6-8 STEAM Classroom

The G. Harold Antrim Elementary School has developed a STEAM program that allows students in grades 6-8 to experience STEAM lessons for an entire marking period. The STEAM curriculum for 6-8 classes does not have one specific core subject to focus on due to the changing of marking period and course alignment, therefore the classes encompass the entire Science and Math curriculums of the grade levels as well as the engineering design principles found within the Next Generation Science Standards. Even some ELA and Social Studies curriculum have been infused into the lessons as well as technology, art and math to create a interactive and collaborative experience for all students within the middle school grades.

The goal of the STEAM classroom is to inspire students to be curious and to give them the skills to be able to tackle unknown situations when presented to them. Students work with community members to help them solve their problems and allow them the chance to solve real-word problems in the scenarios given as they learn.

6th Grade STEAM

  • Students work with the Lego Simple Machines and learn the next step to connecting basic blocks. They will explore using gears, wheels, axles, levers, and pulleys to create machines found in everyday life. Once students are proficient with the use of the kits, they will be give real-world scenarios/problems they can solve using the kits to create prototypes.
  • During the second half of the marking period, students are introduced to Sphero. Sphero is an orbital robot which is programed using a tablet. It introduces our students into programming and allows mobility. Students will again receive challenges and must use the Sphero to solve their problem.

7th Grade STEAM

  • Students work with tiny little magnetic circuits called Little Bits. They learn what each bit does and how they can work in conjunction with each other. Once students are proficient with the use of the LittleBit kits, they will be give real-world scenarios/problems they can solve using the LittleBits to solve the problem.
  • During the second half of the marking period, students are introduced to Tinkercad. Students will learn the basics of Tinkercad and its design elements. Once they are proficient with the use of Tinkercad and design, students will again receive challenges and must use the Tinkercad program to create a prototype that will help to solve their problem. 3-D print is available and projects that are successful will be printed to get to their recipient.

8th Grade STEAM

  • The entire marking period of 8th grade is spent getting to know the EV-3 Mindstorm Lego Robots.
  • Students are paired in groups of 2 for this course and students can even name their robot as they will have it all marking period long.
  • Students begin by buiding the robot from scratch. This is important so students understand how their robot moves and functions before they code.
  • The first half of the marking period deals with students learning how to maneuver their robot using code. Through trial and error, they will manipulate their robot through a series of tasks.
  • The second half of the marking period allows student to maneuver the robot with more complex coding and real-world situations will be given to see why these codes would be important
  • Students will have an opportunity to create an obstacle course for the EV-3 to travel where they can apply what they learned during the course by apply codes to the course.