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STEM, science, technology, engineering and
mathematics, is not a process or strategy, but a
way of thinking? At the core of that thinking is
Engineering. Engineering is a key discipline in
STEM education as it helps children connect with
their world and understand how everything that
they use is linked to design and engineering.
This bulletin highlights the importance of teach-
ing STEM education at an early age. Read about
the exciting things happening in DDESS like the
opening of the new STEAM-focused schools at
Shugart Elementary and Middle (page 2) and
DDESS students who participated in the NASA In
-Flight Event (page 3). Teachers at all grade levels
will find links to STEM engineering design
challenges focused on green technology, STEM
lessons from NASA and information about online
student competitions. Check out the national
environmental competition for K-12th graders
featuring projects designed to solve a problem
impacting our planet and the EngineerGirl essay
contest about food engineering for grades 3-12
designed to promote engineering among girls. The
deadline is March 2012.
To contribute to this bulletin, contact:
….A Way of Thinking
ISSUE 2 December 2011 VOLUME 1 TEACHER RESOURCES
STUDENT RESOURCES
ONLINE RESOURCES STEM Connections
Young children are instinctively engineers and
naturally enjoy exploring the world around them.
Unfortunately we tend to educate-out their natural
abilities to explore, question and solve problems.
By the 4th grade girls are no longer interested in
science and math and by middle schools many
students have lost interest in STEM content all
together. Research suggests that the earlier
students are exposed to the concepts of STEM, the
more likely they are to have a continuous interest
in STEM disciplines through school.
Children spend about 90% of their time interacting
with the human-made world. But rarely in school
do children learn about the engineering and
technology that makes the human-made world
possible. By introducing STEM at the elementary
level, teachers can engage students in the
engineering design process and allow students to
use interdisciplinary approaches to develop
solutions to open-ended problems. Teachers can
shift students away from learning isolated facts, to
a more integrated, inquiry-based, student-centered
approach to learning science, mathematics,
technology and engineering.
STEM-focused classrooms give children an
opportunity to participate in solving age-appropriate
problems that encourage original research. Students
work together, using scientific and mathematic
knowledge to define, model and test solutions. They
analyze data and report their findings to one another,
or to their peers in the school, or even to a broader
audience outside of their classroom. Teachers guide
students through their investigations while they
understand and master the standards.
Early exposure to STEM is important for all children
particularly for underrepresented groups such as
minorities and girls. An integrated STEM curriculum
can provide concrete real world applications of
mathematics and science, boost technology literacy
and increase awareness and understanding of the inter-
connections and relevance of STEM related content.
In addition, by challenging and motivating students in
STEM through hands-on discovery and exploration,
schools can prepare all children to be global and tech-
nologically-literate citizens of the 21st Century.
STEM Is Elementary Too!
Elementary STEM
Resources
ISTEM Resource
Network provides lessons
for all STEM subject mat-
ter, organized by grade
level and content area.
ISTEM Lessons (K-2)
ISTEM Lessons (3-5)
The Futures Channel has
videos and activities that
provide hands-on, real
world math and science
lessons for the classroom.
Fun Works is a website
design to educate young
kids about STEM careers. http://thefunworks.edc.org/
SPT--homegraphic.php
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New STEAM-Focused Schools at Shugart Elementary and Middle Denise Hudson (North Carolina District)
The North Carolina District welcomed the opening of
a new Pre-K through eighth grade complex at the
start of SY 2011-12. In addition to being shiny and new,
Shughart Elementary and Middle Schools are STEAM –
Focused. STEAM is the acronym for science, technol-
ogy, engineering, arts, and math. STEAM focuses on
the rigor of content, the application of content to
real-world, and includes the importance of creativity
and design in STEM-related work through the
acknowledgment of the arts. All staff participated in a
half day of professional learning on STEAM and the
engineering design process (EDP). Teachers experienced
first-hand the process of EDP by completing a design
challenge and analyzing the process. Thus inspired,
Shughart Elementary School teachers planned their
curriculum night as “STEAM –Themed.” Engineering banners graced
hallways, grade level teams researched and planned Engineering
design challenges for visitors, and science, math, and technology
centers were purposefully planned with activities. Parents and
students participated in
newspaper tower challenges
and built loop planes. Visitors
viewed microscopic organ-
isms, played math games,
experienced Smart Board and
other technology resources,
and visited Earth, the moon,
and our Solar System in the
Digital StarLab Planetarium. The event was a huge success! So what’s next?
Shughart Elementary and Middle School staff will be completing their next learning
event before the end of the semester. The professional learning will focus on the role of
teamwork as it applies to the engineering design process for completing tasks, chal-
lenges, and STEAM projects.
NASA BEST Activities Guides
NASA offers a rich variety of resources and activities for engaging young people in STEM. The NASA BEST (Beginning Engineering, Science, and Technology) Activity Guides are aligned to the Engineering Design Process and are designed to bring the principles of
engineering alive to younger audiences.
Grades K-2 Activity Guide
› Download K-2 Guide (PDF)
Grades 3-5 Activity Guide
› Download 3-5 Guide (PDF)
Grades 6-8 Activity Guide›
Download 6-8 Guide (PDF)
Photo: Courtesy of Shugart Middle School
Photos Courtesy of Shugart Elementary School
Photo Courtesy of Shugart Elementary School
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DDESS Students Participate in NASA In-Flight Event
Shugart MS had questions asked and answered.
According to Shugart teacher Ms. Jennifer Kirkland the
first question, was from Aly at Shughart Middle School.
The second question was from Vicky and she actually
stumped the astronaut.
The teleconference was a series of events scheduled to
celebrate International Educational Week. To learn
more about this event and other latest news from NASA
visit :
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/.
DDESS schools participated online in the In-Flight educational
event sponsored by NASA on November 8, 2011. Three schools
Shugart MS, Bolden MS
and Maxwell MS listened
to the live broadcast from
the International Space
station. Students were
able to ask Commander
Mike Fossum questions
about the space station
and the research
currently being
conducted in flight. In
fact two students from
NASA astronaut Mike Fossum pictured floating freely in
the Harmony node of the International Space Station.
Photo Credit: NASA
Winter Insulation (Grades 3-8)
When a room feels too cold or hot, your
first response might be to adjust the
thermostat, but an engineer may question
whether the building has been properly
insulated to avoid energy waste and high
utility bills. In this lesson, students in
grades 3 through 8 assume the role of
building engineers, testing several
materials to determine which would
provide the best house insulation. They
learn about the role of insulation in
preventing heat transfer and discuss the
importance of energy conservation in
buildings. Click here to view the lesson
plan and expected outcomes.
(Lesson courtesy Teachengineering and the
Integrated Teaching and Learning Program,
College of Engineering, University of Colo-
rado at Boulder).
Lessons in Going Green Reprinted with permission from eGFI:http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/
Lesson: Zero-Energy Home Design
(Grades 9-12)
Imagine if we could heat houses without the
use of ANY electrical or gas heaters! Think
about the positive effects it would have on
people all around the world. Engineers are at
the center of designing solutions to address
these issues and they place a lot of attention on
passive solar heating as a way of reducing our
dependence on nonrenewable energy sources.
In this lesson student teams design and build a
one-bedroom model house using passive solar
heating techniques to heat the house and
sustain that temperature as long as possible.
Teams compare designs and make suggestions
for improvements.
Click here to view the lesson plan and expected
outcomes.
(Lesson courtesy of Teachengineering.org, the Inte-
grated Teaching and Learning Lab, College of
Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder.)
We Can Change the World
Challenge
(K-12)
This competition is a national
environmental sustainability
competition for grades K-12.
Students learn about science
and conservation by solving
real world problems that
impact the planet. www.wecanchange.com/
EngineerGirl Essay
Contest (3rd-12th)
The EngineerGirl website is a
service of the National
Academy of Engineering
(NAE) designed to increase
awareness of engineering
opportunities for all people at
any age, but particularly to
women and girls.
EngineerGirl sponsors an
annual essay contest. This year
the theme is food engineering.
The contest is open to
individual girls and boys in
each of three categories
3rd grade to 5th grade
6th grade to 8th grade
9th grade to 12th grade
Deadline is March 1, 2012.
Go to the website to learn
more: www.engineergirl.org
Photo: IStock.com
Photo: Courtesy of egfi-k12.org
