5 Read Alouds and STEM Challenges for Back to School
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5 Read Alouds and STEM Challenges for Back to School
Back-to-school STEM read alouds are a fun way to engage in STEM and maker learning. These read aloud selections offer hands-on learning that will keep your students excited about being back to school. Your students will be exploring new ideas, thinking creatively, and designing for a purpose.
There are so many benefits to adding a read aloud to your STEM lessons. When we connect children’s literature to STEM and maker learning opportunities, we tap into important skills for our students including:
Problem-solving
Comprehension
Creativity
Divergent thinking
Hands-on learning can be incorporated within the read aloud or as an extension activity. You can implement these lessons at any time of year, but here are a few stories that are perfect during the back-to-school season. Be sure to check out each STEM challenge that accompanies the book.
Rosie Revere, Engineer
Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty is the perfect inspirational STEAM book for creative dreamers and builders. This is the story of Rosie, a second-grader, who loves to build with gadgets and gizmos. Where others saw trash, Rosie saw potential treasures. She always dreamed of becoming an engineer until self-doubt and thoughts of failure crept into her mind. Rosie’s Great-Great-Aunt Rose inspires her to keep on going beyond her first flop. Engage your students with a real-world STEM activity where they can learn about how engineering works. In this read aloud STEM challenge, students will design, build, and test their own flying machine to glide Rosie down a zip line.
Iggy Peck, Architect
Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty is the story of Iggy’s journey to becoming an architect from a very young age. This story is certain to keep your students giggling. Iggy, a second-grader, has a teacher who squashes his dream to design and build buildings. Iggy’s teacher finds herself in trouble when she gets separated from her class on an island, but leave it to Iggy to collaborate with his classmates and rescue his teacher with a bridge. In this STEM activity, students follow the six-step Engineering Design Process: ask, imagine, plan, create, experiment, and improve to design, build, and test their own bridge using Legos or Duplos (depending on the grade).
Ada Twist, Scientist
Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty tells the story of Ada Marie Twist, a second-grader, who has a passion for investigating the world around her. Ada sets out on a quest to discover what’s causing the toe-curling stink that has invaded her home. Your students can journey along with Ada as she questions who, where, what, and why. This is the perfect story to encourage discussions about curiosity, inquiry, and critical thinking. In this STEM challenge, your students will follow the scientific method, just like Ada Twist, while creating their own elephant toothpaste. Teach your students about the importance of science and chemical reactions.
If I Built a School
Jack takes his teacher on a creative tour of the school he is dreaming of in the book If I Built a School by Chris Van Dusen. This school isn’t anything at all like the plain school he is currently attending. This imaginative school Jack details is innovative and exciting! Your students can imagine what it would be like to design and build their own school! Engage students with a real-world STEM activity where they learn about how engineering and architecture work.
The Most Magnificent Thing
Your students can discover what the most magnificent thing really is in the book The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires. A regular girl and her best friend set out to make something together. It doesn’t exactly go as planned. In fact, most of what they make doesn’t turn out at all. On the verge of quitting, they discover that along the way, certain parts actually were right. She tries and tries again over and over until she finally creates the most magnificent thing exactly the way she saw it in her mind. Challenge your students to design, build, and test their own "Most Magnificent Thing.”
Learn more about this STEM challenge!
Back to school season is the perfect time to incorporate STEM read alouds and challenges in your classroom. You have a fresh opportunity to encourage critical, creative, and innovative thinking. Start your year off right by helping students explore, question, fail, evaluate, try again, and create.
These read-aloud lesson ideas are already planned and ready to inspire the next generation of creators, scientists, and engineers.
All 5 of these back-to-school read alouds and STEM challenges are bundled at a discount and available in our TPT store.
For more back to school STEM challenges, check out these blog posts:
Our Favorite Back to School Read Aloud STEM Challenges
Back to School STEM Challenges
What to Teach the First Week of School
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