Why STEM Belongs in Morning Meeting
This was years ago, but I remember doing morning meeting “share” one day with my students when the topic of estimation came up. You see, my students were all trying to guess how many pieces of candy were in our schools jar for a contest.
I made sure to tell them there’s an easy way to figure out but it takes a bit of practice and some math. This opened up a really in the moment lesson about estimation.
I showed students how to make layers in a container. If they can count the bottom layer and then count how many layers up, they can use math to figure it out. Now let’s be real… my students were Kindergarten so they wouldn’t be able to multiply the answer. But I was able to show them the concrete way of figuring out how to solve the problem.
They also enjoyed eating some of the candy I used to show them how it worked. But they were able to practice some math estimation skills, made observations about the volume of jars, and practiced some real life problem solving skills. Now, none of them won the candy in the jar because even with this example, they still didn’t know how to estimate. But it was a great start and opened up the topic of conversation.
This was an organic way that students brought in STEM to our morning meeting but I think we should be more intentional about it. STEM isn’t just a subject to be taught in school, it is a way of thinking that aligns perfectly with curiosity, collaboration, and communication. Many of these skills are already focused on during morning meeting.
What Is STEM Thinking? (And How Does It Fit?)
STEM education can be defined as a structured lesson to solve a problem using the integration of science, technology, engineering, and math. STEM education in early education means that students will work on exploring their surroundings, observe and notice what something does, ask questions, build ideas, and go through trial and error.
All the growth that happens during STEM challenges and the risk of failure means that students need to be comfortable to take risks. This can happen when they have a strong classroom community established. One way to to do this is through morning meeting.
Morning meeting can be a perfect place to work on explaining or questioning something during “SHARE” time. Students can also play games during the “GROUP ACTIVITY” that help build, test, or collaborate on something. And your “MESSAGE” can relate directly to a topic you’ll be covering in science or about a book you’re going to read that involves STEM topics. (I have a list of great ones here if you’re interested)
Greeting Ideas
Use STEM-themed greetings:
- “Engineer Hello”: Name + one thing they like to build
- “Tech Buddy Greet”: Name + favorite tool or gadget
- Add physical movement (pattern steps, robot wave, inventor’s pose)
Share Ideas
“What’s something you’ve taken apart or figured out?”
“What do you wonder about the stars?”
“What would you invent to make mornings easier?”
Encourage peer questions: “How did you think of that?” “What did you do next?”
Activity Ideas
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Pattern clap game
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Estimation jar
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“Invent a New Tool” drawing challenge
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Pass the object + name a STEM word
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Build a 2-block tall tower—how can we make it taller?
Message Ideas
Use sentence starters like:
“Today we will explore _______ and ask _______.”
“Engineers always ______. Today we’ll practice that too.”
Ask questions to spark predictions or observations
“What do you notice about this pattern?”
“How might we test something today?”
Need a quick morning meeting slideshow? I have this first week STEM edition already completed for you. It’s 5 days and 1 extra editable picture for you so you can start your morning meetings easily with your classroom. Check it out on TPT. It pairs perfectly with my STEM Explorer Week FREEBIE, which will get your students excited about STEM learning this year!
Fitting it ALL IN
Maybe this seems a bit too, um… much. That’s fine! Try one STEM section of morning meeting a day or jump head on and do every activity around STEM. I’ll be over here jealous that you’re able to hold morning meetings. I don’t get to anymore in middle school because I don’t have a homeroom time (we start first period right away!). Anyway, please let me know what you think and if you’d like to see more morning meeting slides in the future.
Don’t forget to grab the STEM Explorer Week Freebie below.