What can the Three Little Pigs teach kids about STEAM education? With some imagination, teachers at North Cobb Christian School discovered the answer is quite a bit.
To kick off a new school year and a commitment to having monthly STEAM events, the school expanded on the classic children’s fable to teach principles around science, technology, engineering, arts and math.
“We know the future has a big emphasis on STEAM,” said Wendy Titus, the lower school principal who oversees 256 students from 3-year-olds through fourth graders. “We wanted to bring more of that into our lower school, so we kicked off the beginning of the year with an all-day event with ‘The Three Little Pigs’ theme.”
The day began with teachers staging a performance of the story, after which students fanned out to stations that challenged them to solve a pig- or wolf-related problem, all geared so even the youngest could participate.
Among the dilemmas: design a house to withstand the gusts of the Big Bad Wolf and big enough for all the pigs to live in comfortably. The results were measured by how well they withstood the blast of giant fans and hairdryers.
Another challenge was to capture the wolf in a net using a catapult that launched a stuffed animal into a student-made trap. The kids also created a home for the captured critter using 2D and 3D models, including a complete floor plan and street view.
Artists explored ways to disguise the pigs with masks. The students worked on language skills by writing reflections on their successes and near misses at the end of the day.
In September, the STEAM challenges were scaled back to an hour but kept a theme, this time using apples – how to launch them from the catapult without damaging them, designing 3D shapes to support apples and using the fruit to topple piles of markers.
This month, students worked on creating an elevator to lift a pumpkin two feet off the ground. November and December events will tie into the holidays, and each will end with reflections.
“We started doing STEAM journals this year, and every student got one,” said Titus. “It helps with learning vocabulary and understanding that it’s not just doing the activities. It’s also about thinking about what they can learn from them for the future.”
Carol Coleman, the STEAM lab coordinator for kindergarteners through sixth graders, said the response from the students has been overwhelmingly positive.
“They love making things and having something different to do around a problem they can get their hands on,” she said. “At the same time, they also learn that the failing process is all about trying it again, and that’s OK. It teaches that learning is a process and not always about a grade; they can be builders and creators, rather than just academic test takers.”
Though launched with STEAM principles in mind, Coleman said the learning experience has inspired teachers in other subject areas as well. “We’re already hearing teachers say, ‘This goes with my social studies unit.’ It’s not just our students who are excited, but the teachers as well.”
Information on North Cobb Christian School is online at ncchristian.org.
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Each week we look at programs, projects and successful endeavors at area schools, from pre-K to grad school. To suggest a story, contact H.M. Cauley at hm_cauley@yahoo.com or 770-744-3042.
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