STEM in kindergarten

I work for a small K-5 charter school and we have decided to really embrace the STEM initiative in a way that you can't really do in most traditional public elementary schools.  Don't get me wrong- we still feel the pressure to get students reading as early as possible.  We all know the statistics about kids who don't read by third grade.  And just like every other public school we are teaching common core and struggling to make sure students pass required testing that seems to go hand in hand with education these days.  In fact, charter schools have to pass these tests at a higher level and feel the pressure just a bit more since our doors are so easily closed.

However, even with the giant weight we carry label EOG's there are still teachers that want to make sure our students are prepared for more than taking a test.  At our school we want problem solvers and critical thinkers.  We want our students to succeed in more than school- we want them to succeed in life.  And what better time to teach these necessary skills than K-2 when the tests are just looming- not really suffocating.

I know that as a teacher in NC right now I will be responsible for a percentage of the scores every one of my students will take in the future.  But I don't have the pressure to get them ready for the dreaded test right this minute.  So I can experiment a bit: enter STEM.  I love science, technology, engineering, and math.  My students are passionate about these topics, get truly excited when it's time to learn about these things.  Right not they are curious and creative in a way they may never be again and I want to take advantage of this time.  My biggest hurdle is the lack of resources available to such a young audience.

Every once in a while I come across a real goldmine and this week it came from none other than Sesame Street!  A NC essential science standard has me teaching students about movement- straight lines, curves, zig zag, etc.  In the past, I've taught this by playing follow the leader. Even when I did it that way I felt like there must be more out there.  Follow the leader might be helping them understand the terminology, but not the how and why of movement. So this year I went with a more engineering based approach.

I got the idea from the Force and Motion educator handout I found.  I used the main idea, with a few modifications.  Here's what we did:

1. We got together with another kindergarten class and watched the Brainpop Jr. video on gravity.  I really emphasized the idea that what goes up must come down.  If you don't have a subscription to BrainPop you could use the Sesame Street video.  I didn't use it because I really like BrainPop and I wanted them to learn about gravity- the how and why behind movement.  I also wanted the students to be creative thinkers and solve the problem on their own- rather than just give them the idea of a ramp.
2. We reviewed the Engineering Design Process.  This is something I have talked about before and I will continue to reinforce all year.
3. I gave them their task: Using the supplies I give them they must work with a partner to make an empty paper towel roll move without pushing or touching it.
4. We went to the gym and the other teacher and I partnered them up with a student from the other class.  Our idea was to give them a situation where they had to learn to work with someone they aren't that familiar with and brainstorm.  Teaching kindergartners to brainstorm is hard- really hard.  They are developmentally still self-centered.  But I feel like this is important for them to learn now.  The workforce they will someday enter is team-focused (maybe if members of congress had to work together in kindergarten our government wouldn't but shut down right now).
5. There were given a minute or two to plan.  Several of them came up with the idea that they would just blow on the tube to make it move without touching it- I thought that was pretty smart.
6. We handed out supplies: 1 clipboard, 3-4 large blocks, 1 empty paper towel tube.  Then we stood back to see what they did.  I have to admit that I might have coached them just a bit.  When I reminded them that what goes up must come down a made a ramp of sorts out of my arm, and then later when I reinforced the idea I held up a ramp-shaped block.  I didn't necessarily spell it out for them- but this was their first challenge and I wanted them to succeed.
7. In no time at all the whole gym was full of ramps! Some groups got it on their own, others just saw and copied, but every single team got it without adult help. They were so excited!  After that the other teacher and I went around and showed them how to measure how far the paper towel rolled using their feet.  Then we asked them to make some kind of change and see if they could get it to roll further (how many feet did you get it to roll that time?).  We even let them get a couple more blocks if they asked.
8. We cleaned up, sat down as a group and reflected.  I asked them what they learned, what supplies did they think would work even better, how could they change the design to get the tube to roll further.  They were really smart.  Several students wished they had a longer ramp and some even suggested modifying the paper towel roll (they couldn't tell me exactly how, but when the other teacher suggested adding weight they were enthusiastic about that idea).

And there it is, my first real engineering challenge in kindergarten.  The kids had a great time and they were really challenged to work together and think critically.  They got some math lessons with the introduction to measurement and comparing numbers.  Plus it was hands on a required them to be creative.

Next time I might give them some type of recording sheet for their results, or to record their planning.  Maybe we'll even do the same challenge again but I'll ask them to figure out a way to add weight to the paper towel roll. Really, the extension possibilities are endless. 

Happy Engineering!