Summer STEM Challenge: Pick & Pack PAPERLESS

When it’s the end of the school year, your summer activities need to be on-point to keep kids engaged! This summer STEM / STEAM Challenge brings the joy back to your classroom with collaborative, hands-on, brain-busting work (disguised as fun)!

The basic premise: 
Individually or in partners, students will select items to pack for a road trip. In this 2-D simulation of a 3-D task, students arrange items with different point values into pre-defined car trunk spaces. They can’t have it all, though! They’ll use a criteria & constraints list to bring all of what they need and some of what they want, as they aim for the highest point value.

 

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Note: The version you are viewing is compatible with Google Slides ™.

Click here for the printable version of this resource.

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Resource includes:

• NGSS aligned standards, Grades 2 – 8

• Teacher Tips:
  • Links to my 5-part video series on getting started with STEM challenges
  • Materials and timing
  • Criteria & Constraints (including modifications to increase difficulty for older students)
  • Measuring results
  • Universal STEM Challenge Notes & How to Use Student Slides
  • Post-design extension activities list
  • Link to a video walk-through of the challenge

• Student Slides:
  • Criteria & Constraints List
  • Results and Design Analysis
  • Discussion Questions

• Extension templates
  • Process Flow Map
  • Create Math Problems Based on Designs
  • Twelve Design-Related Math Problems (three leveled sets)
  • Road Trip Research & Planning (good for grades 5-8)

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Sample/suggested materials for each student or group:

Materials you’ll need to do the activity are easily modified. You have the option of using the completely digital version, or you can have students use the cut/paste car trunks & road trip items.

• • Note: The links below are Amazon Affiliate links. Find out more on the disclosure page.

• • • Car trunk handouts (4 options included)
    • Road trip item cut-out handouts (included)
    • Scissors
    • Design analysis handouts (included)
    • Optional
      • Envelopes or Ziploc® bags (to hold cut-out items when not in use)
      • Tape or glue
      • Cameras / cell phone cameras (to quickly capture different pack designs)
      • Extension activity handouts (task cards, road trip planning, etc. – included)

     

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Benefits of this STEM Design Challenge:

• Focus on critical thinking, problem solving, and application of learning
• Helps students develop growth mindset traits like persistence and resilience
• High levels of student engagement
• The potential to hit upon all NGSS ETS standards depending on the depth and number of iterations you choose to implement in your classroom (modifications included)
• Highly flexible and differentiated for materials, timing, grade levels, and rigor.

Each design iteration should be planned for ~60 min. if you are including data gathering and analysis rather than just building for fun. If you add extension activities, you will need to adjust timing accordingly.

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This resource is available is also available printable format, and in the Summer Bundle. It will also soon be available in a digital Mega Bundle (coming May 2018).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Preview Music Credit:

“Carefree” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/