Hello everyone, my name is Ashley I am a student at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley pursuing a major in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Bilingual Education. I plan to teach Kindergarten through Second Grade. How could STEM be implemented while allowing English Language Learners to effectively understand the content? Can STEM be integrated in grade levels as early as Pre-K and Kinder?
Hello Ashley!
I am also a college student majoring in bilingual education. One idea I got by reading your post was incorporating books that talk about engineers and scientists. I know The University of Houston has a book store called Arte Publico where teachers can buy biliingual books. Here is the link in case you are interested. I hope this helps!
https://artepublicopress.com/
Hi Ashley
Think of is as sensemaking through STEM; children start that in infancy! Watch an infant discover feet, roll a ball, etc. You are watching an engineer at work
I'd start by looking up sensemaking in the learning center and looking at STEM Teaching Tools
Anne
Yes, you can definitely introduce engineering to early grades. Young kids are so creative and really enjoy figuring out how things work. I suggest starting with a material exploration (sensory experience) and then engage them in solving a problem using what they know about the properties of materials. For example, allow kids to see what types of materials float and which ones sink. Then ask them which ones they could use to create a boat. Once they test their boat, allow them the opportunity to revise their design and test again. If you're looking for a curriculum to try out, check out Engineering is Elementary:https://www.eie.org/stem-curricula/engineering-grades-prek-8/eie-for-kindergarten The website has lots of videos that may give you ideas too.
Hope this helps!
~Carmen
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