Some educators say what’s missing from the STEM curriculum is wonder, critique, inquiry, and innovation. Integrating design and the arts (social studies, music, language arts, physical and fine arts) into STEM allows students to get hands-on with the lessons, apply what they’re learning and learn problem-solving skills. Below are a few resources to show how educators are bringing STEAM to life.
STEAM Art Lessons gives you free access to 99 STEAM lessons, including Fairy Fun, which combines lessons in digital layers, animation, storytelling and the scientific method.
Education Closet’s STEAMportal shares an extensive list of all things STEAM: websites, apps/multimedia, books and other resources.
Stanford’s Design School K-12 Wiki provides information on how to implement design thinking into your own curriculum, at any grade.
STEAM Education offers teaching ideas, resources and articles including a fingerprint art lesson plan, a marshmallow and spaghetti tower challenge and a false assumptions lesson.
National Geographic Map Maker Kits includes dozens of lesson plans for elementary students that combine the development of spatial skills necessary to read maps with lessons in geology, the life sciences, social studies, meteorology and more.
Planting T’s is a blog by science teacher T.J. Edwards that includes research and papers on STEAM’s value, models for design thinking in K-12, info on standards and curricula, and a list of 21st century teaching blogs.
