How to integrate STEAM into your early years classroom

STEAM — it’s a word that we have been hearing a lot of over the past few years. This year, the school that I am working at has STEAM as a focus for learning, so I have been particularly interested in learning more about STEAM and how I can integrate this learning area into my Prep classroom. This blog will discuss the following; What is STEAM? Why is STEAM important? How can you integrate STEAM into your classroom? I will also introduce you to a fantastic STEAM resource from LEGO Education® (that was kindly gifted to me) and show you how I have used this in my classroom.

What is STEAM?

STEAM is a growing movement in education that is being integrated into classrooms all around the world. STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics. Rather than teaching these curriculum areas in isolation, STEAM is about combining these subject areas together, so that elements of each subject are applied to others. This blended model allows students to have opportunity to experience learning in different ways and develop problem-solving skills. In STEAM education, students can use a mix of traditional classroom teaching, online learning and hands on experiences to achieve an outcome.

Why is STEAM important?

Preparing students for the future

One of the key quotes I remember from university is “we are preparing students for jobs that don’t even exist yet”. With this quote in mind, it is crucial that we are teaching skills, not just content, that equip our students for the future. A reason why STEAM is so important is because it prepares students for the future by teaching problem solving skills, innovative and creative thinking and digital skills. Many of the skills learnt through STEAM activities go well beyond this subject area, including collaboration, estimating, predicting, measuring and communicating.

Play is the way

I am a big advocate for learning through play (surprise, surprise!) so I love the fact that STEAM is all about hands on, fun learning. Learning by doing is an essential part of teaching young students so hands-on, experiential learning is one reason why STEAM education is successful in the early years. STEAM activities that involve experimentation, discovery, building or collecting things are play-based learning ideas that early years students love. When students love learning, they will have the most success at school.

What kind of STEAM activities can you do in your classroom?

There are SO many engaging STEAM activities to do in the early years. Building bridges, making parachutes, making a boat that can float are just some of the possibilities. If you simply Google or search on Pinterest ‘STEAM ideas’ you will find a plethora of activities to do with your little ones. Some of the best materials for STEAM learning in the early years are:

• Pipe cleaners
• Paddlepop sticks
• Cardboard tubes
• Cups
• Straws
• Blu tack
• Sticky tape
• Recycled materials such as egg cartons
• Wooden blocks
• LEGO bricks and Duplo bricks

STEAM learning with LEGO Education®

I am a big advocate for quality, educational resources so I was very grateful to receive a fantastic STEAM Park Building Set (295 pieces) resource from Modern Teaching Aids to use with my students. When I received this product I knew that it would be a great resource for my Prep students to engage with and develop their STEAM skills. STEAM Park is an excellent building and construction set from LEGO Education. It encourages children to create, explore and investigate the world of early science, technology, engineering, arts and maths (STEAM) through creative play.

Before I introduced the LEGO Education resource, as a group we brainstormed what an amusement park looks like — What amusement parks have you been to? Who did you go with? What do you do there? What types of rides are there? This collaborative conversation set the scene to introduce our LEGO STEAM Park Activity.

We poured all of the pieces onto our rainbow rug and began building. We worked in small groups to create the different constructions and followed the building card guides. These building card guides inspired our constructions and investigations. I loved hearing the rich conversations between my students as they engaged with this task. They worked very effectively together and team was work very evident.

As my students engaged with this LEGO Education resource they developed a range of skills including:

• Turn taking
• Team work
• Problem solving
• Critical thinking
• Fine motor skills
• Construction skills
• Oral language skills

Once we completed the building card guides, we arranged our construction in our Active World Tray (also from Modern Teaching Aids). Once everything was set up, it was time to play! It was wonderful seeing my students engage in dramatic play and hands on learning as they absorbed themselves in our LEGO Steam park. It was clear that making the park was just as fun and meaningful for my students, as well as playing with the final product.

My students’ favourite part of the LEGO Steam Park was definitely experimenting with the moving rides and exploring gears, balance and movement. Pushing the car down the sloping track, turning the gears on the teacup ride, moving the seesaw back and forth were some of the different ways my students explored movement with the Lego STEAM Park. The ABSOLUTE favourite movement activity was using the cannon ball to knock the loose pieces off the tower. My students thought this was “SOO COOL!”

I will definitely be using the LEGO Steam Park resource in my classroom throughout the year to encourage and develop STEAM learning. Next time, I plan on getting my students to draw and plan their amusement parks before we start building, which will add an extra element of design and forward thinking.

How do you incorporate STEAM learning in your classroom? I would love to hear from you!

Disclaimer:

I was gifted a LEGO Steam Park from Modern Teaching Aids in exchange for social media posts and a blog post. I did not receive payment for this post. I will only accept gifted items, sponsored posts and collaboration opportunities for items and businesses that I would genuinely use in my day to day life as an early years teacher. Maintaining an honest and open relationship with my readers is of utmost importance to me and therefore all opinions in this blog are personal opinions and 100% authentic.