Creative STEM Activities for first and second grade
Winter STEM Activities
STEM may stand for science, technology, engineering, and math, but that doesn’t mean it’s only for what some may consider “traditional” lessons in those content areas. Did you know that one of the most important elements of a November STEM curriculum is that it can be applied in the real world? Yup! STEM is not just about teaching science, teaching technology, teaching engineering, teaching math all individually. It is about teaching these elements together and in real world situations.
As a result, what better way to help students apply these types of lessons to the real world, than by engaging them with topics they are already familiar with and interested in!
Do you have students who love football? What about students who enjoy fall activities like raking leaves? Students who may love the tradition of turkey and Thanksgiving? Every single student may not have a passion for these topics, but guess what? They are all probably familiar with these topics in some way. Familiarity helps students feel more connected to a subject which can help improve student interest and engagement!
These areas of interest help connect learning to the real world, but what exactly do football, turkeys, Thanksgiving, and fall in general have to do with science, technology, engineering and math though? Keep reading to find out!
1st Grade Thanksgiving STEM lessons
If you have never used one of our STEM lessons, here is a quick overview of all of our STEM lessons.
All of our STEM lessons guide students through what we call The Engineering Design Process:
- Ask what the Problem is that needs to be solved.
- Imagine and Brainstorm a solution.
- Plan what is needed to create a solution.
- Create and Test the design.
- Improve the design
That said, this 5 step process helps engage students in the different parts of STEM with any topic. Here is how the engineering design process applies to the four topics that are perfect for November STEM lessons.
Learn more about more about STEM activities for first grade here or keep reading to see our four favorite November STEM activities for first grade!
Thanksgiving STEM Lesson for first and second graders
A STEM challenge is designed to help your students think outside the box and learn how the world works. In this Thanksgiving Dinner STEM challenge, students explore the engineering design process in order to build a table that is strong enough to hold a can of vegetables. This November STEM challenge is a great one to introduce students to the engineering process with materials you probably already have in the classroom: one single 8×11 piece of paper and 12 inches of tape.
Turkey STEM Lesson for first and second graders
Even if students don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, they will love this fun STEM activity that asks them to create an enclosure to keep a Turkey from flying away. This is a great activity for students to work together in small groups.
Just as with all of our STEM activities, we provide a challenge that can easily be completed with materials that you already have in the classroom: paper, pipe cleaners, cups, popsicle sticks, string, scissors, cotton balls, cardboard, rubber bands, glue, and tape.
Football STEM Activities for first and second grades
The football STEM is a great activity to engage students who love sports! Even students who are big sports fans will still love this challenge, because they get to test out their “footballs” and “kick” paper around the room!
To begin, students are presented with the challenge: to fold a mini-football and build a goalpost, with the requirement that you can only use your finger to flick the football through the goal post. Once they have the challenge, they work through the other four steps of the engineering process. This is a particularly engaging activity because students will love to test out their football and goal posts while trying to build the perfect design.
1st Grade STEM Lessons for Fall for first and second grades
Fall Mobile challenge is designed to help your students think outside the box and learn how the world works. This challenge is a student and teacher favorite because it provides the class an opportunity to go outside! This Fall Mobile STEM challenge helps students explore the engineering design process using common materials to build a balanced mobile for the classroom by using at least two different items found in nature for each rod.
And then, the 5 step engineering process helps students complete for all of our STEM activities. Each STEM challenge also includes several other amazing resources to support you and your students.
For example,
- Step-by-Step lesson plans
- STEM Challenge worksheets for each step of the design process
- Printable templates for design enhancements
- Vocabulary Cards
- Explore science connections with QR codes and an infographic
- Materials List
- Ask Poster
- STEM Challenge Poster
- Recording Sheets
- Engineering Design Process posters
- Self/Group Evaluation Checklist
COACHING TIP
First, remember that a key part of an effective STEM activity is to make it related to the real world. While all of these fall challenges are related to the real world and require students to apply solutions to problems in the world around them, students may be more interested or familiar with one topic over another.
Moreover, one great way to make sure students are invested in the learning process is to give them personal choice of which topic they prefer. If you purchase the entire bundle , you get all 4 topics listed above. All of the lessons follow the same protocol. That means, students will all be learning and practicing the same skills regardless of which one they use. So, why not let students choose which one they want! This is also a great way to change up groups!
Another way to use a bundle is to use one activity a week, for a complete month’s worth of STEM challenges. Therefore, this is especially great for those busier months around the holidays and end of quarter, because you get 4 engaging STEM activities that are already planned and ready to go!
However you choose to use STEM in your classroom, we know your students will love the opportunity to make real world connections with their learning!
More STEM activities for 1st and 2nd grade
So, you’re looking for more STEM activities for First and Second Graders you can visit our shop? Lastly, you may be interested in these blog posts such as:
