Naomi Meredith  00:00

Looking for some fun winter STEM activities? These five winter-themed challenges are perfect for sub plans, one-day lessons, and even classroom parties. Let's jump into these five fun winter ideas.  

Naomi Meredith  00:22

I want to try something new with you guys and update you on all the things that are happening over here in my STEM world, so you don't miss out on anything, especially if you listen to these podcasts live when they come out. So all the fun announcements, and I love a good organizational thing before we jump in. So, first of all, I am planning the last episode of 2022. The podcast is not going away, only planning the last episode for 2022. I actually want you to help me create it. I thought that would be super fun to have a fun episode for the last episode of 2022. So it's an Ask Me Anything episode. You can ask me anything STEM related or even personal that you want to know about me, and I will answer it on the show. You can send me a DM on Instagram at Naomimeredith_ or you can record me a voice message at Naomimeredith.com/voice. That was so much fun when you guys recorded those voice messages for me. I loved hearing your voice. So either way, totally fine. I've already got some over on Instagram already. But let me know what you want to know. If it's super detailed, I'll keep it brief. But that will help me even for big episodes, but I think this would be super fun. Thinking about the new year, I am going to start hosting virtual live workshops, of course, they'll be recorded. But I thought that this would be an awesome time to learn and connect with other STEM teachers because I know how it feels being all alone and also needing a space to collaborate and learn. I don't want you to miss out on these virtual workshops, so join the waitlist to be the first to know when it's open. You can join the list at Naomimeredith.com/workshopwaitlist. Of course, all of this is going to be linked in the show notes. So if you're driving, don't worry about it, just click on the show notes, and then all that info will be there. So super excited to collaborate even more and make this elementary STEM world smaller. 

Naomi Meredith  02:48

So let's jump into these winter STEM challenges that I know you're definitely going to love. My students have had a really fun time with these. So you can definitely take these on into your classroom. Of course, these are also linked in the show notes and will be in my TPT shop. So if you really need to save some time, it is all packaged together for you nicely. The first winter STEM activity to try is an area and perimeter wrapping paper challenge. I used to teach them only three days out of the week when I first got started. So I was always looking for quick activities. Oftentimes, these themed challenges would pop in and would be perfect for the week. All you need for this challenge is some cheap wrapping paper. You can even use butcher paper that is in your classroom that's a little bit thicker. It's a little bit harder to wrap with, but if you want to save some time, grab that from your school and some small boxes. If you can make sure all of the boxes are about the same size, this will make the challenge more even for all of the kids so that all of their numbers can be compared but definitely up to you if you don't really care about that part. 

Naomi Meredith  03:57

So the goal for this challenge is for students will be presented with three different methods for wrapping a gift, so you can look up different videos on YouTube. I have created a few different methods and quick little videos for kids that are included in this resource but show them three different methods for wrapping a gift, and students will choose one of those methods or a method that they already know and then wrap the gift. From there, they're actually going to unwrap the gift carefully. They're going to measure the wrapping paper that they used and measure the area and the perimeter. You can have students measure in inches and in centimeters. They can measure in both and then see what are the similarities and differences if you want them to practice different types of measurement. If the kids have the same size box, you can actually record the data using a line plot. Or you can graph all of that data as well. Even further, you can even compare the wrapping method that students use and really talk about what methods are better or worse. 

Naomi Meredith  05:05

This challenge was inspired by a volunteer opportunity I did in high school, which was way long ago. But I did a volunteer opportunity with one of my friends in high school where we were at the mall, and people would bring in their gifts. We would wrap the gifts for free. I think any tips that were collected were for donations. We didn't receive any money, but it was super fun. I learned how to wrap gifts in a very concise and precise way. So this is really a good challenge for students too because it's not always a winter challenge wrapping gifts. But I was super shocked. So many kids didn't know how to wrap gifts. A lot of them were actually getting really frustrated because they had never done this before. Some kids were telling me it was impossible, which, as I said, everything new is hard at first. So this was actually a really good life skill. But again, practicing that area and perimeter in a real-life way and learning which wrapping method might work best and using the least amount of paper. 

Naomi Meredith  07:42

The second winter STEM activity to try is snowman states of matter. One of my all-time favorite books is the snowy day. This is such a cute book. When you read this book it has the three states of matter when it comes to solids, liquids, and gases for water. So reread it with that frame of mind because it will definitely pop up at you. After reading this book with students, you can talk about the three states of matter. So there's that S in science. Then students can build the different states of matter of a snowman-the solid, liquid, and gas using playdough or modeling clay. I prefer using the Crayola modeling clay that I've talked about this in past episodes. It doesn't dry out, and it can be reused over and over again. It's not as crumbly as playdough. I get really frustrated with playdough. Sometimes when it gets all crumbled up, the kids don't put the cap on, I know there are ways that you can re-infuse it with water, blah, blah, blah, but not for me. I don't have time for that. So the Crayola modeling clay works well for this activity. They can demonstrate their learning by sharing it with other students in the class. Or, if you want to take it even further, you can integrate technologies such as Seesaw, and Flipgrid, all of those things, where they can take a video and talk about how the three states of matter are represented in their snowman. 

Naomi Meredith  09:06

The third winter-themed STEM activity to try is toothpick snowflakes. We know in the older grades, it can get a little bit confusing to remember what the different lines and angles are and how to measure different angles. So why not do that type of lesson in a hands-on way? There is so much science and math behind snowflakes and how they're naturally created. There are tons of videos that you can check out on YouTube that talk about the symmetry and the math behind a snowflake. After you discuss this and go over key vocabulary, students can create their own unique snowflakes using toothpicks. You can have them tape them together. They can even glue them on paper using liquid glue. After that, they can record the math that is represented, and they're snowflakes, such as the lines of symmetry and the different types of angles, and they can even measure the angles that are in their design. To have students be really precise with their snowflakes, I would recommend having them measure using a ruler, and then really be thoughtful about their snowflake design. This will actually take longer than you think because students are really trying to be precise with their snowflake design. So this is a great challenge that you can really dive in deeper when talking about those lines and angles. 

Naomi Meredith  10:24

The fourth winter STEM activity to try is a gingerbread man STEM challenge. You can do this if you are reading different variations of the gingerbread man, which is so fun to read all of these different ones. I still have a collection of those books in my classroom, because you know me, I love a good theme, and I love holidays. I love this season and time of year. So after reading different versions of the gingerbread man, you can talk with the kids and say, “What if the gingerbread man had a streak of engineer creativity and decided to create a way to cross the river so that the fox wouldn't be able to eat it?” This is a great lesson about sinking and floating and noticing what materials will obviously sink or float and why. You can talk even more about the why behind it. Students can engineer a way for the gingerbread man to stay safe and travel safely across the water. You can fill up different buckets of water, I recommend putting these on the floor and having plenty of towels available. Students can engineer their fun designs. When I want students to share their work, I take the videos with my phone quickly and upload them to the students' journals in Seesaw. I don't trust kids with technology and water in the same vicinity as each other. So that's just definitely my recommendation. But this is a really cool way to think of an alternate ending to the original gingerbread man story. 

Naomi Meredith  11:54

The fifth winter STEM activity to try goes along with the story 10 on the sled, and students will be building a sled. After reading this cute counting story, students can create the 10 animals that are in the story. Or you can give them pictures of the 10 animals that are listed, and students can design a sled that can keep all 10 animals on the sled when it's being tested. You can give students any type of materials that you would like. I like to use popsicle sticks, straws, pipe cleaners, and tape if I'm being nice. Sometimes I won't use tape, but you can use some tape, and students can engineer their sled and even test it. If you have a giant piece of cardboard, they can test their sleds and see if all 10 animals can stay on top. Now a little trick with the animals is you can put them on unifix cubes, so they're more chunky. Print little pictures on paper, put them on unifix cubes, and then they can maybe take the animals on or engineer a way to create seat belts or whatever. But this is a cool way to bring this simple counting story to life and make sure that all 10 animals stay on top. 

Naomi Meredith  13:00

As a recap, here are the five winter STEM activities that we talked about in this episode that you can try in your classroom. First, we have the area perimeter wrapping paper challenge. Next are the snowman states of matter. Third, are toothpicks and snowflakes. Fourth is the gingerbread man STEM challenge. Fifth is the 10 on the sled book activity. If you try any of these winter STEM challenges in your classroom, make sure to take pictures and videos of them in action and tag me on Instagram at Naomimeredith_. I would love to see how these go in your classroom. These can all be found in the show notes linked for today, where you can have it all packaged up nicely and have all the things that you're looking for to have success in your classroom.