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Teachaway
K-12 Dive
How to create more meaningful STEM lessons
Lauren Barack
Feb. 24, 2021
Dive Brief:
As the Mars rover Perseverance landed on the red planet, some students
across California virtually watched the event. Observing the landing
was tied to lessons that helped them explore topics from Earth science
to climate change, EdSource reports.
Elementary school students at Kumeyaay Elementary in San Diego, for
example, built models of where future Mars pioneers may live using
toilet paper rolls and cereal boxes, while some students at Alliance
Renee & Meyer Luskin Academy High School in Los Angeles took part
in coding a virtual rover that could move around on Mars.
Some classes also engaged in cross-curricular lessons, from English
students writing essays about whether space travel is cost-effective to
a history class at Mulholland Middle School in Lake Balboa learning the
first multi-stage rocket was developed in China.
Dive Insight:
Real-world STEM objects and events, such as the landing of Mars rover
Perseverance this past week, can be used to create engaging hands-on
science and math lessons. Educators say these connections tap into
students’ imaginations, creating maps showing where their school work
ties into their everyday lives, and potentially a future career.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which built Perseverance, has a
number of lessons through its education arm that tie into areas of STEM
beyond space science. The site includes K-12 activities about climate
change, for example, such as those looking at what contributes to
rising sea levels. Another examines satellite data to help students
explore renewable energy sources like solar power.
The National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure, supported by
the National Science Foundation, also has a catalog of STEM activities,
broken down by grade level. For example, young elementary school
children can explore the idea of size by comparing and contrasting
different objects such as horses and other animals. Likewise, high
school classes can explore how silver nanoparticles support
antibacterial properties in the socks they may buy at a store.
Read this and other stories at K-12 Dive
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