STEM throughout the year- Unit 3 Sticky Situation (Spiders)

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. (This acronym can also be spelled “STEAM” in which the “A” stands for art.)

This packet is full of fun, hands-on, innovative STEM activities that your preschool, kindergarten, and first grade students are sure to love.

Why STEM?
As educators we are tasked with preparing the next generation for jobs that may not even be created yet. Students need to be able to work collaboratively with their peers and be able to problem solve. STEM offers students the opportunity to work on these skills.

STEM provides students with open-ended activities where they can go through the process of defining a problem, brainstorming a possible solution, planning, creating, and improving on their plan. This process helps prepare our students for their futures in fun and innovative ways.

How Does This Packet Work?
This packet is part three of a ten part series. Each unit is meant to span over the course of an entire month. Therefore, students can revisit the activities and improve upon their thoughts/plan.

This packet is geared to help students think as a scientist as well as an engineer and artist. Students will carefully observe spider webs and then attempt to create their own using a variety of materials. Remember that part of the STEM process is having students reflect on their work after the “build time” is over. For this activity, have students take a picture of their finished product and then reflect on what went well and what problems they encountered. Have your teams discuss how they can make their web better the second time they build it.

This month’s STEM focus will require students to investigate and look closer at a spider’s web before they dive into the task at hand. The question/problem is simple: “Can you create a spider’s web using the materials provided?” However, students will soon realize that they will need to problem solve and tweak their original thoughts while constructing their webs. This challenge will teach students to persevere, think outside the box, and use clues from nature to create a web that works!

Activities:
1. Can you create a spider web with the materials provided? (edible spider webs)

2. Can you create a spider web with the materials provided? (designing and building spider webs)

3. Can you create a spider web with the materials provided? (students will modify their original plans and try again)

4. Spider "Lab"- Essential Question: Why don’t spiders stick to their webs?

In this packet you will find posters, activities, recording pages, and extensions to use during an entire month. These activities are perfect for fun Friday experiments, STEM labs, and science and art extensions.

Please look at the preview to get a better understanding of how this pack is set up and what is included. Your students will LOVE these lessons and activities.