With the Novel Engineering approach, " students become excited about what they are reading, writing, designing, and building! This excitement in turn helps them make strides in engineering and literacy, as well as in their abilities to work together, think creatively and analytically, and communicate their ideas." -- from Chapter 1 of Novel Engineering This book will both introduce your students to an exciting integrated curriculum and support you as you use it in your own elementary or middle school classroom. Novel Engineering shows how your students can work through engineering design challenges inspired by a broad range of literature-- novels and short stories, biographies and histories, or even picture books. By way of introduction, the book offers clear conceptual background and practical advice on how the approach works: Your students pull information from literature to identify a problem. Then, using details from the story or text, they go through an engineering design process to develop functional solutions for their " clients" -- the book' s characters. To support your efforts and bring the concept to life, the book gives you five in-depth case studies featuring the use of novels, a biography, and a nonfiction historical text. In addition to demonstrating what a Novel Engineering project looks like in an actual classroom, the case studies give you practice in thinking about what your students' work might look like and how you would respond. One case describes a class in which students help the shipwrecked Swiss Family Robinson build a shelter to keep them cool under the hot sun. Another tells of students who design a hearing aid for the main character in El Deafo-- and then style it as a fashion accessory. You' ll see that the books used in the case studies are just suggestions. You don' t have to adopt texts outside your existing English language arts or social studies curriculum. You also don' t have to buy a specific building-materials kit. You just have to embrace the idea that literacy and engineering can support each other in your classroom-- and then watch the excitement build.

Introducing Engineering to K-8 Students will provide you with the tools you need to incorporate engineering design into your classroom. Rather than prescribing a specific curriculum to follow, this book will help you engage your students with hands-on, open-ended engineering design problems that can be easily integrated into your existing classroom setup. Beginning with the basics of K-8 engineering, and advancing to topics such as integrating engineering with other disciplines, documentation, and assessments, the chapters provide a how-to on creating open-ended engineering activities, design tasks, and projects that are reflective of the academic, social, emotional, developmental, and community goals of your students. An additional focus is on ways to adapt these pedagogical approaches to meet the needs of all students, representative of racially, ethnically, socioeconomically, and gender diverse populations and students who receive special education services. Case studies and practical implementation strategies are presented alongside more than fifteen lesson plans, with tips on how to modify the tasks presented in the book to work with your classroom and students. This user-centered approach will also help you create your own engineering lessons that meet your individual classroom objectives and interests, and be able to recognize and classify your students’ engineering behaviors to support them in enacting their ideas. No matter your experience or comfort level, this book will be an invaluable resource for elementary and middle school science and technology teachers at all career stages who are looking to introduce engineering design to their students. Additional classroom resources can be found online at introducingengineering.org.

This book addresses engineering learning in early childhood, spanning ages 3 to 8 years. It explores why engineering experiences are important in young children's overall development and how engineering is a core component of early STEM learning, including how engineering education links and supports children's existing experiences in science, mathematics, and design and technology, both before school and in the early school years. Promoting STEM education across the school years is a key goal of many nations, with the realization that building STEM skills required by societies takes time and needs to begin as early as possible. Despite calls from national and international organisations, the inclusion of engineering-based learning within elementary and primary school programs remains limited in many countries. Engineering experiences for young children in the pre-school or early school years has received almost no attention, even though young children can be considered natural engineers. This book addresses this void by exposing what we know about engineering for young learners, including their capabilities for solving engineering-based problems and the (few) existing programs that are capitalising on their potential.

Here’s a one-stop guide to help libraries with participatory design, open-ended play, and resources that contribute to an active learning environment for young children.

Studying science, technology, engineering, and math—subjects collectively known as STEM-- equips students with the knowledge and skills to solve tough problems, gather and evaluate evidence, and make sense of information. Students today need STEM skills more than ever to succeed in our increasingly information-based and technological society. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics workers play a key role in the sustained growth and stability of the U.S. economy, and are a critical component to helping the U.S. win the future. Furthermore, STEM occupations are growing at more than twice the rate of non-stem careers. For all these reasons, STEM education needs to be a priority in all schools. This quick reference laminated guide provides an overview of best practices in STEM education for teachers of grades K-8. It addresses what STEM literacy is and why it’s so important, and provides an overview of best practices in STEM education. These include: engage students in “minds on” activities; emphasize inquiry; have students conduct fair tests (“experiments”) as well as investigations; focus on authentic learning; differentiate instruction. The guide also includes sections on differentiation, assessing students in STEM, supporting underrepresented student populations, and incorporating the arts (STEAM).

Computational thinking is a lifelong skill important for succeeding in careers and life. Students especially need to acquire this skill while in school as it can assist with solving a number of complex problems that arise later in life. Therefore, the importance of teaching computational thinking and coding in early education is paramount for fostering problem-solving and creativity. Teaching Computational Thinking and Coding to Young Children discusses the importance of teaching computational thinking and coding in early education. The book focuses on interdisciplinary connections between computational thinking and other areas of study, assessment methods for computational thinking, and different contexts in which computational thinking plays out. Covering topics such as programming, computational thinking assessment, computational expression, and coding, this book is essential for elementary and middle school teachers, early childhood educators, administrators, instructional designers, curricula developers, educational software developers, researchers, educators, academicians, and students in computer science, education, computational thinking, and early childhood education.

Children are intrigued by switches that power a light source and by items that reflect light and sparkle, and they take notice of personal shadows cast on the playground. An understanding of light and shadow is crucial to many STEM fields, including astronomy, biology, engineering, architecture, and more. This book shows teachers how to engage children (ages 3-8 ) with light and shadow in a playful way, building an early foundation for the later, more complex study of this phenomena and, ultimately, for children's interest in professions within the STEM fields. The text offers guidance for arranging the physical environment of classrooms, integrating literacy learning and investigations, and building partnerships with administrators. Each volume in the STEM for Our Youngest Learners Series includes examples of educators and children engaging in inquiry learning, guidance for selecting materials and arranging the learning environment, modifications and accommodations for diverse learners, support for establishing adult learning communities, and more.

Learn effective ways to teach STEAM with this helpful book from educational technology experts Billy Krakower and Meredith Martin. Whether you have a dedicated STEAM class, or plan to integrate it into a regular classroom, you’ll find out how to create a structured learning environment while still leaving room for inquiry and innovation. You’ll also gain a variety of hands-on activities and rubrics you can use immediately. Topics include: the differences among STEM, STEAM, and makerspaces planning your STEAM space stocking your space with the right supplies planning for instruction and managing class time incorporating the core subjects aligning lessons with standards and assessments getting the administration and community involved taking your class to the next level with design thinking. With this practical book, you’ll have all the tools you’ll need to create a STEAM-friendly learning space starting now. Continue the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #GSwSTEAM!