build a City STEM Project to Try:

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

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

Episode Summary

How can you have students plan and build a community based on Earth's features in an area? In today’s episode, I share an in-depth overview of the build a city STEM project. In this lesson, I tie in the concept of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data. It also incorporates the Engineering Design Process. This is such a fun, Makerspace lesson that my students loved, and I know that yours will too.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

An overview of the build a city STEM project
An in-depth look at how the lesson went throughout the week when I taught it
How you can implement this lesson in your classroom
Where you can find the resources for this 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:

Naomi Meredith 00:00

How can you have students plan and build a community based on Earth's features in an area? Civil engineers and a lot of other STEM careers use GIS or Geographic Information Systems data to help them create a community that will work in the space that they are given. I'll be sharing an in depth overview of the STEM lesson that I tie in using these concepts that you definitely don't want to miss out on. Students will go through the Engineering Design Process and learn more about what GIS is, then they'll be given different data of a fictional location that shows them the landscape of an area. From there, they will create the map of this data, they will build the physical features, and then they will plan a community based on these features, but also think about the way that their community works as a whole. Of course, they will make modifications to their design when things don't work. This is such a fun, Makerspace lesson that my students loved, and I know that yours will too.

Naomi Meredith 01:39

It's always fun for me to record episodes when I get to talk about the lessons that I've implemented with my students. And I'm always taking pictures and writing notes when I am teaching these lessons with my students. And so when I'm preparing episodes like this, I love to go back and reflect on that experience. A lot of fun things pop up for me that I can't wait to share with you. So for this episode, I'm going to give you an overview of just the nuts and bolts of this lesson and who I taught it to, a snapshot of how the lesson went throughout the week. I will also share some fun stories throughout, how you can get started with this lesson in your classroom, and where you can get all of those resources. Also, thanks to you for filling out the podcast survey a little bit ago. A lot of you really wanted to hear about lesson plans and how I taught them with specific grades. So even if you aren't teaching that specific grade that I taught this lesson in, don't stop the podcast. You can definitely get ideas on how this can best work in your classroom. So don't write me off. It's fun to hear about other grade levels, especially when you teach all of the grade levels. Even if you don't need something for that grade level, it's just good to hear a lot of different ideas. So think of this, like being in a workshop with me, but I'm in your earbuds this time.

Naomi Meredith 03:03

For this build a city STEM project, I taught this with fourth grade. And of course, you could flex this to third grade, fifth grade, and beyond. There were a lot of different standards that I integrated in this lesson. Of course, the NGSS Next Generation Science Standards that talks about the Engineering Design Process, those were super apparent in this lesson. When it came to a specific grade level standard for fourth grade, there is an NGSS standard that talks about analyzing and interpreting data from maps to describe patterns of Earth features. When it comes to specific math standards that were integrated in this lesson, the mathematical practice was all about attending to precision. And as I am explaining this lesson, you're gonna understand why students had to be really precise, when they are setting up the format of where their study was going to be built. There are also various math skills that are integrated throughout. I know some of you might think that I don't integrate math in my lessons, but they definitely are there. Like I've mentioned in past episodes, I do like to use science as my base. But then all of the standards really are integrated in there. So I'm not handing out worksheets of this math standard and all that math is really embedded in all of these lessons. And sometimes the students don't even know that at the time, which is okay. They're using their math skills. It's almost like when you are feeding kids vegetables that they don't like and you're sneaking them in like making zucchini bread and they really like it. What I have done in the past with my Teacher Honey who doesn't like carrots. And so I bought mashed carrots, and thought he would be tricked and thought they were sweet potatoes but he wasn't but anyway, there is math in this lesson. And so students are attending to a position with that mathematical practice. They're also working on their math facts when purchasing supplies and yes, fourth graders still need this skill when using basic math skills. When we were purchasing supplies, which we'll talk about in a little bit, this was super important for the kids and they needed that extra practice. Also, students will be graphing using data that is provided for them, and also creating the landscapes. They will have to use their measurement skills, and they are building the landscapes based on the measurement skills that are provided in the data as well. I didn't do this step with my fourth graders just with the time I had. But for an extension, a great way is students can build a scaled model based on certain measurements that you give them, or they can make up the measurements. So there's a lot of opportunities for math in this lesson that are definitely embedded all throughout the week. When it comes to English language arts standards, the students will be accessing a lot of nonfiction texts, when it comes to videos, articles, websites, all those nonfiction text features reading a map. And so those are definitely in that lesson and where they can gather information. And of course, don't forget those speaking and listening skills. Oftentimes we think about there aren't specific STEM standards as of this, as of now with this recording, totally true. But those speaking and listening standards are apparent in STEM. And so there's a ton of collaboration and talking about their work in this lesson. Also, when it comes to the ISTE standards for students, students are being a knowledge constructor, and all of those various things that fall under that. So definitely check out the ISTE standards for students, if you're not familiar with them. Again, another great way to integrate STEM and just planning and how you might want to assess your students. If that is an option or something you need to think about. I did teach this lesson five days in a row. But I know we all have different schedules. So modify what works best for you, take out the pieces that you need or don't need. But I'm giving you an overview of how this went in my classroom.

Naomi Meredith 07:06

To start off this project, students were asked the question that they were going to be answering throughout the week, how can you plan and develop a community based on Earth's features in an area. So not only are students going to be planning and designing a community, they really have to be mindful of the features in the area, and where they can and can't build things. We talked about how if there's a muddy area in a landscape, it doesn't really make sense for a house to be built there. There might be some issues with where the water is filtering, maybe it gets flash floods all the time, that might not be the best place for a house to be built. And there'll be some issues. Likewise, if there is a river or a lake, typically houses aren't built on there, maybe you have a houseboat. But having students really be mindful of the landscape when they're making their decisions, and planning their community it was super good for them to think about. From there, we did some imagining. And students learned more about GIS, geographical information systems, and how they're used in various jobs. We looked at different videos, different websites and examples of how GIS is used. Sometimes it's even there to help communities with water. So real life examples of how this is used in our world, and even day to day as well, when we're using maps in our real lives. From there, we also talked about different people who have jobs that will use data and work together to build and create a community, you have the architects who are really thinking about the design and the structure of the buildings. But then you have the civil engineers as well. And then all of the city planners and just how all those people can work together. There are some great videos out there on YouTube that even talk about this collaboration. And they even talk about words of how the engine, they don't say Engineering Design Process, but they actually talk about how they collaborate and work together. They plan and have to revise their plan. They build their plan, and then they make changes along the way. They have to make decisions. So all those things that you're doing in your class and how they are actually used in the real world. So students were really mesmerized by this. And it really brought up some great conversations with the students of how some of their parents or people in their family or people they've seen in movies have these types of roles and then they are asking them questions throughout the week when they were designing their projects.

Naomi Meredith 09:36

If you're a teacher who needs more of an extension or you are teaching GT or homeschool, or even a classroom teacher, you can definitely do this lesson. You can have students dive in deeper when it comes to the features that are in a city. Google Earth is a great resource for this and you can even create a scavenger hunt where students are finding different locations in the world and then they can notice the different features that a place might have, such as the human features, the cultural features, the physical features. And this can also tell a lot about a place and how people live, and why a city might be designed the way that it is. So that again, another great extension, another way to integrate a technology tool in your classroom, using those mapping skills, even pulling in a little bit of that social studies, and really helping them be thoughtful when they get to the planning of their city. Of course, there is more than enough information to dive in that background knowledge. And of course, all that knowledge really helps with the building. So take it or leave it, do what would work best with your students. I didn't have time for the Google Earth. But if I were a classroom teacher, or any of those other roles that I mentioned, that's something I definitely would integrate. Now, this project I did a little bit differently than some of my other Makerspace projects. Before students actually drew the plan of their city, they actually had to use the fictional GIS data that I gave them, and really figure out what their landscape was actually going to look like. I didn't want them to create a city on something, they don't know what the city is actually going to look like, what are all the land features, so that was important for them to do. Students got a grid, kind of like a bingo board in a way where one side had numbers and the other one has letters. Then they were given their fictional data, which I shared with them through Seesaw because then they could keep track digitally just by highlighting the data that they colored. And they work together as a partner to color in on their grid, the different landscapes. So let's say these are the areas that are grassy, here is where a river runs through the city color it blue, here's an area that's muddy color at brown, here's a sandy area color that yellow. So this took about a whole class time for students to collaborate and work together to create what their landscape looks like. Now, don't worry, you might be saying, Oh, well, everybody's looks the same. Yes, their map does look the same. I do know this. But once they get into the planning completely different, they needed to have some sort of base to build up off of, then when it came to the physical features of the place, I created clay, some homemade playdough at home that they would actually build on top of this grid, I just put the grids inside of sheet protectors or sometimes large ziploc bags so that the paper didn't get soggy. And then their data actually told them in these areas that you felt, you need to build up the land to a certain height. So having rulers on hand was helpful, because then they had to actually measure how high certain places on the landscape was. Now side tip with the clay eyes somehow super messed up when I made the recipe. And I brought all of this and I found out all these different sensory needs I wasn't quite aware of, because I definitely messed up on this playdough this clay that I made and it was extremely, extremely sticky. Kids were screaming, it was all over my floor, it was all over the computers, the trash can and maybe my hair, it was a disaster. So double check your recipe, maybe even buy some Crayola modeling clay, that would be really awesome. If you bought that because it doesn't dry out. It's super inexpensive. And then at the end of the project, you can actually have kids give you back all of the modeling clay, so that might be working out a bit better from there.

Naomi Meredith 13:37

When students understood what their landscape looked like, then I actually had them plan out their city and oh my goodness, kids love this step. It's very interesting with this project to get different kids like different parts of this project. And even more interesting because I've known these kids for a long time. There were kids who were like, they go through the motions, they do the projects, like cool, whatever they get into it or not. But those certain hard kids, I don't know what it is about this project. They were super invested in it and they were all in. So that's why I'm telling you having all these different types of experience in your classroom is so important because you never know what students are going to like and not like, but you need to mix it up. Because you can grab those kids at whatever lesson you don't know when it's going to hit them and just bring up this light bulb. So that was super fun to watch in the students. So when it came to this planning, they got super into the planning. Some kids even didn't get to finish their building part because they love the planning piece, almost like creating a blueprint of their city, which is totally fine. That's where they're at in the process. So I'm glad that they were excited about it. With their plan, they had certain parameters that they needed to add to their city so I did want to have them specific things and things that most communities have some of those things, were having roads, a neighborhood, a way to cross the river. It could be however they want. It's across the river. So I got some creative designs there. And yes, I did make the kids have a school, we weren't doing online learning in this place in this fictional place. So there was some sort of school, a lot of kids also added targets, which was super funny as well. And I'll even share some of the things that they added. After students created the plan for their city, then they were ready to build, they did not get unlimited supplies. So I did have my Makerspace menu and money out for them. And they had a budget of $25, where they would purchase the supplies for their city. If you want to hear more about exactly how I use Makerspace money and a menu in my classroom. Go back and listen to episode six, I explain the whole reason behind this, and how this actually helps with the materials and management in your classroom. When you are doing and Makerspace projects like this one. Along the way I shared with students a checklist of ways to modify and improve their design, and waves have, they can actually make it a lot better. This was also a great time, you can also have students think about the scale of the things that are in their city. Again, if you want to go even more specific about the measurements and drawing and creating things to scale, you definitely can do that. So just being really thoughtful about the designs and how everything works together as a community is super important when you're a city planner, and using the landscape to design what you have in front of you. Students were so proud of their creations and they loved collaborating on this. In a lot of ways it was like having a hands on real life SimCity game. I don't know if any of you ever played the Sims, I did play the human version where they had the houses, you build the houses, then you have the people inside. I also would play SimCity and RollerCoaster Tycoon and Sue Tonkin. So I've always had kind of that STEM background, even though I never knew I'd be a STEM teacher. But they loved this hands on thing they got super into it. There are some super cute things that I'm definitely going to link the pictures in the show notes because you definitely have to see what they did. One girl created a restaurant and it looked like a giant fry box with the fries sticking out of it. So a super cute design, and very creative. I love that. That's very good marketing, if that was a business, you have the fries.

Naomi Meredith 17:36

Also, another student 3D printed something at home and added that to their design and wanted it to be a wind turbine to collect renewable energy of the wind. So that was super cool that they had a moving piece in their design and that it actually spun around. I did take a video of that in action because they were just so cute. There's also in the fictional data a muddy area of the town, one group decided to make this a dirt bike area where people could go and pay and ride their dirt bikes. Another group decided this would be fun to have a pig farm, and all the pigs will be rolling in the mud. So how cute is that. So again, all of their cities had the same landscapes, but their designs were 100% different. And they were so invested in their designs, they were so proud of themselves. When it came to the share piece, I highly recommended for them to take a video of their work, especially since they were working in groups, not everybody could take the project home. And so taking a video was a great way for them to share their work with their families. And you know, there's families who just feel like, hey, we don't need to keep this project. So a video is a really great way again, of course, I use Seesaw. But you could use another platform, like Flipgrid or something like that. With recording a video, they can take their work by taking a video. For students who finish earlier, if you wanted to extend this project even further, they could take a video of their work and then create a little commercial of why you might want to live in this city, and what are the features of this place and try to convince others of why you should live there. So as you're listening, and even while I'm explaining this to you, if I was a classroom teacher, I can see all of these cross curricular connections. And you could do this whole thing for a while. You can have them in reading research about GIS and how that's used in real life and new things that they learned and things that they're wondering and things they want to explore more and social studies. You could have them explore Google Earth, and all of the physical features that have a place in the land and math and you could just combine Math and Science where they're creating scale models of their buildings and then implementing that into their design. In writing. They could write a persuasive essay of the commercial of why you should enter this land. So see how it all came. connect together. When I was a classroom teacher, I was all about projects like this that could connect with everything and actually make your planning so much easier. So, so much fun. There's so many extensions that you can do. So I hope, I hope that you enjoyed hearing more of a deeper dive of a lesson that I taught my fourth graders when it came to planning a city. And of course, I put this all together for you. So go ahead, implement it yourself, I would also love to help you out with the planning. So linked in the show notes is the individual lesson that you can grab for your classroom that has all the research done for you all the vocabulary, all the data, even student examples to get inspiration going with your students, they're definitely going to be creative, they won't meet need a whole lot because this one is a lot of fun. Or you can also see in my free K-5 lesson plan how this connects together with my whole K through five engineering units. So this was one of the many lessons in this case, or five, where students took on the role of being engineers and a lot of different ways. Of course, there are lots of different bundles to with this. So you can buy this individually. There's a grade level unit, you can even look at the whole K through five bundle. Or even if you only teach upper elementary, there's an option for three through five. So lots of different ways where you can integrate this into your classroom and bring that creativity where students are awesome city planners, civil engineers, even that element of being an architect and having that creativity with their building design, but it really opens up the world of just another way how STEM is used in their real lives.

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More About your host, Naomi Meredith

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!

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