You Said It! STEM Product Reviews


You Said It! Product Reviews - Educational Innovations Newsletter

STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is a curriculum driven by problem solving, exploration, and discovery while incorporating technology and engineering into the teaching of science and mathematics.

Educational Innovations carries a number of products like astronomy and space science tools that fit perfectly into the STEM classroom.  These materials promote exploratory learning, and require students to actively engage themselves to discover the solution to the situation or problem at hand.

If you have a favorite STEM experiment or product, please let us know in the comments section below!

 

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STEM Galore with OneCar and More!


Priscilla Robinson, Educational Innovationsby Priscilla Robinson

If you teach STEM,  you’ll want to learn about the OneCar system.

The performance components in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have spawned many wonderful chances to explore STEM in the classroom.  The STEM curriculum is based on the idea that an interdisciplinary, applied approach is the best way to teach students these four specific disciplines.   When your students are searching for solutions to real-world problems, they are more engaged, and their learning is more authentic.

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Fidget Spinners, Physics, and Sir Isaac Newton


by Ted BeyerTed Beyer, Educational Innovations

Fidget spinners are the latest fad to sweep, seemingly, the world. Love them or hate them, they are everywhere—on playgrounds, in backyards, living rooms, and even schools, although many schools have banned them as being distractions.  But wait just a minute here!  For once, let’s see if we can’t use a fad to teach something.  You see, there is actually a fair bit of science lurking in those spinney things.

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Forces and Motion Lesson


Lesson - Educational Innovations Blog

Through the years, we’ve seen teaching trends come and go… but one thing hasn’t changed: students LOVE anything related to balloons and rockets.  (So do we.)  And when you’re talking about rockets, you’re talking about forces and motion!

Take a look at this free lesson on forces and motion.  We’re using balloons as our rocket “engines” to power these simple cars.  The activity is basic enough to work with younger students, and can easily be augmented for a more advanced group.  This lesson invites all kinds of variations.  You might say the sky’s the limit!

Click on the image below for a full-size, full-color PDF of this easy-to-implement forces and motion lesson.  Enjoy!

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Forces and Motion Discussion Starters


Discussion Starters - Educational Innovations NewsletterForces and motion are all around us.  You might even say they make the world go ’round.  In 1687 Isaac Newton attempted to explain the movements of everything in the universe—from a pea rolling on a plate to the position of the planets.  It’s staggering to think about how much of our daily life involves some aspect of Newton’s Laws of Motion.

This is one science topic that can be easily approached by using examples from our collective life experiences.  Starting a discussion about forces and motion with your students is easy.  All you have to do is drop a feather…  nudge a toy car forward… pull open a door.

We’ve put together a collection of interesting topics and interactive games that you can use to get a conversation going with your students.  Let us know what you think in the comments below!

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