Summarizing STEM

This STEM challenge requires little to no set up or prep, all you need is a few common craft supplies. In partners or independently, students will design and build a bird beak. They will test to see how much food their bird beak can collect in one minute.

It is a part of my STEM and literacy series. This challenge can incorporate almost any reading comprehension strategy, but the graphic organizers I've included are for summarizing.

All of my STEM challenges include recording sheets for different groups (individual and partner) and ages. I use my STEM challenges in my kindergarten class, with our fourth grade buddies, and with my grade 1-4 STEM and coding class, so I need options for each class!

During our summarizing unit, our nonfiction mentor text is about habitats, so we extend the unit by a week *GASP* because the kids LOVE learning about animals and habitats. We even find time to watch an episode of Wild Kratts *Double GASP*. They love learning about the wild adaptations that animals have that allow them to survive in their habitat.

If you don't have time to really get into habitats but are looking to build background information on birds and their adaptations or make this an independent challenge, see my QR code activity here. I like to put this out at my students' STEM center the week before the challenge so they can see how beaks vary by where a bird lives, which will influence their design. It's also a great activity for fast finishers!