A STEM Project Just in Time for Earth Day

I must admit the very first time I ever attempted a STEM lesson I was a bit nervous...but once I saw how hooked my students were I knew it was something I needed to implement more of! If you haven't heard too much about STEM, here is a quick rundown:

1. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
2. STEM lessons provide hands-on experiences for your students that involve real world problems and students LOVE to get working right away!
3. STEM lessons are guided by the engineering design process. (see below)
4. STEM lessons incorporate 21st thinking skills such a communication, collaboration, and critical thinking.
5. STEM lessons allow for multiple right answers and provide an environment for students to generate creative solutions.

   

   Click here to get your copy of this poster in my TpT store!

One thing you must know is that sometimes students projects will fail, and their design might not work. Students may experience some disappointment but that is also when we gain those teachable moments.  When using the engineering design process in a STEM lesson, students can learn from what went wrong and make improvements to try again! 

So if you ready to try a STEM lesson in your classroom or looking for more STEM lessons to add to your collection I have one just in time for Earth Day (April 22nd)! This lesson focuses on the real world problem of littering. In this lesson students design mechanical grabbers to help their community become a cleaner, litter free place! 

Stop by my TpT Store to get your copy of this lesson.  It includes a lesson plan, teacher prep instructions and and activity lab book for your students to use throughout the challenge. I hope your students love the project, just as much as my students did! They definitely were excited about Earth Day so that they could use their grabbers to help clean up our school and teach other students about recycling!