Practical Ideas for Integrating STEM
Written by Jackie Child, Technologies Coordinator, St Aidan’s AGS
Jackie is presenting in the STEM Across the Curriculum Conference at the National Education Summit Brisbane on 5 & 6 August 2022
Children learn through play and discovery. Providing curious and interesting activities across the curriculum gives students opportunities to share their understanding and build on previous knowledge and skills through communication and collaboration. The future for our students will have technology embedded in every aspect of living! STEM education will assist in preparing students for that future.
This session will look at activities which can be integrated across the curriculum. Some of those ideas from Prep to Grade 6 are in this blog. Plenty more will be shared in the session.
Prep students create "Peg Puppets" to perform a short puppet show. Animals mouths open and close with the use of the spring in the peg. A lever action, when the two prongs are pinched at the top of the peg, the prongs open up, and when released, the spring draws the two prongs shut. Making and using "Glyphs" to represent data about students or any topic being studied. Collecting the data, colour in parts of a shape ie penguin to represent the information and then discuss the graphical representation. Use Bee Bots to cross a bridge built by students. Program the Bee Bot to navigate a line to place the correct material at each of "The Three Little Pigs Houses" ie straw at straw house.
Activities for lower primary students like following instructions provides students the opportunity to see how sequencing is important and an introduction to algorithms. Students create a puppet by following step-by-step instructions to draw, cut out, decorate a character, assemble using brass fasteners (split pins). String on the back to make arms and legs move. Look at the sequence using LittleBits to make a light. Battery for power, power cord, power input board, button, light. Create something for the light ie a torch or bed-light. Writing an algorithm for making a sandwich. Using bread, knife, jam on a plate and ask students to write the order to make a jam sandwich. This is fun and can be quite specific in the instructions! Growing vegetables needs equipment, using card and tape students create tools to use in the garden! Students can be creative with wheelbarrows, spades, wellington boots, shears etc. Using AI to identify drawings. Spend time drawing line drawings to represent simple things like pig, sun, bee …guess drawings, discuss how they were recognised. (talk about previous knowledge) Use the website Quick Draw to draw an image given by the computer and see if the computer can guess it. Discuss how the computer does it…..through gathering data…heaps of data! By the students playing, the data is being collected to improve outcomes. Computer vision is when computers can recognise objects and name them. Using Aipoly App to see how many objects the iPad app can identify correctly….if not, why not? Complete a table and compare results. Learning about Computers is heaps of fun! Taking a laptop apart and identifying elements. Use the book and website ‘Hello Ruby’ for templates to cut out CPU, GPU, memory ROM & RAM create paper computer. Play memory game with cards of parts of the computer.
Students in middle primary years can be introduced to text programming language, LOGO, using the Pro Bots is fun and exciting. Students quickly learn abbreviations; Fd for forward, Lt for left, Rpt for repeat. "Move My Robot" website is excellent to help getting started and has lots of ideas and solutions. Once the students have mastered programming the Pro Bot, use a pen to draw pictures. Ask students to draw pictures first and then replicate the picture with Pro Bot! Designing and making marionettes. Using recyclable materials to construct the body of the marionette and then add string, wool or thread to make the puppet move! This activity brings plenty of challenges and problem-solving! Another creative and challenging activity is making a pinball game with a peg as the spring to send a marble around the game. Making the game as a narrative or game with points adds to the fun! Learning to program the Sphero using Edu app is exciting and educational as students can find so many features to program Sphero, including speech, sounds and animations. Students can work in teams to design and create games with locations which ask the Sphero to carry out an activity ie say ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’. The games can then be given to another team to play! Also try painting with Spheros. Spheros are pretty versatile and tough.
Students in upper primary enjoy investigating and creating with Technology.
Students plan, design, evaluate, re-design and create a 3D creature. Start by drawing with Splat3D. Collect recycled materials. Students can carve, cut, mould, paint and paste to bring their designs to life. Further the experience by enhancing their creatures with some form of technology; MicroBits, LittleBits, and /or Chibitronics. Developing skills in creating videos and using Do Ink App to create a short video sharing knowledge of facts the students have been studying in any of their subjects. Making a hologram involves plenty of skill development. Watch holograms on the Holaplex Hologram Video Creator App. This could be integrated into English by reciting poems. After composing their poems students video each other against a black backdrop of their heads only. Using a black Power Point slide the girls insert their videos 4 times which is then reflected into a square pyramid which is placed on top of the screen. The hologram is of a floating head reciting a poem!
These are just a few of the STEM activities which can be integrated across the curriculum for primary students. These and more will be shared in the session at the conference.