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K-2 STEM LAB

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Mary Rose Palumbo Mary Rose Palumbo 10 Points

Hi all!  I am starting a K-2 STEM Lab in my school.  The students will be visiting the lab on a 6 day rotation as part of their specials schedule.  I will see each class for 45 minutes.  Each day I will have a K class, a First class and a Second class back to back.  I am looking to connect to other STEM teachers who run a similar program.  I am working on planning my curriculum this summer and would love suggestions from other K-2 STEM teachers!
Robin Willig Robin Willig 5625 Points

Hi Mary- I am in a similar situation as you! I created a 5th grade STEM program (called STEAM) for the last two years. In addition, I taught 5th grade ELA and 5th grade science (which I've taught for over 20 years). This fall I have been assigned to create a curriculum to push in to K-2 classrooms to introduce STEAM and I will teach 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade STEAM in my classroom. The second grade teachers helped advise me to tone down my expectations for their students, so I'm sure the activities for 1st and 2nd will have to be broken down even more. I'm going to start the first and second graders building a newspaper tower to get them in the "engineering mode". I plan to use the NGSS science and engineering standards to help develop goals for the year. Goals will include drawing designs, testing, noting patterns, rebuilding, keeping a budget, collaborating, recording observations, etc. I'm still figuring out how to break these goals down into mini-lessons. It should be fun! Best, Robin

Lynnea Shafter Lynnea Shafter 4475 Points

Hi! Welcome to the position! It's truly a blast. I teach K-5 STEM at Barbara Morgan STEM Academy in Idaho. We are just entering our 4th year and I have kids on a 4 day specials rotation for an hour each time except kinder who I see in 30min blocks. I'd be more than happy to collaborate with you. Let me know what I can do to help.

Denise Crouch Conway Denise Crouch 1780 Points

These opportunities you describe sound like so much fun as a teacher AND student. This year I am pushing more STEM/STEAM activities into my 5th grade classes. I have always used hands-on, so tweaking it just a little should be doable. My advice is to find a younger grade teacher to bounce ideas off of and keep posting on here, even a lesson plan or two to get constructive feedback!

Wendy Goldfein Wendy Goldfein 2335 Points

Hi Mary, We have lots of links and resources as well as idea-filled blogs and lessons to download on our website. In addition we have an active STEM focused Pinterest page, Facebook page and Instagram page with daily additions to help a classroom teacher. We hope this will be useful for you. Wendy and Cheryl www.getcaughtengineering.com
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