STEM—It’s not too early

Diane KahanekVillage ElementaryGeorgetown, Texas

Who I am

Fourth Grade teacher for 13 years Technology Facilitator at a PK-5 campus

for the last 5 years Mother of 3 girls Passionate about science, technology,

and Texas history. Advocate for children with special

needs

My Girls

Who Are You?

Elementary? Middle School? Administrators? Who has children? Technology Nerds?

What is STEM?

The integration of:

Science Technology Engineering Mathematics

Why Integrate STEM?

Stimulates curiosity Taps into student use of higher level

thinking skills Engages learners Manipulate concepts into any content

area

Not enough time in the day

Low priority objectives Difficult to measure

results Teachers unfamiliar with

where to start Lack of resources and

materials

Challenges of Implementing STEM Curriculum in the Elementary Classroom

Relevant Problems:› make learning meaningful

Authentic Projects:› promote higher level thinking

Hands-on, Experiential Learning: › Increase retention of experience

Opportunities to Design and Create:› motivate students to communicate

learning Supportive Administration

› Teachers collaborate for STEM learning

Components of Effective Integrated STEM Curriculum

MARE in May Marine Activities and Resources

Education This is how we got started. A School-

wide STEM program for one month. Kinder—ponds First—Rocky Seashore Second—Sandy Beaches Third—Wetlands Fourth—Kelp Forest Fifth—Open Ocean

Learning.com

We use Learning.com’s products to help our teacher plan STEM project based units. These units, many times, take the entire year to complete.

Aha! Math Aha! Science Easy Tech Sky—to customize the curriculum in

the unit

Integrating STEM

Your lessons plans may already hold the answer.

Engineering basics are: brainstorming, planning, creating, modifying and team problem solving.

Web 2.0 Tools Learning.com, AHA!Science, Aha!

Math and Easy Tech

Teacher Tube

You Tube Click Embed and Uncheck Related Videos

Presentations in Google Docs are EmbeddableCollaborate and Share>Publish/Embed

Forms in Google Docs are Embeddable

SlideSharea collection of slideshows that people have created and can be embedded or downloaded.

Wall Wisher Do More>Embed

Glogster.edu My DashboardScroll down to the bottom and look for the code

Prezi

Blabberize

Wall Wisher Do More>EmbedAnimotoVideo Toolbox>Embed

http://animoto.com/education/case_studies#watershed Voicethread

Menu>Embed http://voicethread.com/community/library/4th_graders_study_plants_in_collaboration_with_Pakistani_students VOKI I've use the Wordpress formatLarge>Get Code

www.EdHeads.org http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/o NeoK12

This site has many videos and games.  Many of the videos are You Tube Videos that can be embedded (without the You Tube Site).

PBS VideoHover over the video and Click embed

o TAGXEDOword clouds

NASA VideosAre embeddable

Museum Box: http://museumbox.e2bn.org/creator/viewer/show/34

Imagine Mars Project: Reflect This step asks students to explore what they value about

their own communities. To create a vibrant community on Mars, it helps to know what works right here on Earth. Students will investigate what people like and dislike about their community. They will learn how communities deal with challenges. And they will learn how communities provide essential services.

This step is the foundation of Imagine Mars. Encourage students to think about their inquiries in this step as background rather than a blueprint for the Mars community they will design. All good engineers build on the successes of their predecessors. Students can think of this reflect step as “doing their homework” to prepare for subsequent steps in Imagine Mars.

Grades 3–5 Activity: What Makes a Good Community Students design and conduct a survey to learn what aspects of

community life residents value most. Curriculum/STEM Connections Math: Students gather and analyze statistics to create graphs of

survey results. Social Studies: Students examine the daily life and the culture of

a place. Technology/Engineering: Students examine how technology and

engineering (ie., amenities, community planning or design) affect community life. Students also use technology to devise their surveys and present their findings.

Journal: Home Imperfect Home Students explore case studies of how communities meet

challenges. Curriculum/STEM Connections Social Studies: Students examine how geography affects life in a

place. Technology/Engineering: Students examine how technology and

engineering enable communities to overcome challenges.

Imagine

Having researched what makes a good community on Earth, students will envision a new community on Mars. There’s a lot to consider. What will they need to survive on the Red Planet and how will life be different there than on Earth? What will people in the community do? How will they work together? How much “stuff” can you take along?

Grades 3–5 Activity: In the Path of Explorers Students investigate one of four explorations: the settlement of

Jamestown, Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 Antarctic Crossing, Apollo 11, and the Alvin Submersible. They use a worksheet to guide their research in producing a Museum Box that details the expedition they chose.

Curriculum/STEM Connections Language Arts: Students read informational text about the

expedition of choice. Science: Students understand the necessity of learning as much

as possible about the climate, physical conditions, and other aspects of where they will go to be able to survive there.

Social Studies: Students learn about historical explorations and how geography affects people’s ability to communicate, travel, and even survive.

Technology/Engineering: Students see how technology may or may not work as planned. They will also use the Museum Box online interface to create their interactive reports.

Journal: Pack Your Bag for Mars Students plan what they can carry on a trip to Mars and

convert the weights of objects on Earth and on Mars, which differ because of the gravity variance between the two planets.

Curriculum/STEM Connections Language Arts: Students write journal entries based on

their investigations. Mathematics: Students will determine the weight of

various objects and convert the weights from what they are on Earth to their Martian equivalent.

Science: Students will investigate the difference in gravity on Earth and on Mars.

Technology/Engineering: Students see how physical conditions on another planet affect even simple things such as how much something weighs. They will begin to understand that everything in their Mars community will need to be designed to function in those conditions.

Discover In this step, students get into the meat of what living and

working on Mars will be like. They will immerse themselves in all things Martian and examine how things such as communicating, traveling, getting essential supplies, and staying healthy will be different on the Red Planet than on Earth. They will use factual data gathered in numerous space missions to help them understand the realities of being on Mars. Information gathered in this step will be crucial in the Create step in which students build their model community.

Grades 3–5 Activity: Mars Vital Stats Students research and identify basic facts about Mars and

produce a Glogster poster that illustrates the findings. Curriculum/STEM Connections Art and Music: Students use artistic techniques to produce

the interactive poster. Mathematics: Students use different measurement

systems and convert from one to another. Science: Students learn facts about Mars and how it differs

from Earth in terms of size, gravity, atmosphere, climate, orbit, and more.

Technology/Engineering: Students begin to plan how to design equipment and systems that will work in the Mars environment. They also use the Glogster interface to design their interactive posters.

Journal: Questions, Questions Students conduct research and answer questions about

living on Mars that they compile into a single document to use in later steps of the curriculum.

Curriculum/STEM Connections Language Arts: Students read and assess informational

text and write journal entries. Science: Students use facts about conditions on Mars to

solve challenges of living there. Technology/Engineering: Students refine ways of meeting

people’s needs that will work in the Mars environment.

Create

In this step, students build their community models. They will use all of the information gathered in the previous three steps to fabricate a model that represents not only how people will live on Mars, but also the important cultural aspects of the community. Students need to keep in mind that the models are being designed to share with others in your school, community, or more widely. All aspects of STEM come into play in this step, and students will also use technology to create 3-D models of their community.

Grades 3–5 Build Your Mars Community, 3–5 Students design a 3-D model of their Mars community

using research completed in prior activities and journals. Curriculum/STEM Connections Art and Music: Students use artistic techniques to produce

the model. Mathematics: Students will take and convert

measurements, use geometry to design structures, and employ numerous problem-solving skills in designing a community model.

Science: Students use facts about conditions on Mars to design the community.

Technology/Engineering: Students design systems and structures that will work in the Mars environment. They also use Google Earth and Google SketchUp to plan the community’s location and design their models.

Journal: It’s Monumental Students explore what makes a good monument

and design one for the Mars community. Curriculum/STEM Connections Art and Music: Students use artistic techniques

to create a monument for the Mars community. Social Studies: Students view monuments of

ancient and more modern civilizations and assess how they represent the cultures that built them. They also evaluate important cultural aspects to include in a monument representing the Mars community.

Technology/Engineering: Students use one of several online interfaces to design their monuments.

Share

It’s time for students to share the fruits of their labor in this final step of Imagine Mars. Students should be intimately familiar with the challenges to living on Mars, and they also know about solutions that can make it possible. They’ve created a showcase of their Mars community in their models. Now, like any good scientist, engineer, or mathematician, they need to share their findings with others. The purpose is two-fold: to explain how such an endeavor might be possible scientifically and realistically and to respond to questions others may have about it.

Your students are now the experts, and they’ll get to show off their acumen as they present their community models to fellow students, parents, the community, and more.

Questions???

Contact information: kahanekd@georgetownisd.org diane@kahanek.net http://cast2010.wikispaces.com/ http://

imaginemars.jpl.nasa.gov/pdf/IMPPartGuide4_22.pdf