Hey! We are still working on our vlog series about the NGSS and crosscutting concepts, but we wanted to share a resource with you that might help you plan the start of your school year! We want to help you start your year out strong with great Elementary STEM lessons.
Tips for Adding Rigor to Your Elementary STEM lessons has been one of our most popular posts, you can check it out here:
https://steamcafe.net/tips-for-adding-rigor-to-your-elementary-classroom-stem-lessons/
It includes a free download to help you evaluate your STEM lessons using five easy questions (If you’re already subscribed to our newsletter, you’ll get a direct link to the download tomorrow!).
STEM in our elementary classrooms should reflect STEM in the real world. While lessons on things like learning to code, makerspace builds and other STEM-related activities can be fun, if they are taught in a way where students just follow the directions and have no room for exploration or inquiry, then students aren’t really doing rigorous STEM. They’re just learning how to follow directions. The questions in our blog help you check to see if there are small ways you can improve your STEM lessons and make the more authentic!