Vivify STEM Blog
Best Free AI Tools for Educators
With the release of ChatGPT last year, teachers are still scrambling to catch up on the implications and potential of AI in our classrooms. While AI-generated essays and exams are a huge problem, in this post, we focus on all the benefits of AI for teachers! Read on for all the FREE AI tools that can help you improve lessons, support differentiation, ease administrative tasks, and give you some time back in your day. We also share 25 ChatGPT prompts for teachers!
How to Host a Debate in Your Science Classroom
Imagine a classroom buzzing with excitement as students engage in intellectual battles, passionately defending their scientific viewpoints. Science debates breathe life into scientific concepts, transforming the learning experience into a dynamic arena of ideas and exploration. In this post, we unravel the secrets to hosting a science debate for your classroom, a free resource to get you started, plus an example from my classroom covering GMOs and genetics.
Engineer a New Fruit! Genetics STEM Lab Activity
Are you ready to take your students on a fun and hands-on journey into the realm of genetics? Blend engineering principles with the tantalizing world of culinary delights with this delicious STEM lab! Read on to explore how food can become the ultimate medium for engaging K-12 students in thought-provoking lessons about genetics and food engineering concepts.
Top 10 STEM Activities for Spring
Spring is in the air and the perfect time to dive into STEM activities that will challenge your students to think critically, problem-solve, and work collaboratively as they learn about the importance of caring for the environment and its inhabitants. This season offers a wealth of opportunities to explore the wonders of the natural world and teach important skills through hands-on activities. In this blog post, we will share our top 10 STEM activities for spring, including designing and building a bee pollinator hotel, creating a bird nest, cleaning up an oil spill, and constructing an animal habitat. Get ready to inspire a love of science and engineering in your students and make this spring one to remember!
5 Tips for Teaching STEM With Robots
Programming Sphero robots can help students develop essential skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, and teamwork. From building simple obstacle courses to working through real-life cybersecurity challenges, students will be fascinated by what they can get robots to do, no matter what grade they are in. Read on for 5 tips for teaching STEM with Sphero robots!
Engineering and the 5E Science Model
Are you looking to add engineering to your science classroom? Most educators use the 5E learning model to teach science concepts. Can engineering design fit into 5E science units? Yes! Read on as we break down the steps of the 5E Science Learning Model, adding Engineering in 5E Science Model, and examples of an Engineering 5E Unit.
How to Teach STEM Through A Story
Do you begin your lessons with a story? Stories are a powerful tool that will increase engagement in STEM activities. Read below for strategies including a video on developing stories that provide motivation and tie in real-world STEM events and career connections. We also link a freebie blueprint to develop your own STEM storyline!
The ABCs of Kindergarten STEM
In this post, we discuss how to engage the youngest learners in meaningful STEM through our brand-new Alphabet STEM curriculum for Kindergarten! Alphabet STEM was a collaborative effort from the Vivify STEM team. Read on for our favorite letters, advice on teaching kinder STEM, and grab the free kinder STEM lesson!
Celebrate the Winter Solstice with a STEM Challenge
Learn about the winter solstice with a science lesson and engineering challenge! In this STEM activity, students will explore how light reflects and refracts and how materials can be transparent, translucent, or opaque. Teams will then use the engineering design process to build a lantern to expand the light cast by a flashlight. Plus, tons of videos and real-world STEM connections!
Engineering in the Science Classroom
Help! I am a science teacher, and I am trying to figure out how to integrate engineering in my classroom! Which engineering challenges best support science learning? What about engineering practices? Why should I even integrate engineering into science instruction?
Using the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) as a guide, we break down the best ways to add engineering design to enhance science in your elementary and middle school classroom. It’s a big topic to tackle, but we try to provide simple strategies, recommended lessons, and more resources to get you started.
Top 5 Christmas STEM Activities
As the Thanksgiving leftovers slowly dwindle in our fridge, it is time to look forward to the Christmas season and help Santa get ready for his epic journey around the world. What better way to model the engineering design process than with activities that help Santa navigate the challenges of the Christmas holidays? From transporting toys with pneumatics or coding an elf, here are our favorite 5 Christmas STEM activities.
Ocean STEM Activities
5, 4, 3, 2, 1! There are 5 oceans 4 (for) our students to explore in these 3 fun ocean activities consisting of 2 science experiments and 1 art project. Let’s dive in!