5 Back-to-School STEM Activities with STEM Read Alouds
The beginning of the school year is the perfect time to introduce students to the engineering design process, teamwork, and creative problem-solving.
Pairing a favorite picture book with a hands-on STEM challenge makes these skills engaging and accessible for elementary students.
These five back-to-school STEM challenges encourage students to plan, build, test, and improve their ideas. They are also a fun way to establish classroom routines for working with materials, collaborating in teams, and reflecting on learning.
Get all five of these lessons as part of the STEM Teachers Club.
Pairing a favorite picture book with a hands-on STEM challenge makes these skills engaging and accessible for elementary students.
These five back-to-school STEM challenges encourage students to plan, build, test, and improve their ideas. They are also a fun way to establish classroom routines for working with materials, collaborating in teams, and reflecting on learning.
1. If I Built a School STEM Challenge
Get all five of these lessons as part of the STEM Teachers Club.
If I Built a School Activity by Carly and Adam
Looking for a creative back-to-school STEM activity? Pair If I Built a School by Chris Van Dusen with this exciting school-building challenge! Elementary students plan and construct their dream school using straws and other simple materials. They will explore the engineering design process, create floor plans, collaborate with classmates, and describe the imaginative rooms in their finished school.
After reading If I Built a School by Chris Van Dusen, students imagine what they would include in their dream school.
Would it have a roller coaster, a giant aquarium, a trampoline room, or an amazing STEM lab? Students begin by planning independently before combining their best ideas with a team.
Using straws, connectors, tape, and a printable floor-plan template, students build a model school that can stand on its own. Each level must include a detailed floor plan, and students finish by describing their school’s unique rooms and explaining how they would be used.
This back-to-school STEM challenge is a wonderful way to learn about students’ interests while encouraging creativity and cooperation.
2. The Most Magnificent Thing STEM Challenge
The Most Magnificent Thing Activity by Carly and Adam
Teach growth mindset through STEM with this The Most Magnificent Thing activity! After reading the popular book by Ashley Spires, students identify a problem, design an invention, build a prototype, and improve it at least twice. This hands-on engineering challenge uses LEGO bricks, magnetic tiles, wooden blocks, or other classroom building materials and is perfect for back-to-school STEM lessons.
The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires helps students understand that successful designs rarely happen on the first attempt.
After reading the story, students identify a problem and invent their own “most magnificent thing” to solve it.
Students can build with LEGO bricks, magnetic tiles, wooden blocks, or other nonconsumable classroom materials. They create a prototype, test it, and make at least two improvements to their design.
This activity introduces a growth mindset and shows students that frustration, mistakes, and redesigning are valuable parts of the engineering process.
3. Rosie Revere, Engineer Flying Machine Challenge
Rosie Revere, Engineer Activity by Carly and Adam
Try this engaging Rosie Revere, Engineer STEM challenge during the first weeks of school! Students use pipe cleaners, construction paper, craft sticks, and tape to design a flying machine for Rosie. They test their creations on a classroom zip line, observe how the angle affects movement, and improve their designs. It’s a fun read-aloud engineering activity that builds teamwork, perseverance, and problem-solving skills.
In this Rosie Revere, Engineer STEM activity, students design a flying machine for Rosie. Their machine must include wings, hold the Rosie cutout securely, and attach to a classroom zip line.
Students use materials such as pipe cleaners, construction paper, craft sticks, and tape to construct their designs. After building, teams test whether their flying machines can travel all the way down the zip line without Rosie falling out. Students can adjust the angle of the line, observe how the change affects speed, and improve their designs based on the results. This exciting challenge encourages perseverance and helps students see that every unsuccessful test provides useful information.
4. Iggy Peck, Architect Bridge-Building Challenge
Iggy Peck, Architect Activity by Carly and Adam
Combine a favorite read-aloud with hands-on engineering using this Iggy Peck, Architect STEM challenge! Students build a bridge with LEGO bricks or DUPLO blocks to help the stranded students cross the water.
They test how many figures their bridge can support and then improve their designs.
This back-to-school STEM activity introduces architecture, structures, teamwork, and the engineering design process.
After reading Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty, students help Iggy build a bridge so the stranded students can safely cross the water.
Using LEGO bricks or DUPLO blocks, students design a bridge with both ends resting on land.
Once construction is complete, students test how many printable student figures their bridges can hold. Younger students can work toward holding at least four figures, while older students can try to hold all eight and span the widest section of the printable river.
The activity combines architecture, engineering, teamwork, and hands-on problem-solving in an engaging back-to-school lesson.
5. Ada Twist, Scientist Science Experiment
Ada Twist, Scientist Activity by Carly and Adam
Encourage curiosity with this Ada Twist, Scientist STEM and science activity! Students follow the scientific method while completing an exciting elephant toothpaste experiment.
They make a hypothesis, compare chemical reactions made with different amounts of yeast, record observations, analyze results, and draw a conclusion. This hands-on elementary science lesson is perfect for introducing science journals and experiment routines at the beginning of the year.
Invite students to become curious scientists with an Ada Twist, Scientist read-aloud activity.
Students explore the steps of the scientific method while investigating how changing the amount of an ingredient affects a chemical reaction.
During the elephant toothpaste experiment, students compare reactions made with different amounts of yeast and warm water. They make a hypothesis, observe and rate each reaction, analyze their results, and draw a conclusion. The lesson also introduces chemistry, chemical changes, and scientific vocabulary.
It is an exciting way to encourage questions and establish science-journal routines at the beginning of the year.
Start the School Year With STEM
These back-to-school STEM challenges give students meaningful opportunities to communicate, collaborate, think creatively, and solve problems. They also help teachers introduce important classroom expectations, including sharing materials, listening to teammates, testing ideas, and learning from mistakes.
Each activity includes teacher instructions, student planning pages, vocabulary resources, and reflection opportunities. Get all of these lessons as part of the STEM Teachers Club.
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