St. Patrick’s Day STEM Challenge: Get the Gold

Description

Looking for St. Patrick’s Day activities that your students will love but are more than just a craft or activity to pass the time? This St. Patrick’s STEM Challenge (or STEAM Challenge) will keep your students engaged in brain-busting work disguised as fun!

The basic premise: 

Working against criteria & constraints individually or in partners/groups, students will design and build one or more devices to transfer leprechaun gold from his pot to their own.

Note: If you are in a 1:1 classroom, you may prefer the
digital format, compatible with Google Slides ™.

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 Handouts
• Post-design extension activities list
• Link to a video walk-through of the challenge

Student Handouts:

• Criteria & Constraints List (in color and B&W; editable)
• Results and Design Analysis (2-page regular spacing and 4-page expanded) spacing for primary students included in color and and B&W; editable)
• Discussion Questions (color and B&W; editable)

Extension templates

• Write a Limerick
• Process Flow Map
• Math Extension options
  • Identifying even vs. odd numbers (editable)
  • Using divisibility rules with 4-digit numbers (editable)
  • Using divisibility rules with square roots and exponents; editable)
  • Create-your-own word problems
  • Identifying equivalent percents, fractions, and decimals (editable)

Sample/suggested materials for each student or group:

(Materials you’ll need to do the activity are easily modified.)

• Pots of “gold” to test designs (1 per group or 1 whole-class)
• Pots: Halloween plastic cauldrons look the part, but any bowl will do.
• Gold: chocolate coins, Almond Hershey’s Kisses, Rolos, etc. (two or three bags should be plenty for the whole class)
  • Alternate option: if you also did the “Guard the Gold” challenge, use student-made pots of gold.
• Pipe cleaners (5 – 10)
• String/yarn (12 24 in.)
• Tape (12 – 24 in.)
• Rubber bands (5 – 10)
• Scissors
• Bags to collect gold (1)
• Ruler/measuring tape
• Design analysis handouts (included)

• Optional:
  • Craft sticks (5 – 10)
  • Paperclips (10 – 20)
  • Straws (5 – 10)
  • Binder clips or clothespins (5)
  • Bowls, cups, or coffee filters (1)
  • Plastic spoons, knives, or forks
  • Decoy/fool’s gold: crumpled yellow paper, cotton balls, etc.

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.

This resource is available in a digital 1:1 format, compatible with Google Slides (TM), as well as in discounted bundles.

Digital format – compatible with Google Slides (TM)

Printable Discounted Bundle

Digital Discounted Bundle

If you prefer to purchase on TpT, click here.
Note: any coupon/promo codes for this site will only work on this site. TpT does not have the option for individual stores to offer promo codes.

Preview Music Credit:

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