Middle School Distance Learning: Digital STEM Activity Bundle

lesson overview

GROWING bundle for Digital STEM challenges for Middle School! Perfect to support distance learning and hybrid classrooms using the engineering design challenges and looking for hands-on activities.

Lessons include:

• Complete Teacher Guide: Detailed teacher guide with links to resources, grading rubric, handouts on a STEM career connection and science background, and handouts for the engineering design process.

• Instructional videos: Led by an engineer, the videos include science background, STEM careers, real-world connections, and a detailed explanation for the STEM activity to guide students at home (or in class!).

• Printable Take-Home STEM Journals for sending packets home to students without internet access (editable pages in Google Slides)

• Digital STEM Journals for Google Slides and Flipgrid. These can be used in the classroom for paperless handouts or assigned for distance learning through Google Classroom, Schoology, Seesaw, or other platforms.

• Editable Note to Families

• Materials: Challenges will need low-cost materials.

9 Engineering Challenges:

1. Space Lander Engineering Challenge: Design a lander to safely keep “astronauts” safely inside a cup as it is dropped from various heights. The challenge incorporates key science concepts of shock-absorption, drag forces, and stability.

2. Plants In Space Engineering Challenge: Learn about what plants need to survive and then build a mini greenhouse. Students are then tasked to use the engineering design process to design and build a device to support their greenhouse.

3. Roller Coaster Engineering Challenge: Students design and build a fun and safe ride while learning about kinetic and potential energy!

4. Musical Instrument: students will learn the science behind sound as they design and build their own musical instrument that can change the frequency (pitch) and intensity (loudness) of its sound.

5. Moon Rover Challenge: NASA needs your help! Your mission is to use the engineering design process to design and build a rover to transport rock samples on the Moon.

6. STEM Drag Device: Design a device to slow down a payload.

7. Mission to Moon STEM Curriculum: A series of STEM challenges centered around a Mission to Moon theme including instructional videos and digital journals.

8. Robot Hand: Design a robotic arm using the instructional video and then turn it into an exoskeleton!

9. Sailboat challenge: Watch the instructional video and design a boat to keep as many weights floating as possible.

7 STEM Activities:

1. Digital Icebreakers: This download includes interactive icebreaker activities that will help educators get to know their students and build a strong relationship in a distance learning environment.

2. Distance Learning STEM Scavenger Hunt: Students are tasked with finding different objects that represent a STEM word.

3. STEM Careers BINGO Game! A BINGO career game for STEM careers! Includes career descriptions and fun facts about each STEM career. Includes 32 game boards cover 24 STEM careers with a companion (editable) Google Slide presentation of each career.

4. Who is an engineer or scientist? Break down misconceptions around STEM careers with this game and research activity.

5. STEM Intro to Coding Communication Activity: Practice critical Stage 1 STEM communication skills with this intro to coding activity! This download provides options for distance learning including activities for live virtual classes, Google Slides / Google Classroom, Seesaw, Flipgrid, and printed packets.

6. STEM Digital Task Cards: Get your students building and creating with 24 STEM activity task cards using common materials.

7. STEM Digital Task Cards - Winter Edition

PLUS: Generic STEM Journals for any Challenge with Printed, Google, Seesaw versions

Looking for more STEM lessons? Find the Vivify resource guide here: bit.ly/VivifyResourceGuide

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