Making Through 4 STEAM Career Lens

The concept of making using a purposeful instructional design, can help diverse learners bridge the academic gap between the arts and the sciences. How does a purposeful design help? Purposeful design adds a focus to the design process, which aides in students knowing how to direct student-led passion projects. To build connections to literacy, we design a process in which students build upon prior knowledge, are strongly engaged in wanting to read and reflect, are allowed to make an artifact serving that values their diverse perspectives, and encourages strong feedback and reflection.

Miller-Ray’s (2018) STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics) makerspace project-based learning process builds opportunities to improve fluencies, encourages readers to think deeply about text, provides students’ a choice to internalize learning through the construction of an artifact serving one of 4 career roles: scientist, engineer, artist, and journalist. Through the art of making, students participate in problem solving, collaboration, and use digital literacy skills and information text related to a content discipline. Final productions are shared with a larger audience. A final reflective writing component provides an opportunity for students to engage in academic writing of the discipline explaining how to construct a similar artifact to a larger community.

Step One Reading

Teachers should select a text in which students are provided multiple opportunities to reread content prior to participating in the makerspace project-based learning process. Learners participate in a variety of reading strategies during the first step of the makerspace process. Teachers can use leverage repeated reading to improve fluency through choral and echo reading. Questions should be leveraged prior, during, and after reading as metacognition strategy. After reading the first time, students can work in cooperative groups using the KWHL strategy to assist with reading comprehension to answer the following questions as a group.

1. What do I know?

2. What do I want to know?

3. How do I find out?

4. What have I learned?

Working in groups, learners engage in research to locate information using chart paper or using the online application Padlet to complete the KWHL chart. Following this strategy, learners can peer review group KWHL charts using the Plus Delta strategy to reflect on the learning process prior to beginning makerspace. This writing activity will assist in facilitating discourse, critical thinking, and reflection and build connections for students prior to makerspace participation. As groups rotate to quietly review KWHL completed charts, deeper connections are made.

Step Two Build, Create, and Design in Makerspace

Teachers should design 4 challenge cards to frame 4 activities in 4 stations: journalist, artist, scientist, or engineer. The purpose of this is to aid students and to provide some focus to ensure that makerspace productions connect to what was read to summarize the story, share the main idea, character development, inferencing, and other elements. All challenges should promote an understanding of the main idea, text elements, etc. Providing a lens through 4 challenges gives students a starting point and assists teachers with differentiating instruction. Students can also be encouraged to create their own challenge as long as the makerspace product relates to text and can be used to inform a larger audience about the main idea and elements of text. Each challenge card should be very short, around 200-300 words, and include a short research statement or question, followed by a challenge to make or design a product that relates to the text. Librarians can assist teachers often with designing approaches. Example challenges are provided in this publication, Technologies and equipment should rotate as needed among stations. Suggestions for facilitating makerspace include the following.

• Present the makerspace challenge to students prior to participating.

• Encourage pre-planning prior to participating to identify needed materials. Students get excited and often go home to plan out their process.

• Provide a time limit as to how much class time students will have. Students may not complete makerspace projects during the allotted time. Kids tend to get very excited and management of time will help students focus. Speak to the space facilitator or librarian to see if after hour opportunities are available or encourage students to complete projects at home.

• Minimize the emphasis on grading during this time. Assessments can be used during reading activities, the design process, or the reflection. Give students the space to be creative, fail during this time and to try something new.

• Make friends with the librarian and reach out for help and assistance. Teachers do not have to know how to use a 3D printer, code a robot, or make a movie to facilitate makerspace. Kids will problem solve and assist you and there are resources to help. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

• Allow students to present their finished makerspace products and explain steps used to make the artifact and how it relates to the text. Showcase products to a larger audience.

Step 3 Written Reflection through Blogging and Electronic Portfolios

After participating in the makerspace activity, students reflect on the experience in written composition. This step should occur immediately following the makerspace presentation as strong connections can be gained through written self-reflection. Encourage the writing process during this self-reflection time. Students can publish final products and provide step by step procedures on how others can participate in making a similar craft. Written reflections can encompass journal writing, written discussions, blogs, or electronic portfolios. Teachers who use a learning management system can have students share and peer review other reflections. Students can publish a Procedural Text and share simple step by step instructions to share with a larger audience digitally either on a blog using resources such as KidBlog or SeeSaw. These reflections can include videos, images of the makerspace product, and can be placed in an electronic portfolio, e-portfolio, to facilitate, document, and archive student learning over time. Student e-portfolio can facilitate connections and collaboration among all stakeholders, allowing for a greater sense of community, and in doing so a greater understanding a student’s growth, needs, and achievements (Karlin, Ozogul, Miles, Heide, 2016).

The following set of activities could be incorporated in a set of makerspace stations in a community children’s library to improve alphabetic awareness, phonological and phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and composition activities. In addition, these activities can be integrated as stations in an elementary classroom.

Example One: PreK-Kinder, Round as a Tortilla

The purpose of this activity is to align a purposeful makerspace activity to topics explored in Pre-K and kindergarten using the book by Thong & Parra (2015), Round as a Tortilla. The teacher will introduce the, Round is a Tortilla, to their students. The teacher will show the front cover, back cover and conduct a picture walk. Remember to read the story enthusiastically, and with expression. After reading, ask why questions to allow time for students to make inferences and to measure understanding of story events. Begin the a KWHL: What do we know? What do we want to know? How will we find out? What have we learned? How will we find out? Send home a Round as Tortillia Makespace STEAM Event letter to invite parents to the school library and to participate in making items from the story. Include 4 challenge card ideas in the letter with a link to the video. Invite the makerspace community. Your librarian should be able to help you facilitate this process. The teacher will conduct the second read-aloud to enrich reading comprehension and provide further engagement opportunities through a book talk, and highlight vocabulary. Add more frequent questions during the second reading. Ask children questions to think beyond the story with completing a KWHL, What have we learned? Introduce 4 STEAM Makerspace Challenge Cards and Makerspace activities. Here are some ideas. Encourage students to make their own challenge card but remind students that cards should connect to elements found in the story.

· How many shapes do you see in your community? Be a storyteller and make a story to inform about shapes in your community by creating an e-book using Book Creator or Google Slides

· How do we make tortillas? Be a scientist and investigate the process of making masa and round tortillas. Create an informative video to teach others how to make a tortilla with your abuela.

· What shapes do you see in your favorite games? Be a computer scientist: Code and make a game with squares and other shapes in Scratch.

· What did the flag represent in the story? Be an artist: Make a weave of shapes to use as a rectangular flag as represented in the story. Make an oval necklace. Take a photo of your weave to create digital art.

· How were shapes used to power items in the story? Engineer a sail for a boat that you make. Record the testing of the prototype. Record data and consider what changes could you make to improve the design.

Students will make items that represent elements in the story with their parents and makerspace community. Repeat the reading of the story. After the activity, ask the children, what have you learned? Students can respond on a class blog or ePortfolio and also share procedural text to help other makerspace participants repeat their design challenge. This activity involves the child’s entire community in the literacy process. Children can learn how their culture connects to classroom topics through the art of making. Elders can help children learn how to weave, code, build, and apply STEAM principals through everyday activities.

Example Two: Sunpainters

The purpose of this activity is to align a purposeful makerspace activity to topics explored in

1st-2nd grade using the book Whitethorne (2002). The teacher will introduce the story to the class and read it aloud. The teacher will show the front cover, back cover and conduct a picture walk. Remember to read the story enthusiastically, and with expression. After reading, ask why questions to allow time for students to make inferences and to measure understanding of story events. Place students in groups of 3-4. Begin a KWHL: What do we know? What do we want to know? How will we find out? What have we learned? How will we find out? Provide a device for students to apply digital literacies to locate information. Have students complete this activity on chart paper, whiteboard, or using a digital collaboration tool such as Google Slides or Padlet.

Reread the story to access prior knowledge and build fluency. Afterwards provide students with 2 sticky notes. Silently have students rotate to review KWHL charts to write a plus (appreciation) and a delta (wonder) during a peer review of other group products from the previous day. Use a timer, suggested 3 min., and have students circulate. Then have each student return to their original KWHL group to discuss what they have learned. Introduce 4 STEAM Makerspace Challenge Cards and Makerspace activities in which students take on the role of a journalist, scientist, social scientist, engineer or artist.

· Journalist: After reading Sunpainters: Eclipse of the Navajo Sun, investigate how cultures today and in the past show reverence toward our Mother Earth, Moon, and Sun. How did our Mother Earth, Moon, and Sun influence your culture in the past? Locate an example of how such a story was told in your community in the past. How has preserving stories changed over time? Interview members of your community to make a video, recording on a phone, bulletin board or podcast to tell and preserve a story centering on K’e and the Sun, Moon, and our Mother Earth.

· Artist: After reading Sunpainters: Eclipse of the Navajo Sun, how are stories preserved through art? Do you recognize the concept of K’e in the Sunpainters? Research a craft and record the process of the craft that your culture uses to tell the story of our sun and Mother Earth.

Write a short digital story telling the stories of the eclipse, our sun, and Mother Earth found from your community. Make an artistic digital replication to tell the story and preserve the story for future generations.

· Computer Scientist: After reading Sunpainters: The Eclipse of the Navajo Sun, think about how K’e was represented in the story. Use information from articles to begin designing a computer game. Using Scratch, code to tell the story of the solar eclipse through the lens of K’e. How does the relationship with the elements encourage K’e? How are themes related to your life here at school?

· Astronomer: After reading Sunpainters: The Eclipse of the Navajo Sun, continue your research learning about the phases of the moon. Why must the Moon be a new Moon during a solar eclipse? How does the theme of K'e represent positional relationships of Earth, Moon, and Sun.

Using clay and cardboard, create a Claymation that teaches others about the phases of the moon during a solar eclipse. Show how the theme of K’e is represented during this phenomenon.

· Engineer: After reading Sunpainters: Eclipse of the Navajo Sun, how does the placement of each of the elements represent K’e? How does the travel of sunlight affect time? Make and engineer a sundial to teach the concepts of K’e in relation to the placement of the elements.

· Scientist: After reading Sunpainters: The Eclipse of the Navajo Sun, research how Sun’s light affects our life in relation to K’e. What would life be like with and without light? How does light’s reflection illuminate? Using the reflection of light, create a story using puppets to teach about forms of light and the importance of K’e in relation to light.

Encourage students to make their own challenge card but remind students that cards should connect to elements found in the story. Provide a time limit for students to make a product in the school makerspace. Students will present their makerspace design and/or finished product and explain their career role and how the artifacts relate to the story. Written self-reflection should be guided in which students think about how they overcame challenges during the process of making, procedures followed, etc.

Example Three: How I Harnessed the Wind

The purpose of this activity is to align a purposeful makerspace activity to topics explored in 3rd-6th grade in Kamkwamba and Mealer (2015). There are multiple versions of this book and activities could be adapted for middle school audiences with the adult chapter book, which includes 15 chapters. The children's book could be used with lower grade levels and activities can be modified to fit a 3 day 45 minute timeline. Introduce the novel and conduct pre reading activities and plan for questioning. Discussing the title, and showing a video is a great way to introduce the novel activities to the class. Share a pacing guide or schedule and provide for daily journaling/literature log and differentiation. An audiobook is also available, which provides strong support for English language learners. Set up a space to facilitate literacy conversations and guide students through reflection through use of questioning to improve metacognition. Integrate the KWHL activity into the novel study. Place students in groups of 3-4. Begin a KWHL: What do we know? What do we want to know? How will we find out? What have we learned? How will we find out? Provide a device for students to apply digital literacies to locate information. Have students complete this activity on chart paper, whiteboard, or using a digital collaboration tool such as Google Slides or Padlet. This activity could also be facilitated in a learning management system. Students then can peer review the KWHL activity providing a plus (appreciation) and a delta (a wonder question). Afterwards, students will consider and journal about what they have learned. Introduce the makerspace challenge. Provide a time limit and guidelines. Here are a few examples.

• Artist: Research the great ghost dancers of Malawi of the grandfather’s tales. What were the costumes and masks made of? How did Malawi costumes and masks represent their cultural beliefs? Design and make a Malawi mask that could be worn in a traditional dance. Dress up Dot and Dash and have them walk the runway in a Malawi fashion show.
  
  

• Journalist: Research how farmers are generating their own energy to grow food. How is this transforming villages similar to William’s village? Design and make an audio or video production to tell the story of farmers using renewable energy to grow food. Using the green screen or Dot and Dash, tell the story of sustainable farming.
  
  

• Scientist: Research the differences between batteries and electricity from wall outlets. How are batteries used to supply electricity? Why are they important? Design and make a circuit to generate light. Test and video your design. How would your world change if you didn’t have any electricity?
  
  

• Engineer: Research how simple wind machines can be used as a renewable energy source. What are advantages and disadvantages of using wind? Why is wind a renewable resource? Design and build a wind turbine out of renewable materials.

Students can create their own challenge to share with others. Ensure it relates to the main idea and/or main element presented in the story. After students complete the makerspace activity, students should present their product design or completed product. Self-reflected writing can include procedures taken to build or make the product, how challenges were addressed, and how the product related to the main elements or main idea presented in the novel. Blogs or portfolios can also be a medium used during self-reflection.