As summer winds down and students prepare to return to school, elementary science teachers face a unique set of challenges. From ensuring safety to engaging students with diverse interests and backgrounds, creating a dynamic and effective learning environment requires careful planning and creativity. Here are some common back-to-school problems in the elementary science classroom and strategies to address them.
Do you have students struggling to collaborate? A lack of funds or supplies? Not sure where to begin when it comes to bringing STEM into your classroom authentically? I have these common problems solved for you. Keep reading to see how I can solve your problems.
Do your students ARGUE?
Problem: Students may struggle to work together in groups, the younger the child is, the less experience they may have collaborating with other classmates.
Solutions:
Explicitly Teach Collaborative Learning: Encourage group work and provide students with dialogue starters to help them express feelings. Students often learn better when they can discuss and explain concepts to each other.
- Start by introducing how you’ll run STEM in your classroom with my intro to STEM resource. You’ll be building up student confidence with this one!
- Give students sentence starters such as “Your idea to _______ is helpful. Let’s use this part of the blueprint.” or “I am not sure if I understand, can you explain your idea again.”
- Encourage students to be okay with trying again and again. Growth mindset is important here.
Do you needs $$$ to afford STEM?
Problem: Science classrooms often face budget constraints, leading to limited resources and materials for experiments.
Solutions:
- Resourceful Planning: Plan experiments and activities that make the most of available resources. Use everyday materials and online simulations when possible. I ask parents to donate “garbage” that is cleaned and dry – think bottle caps, cereal boxes, toilet paper rolls, etc. I have a Freebie on TPT that you can have here.
- Grants and Donations: I have used Donors Choose Successfully for many years and have funded so much in my classroom. I’d love to help you get started.
- Sharing Resources: Collaborate with other teachers to share resources and equipment. This can expand the range of experiments and activities you can offer.
Are you struggling to FIT it all in?
Problem: There are too many moving parts in my classroom. Science is not the focus while math and reading/writing are. How can I fit it all in?
I’m aware of the challenges facing so many teachers when the time constraints and district mandates get in the way. That’s why I’m suggesting to build STEM and science education into a thematic unit.
If you’re teaching about hibernation during reading, have students build a new habitat for a hibernating animal during STEM time. You can also build up your writers by encouraging them to describe their “hibernation station”.
Try these elementary back to school answers to all your problems. Do you have another problem that I can help brainstorm up some solutions with you? Let me know!
