St. Patrick’s Day STEM Challenge: Leprechaun Lockdown

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: 

You may know that leprechauns have the ability to grant three wishes to human captors in exchange for their freedom, but capturing leprechauns is trickier than it sounds!

Working in groups against criteria & constraints and equipped with a Leprechaun Lore List, students will design and build a device to lure and safely capture a leprechaun.

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)
• Leprechaun Lore List (in color and B&W; editable)
• Discussion Questions (color and B&W; editable)

Extension templates

• Process Flow Map
• Writing Templates
• Create Math Problems Based on Designs
• Math Extension Option: Practice dividing by 2 (editable)
• Math Extension Option: Identifying addition/subtraction fact families (editable)
• Math Extension Option: Identifying multiplication/division fact families (editable)
• Math Extension Option: 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.)

• Leprechaun (1)
• Represented by bouncy balls, marbles, or grapes
• Small cups or bowls (1)
• String/yarn (24 – 36 in.)
• Shoeboxes, cereal boxes, tissue boxes and/or or cardboard scraps (distributed evenly among groups)
• Tape (12 – 24 in.)
• Cotton balls (5 – 10)
• Rubber bands (5 – 10)
• Lunch bags or plastic baggies (1 – 2)
• Foil (12 in. sheet)
• Paper and markers
• Scissors
• Leprechaun Lore List (included)
• Design analysis handouts (included)

Optional:

•          Single hole punch

•          Pipe cleaners (5 – 10)

•          Craft sticks (5 – 10)

•          Paperclips (10 – 20)

•          Straws (5 – 10)

•          Brass brads/fasteners (4)

•          Toothpicks (10 – 20)

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)

Digital Discounted Bundle

Printable 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/