STEAM Learning At Theodore Lester Elementary Ann Ham takes reading instruction to another level through STEAM. Instead of having her second grade class just read traditional stories like The Three Little Pigs and answer questions, Ms. Ham’s students experience traditional tales through the lenses of puppeteers, architects and authors. During their exploration of The Three Little Pigs, Ms. Ham used scientific inquiry to help her students understand how effective or ineffective it might be to live in a house made from straw, sticks, or bricks. Working in groups with Ms. Ham and one of Lester’s reading interventionist, Ms. Dean Miller, students then went on to explore building the various homes as architects, living in those homes, and having an intruder, the wolf, try to break into those homes. After analyzing character traits, Ms. Ham exposes her students to theater elements by having her students take on the personalities of story characters and reenact traditional tales through the use of puppets. Teaching reading from a STEAM approach is a double win in Ms. Ham’s class. The first win is increased learning as students are exposed to the creative process; students engage in meaningful collaboration; all students get to experience hands-on learning experiences; girls get to explore STEM fields and students engage in meaningful collaboration. The second win is increased student engagement and fewer behavior or discipline issues.
5 Publizr Home