Great resource for STEM teachers

The article "Learning About Plants With STEAM" offers a creative and all-encompassing method of introducing students to science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) while incorpo... See More

The article "Learning About Plants With STEAM" offers a creative and all-encompassing method of introducing students to science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) while incorporating a year-long lesson on plants. This educational program is special because it incorporates art—especially the making of models—to improve students' comprehension of plant biology. The article I chose is related to our future garden at my school. This article was very helpful and informative in giving me some lesson-planning directions. The school garden is not being utilized at my school, and the article gave information on how to use it as an outdoor classroom. The students also created a great product at the end to show all the work they completed throughout the school year. As a STEM teacher, it gave me many activities I can complete with my kindergarteners and first graders. Kindergarten and first grade learn about plant parts and their needs. Beginning with a solid scientific foundation, the lesson ensures that students understand basic ideas like plant life cycles and their ecological relevance. Field visits and practical projects provide pupils with a real-world connection to the material they are learning. This article was relevant to learning about these activities. One of the activities I could use in my classroom is exploring leaf color in the Fall and in Art. The teacher used leaf chromatography to discuss the different colors leaves have hidden. Students made predictions on what colors they thought they would see. It was a perfect fall activity that showed students the many different colors of leaves using rubbing alcohol. The teacher believed this helped reach some disciplinary core ideas. There were many other activities that would work great with my students. Some of the activities include investigating plant parts and needs using food coloring and daisies. Students created a plant model using straws and other materials while studying the roots of plants. Students were even able to grow a plant from a seed. "Learning About Plants With STEAM" provides instructors with an engaging methodology for getting students involved in an extensive and hands-on study of plants. This year-long unit offers an integrated approach that fosters creativity and critical thinking in addition to deepening scientific understanding through the seamless integration of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. Students will find the study of plants to be an engaging and unforgettable experience because the emphasis on art as a form of expression brings a special and valuable layer to the educational process. This article would be relevant to every school with a garden and wants to use it as an outdoor space. As educators look at the article, they can adapt it to different grade levels that cover plants and animals. Overall, this was an amazing article that gives much useful information.

Plant Inquiry with STEAM

I was very impressed by the way this resource helped to give a clear picture of how to allow students to find out information about plants in a constructivist manner. Rather than giving stud... See More

I was very impressed by the way this resource helped to give a clear picture of how to allow students to find out information about plants in a constructivist manner. Rather than giving students information about how plants work, the study values students' previous knowledge and helps them to put it all together in the end. Throughout the investigation, students make prediction about what will happen. The students are then able to test these predictions through simple, realistic, and affordable experiments. They record their before and after results through art. Then, students used STEAM again to put together all the information they had gathered. The standards which go along with the activities are made clear. Safety tips are also given throughout which help to avoid potential issues. Before and during the ideas for the lesson, the technique is explained and supported. I would love to do this with a group of students one day!