STEM and Language Arts - Perfect Together

by Renee Heiss

• Combine STEM and Language Arts in one lesson?  Sound impossible?  Not really!  Just follow these simple guidelines:
• Target the STEM area you want to emphasize for this week or month.  Examples include: Famous computer scientists, innovators from history, the different kinds of bridges – the list could be endless.  Look at your curriculum and pull the pertinent topics for your students to research.
• Make sure the topics your students choose are different from each other.  For example, if one student choses how the Brooklyn Bridge was built, you could allow another to research the San Francisco Bay bridge.  Then have a comparison discussion after your students present their research.  Having your students choose different, but related topics eliminates the boredom of reading 25 papers on the same subject.
• Allow students to work in groups only if you give them guidelines for dividing up the work.  Consider these ideas:
• Assign a specific goal to each student, such as creating a poster, performing research, editing the final report, and presenting to the class (may be combined with another goal).
• Provide interim deadlines for each aspect of your assignment.
• Create a completion chart on your bulletin board so groups can see if they are falling behind.
• Give students a group grade rubric, such as this free resource: Project Based Learning Grading Rubric so they can see what you expect from them.
• With older students, cooperate with the other teacher (STEM with language arts and vice versa).  Students may earn a grade in each subject for the same project.  The STEM teacher might grade on content, while the language arts teacher would grade on grammar. Or have them perform experiments in science class then work on the research paper and presentation in language arts class.
• ·       Give students visual and verbal prompts to help them focus their research, essay, and presentation in a creative yet organized manner.  Try this resource for your 4^th-8^th grade classes: STEM Stories - A cooperative classroom writing activity for 5 groups grades 4-8
• Encourage innovative ways to present their topic.  Going back to the bridge concept, your student might come in with a model of the Brooklyn Bridge to add interest to their presentation.
• Middle and High School students can have a more comprehensive exploration of a STEM/Language Arts linked assignment.  Try offering comparison papers like linking ancient pyramid builders with modern architectural buildings.  Once they understand that they have to research two separate topics and link them together, they will be less likely to copy a paper they found online!

Creativity! STEM! Research! Language Arts!  What an amazing combination of resources in one assignment that will liven up any curriculum.

For daily STEM prompts, click HERE. Have stimulating discussions every day and use these as the basis for research projects.

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The Value of Project-Based Learning for Only Children

I am an only child.  As such, I never learned the fine art of jostling for my parents’ attention.  I knew they were always available for me. I didn’t need to interrupt a sibling to get their attention.  However, when I went to school, it was a different story.  There I had 20 or more “siblings” all vying for the teacher’s attention.  Since I didn’t have the sibling skills, I remained quiet.  The teachers saw me as a good, but quiet student.  When we were assigned a small group project, I stayed in the background, and did my part of the assignment, but seldom took charge or offered new ideas. 

Of course, not all singletons are created equal.  Parenting styles play a huge role in whether that only child is considered a “big baby” or simply another child in the classroom.  My mother never allowed me to be “spoiled” by buying me anything I wanted.  She encouraged me to work for my wants while she and my dad satisfied my needs.  That set me up with a strong work ethic that is still with me today. Other only children I have met over the years seem to feel entitled to all the attention, showing a snobbish attitude.  In your classroom, watch for the reticent only child.  That’s the child who is most in need of your attention.

Fast forward 30 years… I now have three grown children of my own.  I watched as they squabbled, played pranks on each other, and yes, sometimes cooperated with chores.  Unlike me, they learned the fine art of grabbing my attention, whether positively or negatively!  In a group project at school, they sometimes complained about the other student who worked, but didn’t bring anything new to the group, or simply sat there and watched the others work. Hmm… I see myself in that situation as the quiet kid who finished my part of the project without much interaction.

 So, where do we go from here, fellow teachers?  Look at your roster.  How many only children do you have?  Statistics report that only 20% of your students are singletons.  Therefore, in a class of 20, 4 or fewer (usually fewer) children have no siblings.  What can you do for them when placing students in groups?  Let’s do an experiment: When possible, put all the only children together in one group.  That will force them to cooperate and work together as a unit. How did they do?  For the next project, mix and match the only children with those with several siblings.  What happened?  Who was the leader?  My guess would be the first-borns – they have lots of experience leading a group!  It’s important to help the only child succeed with  his or her social skills.

 When I was teaching, I had an only child who notoriously refused to participate in a group project, preferring to do all the work by herself.  I totally understood her reasoning.  A teacher who has not had the “joy” of being an only child might not get it.  I did!  I allowed her to work on the first project of the year by herself.  Then we had a conference.  Next, I let her work with one other hand-picked student (not a singleton) for the second project.  Then we had another conference.  She felt more confident working with another student after that experience. I guess nobody took the time to take this student by the hand to help her adjust to working in a group! Finally, I did the random group method of picking names from a “hat” and picking the topic from another “hat. My only-child student looked like a deer in headlights until we had yet another conference where I explained that this was part of her learning experience.  Not only would she learn the subject matter, she would also learn a valuable life experience about group dynamics, something I haven’t learned even to this day! Side note: She excelled in the random group and actually enjoyed herself!

Fast forward another 30 years… I am now retired, my children are grown, and they each have 2 or 3 children of their own.  Good job, kids, no more only children in the next generation.  And as a retiree, I’ve been creating project-based learning resources for the teachers still in the trenches.  Check out my many and varied list of project based resources mostly for middle school: Project-based Learning.  I have projects for every state in the union plus DC in addition to projects on most ancient history topics. 

 If you want to use your own project-based learning resources, check out my FREE rubric for grading their efforts.

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Fidget Mats for Alzheimer's

Explore all of my fidget mats that I have made for those with Alzheimer's, dementia, and other neurological disorders.  These mats help those people to focus on activities close at hand so they can use their fingers to manipulate beads, zippers, Velcro, and other interesting objects.  ALL OF MY MATS ARE THEMED.  That means they will stimulate conversation more easily than with non-themed fidget mats. I am a retired Family Consumer Sciences teacher, so all of my mats are securely sewn and safe.  I do not use any magnets to avoid interaction with pacemakers.  

Check out my etsy store for new varieties of fidget mats because I post them as soon as they are completed.  They measure approximately 16" x 18" with some variations. While these are for sale at $45 plus postage to individuals to offset the cost of materials, I will donate up to 5 fidget mats for FREE to a nursing home for the cost of postage (usually about $18).  Email me if you have a nursing home that could use some fidget mats for their residents.  Since these will be custom made, please allow about a month for delivery (you may get them earlier if I have some on hand).  Also, in your email, let me know if you think the residents would appreciate any particular themes - really any theme at all from spring time to holidays to a color preference.  Or you can just let me use my creativity!  

Check out my images below (birthday, Alaska, and Australia themes).  Then either order the mat (if still available) from etsy or email me about sending FREE mats to nursing homes.