Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:

One of my most favorite units I have ever taught is STEM survival camp. If you are looking for a way to easily double your Makerspace supplies for practically free and have the opportunity to take your students outside, then this unit is perfect for you. While the audio from this episode has never been heard before on this podcast, this was a presentation I did in the past at the Seesaw Connect Summit. In this episode and session, I'll be sharing with you how I merged together the Engineering Design Process and this fun, hands-on unit into my classroom with this K through 5 STEM unit with examples. If you wanna hear more in detail about STEM survival camp, I just did a re-release, and you can even scroll back all the way to episode 4. And I talk in that episode specifically about every single challenge in the STEM survival camp. If you need more background knowledge when it comes to the Engineering Design Process, I do get into it in this session, but I'm linking the 2 together. So STEM survival camp and the Engineering Design Process.

Naomi Meredith [00:01:05]:

So if you wanna hear more about each of those stages, go all the way back to the episode series all about the Engineering Design Process. So that starts in episode 15, then it skips to episodes 17 through 22. So you can listen to that first Or listen to this episode, and then go back and listen to those episodes that I just listed, and that can give you some more background knowledge to understand what I'm talking about. So let's jump into this fun episode to talk about one of my most favorite units. 

Hey there, teachers, and welcome to the session that's going to help kick off your year using the outdoors STEM survival camp. I am your guide, Naomi Meredith, a former classroom teacher turned current K through 5 STEM teacher and coach. My role not only includes teaching over 500 students in my school but also leading professional development and co-teaching with the teachers to help them integrate STEM and Technology. With over a decade of experience, along with a Master's in STEM Leadership and a STEM certificate, I help teachers worldwide navigate the best practices, strategies, and tools out there.

Naomi Meredith [00:02:53]:

I truly believe that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM and Technology in their classrooms. I can't wait to connect with you and be your guide during STEM survival camp in our short time together and other adventures. Here is an overview of the session and how we will spend our time together at STEM survival camp. First, you're going to hear the origin story of how STEM survival camp got started. Next, you're going to learn how to integrate and understand what the Engineering Design Process is, which is used in these STEM survival camp challenges, then you're going to see real examples of ways that you can integrate Seesaw with these STEM survival camp challenges, and then you're going to have some resources that will help you implement this in your own classroom. Let's gather around the campfire campers, and let's hear the origin story of STEM survival camp. Everybody likes a good origin story, and where things come from, so I think you'll like this one. This unit was born during the summer of 2020, and I was in the middle of a pandemic just like you. My school district was still planning on going back to school 100 percent in person for elementary students, along with the possibility of going remote at a moment's notice.

Naomi Meredith [00:04:18]:

The units I had done in the past, during August, wouldn't work since students would share classroom materials and most likely didn't have the same items at home. I needed to create something that could be shifted no matter what, and students could still have the same STEM experience. At the time, I was watching this survival show alone. And if you haven't seen it before, people are forced to be creative to survive, well, alone, by building their necessities, gathering, and protecting their food, traveling the land, and for those that stay really long staying entertained, thus STEM survival camp was born. This is one of six units I taught in my K through 5 STEM classroom, and we had an absolute blast. So much so that this is a unit that I taught again and will be taught each year coming back to school to help ignite creativity, create engagement, and improve critical thinking skills. I'm excited to have you learn more about this experience so that you can start something similar in your classroom. Before you dive into the actual STEM survival camp lessons, it's important to understand the basics of what the Engineering Design Process actually is.

Naomi Meredith [00:05:43]:

In my own definition, the Engineering Design Process is the real process engineers use to ask questions, find solutions, iterate ideas, or try something over and over again. So why is this important in the elementary space? Why is this even relevant? Well, the Engineering Design Process is part of the Next Generation Science Standards, even starting in kindergarten. Of course, there is a progression of learning among all the grades, but this is something that needs to be taught to our students. Now depending on which state you're in, your state might have even different variations of the Engineering Design Process and your standards and what they have adopted. So check that out and see what the science portion is for your state and district. Also, the Engineering Design Process is different than the scientific method. This doesn't mean getting rid of the scientific method, either. So I would say the scientific method is using science to prove and investigate a problem, and there typically is that scripted outcome or reason why something happens, at least in that elementary setting.

Naomi Meredith [00:06:58]:

It's great to integrate the Engineering Design Process along with the scientific method. So different types of experiments, different lessons, but the Engineering Design Process is used to plan, build, and solve a problem with multiple outcomes and solutions and, often, this comes with inventing. So, again, both are very different. Both are relevant. Both are needed. You typically don't teach both in the same lesson. So that'll help you understand the difference between the two. And also, when you're teaching the Engineering Design Process, this is a great opportunity to promote that creative problem-solving and also creativity with constraints.

Naomi Meredith [00:07:43]:

Students are creative beings, and it's amazing to tap into that. But also giving them those challenges where things aren't unlimited, they have to be creative with what they have. And you will see in these STEM survival camp examples that I'll be sharing with you that there is some creativity with constraints, which is really important to have so that students are problem-solving in a different way. In this course, I will be providing you with some free resources to help you get started when planning using the Engineering Design Process that will help you with these STEM survival camp challenges along with other STEM challenges that you want to implement in your classroom. Now that we have a basic understanding of what the Engineering Design Process is let's see how we can integrate that with Seesaw when we are accomplishing STEM survival camp. I'm going to be showing you these examples from kindergarten and 5th grades to the same challenge for each of those 2 individual grades so that you can flex up or down depending on the age of your students that you and you might even teach all of the students as I do as well.

Naomi Meredith [00:08:57]:

Now you already know that Seesaw has some amazing creative tools that you can use with any type of lesson and any type of subject, and I will use a mixture of both tools depending on the time and experience my students have with Seesaw. So, of course, you have the green add button. And when you click on that button, you get a variety of tools that pop up on your page, just like what I'm showing here. And then you also have those same tools that are embedded with activities. So, again, depending on their experience, you might want to it up. So, for example, my kindergartners don't have as much experience with Seesaw when coming into the school year. So I will typically start with one-page activities with them that have one goal in mind, or I will do a one-day challenge with the green add button. So maybe that is, let's just take a picture of our work today.

Naomi Meredith [00:09:52]:

Now for my older students, that I have had more time with, the years and more experience with Seesaw, not only with STEM survival camp but other challenges we do during STEM. I will use more of a mixture of multi-tools. So we might do let's take a picture and record our voice on top using the arrow tool. or I might even send them multi-page activities that we will edit throughout the week and go through during our time together. So really mix up the creative tools when you are using CSA with your student. The 1st stage in the Engineering Design Process is at. Now you are asking the problem that needs to be solved. This problem can be teacher or student-directed depending on the time that you have and what you're really trying to accomplish.

Naomi Meredith [00:10:43]:

Since I have limited time with my students, I typically will have the ask the problem already written out for them, and I will keep this question really open-ended. So when you're thinking about the problem that you're trying to solve, shift from can you do this, which is typically a yes or no answer, to how can you, which keeps it more open-ended. So just shifting those few little words can really change the outcome of your challenge. So for this STEM survival camp experience, kindergarten has the question, how can you create a solution to help you cross the river safely? And 5th grade's challenge is how can you create a shelter that will withstand different types of weather. So both are very open-ended for the challenges that they are going to attack. The next stage in the Engineering Design Process is the imagined stage. Now, again, depending on the time you have, you probably want to pre-research a lot of these resources for students to explore. just so that they can attack what they need to. Again, research is a really great tool, and skill for students to have.

Naomi Meredith [00:12:00]:

That isn't always in my STEM position, what time we have for. I really want to get kids into building and collaborating. So I will pre-research in a lot of ways and provide those resources for students. So you see on the left that there is the shelter inspiration, so I found different images of shelters that are built in real life by people. My students are gonna build little small prototypes of these or whatever they choose to plan. And if you've done challenges before, really think about how you can take pictures and videos as students work in action because that's really helpful for kids to see what real kids have done. Now this isn't a means to copy each other's work, but just seeing different examples that will give them a basis of understanding. The cool thing with Seesaw is you can even go through your past classes in Seesaw and save work with those QR codes.

Naomi Meredith [00:12:56]:

So if you click the three dots under a student's post in a journal, students could scan that QR code, and they can check out work that way, or you can even create a list of links to past student work. Also, in the Imagine stage, you can find videos online, websites that are related, podcast whole podcasts or even podcast clips, or even create a collection in Epic Books that you can share with students. So the more pre-research that you do as a teacher and giving those tools to students, that can really help you save time and help them focus on what they need to know for their challenge. Group students have gathered ideas from all of the imagining resources. It is time for them to plan their design thoughtfully. Planning designs is important for all grade levels and is possible for all grade levels, no matter what their abilities are. The planning stage is also where I will tell them how much of each item they're going to be able to use. So in this unit for STEM survival camp, there are predetermined amounts of materials they're allowed to use along with anything that they collect from the outside.

Naomi Meredith [00:14:05]:

So here is an example of a kindergarten plan, and this is from a different related project. So you notice it says Pumpkin Bridge. It's from something else; however, the challenge is how you can create something to help cross the river safely. So a bridge would definitely work in this situation. So ahead of time, in this one-page activity that I sent my kindergartners, I added in the predetermined materials that they would be able to use for my classroom. So, for example, they will be able to use popsicle sticks, cubes, and cups. You can even limit this even more and have a set amount of popsicle sticks, cubes, and cups; that is entirely up to you. Now for this challenge, they are also able to use anything that we collect from the outdoors.

Naomi Meredith [00:14:51]:

There are some rules that will go over in the create stage for that. So students use Seesaw, the drawing tool, to draw their design, and I really encourage them to use colors to really think about how their plan could look like in real life. They can also label their drawing as well. I've seen students draw lines from the materials list to their actual drawings, or they like to use that text tool to label on top. So depending on their experience with Seesaw and how you want to go with this. Those are a couple of options for planning for those younger students. You can also leave that material section blank if you don't have time. Or, if you want to use Seesaw tools even more, students can take pictures of the materials that they're going to use in the classroom, and then they can put that in that empty space.

Naomi Meredith [00:15:43]:

For the older students, I do still have them thoughtfully plan their designs. And what I have found is that drawing their plans on a separate piece of paper can really bring out those details just based on the types of devices that I have that they use Seesaw on. Older students will often get frustrated drawing their plans just using their fingers because there's so much that they want to add. So I still have them plan on a piece of paper. I'll send them that planning sheet, but then they will take a picture of their plan. and then also they can talk about their design using the microphone tools. So, again, they can use the c sub tools in a different way. When the older students are planning, I will try to encourage them to draw more than one view of their plan based on our planning rubric, label the parts, and also explain what each of those parts will do.

Naomi Meredith [00:16:34]:

So in this example, they're going to use 6, a bag, a wrapper, and string, and you notice that they describe what each of those parts is going to do. During this planning stage, if you are thinking about using the money for students to purchase supplies, this is the stage that you would do that. I do use money in other units. For STEM survival camp, I just have the set amount of materials. But if you are thinking about adding money and a budget, the planning stage is where you want to do that. Now that the plans are underway, it is time to take, which is the students’ favorite part, especially since they get to find some materials from the outdoors. So like, I mentioned during the planning stage, I will tell them the amount of the predetermined things for my classroom that they are able to use within their design.

Naomi Meredith [00:17:25]:

So, of course, it goes back to that creativity with constraints. It's always good to let students be creative and design whatever is in their heart's desire that is school appropriate, but also have those constraints when it comes to the material because when you think about things that we build in real life, there usually isn't an unlimited amount of materials and students need to realize that. and be creative with what they got. So we'll go over those things that they can use from the classroom, and then they can go outside to collect the materials that they want to add to their design. So this is really fun, especially when the weather is nice, so keep that in mind as well. So when we go and collect things from outside, I do have some ground rules that I go over with all of the classes. So these are the same rules for k through 5. So these are my biggest things that we are collecting, is only take what you need.

Naomi Meredith [00:18:20]:

So we don't wanna be excessive with what we're taking from nature. But based on the plans, we only take what we need. I will have one initial day that we will go outside to collect materials. And then depending on the class, some classes do want to go back out a few days later, and some of them will actually take things back outside and then collect something new. So I also don't have students bring bags with them because I did that the first time, and then they came back with bags of dirt and all sorts of things. We had a spider and a slug. So happen to be able to carry what they take from the outside indoors. Next is that living things stay living.

Naomi Meredith [00:19:03]:

So we're not picking up all the grass out of the ground, taking leaves off of trees, taking small little creatures on purpose; those living things need to stay living. And then, along the same lines, sticky, slimy, and wet things stay in nature. So that might even include, like, a bag wrapper that they find that is all wet and soggy. Let's leave that outside. probably even put it in the trash. So that way, things that are coming indoors aren't as filthy. Your room will be a little bit of a mess, but this will help with that collection piece. Once students have gathered their materials from the doors and also used the things in your room, they are going to create.

Naomi Meredith [00:19:48]:

So here are some of my 5th grader's examples with the build the shelter challenge. From me, they were able to use one foot of string, one grocery bag, one foot of tape, and 2 brown paper bag pieces. You notice there are other things in their designs. They did actually find a lot of things outdoors, and then they decided to combine designs after we tested them. For kindergarten, they had other materials for me as well, along with things that they collected from the outdoors. So for them to cross the river, however, they chose. They had one foot of tape, one piece of bubble wrap, 3 small pieces of cardboard, 4 popsicle sticks, and one plastic top. I did give them more material since it's their first-ever challenge with me, and I wanted them to experiment with things that sync and flow, which we'll talk about in the experiment section of this little course.

Naomi Meredith [00:20:38]:

You also can see in the picture of one of those kids. There is a little Lego person. They happened to have that in their pocket. They wanted to add it to their design. I said sure. And then I added water on the last day, so they built their designs for a couple of days. And then the last day is when we tested with the water, which again will go over in the experiment and improve. The improve stage really goes along with the create stage as well. Now with this done survival camp, they are fairly separate because students really do need to be pretty much done with their design before they experiment.

Naomi Meredith [00:21:15]:

However, when you're thinking about other challenges that you do in the future using the same process, there's a lot of experimenting and improving that go back and forth. So with the 5th-grade challenge, how can you create a shelter that can withstand the elements? After students have built their shelters, we will have an experimenting day. So they have a slide, a modification, and a testing checklist, and this actually got improved with my student suggestions. but they have different tests that they will put their shelter through. So they will actually guess before they test which rhymes. But they wanna guess, do they have an entrance for people to get in? Yes or no? Will it keep the inside dry? Does wind not get in, does it protect against snow, and can it be moved without breaking? So this isn't for a grade, and I remind students that this is just a way to test how you designed your shelter. So they will go through and guess using Seesaw, and they will either use the shape tool to add a little star or even just the drawing tool. And then, they will go through and test their design, which I will have set up around the room.

Naomi Meredith [00:22:26]:

So we have the wind station. The snow is glitter. And then there's a water station. You can kind of see in the picture that there is a little basket, and then there's another bucket with water. They put this sponge in the water, and then they squeeze it on top of their shelter with their shelter in that basket. So then they're not flooding. They're designed completely. It might be based on how they designed it.

Naomi Meredith [00:22:50]:

And then, from there, they will go back to their checklist and then check off what actually happened. I do have another agency saw where I have students take a picture of their design before and after testing, which is really helpful. and I will have some towels on hand because a lot of students if they have time, will actually go back and improve their design and test again. So it's really great having Seesaw. Make sure to keep it away from the water. But having Seesaw available because they can really showcase what is happening during those experiments. Similarly, with kindergarten with the crossing the river challenge, I have them if they take a picture of each other's work and add it to their modifications. So they're thinking about if certain things would sink or flow, and you could do this part after their building piece or even beforehand, depending on the flow of your lessons.

Naomi Meredith [00:23:46]:

So, again, Seesaw makes it really easy to record the results and things that paper might not be able to do. From there, students can share their work either by taking a picture, or a video adding to those pictures that we're taking for testing the experiments, sometimes I will take the picture for them and put it in their Seesaw account depending on our time. Other kids will help each other take pictures of as well of their work, which is really helpful. And then, I always make sure to have some questions at the end to reflect on. And I use these questions throughout all of my different types of units because the responses will definitely change over time. and based on the types of projects that we are working on. So students can either use the text box tool to type in their thinking can record a video answering the responses. Some students prefer not being on video yet, so they might use the microphone to record their voices as well.

Naomi Meredith [00:24:47]:

For younger students, I will maybe ask them one of these question prompts, and then they will respond back, and you can hear my voice on the recording as well. We might do all three, or maybe I will type in their answer for them. So there are a lot of opportunities for students to reflect on their work throughout this process. Thank you so much for joining in on this little journey, campers. Now that you have seen the examples used in kindergarten for a STEM survival camp, along with how it can be taken to higher levels in the 5th grade, you can now explore and create your own STEM survival camp challenges that you can use during back-to-school time. I have included some free resources to help you plan using the Engineering Design Process, so make sure to check those out, And these planning pages can help you when you're designing STEM survival camp challenges along with other Engineering Design Process lessons that you may be teaching in the future. If you have any questions and make sure to reach out, I can be found in a lot of different places. You can find me on my website, naomimeredith.com, send an email, contactnaomimeredith@gmail.com, and @naomimeredith_, where I share a lot of STEM and technology content all the time.

Naomi Meredith [00:26:08]:

And then also on YouTube where I have more video tutorials and also things for students as well. Thank you so much again, and I hope you have a wonderful school year. This presentation had a ton of visuals, and I bet you are dying to see all of the examples and handouts. You can grab the video recording of this episode, the video slides I referenced throughout, student examples, and bonuses for only $5. That's less than a fancy coffee drink. This will all be linked in the show notes, and you can check it all out here at naomimeredith.com/PDreplay.