The students filling our elementary classrooms today are growing up in a world that is increasingly complex. As young adults, they will enter into a workforce desperately seeking effective leaders, critical reasoners, and motivated problem solvers who can think outside of the box to address societal and environmental challenges. Already, a growing number of careers require individuals who have not only a concrete mastery of content area competencies, but also the ability to create and communicate. It is our responsibility as parents and educators to prepare students to succeed in the 21st century by consistently providing them with opportunities to develop the hard and soft skills they’ll need to thrive in the future. One way we can do this is through the introduction of a formal STREAM curriculum.
STREAM blends concepts rooted in science, technology, reading and wRiting, engineering, the arts, and mathematics to form immersive learning experiences. Lessons based on STREAM principles are cross-curricular, collaborative, and inquiry-based, offering students engaging and hands-on activities while still directly addressing standards and assessing performance. Allowing students to recognize relationships between normally isolated academic disciplines and deliberately exposing them to legitimate careers that capitalize on the skills honed during quality STREAM activities will leave them more aware of and better prepared for the rich variety of professions available to them.
By making intentional decisions to embed grade level specific math, science, reading, writing, and engineering concepts into our existing technology curriculum, and by integrating naturally connecting arts standards into those units, we will create more comprehensive, authentic opportunities for students to engage in learning and expand skill sets vital for their future success.