My students dove into STREAM projects using Sphero robots this year! The S in STREAM stands for not only Science but also Social Studies projects! I also have added “Self Directed Learners” to the “S” too! The “R” stands for Robotics, Reading and Research! My fifth graders read about various Science and Social Studies topics that I had posted in their Google Classrooms, then used our Sphero Robots to create lines of code, collaborate and communicate with each other!
In a Social Studies project, 5th graders researched Paul Revere then programmed a Sphero hooked to a blue chariot/horse with a Lego Paul Revere on it to each city where Paul Revere rode on the night of his famous midnight ride just prior to the start of the American Revolution! They collaborated in building the cities out of Legos too! Their favorite part was programming the Sphero EDU app to proclaim, “The Regulars are coming! The Regulars are coming!” (The Regulars were the enlisted British soldiers.). Each time Paul Revere was programmed to a new city represented by Legos and a city name card, Paul Revere would announce his famous and urgent sentence which awakened people so that they could prepare for the beginning of the American Revolution!
As a 5th grade Science project, students researched Mars Rovers and engineers at NASA like Diana Trujillo who give Mars Rover directions from earth. They designed their own Mars Rovers out of K’NEX and drove them around by programming Sphero robots. They worked together to bring their designs to life and made adjustments in their designs as needed.
Third grade students composed Spring poems then published them on paper. Then, they laid out foam flowers and their poems to create a geometric shaped garden. Next, they programmed Sphero robots to roll to each flower or poem. It was so fun to have them type in their poems into the Sphero EDU app then hear the poem read aloud as their Sphero traveled to the poem. Groups also programmed the sounds of birds to chirp when the Sphero arrived at various flowers along the path! I called this project, “Stop and Smell the Flowers”! It was a great way to introduce them to coding Sphero robots in small groups.
I enjoy planning STREAM lessons for my students! What are your favorite STREAM lessons?
Teaching STREAM 