Ideas for Increasing Interest & Engagement
Useful Tips for Teaching STEM
How to Introduce Computational Thinking to Kids
When you think of coding, you likely picture someone sitting down at a computer and typing out lines of code – creating letters, numbers, and symbols that tell the computer what to do.
But how do they know what code to write, and how can a child learn how to turn their ideas into these lines of code? The answer is found in a process called computational thinking.
Along with being crucial to the coding process, computational thinking is important as a career and life skill. It is the driving force behind many of the top reasons kids should learn to code — especially for fostering problem-solving and creativity.
- Juni Learning -
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Computer Science Lesson Plans for K-2 Grade Students
When creating a program, students get the opportunity to collaborate and communicate on ideas across countries, states, receive feedback to enhance the outcome of their project. Here are some FREE lesson plans and teaching slides for K-2 students.
- Code for fun -
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Dance Party
Let's code a dance party with your students by introducing the core Computer Science concepts of coding and event programming (suing blocks).Lesson plans and unplugged activities are available too.
- Code.org -
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Craft With Numbers
Give your Maths classes an original touch with this editable template from Slidesgo!
In it, you can find different Maths exercises so that your elementary school students can practice addition, subtraction and multiplication. In addition, the slides can be printed and cut out. Download this presentation now and start editing it with Google Slides or PowerPoint!
- Freepik Company S.L. -
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Printable Number Sense Activities for Pre-K
If you are a pre-k Maths teacher, today we bring you a resource that you will surely like.
It is a template with printable activities to teach numbers to your students in a fun way. Each slide serves to learn a number, and includes a popular rhyme to make it easier for them to retain the information. Some activities are included for them to practice.
- Freepik Company S.L. -
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Problem Solving and Mathematical Reasoning
Let's make Maths learning more fun, especially at early levels of education.
This is a great choice for teachers who want to turn their classes into a more entertaining experience for their students. Customise the slides to add your own activities or explanations!
- Freepik Company S.L. -
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15 Meaningful Hands-On Ways to Teach Telling Time
It’s one of those skills kids are so proud to say they’ve mastered: “I know how to tell time!” Of course, it’s easier these days with digital clocks, but children still need to learn to read analog versions too. Try these fun interactive activities, and your students will be telling time in no time flat.
- Jill Staake -
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Fun Activities to Teach Telling Time
Telling time on an analog clock can be a difficult concept for primary students. It’s often a tricky skill for them to master and one that is a bit more abstract than other math skills they are learning. These telling time activities and hands-on ideas bring high engagement and a whole lot of fun when teaching first, second, and even third graders to read and write the time.
- LINDA -
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Telling Time Activities for Kids that are Fun & Effective
These telling time activities will help kids learn to say what time it is within seconds with just a glance at the clock! Try them in your classroom.
- PROUD TO BE PRIMARY -
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Mathtastic Pi Day Activities for the Classroom
March 14th (3.14) is Pi Day and gives math lovers everywhere a perfect reason to celebrate. Classic traditions include, of course, making or eating a delicious pie or pizza, but there are infinitely fun (and educational!) other ways to honor the day in the classroom, too.
Here are 31.4 Pi Day activities that you’ll circle back to year after year.
- WeAreTeachers Staff -
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Maths with Paper: Fold Some Math into Your Day!
Many of these activities can be done with whatever paper is available--even scrap paper, newspapers, or magazine pages would work. Scissors, hole punchers, and pencils or markers will be helpful too.
- Stanford University -
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Creative Maths Activities
Explore these fun creative Maths activities, available to download for free! These activities are suitable for children aged 4-12. Maths on Toast has used this symbol* where they are best suited to older children.
- Maths on Toast -
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Mathigon Games, Activities and Resources
Here you can discover games like Factris, Origami folding instructions, multiplication flash cards, a customisable treasure hunt, a timeline, puzzle calendars, and so much more.
- Mathigon -
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18 Free and Fun Interactive Google Slides for Elementary Maths Students
With many classrooms now virtual, teachers have to find new ways to offer kids engaging Maths activities. You can have them find manipulatives at home, but interactive Google Slides are another terrific option to try.
All of these slides are free!
- Jill Staake -
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Virtual Chemistry and Biology Labs
Chemix is an educational app that lets you easily draw lab diagram setups and explain your experiments. It has a large library of highly customisable apparatus and various features to help you draw diagrams with ease.
- CHEMIX.ORG -
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Desmos, Distance Learning, and You
Desmos could be the best tool to give a visual understanding — especially for functions. Their Maths engine works perfectly and helps us graph the functions. Have you ever tried to draw the Batman logo with functions, or a horse, or the White House? Desmos did.
Check this out for more.
- Desmos -
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NEED Distance Learning Resources
Keep the mind working and energized with NEED’s energy content and activity suggestions for students, teachers, and families affected by COVID-19 and distance learning requirements.
- The NEED Project -
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Program Your Own COVID-19 Simulator with Scratch
Do you keep hearing phrases like ""social distancing"" and ""flatten the curve"" in the news?
In this activity, students will use the kid-friendly programming language Scratch to write a simulation that uses bouncing dots to represent healthy and sick people. The simulation will show how we can take measures to slow the spread of a transmissible disease like COVID-19.
- Science Buddies -
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A Code with Google Programme
CS First was built by educators who wanted a tool that allowed every teacher to teach computer science, even if they weren't tech experts. So they developed a curriculum that made it easy to teach and integrated into a wide range of classrooms.
- Google for Education -
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Top 5 Preschool Coding Activities to Give Your Child That Step Up
Kristjana Borg shares her list of screen-free coding activities that will definitely give your preschooler a kickstart on their coding journey.
- Kristjana Borg -
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13 Fun and Free Coding Activities for Hour of Code Week
These unique and engaging games are perfect for your students to play while learning beginner coder skills like programming, loops, and the art of debugging.
- teachyourkidscode.com -
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7 ScratchJr Projects for Kids in Grades PK-2
This websites talks about advantages of using ScratchJr to introduce coding to preschoolers and shares some sample projects.
- Coder Kids, LLC. -
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5 Super-Cool Offline Coding Activities
This website shares the top 5 hands-on coding activities that make coding less intimidating and more interactive.
- ThinkFun, Inc. -
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Interest-Based Electives: Engaging Students With STEAM Explorations
Educators at Walter Bracken STEAM Academy engage students by letting them choose outside-the-box enrichment classes, like toy making, drones, and candy chemistry.
- Edutopia -
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5 Principles of Extraordinary Math Teaching
In this perspective-expanding and enjoyable talk, Dan Finkel invites us to approach learning and teaching math with courage, curiosity, and a sense of play.
- TEDx Talks -
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5 Things That Will Make Stem Learning Fun for Your Learners
This article talks about 5 activities to make learning STEM more fun. The tips are on a larger scale, rather than in classroom activities.
- Wabisabi Learning -
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5 Tips to Increase Student Engagement in STEM Education
This article talks about 5 tips that engages student in STEM Education. These tips are more directed towards how teachers should teach, rather than activities that would help them in teaching STEM.
- Education World -
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STEM Education Speaker - How to teach STEM Subjects in School
Former Rocket Scientist and Renown International STEM Speaker, Kantis Simmons, talks about how to teach STEM subjects in school
- Kantis Simmons -
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How to Generate Interest in STEM Fields in Early Elementary Students
This article talks about how to develop interest in STEM for early elementary students
- Getting Smart -
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STEM Through Play: Facilitating Classroom Engagement
The article talks about a fourth grade curriculum kit called Speedometry and provides the link to it, and discusses how that curriculum.
- USC Rossier School of Education -
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10 Easy Science Experiments - That Will Amaze Kids
The video shows 10 easy science experiments that will amaze children.
- Raising da Vinci -
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Hands-On STEM Activities That Will Cure Students’ Spring Fever
This article contains 4 main activities, one for each STEM, that can be done with students to make learning STEM more interesting for them. Check out these engaging, hands-on STEM activities your students will love!
- We Are Teachers (Elizabeth Mulvahill) -
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How to Use STEM Teaching Tools in Your Classroom
Here are a few techniques and activities that will keep your class motivated and engaged in STEM subjects.
- WGU -
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