STEMing It Up

Are your students learning about sound, vibrations, and how the ear works? This experiment has students test the basics of how an eardrum works by making a model eardrum out of a cup and testing sound vibrations using rice, salt, and pieces of paper so they can "see" the vibrations. Students work with a partner or small group to test various levels of sound with the rice, salt, and paper pieces. They fill in their lab sheets and then discuss their results with class. **Be sure to read the sli

Want to teach your students about what animals need to survive? How about human impact on nature and ecosystems? This lesson is a great way to do that as well as working on students' basic coding skills. This is a great lesson for around Earth Day or just when you are teaching animal needs or human impact in your curriculum. Students discuss what sea turtles need to survive and then engineer a shovel for their Wonder Workshop DASH robot, then work to program Dash to move around the "beach" ar

Want to teach your students about changing states of matter? This activity will give students background information on states of matter and changing states as well as the chance to learn/grow their coding skills. Students will use the program Scratchjr to code their own scene of a change in matter. This resource was made with our young students in mind, but it could easily be adapted to older students using Scratch.mit.edu website. New to Scratchjr yourself? This resource has links to tutorials

Help your students learn about the types of shelters different Native American tribes lived in based on the region of the United States they populated. After giving some background information, challenge students to work in groups to design and build a model shelter with specific materials provided by the teacher. This lesson walks you through the background information and then the challenge constraints. Contents:Lesson slides (Google and PDF)Worksheet (Google and PDF) - walks students thro

Want your students to learn about abstract art and a famous abstract artist as well as incorporate robots into creating their own original piece of art? Then you will want to try out this lesson! Students can work individually or as small groups to create an original piece of abstract art by either driving or coding a Sphero robot to move through paint on paper. (Sphero will not be harmed by moving through paint, though he will need to be cleaned up at the end of the lesson). Combine history,

Want to teach your students about an amazing African American astronaut for Black History Month or any other occasion when you are discussing American History or space? This activity will give students background information on an incredible astronaut in American history as well as the chance to learn/grow their coding skills. Students will use the program Scratchjr to code their own rocket to fly through space from planet to planet or the Earth to the moon. This resource was made with our young

Have your students practice their 2 digit addition skills by incorporating Sphero robots! Students work in groups of 4 taking turns drawing a target number, then use Sphero to "drive" to two numbers on the mat that will add up to their target number. Group members check each other's work, and if they get their math correct, they keep the target number. To give this a holiday twist, the target numbers are on ornaments and students are given a tree to decorate. Also, the lesson slides are dec

Want to teach your students about an amazing African American inventor for Black History Month or any other occasion when you are discussing American History or inventors? This activity will give students background information on an incredible inventor in American history as well as the chance to learn/grow their coding skills. Students will use the program Scratchjr to code their own traffic light to flash red, green, and yellow and have a character move along the road to the light. This re