November 17-20

Thanksgiving Engineering STEM Challenge

This week, Preschool engaged in their first official engineering STEM challenge! In the silly story “How to Catch a Turkey” by Adam Wallace & Andy Elkerton, a turkey was on the run and trying to escape being on stage in the big Thanksgiving school play! After enjoying this read aloud, the children were tasked with constructing a “turkey hideout." We incorporated literacy into this STEM experience using the following novel engineering steps:

1. Read the book aloud and discuss - the problem/plot 

2. Define the problem - the turkey needs a hideout!

3. Brainstorm and design - choose a building material to use in their construction of a hideout

4. Build and test  - use the materials to build the hideout and test if it works to "hide" their turkey

5. Reflect and iterate - describe their construction and reflect on whether or not it "hid" the turkey effectively

Before creating a turkey hideout we needed turkeys to hide! The children used fine motor skills and creativity to color in their own little turkeys using any colors and patterns. Once their turkey was ready to hide, we moved on to our building challenge...

Read-Aloud and Modeling/Discussion of Building a Turkey Hideout

After the turkeys were ready we read the book together and used the plot to inspire challenges. After reading we used the problem in the story as the basis for the engineering design challenge. Together we identified the problem, designed a mock realistic solution, and then spread out in the classroom to engage in the Engineering Design Process. 

This process is called "novel engineering." Students read a story, discover problems the characters have within it, and then brainstorm, design, and prototype solutions to the characters’ problems.   

The design process begins...