Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects are essential to a child’s education. These subjects help students prepare for the workforce, where STEM professions are growing faster than any other field. Oftentimes, classroom lesson plans only include math and science. This leaves students with a knowledge gap in technology and engineering. As educators, our goal should be to touch on these four core subjects, leading students to passions and confidence in these areas.
One way to get students excited about STEM is by incorporating engaging STEM activities into curricula. This creates a positive association with STEM and gives them the confidence they need to continue taking STEM courses throughout their education. In this article, STEM Sports® provides 15 of the best STEM projects to incorporate with middle school students.
Explanation: Students will gain a deeper understanding of the weather system by acting as a meteorologist. After building their own backyard weather station, students will predict weather patterns and fill out their worksheet/tracker to compare with classmates and their teacher.
Materials Needed:
Weather Tool #1: Wind Vane
Weather Tool #2: Barometer
Weather Tool #3: Thermometer
Weather Tool #4: Rain Gauge
Learning Objectives:
To implement this lesson with your students, click here.
Explanation: Students act as engineers when creating a casing to protect their egg. This introduces the Engineering Design Process (EDP): ask, imagine, plan, prototype, test, and improve. This method is commonly used by engineering professionals when working through complex problems.
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Learning Objectives:
To implement this lesson with your students, click here.
Explanation: The oil spill experiment teaches students why oil and water do not mix and what impact oil has on the environment. As an extension, students can work to clean up the oil spill, teaching them about real-world problems.
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Learning Objectives:
To implement this lesson with your students, click here.
Explanation: Using glue and toothpicks, students work independently to create a bridge. After everyone is finished, they look at other students’ bridges and see how they could have made their own sturdier and more usable.
Materials Needed:
Learning Objective:
To implement this lesson with your students, click here.
Explanation: Students build their own water filtration system to learn more about the water cycle. By the end of the lesson, students have a firmer understanding of what is done to the water they drink every day.
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Learning Objective:
To implement this lesson with your students, click here.
Explanation: As a group, the class will water four plants (all the same type) with different liquids to see how it affects growth over time.
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Learning Objective:
To implement this lesson with your students, click here.
Explanation: Using different elements, students will see what makes ice melt the fastest.
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Learning Objectives:
To implement this lesson with your students, click here.
Explanation: Using three simple materials, students see a chemical reaction that turns into a “fire snake”. Since this lesson involves fire, educators should help facilitate and make sure students are taking proper safety precautions.
Materials Needed:
Learning Objective:
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Explanation: Students learn about density and chemical reactions while making their own at home lava lamp. The reaction and material separation mixed with the Alka Seltzer tablet creates a visually stimulating and exciting end result for students.
Materials Needed:
Learning Objectives:
To implement this lesson with your students, click here.
Explanation: This fun STEAM activity turns students into engineers who can modify their harmonica to create different sounds and pitches.
Materials Needed:
Learning Objective:
To implement this lesson with your students, click here.
Explanation: Students learn about our solar system through this hands-on science project that they can take home and show to family and friends.
Materials Needed (per student):
Learning Objectives:
To implement this lesson with your students, click here.
Explanation: This is a great project to do during Mother’s Day and can be used for kids to give a gift to a mother or mother figure in their life! Students use their science skills and imagination to create a bath bomb that will fizz once it is dropped in water.
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Learning Objective:
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Explanation: Students create an electrical circuit using wires and a lemon. They will experiment to see how many lemons are needed to light up the bulbs.
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Learning Objectives:
To implement this lesson with your students, click here.
Explanation: Students work together to create a track that will allow marbles to move across the classroom, the more curves and turns, the better. This allows them to exercise their engineering, problem solving, and collaboration skills.
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Learning Objectives:
To implement this lesson with your students, click here.
Explanation: Students work through eight (8) lessons that use real-world football examples to facilitate STEM learning.
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