Elementary Inquiry

This week-long STEM challenge integrates science and music lessons about sound, pitch, volume, and vibration. Students investigate properties of sound, use the engineering design process to build pitched and non-pitched musical instruments, and write, notate, and perform a short musical composition to demonstrate their understanding of pitch, volume, and vibration. A differentiated reading passage and quiz about the use of gourds as a material in traditional musical instruments will set the

This collection is the perfect starter kit for your new makerspace or STEM lab! Or, take your STEAM or STEM program to the next level with this bundle of classroom resources, designed for upper elementary and middle grades. This bundle includes:★A rubric for the engineering design process that you can use for professional development or with students to cultivate a growth mindset ★A STEM/STEAM student portfolios kit to collect evidence and data over time ★A STEM challenge design brief template

Use these expectations for engineers, self-evaluations, and rubric to foster growth mindset conversations and to track student progress over time with any STEAM challenges- no formal grading required.   These materials were developed to give teachers and students specific language and criteria relating to each step of the engineering design process. They can be used for professional development, guiding the planning of STEM curriculum, or setting expectations and encouraging reflection

If you want to customize STEAM or engineering projects so that they are a perfect fit for your students and curriculum, you need this editable design brief template with student STEM journal pages to effortlessly create a unique printable work packet for each STEM challenge you plan. Start with any idea for a STEM or STEAM activity that will require students to use the engineering design process. Edit the design brief page in Google Slides to describe relevant background information, the chall

Decorate your makerspace with these STEAM (or STEM!) alphabet wall cards. Geared towards upper elementary and middle school grades, these alphabet wall cards include vocabulary from science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math. Over 90 words are included in this set, so you can mix and match posters to customize your alphabet line to match your curriculum. Three printing options are also included: color circles, black circles, and low ink outlines. The black and low ink options look fant

Digital and Printable! Use the 5 senses to observe signs of fall or autumn and illustrate a book. Students insert a photo or drawing to show what they see, hear, taste, smell, and touch and feel in the fall. 10 pages include text with common seasonal changes, and 5 slides are editable to add custom text. 3 interactive slides ask students to drag objects on the screen to show the cycle of all four seasons, match body parts to each of the five senses, and show their favorite parts of fall. Use as

Use this Google Slides™ interactive notebook to document each step of the engineering design process during any STEAM or STEM challenge. Choose from over 100 slides to customize an online STEM journal that integrates technology into every challenge. Detailed instructions support digital literacy by prompting students to use text, shape drawings, images, videos, and links to enhance the content they include on each page. Several design and content variations are included for each step of the engi

How do you track and evaluate student progress in STEM activities without assigning a traditional grade? This STEM portfolio template will help you and your students reflect on their work, set goals, track progress, and foster a growth mindset for STEM projects. You love incorporating STEAM projects into your classroom, and your students love STEM challenges so much that it’s like they almost forget they’re learning, too! But… it’s a challenge to evaluate the effectiveness of your STEM program

Do your students see themselves as real engineers? These bold STEM posters feature diverse kids and outline each step of the engineering design process. The wording for each step corresponds to the criteria on this Engineering and Design Process Rubric. Spice up your STEM lab classroom decor while encouraging student reflection and growth! Print in full color, or print the blackline version on bright paper for eyecatching STEM classroom decor. A Google Slides version is also included with ed

Use conversation hearts and soda to practice measuring and converting length, mass or weight, and volume in the metric and/or U.S. standard systems. Drop candy hearts into lemon-lime soda, make observations, and use science vocabulary to describe what happens. A fun lesson for incorporating math and science content with your Valentine’s day celebration! A full, free preview is available above to help you decide if this activity will be a good fit for your classroom.This download is one pdf file

This lesson about the difference between observations and inferences is guided by the question “How do scientists learn about the world around us?” Students look at a paper cube and note as many details as they can think of. During a guided class discussion, they determine which ideas are observations and which are inferences about the bottom of the cube. As an inquiry lesson, the key vocabulary words are defined after the experiential activity. A full, free preview is available above to help yo

Do your students see themselves as real engineers? These STEM posters with gear borders feature diverse kids and outline each step of the engineering design process. The wording for each step corresponds to the criteria on this Engineering and Design Process Rubric. Spice up your STEM lab classroom decor while encouraging student reflection and growth! Print in full color, or print the blackline version on bright paper for eyecatching STEM classroom decor. A Google Slides version is also incl

This clip art pack of 16 gears borders and 8 page dividers is perfect for adding a classic engineering motif to your STEM or STEAM materials! For personal or commercial use. All are png files at 300 dpi. All included images are visible in the free preview above. This download is a zip file that includes: ★16 frames (4 colors of gears: silver, white, black, and transparent; each in square and US letter size format and versions with transparent and white centers) ★8 page dividers (one long and o

With summer STEM challenges, art projects, outdoor activities, and imaginary adventures, this printable checklist of summer ideas will keep the whole family engaged and help prevent the dreaded summer slide. Send a copy home with your students, or print one to hang on your own fridge. See how many summer activities your kids can complete! This download is one pdf file that includes: ★A colorful printable with 30 summer STEAM activity ideas ★A low-ink black and white version ★A detailed list of

Decorate your makerspace with these STEAM (or STEM!) alphabet wall cards. Geared towards upper elementary and middle school grades, these alphabet wall cards include vocabulary from science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math. Over 90 words are included in this set, so you can mix and match posters to customize your alphabet line to match your curriculum. Three printing options are also included: color circles, black circles, and low ink outlines. The black and low ink options look fant

Simplify AND enrich your STEM planning with these resources that you can use with every STEM challenge or design project throughout the year! Each of these resources is useful for starting a brand new STEM/STEAM program AND for teachers who already have lots of experience planning and leading STEM learning experiences. This STEM teaching materials bundle includes:Engineering Design Process Rubric to help you and your students talk about and evaluate engineering expectationsSTEM & STEAM Student P

Digital and Printable! Use the 5 senses to observe signs of the spring season and illustrate a book. Students insert a photo or drawing to show what they see, hear, taste, smell, and touch and feel in the spring. 10 pages include text with common seasonal changes, and 5 slides are editable to add custom text. 3 interactive slides ask students to drag objects on the screen to show the cycle of all four seasons, match body parts to each of the five senses, and show their favorite parts of spring.

Digital and Printable! Use the 5 senses to observe signs of fall/autumn, winter, spring, and summer and illustrate a book. Students insert a photo or drawing to show what they see, hear, taste, smell, and touch and feel in each season. 10 pages include text with common seasonal changes, and 5 slides are editable to add custom text. 3 interactive slides ask students to drag objects on the screen to show the cycle of all four seasons, match body parts to each of the five senses, and show their fav

No-prep make up work for traveling students that is relevant and content-based! These differentiated games give students choices of tasks integrating academic skills with their vacation activities to help your students and their families make the most of the educational value of traveling. You can put these pages, plus basic supplies like pencils, crayons, and extra paper in a gallon size bag to have ready anytime you receive a request for last minute make-up work. These game boards would also b

These printables will add bright colors to your STEM lab and keep STEAM concepts front and center in your classroom throughout the year. Perfect for starting a brand new STEM program or integrating a STEAM focus into your regular classroom. This STEM classroom decor bundle includes:ABCs of STEAM Alphabet Posters with many options for each letter to print a classroom display customized to the specific focus of your STEM or STEAM programEditable Student Desk Nametags with STEM/STEAM doodles that