Food, Land & People Integrating Elementary STEM and Language Arts

Educational Jargon STEM, inquiry, authentic learning, prior knowledge, hands-on, research-based, experiential, PBL, PLN, strategies, formative assessment, evidence-based, differentiated learning, anthropomorphism...lingo, lingo, and more lingo What’s new is old!!

STEM-Literacy Connection How much time per week do you spend on science instruction? Polleverywhere Polleverywhere Is it possible to integrate STEM into language arts, social studies, art, or PE? Are there any “dangers” to integration? Goal for the day: Use agricultural content to contextualize your teaching and learning of core subjects.

Research indicates that an integrated approach to learning aligns with the way the brain naturally processes and internalizes new information. Since mathematics and science are integrated in the world outside the classroom, and technology has become a natural extension of this integration, it seems only logical that these areas are studied together inside the classroom. ” -Diane Ronis

Real world problems evolve into questions, which develop the steps that lead to calculations or conclusions and possible solutions. Strategies for teaching, learning, and assessment Hands-on Activities vs. Inquiry-based Instruction: Necessary but insufficient; asking student to collect evidence but not necessarily asking them to “formulate and communicate evidence-based conclusions.” Approaches to Teaching and Learning

One of the goals of the common core standards is to “ help solidify students ’ progression to higher-level math [thinking], through real-world applications and conceptual understanding, not just procedural knowledge. ” i.e. “reading a cookbook to learn how to prepare a new recipe is an authentic event; reading to answer questions on a worksheet is not.” Using familiar things (connecting to previous experiences) is essential to setting- up inquiry and PBL learning that leads to problem solving.

How can I teach my core ______ science content and integrate LA? Such as: weather, plants, water, soil, heredity Understanding math and using LA skills are essential to students being able to answer STEM related questions. Bees – measurement Wheat - estimation, statistics Pumpkins – prediction Grocery Ads - money, decimals Popcorn – measurement Food Packaging - measurement, percentages Rice – exponents Sunflower Seeds – fractions Pizza – time Barns & Maps - measurement

Connecting and Integrating STEM and LA Story Problems Prediction & Estimation Measurements (English/Metrics) Weight Length Diameter Volume Temperature Time Money & Decimals Fractions & Percentages Graphing

Putting it all together... A word about texts...non-fiction, fiction, realistic fiction, anthropomorphism, and other defined and undefined genre. Examine your core content areas Using the resources provided and resources you have available in your school, develop a curriculum map of resources that will integrate STEM and LA. Include: Resource and activity list Pedagogy or approach Assessment tools