Getting Started with Kindergarten STEM Challenges and Activities
Teaching Kindergarten STEM can be a little intimidating, but you can do it!
We created a few activities for you to teach students what an engineer is, how to be curious throughout the school year, how to use their imagination to design new ideas, and what science is.
All of these STEM Challenges can be found inside the STEM Teachers Club Membership.
STEM is a great way to teach Kindergarteners about how to be kind, safe, and work hard as they discover the joy of STEM learning.
4 STEM Challenges to get started with STEM:
Build a Playground Activity
Design and Create a Structure Activity
What is Science? Activity
Not a Stick Activity
Each challenge connects to a read aloud book to help students connect to the activities and is designed specifically with kindergarten in mind.
They build simple projects to give them a firm foundation in engineering. The lessons align to Kindergarten NGSS covering all of the engineering standards.
Count on Me
Material list:
Count on Me by Miguel Tanco
Popsicle Sticks
Paper
Crayons
Cardboard, Toilet Paper/Paper Towel Rolls
Tape
Scissors
Integrate STEM in Kindergarten!
Connect STEM and Literacy with this amazing NGSS Aligned Read Aloud STEM Activity as a companion for Count on Me by Miguel Tanco.
In the story, the character shares her passion for math. She finds lots of places that she sees math in her world. One place that she sees geometric shapes and curves is at the playground.
In this lesson, students become an engineer when you build and design a fun object to include at the playground.
This STEM Challenges aligns to NGSS Engineering Standard K-2 ETS 1-2 for Kindergarten, but can be used in Kindergarten, First Grade, or Second Grade.
2. Dreaming Up
Material List:
Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building by Christy Hale
Pencils and STEM Journals
Non-Consumable Building Materials (Building Bricks, Large Plastic Cups, Unifix Cubes, Blocks, etc.)
Integrate STEM in Kindergarten!
Connect STEM and Literacy with this amazing NGSS Aligned Read Aloud STEM Activity as a companion for Dreaming Up by Christy Hale.
In the story, there are lots of examples of how we can build with simple materials. The things we build can be modeled after larger structures around the world. Some of them have interesting shapes. Others are built strong. Think about the different buildings in the story.
In this lesson, students build models of real world buildings using reusable materials like Legos, Magnetiles, Keva Planks, cups, or other items.
This STEM Challenges aligns to NGSS Engineering Standard K-2 ETS 1-3 for Kindergarten, but can be used in Kindergarten, First Grade, or Second Grade.
3. What is Science?
material List:
What is Science? by Rebecca Kai Dotlich
Chart Paper
Scissors
Glue
Name Building Materials (ex. straws, popsicle sticks, blocks, pipe cleaners, sticks)
Plastic bin per group (to hold materials)
Pencils and STEM Journals
Plastic cups
Integrate STEM in Kindergarten at the beginning of the school year!
Connect STEM and Literacy with this amazing NGSS Aligned back to school Read Aloud STEM Activity as a companion for What is Science? by Rebecca Dotlich.
The will introduce students to different science topics as kids explore space, fossils, oceans, and weather that they will explore throughout the school year.
This STEM Challenge is for Kindergarten, but can be used in Kindergarten, First Grade, or Second Grade.
4. Not a Stick
Material list:
Not a Stick by Antoinette Portis
Pipe Cleaners
Pencils and STEM Journals
Simple materials to display at the beginning of the lesson (ex. plastic straws, popsicle sticks, cotton balls, plastic bottle caps, etc.)
Integrate STEM in Kindergarten!
Connect STEM and Literacy with this amazing Read Aloud STEM Activity as a companion to Not a Stick by Antoinette Portis.
Being an engineer takes a lot of work! Engineers are curious about things and ask a lot of questions. They observe the things around them, take notes and draw things that they see.
In this lesson, students will activate their imagination as they observe all the things that the pig imagines his stick to be.
This STEM Challenges aligns to NGSS Engineering Standards for Kindergarten, but can be used in K-2.
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