More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education.
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Last year I started implementing STEM challenges in my classroom as part of our Science curriculum. This was my students favorite part of the week! It was so exciting to see their creativity and love for learning blossom! This year of course I wanted to add more of the building materials to my class sets that would last longer and were of better quality since many of the items I had purchased last year were mostly paper or plastic items that did not hold up as well by the end of the school year.
Beyond critical thinking, they were also learning important life skills as they worked together; tolerance, teamwork, listening to other's ideas, compromising, problem solving, and fairness. All of these meaningful life lessons they were learning through STEM challenges without them even realizing it!
I chose the magnetic blocks and the ZOOB builder sets because they require one person to hold some of the pieces while the other puts it together. These sets require students to make a plan and work together. The brain flakes and the playground engineering sets both come with task cards showing students what to build, but I also liked that it gives them several options and requires them to decide which design which work the best. I plan on using these materials to build cooperation and tolerance of others through STEM challenges that I will incorporate each Friday in my classroom. All of the sets come with task cards, but I also plan on giving my students days to have open-ended exploration so that they can come up with their own designs as well.
About my class
Last year I started implementing STEM challenges in my classroom as part of our Science curriculum. This was my students favorite part of the week! It was so exciting to see their creativity and love for learning blossom! This year of course I wanted to add more of the building materials to my class sets that would last longer and were of better quality since many of the items I had purchased last year were mostly paper or plastic items that did not hold up as well by the end of the school year.
Beyond critical thinking, they were also learning important life skills as they worked together; tolerance, teamwork, listening to other's ideas, compromising, problem solving, and fairness. All of these meaningful life lessons they were learning through STEM challenges without them even realizing it!
I chose the magnetic blocks and the ZOOB builder sets because they require one person to hold some of the pieces while the other puts it together. These sets require students to make a plan and work together. The brain flakes and the playground engineering sets both come with task cards showing students what to build, but I also liked that it gives them several options and requires them to decide which design which work the best. I plan on using these materials to build cooperation and tolerance of others through STEM challenges that I will incorporate each Friday in my classroom. All of the sets come with task cards, but I also plan on giving my students days to have open-ended exploration so that they can come up with their own designs as well.