After reading Mapping Sam by Joyce Hesselberth my students work on a STEM mapping activity. The story will appeal to students that wonder what cats are doing while their humans are asleep.

Have you ever wondered where your cat goes when you are sleeping? Every night after Sam’s family goes to bed, Sam explores her neighborhood. Through Sam’s escapades, the reader is introduced to 10 different types of maps including botanical diagrams, a cutaway map, and a map of the stars. We learn maps can show us directions, streets, and countries. In addition, they can show us what we can’t see with just our eyes such as things at the bottom of the pond or in space. 

Student Activity:

Now that you have read Mapping Sam it’s time to work on some mapping activities. 

 

• First, ask your parents if you can watch the following 2 videos. They explain how a compass works and how to use a compass. 

 

• https://video.link/w/3gjyc (How does a compass work?)
• https://video.link/w/1bjyc (How to use a compass.)

 

• Work on the compass rose page.
• Work on the map of the United States page.
• Take a look at the map key page. 
• You are now ready to work on the Mapping Sam’s Route page. 

 

• Ask your parents if you can take a walk. Bring your notebook, a pencil, and your compass with you. Read page 7 before you go.
• Using your notes make a map of your neighborhood and make sure your map has a key.

 

A Compass Activity

 

This is a compass rose. A compass rose is a symbol that helps you read a map. The arrows on the compass rose point to the four main directions, North, South, East & West.

 

1. N stands for  ______________________________

 

2. E stands for  ______________________________

 

3. S stands for  ______________________________

 

4. W stands for  ______________________________

 

Your Neighborhood

Take a walk:

• Take a walk around your neighborhood. 
• Use the compass and determine which way is North. 
• Write down details in your notebook that you want to add to your map. 

 

Compass Directions:

 

N – Never (North)

E – Eat (East)

S – Soggy (South)

W- Waffles (Waffles) 

Using your compass directions make a map of your neighborhood. Make sure and add important features like roads, your house, your school, and the park. 

Teacher information:

This activity is part of our take-home STEM kits that are based on children’s books. Students check these kits out of our library. Inside the bag are the book Mapping Sam, a small notebook, and a compass. When the student is done reading the book and doing the activity they send the book and the compass back to school but they keep the notebook.

Helpful Videos that can be shared with students.

 

These links are through Safelink, so they don’t show commercials. 

 

https://video.link/w/3gjyc (How does a compass work?)

https://video.link/w/1bjyc (How to use a compass.)

 

Additional Information:

If you would like a PDF of this activity that includes compass worksheets please check out  my teacher-pay-teacher link https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Be-The-Bookworm

 

 

After reading Oliver Jeffers The Great Paper Caper my students spend some time doing a STEM paper airplane activity. The Great Paper Caper is a perfect book to have in your Makerspace. Something strange is happening in the forest. The animals are concerned because someone has been cutting down all the trees. After a careful investigation, bear confesses he is the culprit. Bear has been cutting down the trees to make paper airplanes. He wants to win the annual paper airplane contest. The animals help bear with his paper airplane and bear in turn learns about taking care of the forest and recycling.

Questions to Ask Your Students

Have you ever flown a paper airplane? Sometimes it flies straight up, does a loopy-loop, flips over, and dives straight into the ground. Other times it loops and twists through the air and then lands soft as a feather. 

• What keeps a paper airplane in the air?
• How can you keep your paper airplane in the air longer?
• Can you control its loops or turns?
• Would it help to fly your airplane on a windy day?
• What can you learn about real airplanes from building paper airplanes?

Making Paper Airplanes

To get started you only need a sheet of copy paper. The following list is things you can use to possibly alter or improve your paper airplane. 

• Clear tape 
• A stapler 
• Paper clips 
• A ruler 
• Thicker paper such as construction or cardstock

 

Step 1:

Start with an 8 1/2 x 11” piece of paper and fold in half lengthwise (like a hot dog bun.)

Step 2:

Fold the corners down. They will make a point.

Step 3:

Starting from the point, take one side and fold it in. Do the same on the opposite side. 

Step 4:

Fold your airplane in half lengthwise (like a hot dog bun.)

Step 5:

Starting at the point fold down the wing. Flip your plane and fold down the wing on the other side.

Step 6:

Your plane is ready to fly!

Student Follow-up

After my students have had a chance to make their paper airplanes and test out different designs. I have them fill out a STEM follow-up paper. This is a basic step that will help them when they need to fill out lab report forms in the upper grades. If you would like a copy of this you can check out my Teacherspayteachers account. 

Teacher Information 

The Great Paper Caper is part of my take-home STEM projects that I let students check out of the library. When students check out this book I also send home Folding Paper Airplanes with STEM For Beginners to Experts by Marie Buckingham and copy paper. I put everything in a bag with a letter. When they are finished with the books they return the bag with both books to the library. I started these check-outs during COVID, but I will be continuing to let students check out our STEM books during our regular school year.

I send home the following letter in the STEM bag. 

 

Dear ___________ student, 

 

You have checked a book that is part of our Storybook STEM collection. In addition to The Great Paper Caper book inside the bag is Folding Paper Airplanes with STEM and paper for you to make paper airplanes. When you are done reading the book and making the paper airplanes, please put both books back in the bag, but you can keep the paper. 

 

Have fun, 

 

Mrs. R

Finishing UP a STEM Paper Airplane Activity 

Students love to make paper airplanes. I provide them with the instructions for one airplane, and from there they redesign and make their own airplanes. If you are doing this STEM project in person the students love to turn this into a contest. I have set up hula hoops to have them maneuver their planes through and they have flown them both inside and outside.  I have also put tape marks or chalk on the ground and we measured to see whose plane flies the farthest. STEM paper airplanes are a fun activity for the end of the school year when you might be out of resources, because the students only need a piece of paper to participate. 

 

Magnolia Mudd and The Super Jumptastic Launcher Deluxe 

After reading Magnolia Mudd and The Super Jumptastic Launcher Deluxe my students do a STEM launcher activity, Magnolia Mudd loves to create and design things and Fridays are her favorite day of the week because she gets to invent things with her Uncle Jamie Mudd. Her uncle is a rocket scientist and their motto is “Mudd Power.” One Friday Jamie tells Magnolia that he is getting married and they would like her to be involved in the wedding. She doesn’t want to wear a frilly flower girl dress so she uses her inventiveness to come up with another way to be involved in the wedding.

Magnolia is a clever, determined main character, and students will feel inspired to invent their own creations after seeing Magnolia’s determined attempts to invent a way into her uncle’s wedding in a way that feels true to who she is. Magnolia makes mistakes along the way and is a great model for discussing growth mindset, and will appeal to student makers and inventors.

Making a Launcher With Students

 

Building a Launcher:

After trying many different ideas, Magnolia finally decided to make a confetti launcher for her Uncle’s wedding. Today after reading Magnolia Mudd we are going to make a pom-pom launcher. 

 

Supplies:

 

• 6 small popsicle sticks 
• 3 heavy-duty rubber bands
• 1 plastic spoon 
• Pom-poms

 

Optional Supplies:

 

• 1 additional popsicle stick
• 1 cap from a water bottle 
• A hot glue gun 

 

Instructions for Launcher

 

1. Stack 5 popsicle sticks on top of each other. The sticks should all lay flat on top of each other (like a hot dog bun.)
2. Use a rubber band and wrap it around one end of the popsicle sticks. You will need to keep twisting and wrapping the rubber band until it is tight. 
3. Do the exact same thing to the other side. When you’re finished your stack of popsicle sticks will be secure on both ends. 
4. Slide one stick in between the 2 bottom sticks. The one that you just slid in should look like a diving board. 
5. Rest your spoon on the top stick and line it up with your diving board stick. 
6. With a rubber band secure the end of the spoon to the small end of the stick. (see picture below.)
7. Put your pom-pom on the spoon and use your finger to push down on the spoon and launch your pom-pom. 

Optional Instructions:

 

Follow the instructions for the launcher, but don’t use the plastic spoon. Instead of a spoon use another popsicle stick in its place. Secure the bottom and top sticks with a rubber band at the end. Your launcher will look just like the picture except instead of a spoon your top piece will be another popsicle stick. Using a hot glue gun carefully glue the water bottle cap to the end of the top popsicle stick. Make sure that you glue the flat side of the cap to the stick. After the glue has cooled you are ready to try your launcher. 

Revise and Redesign

 

Now that you have made a launcher you can revise and redesign like Magnolia Mudd did in the story and see what works best. You can try some of the following ideas or come up with your own. 

 

• Try larger popsicle sticks 
• If you used the hot glue gun, try using a large-cap instead of a small one. 
• What happens if your stack of popsicle sticks is smaller or larger?
• Try launching something heavier than a pom-pom. You might try small erasers or marshmallows. 
• You can decorate your launcher with markers or paint. 
• Try putting tape around the sticks. Does it help your launcher?
• Place a piece of tape on the floor and see who can launch their object the farthest. 
• Do heavier or lighter things fly the farthest? 

 

Teacher Information

I normally make launchers (catapults) with my students in person in our Makerspace. We make them without the spoons. If I’m making them with a younger grade I pre-glue the caps onto the popsicle sticks before we start the project. My 3rd- 5th graders use the hot glue gun to adhere the caps to the sticks. This is one of my students’ favorite projects because after we all have our launchers made I give them mini-marshmallows and we have a marshmallow war.

This year because of COVID I am sending home STEM projects with picture books. I changed the instructions to a plastic spoon because I don’t know if students will have a glue gun at home and I want to be able to send home everything a student will need to successfully complete the project. 3rd-5th graders should be able to complete the launcher independently. Younger students might need help securing the rubber bands on the ends. When I’ve done this in big groups, generally there will be at least one student that can help me with the students that are struggling.

 

 

After reading Iggy Peck Architect by Andrea Beaty my students participated in a STEM building activity. They used toothpicks and Play-Doh to make structures. Iggy Peck is an imaginative boy that loves to build. Second grade was almost ruined for him when his teacher refuses to let Iggy build because of the fears she developed in elementary school. Iggy, however, gets his time to shine and show off his ingenuity when his teacher has a near disaster on a class field trip. Luckily, Iggy saves the day and he grows up to be a famous architect. This book supports the creative ideas that students come up with in Makerspace and therefore lends itself to STEM activities.  

STEM Building Activity

Building Towers:

 

After hearing the story of Iggy Peck I have my students do a STEM building activity. There are many ways to do this. If students are in our Makerspace Lab I let them make towers or bridges with all the supplies I have in our Makerspace such as clothespins, popsicle sticks, cardboard, yarn, toilet paper tubes, masking tape, and hot glue. For this project, I’m sending home a packet with the students when they check out Iggy Peck Architect. They will make their towers at home. I encourage them to take a picture of their finished project and email it to me. When they are finished with the book they will return the book to the library, but they will keep the supplies.

Supplies For A Take Home STEM Kit:

• A small Ziplock bag
• A small container of Play-Doh 
• 20 toothpicks 

Build A Tower 

In the story, Iggy Peck built towers out of things he found including stinky diapers. Luckily, I didn’t send home any diapers just Play-Doh and toothpicks. The Students’ challenge is to see what they can build with just these two things.

Information For Your Students

I send home the following information with my students.

• Be careful with your Play-Doh. 
• Pick a good place to make your tower. 
• Don’t make your tower on the carpet. 
• Open your Play-Doh and pinch off a small piece. Roll your small piece of Play-Doh into a little ball. Use the little balls as the anchors or as a base for your tower. 
• Use your imagination and see what kind of tower your can make. 
• When you have a tower you love ask your parents if you can take a picture of it and email it to me. 
• If you want to reuse the Play-Doh, disassemble your tower and put the Play-Doh back in its container. It will dry out if it isn’t sealed. 
• Have fun.
• Fill out the tower building follow-up paper.
• Return the book back to the library and check out another book.

Tower Building Follow-Up

•  Ask your students the following: what worked, what didn’t work, and what did they learn? 
• If you would like a PDF to print out, please visit https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Be-The-Bookworm

 

Make A Paper-copter: A STEM Activity 

After I read the book How Do Helicopters Work?  by Jennifer Boothroyd I had my students make a paper-copter as a STEM activity. The book is a non-fiction easy reader book that gives your students the facts about how helicopters work. Readers can learn about how helicopters get in the air and how they steer and land. The text also covers information such as how helicopters can hover, how pilots control helicopters and fun facts such as helicopters are multi-directional. The pages are full color, with images, large font, and sidebars. The Accelerated book level is a 2.9, however, both younger and older readers interested in flying will like this book.

Supplies Needed:

• 1 copy of the paper-copter pattern for each student.
• Scissors
• Paperclips

Teacher Prep:

• Make a copy of the paper-copter pattern for each student on regular copy paper. 

 

How to Make: 

To assemble the paper-copter cut on the solid lines and fold on the dotted lines. When folding, section A should fold forward and section B should fold backward to make blades. Sections C and D will fold towards each other. After C and D are folded experiment with folding up the tail to different lengths and slide paper clip on the tail. (See picture below.)

Flying Your Paper-copter

• The goal is to keep your paper-copter in the air for as long as you can. 
• Try standing on your playground equipment and drop your paper-copter. 
• Drop it at least 3 times and observe what happens.  

Redesign Your Paper-copter 

Now have your students redesign their paper-copter. Ask them to think about what they observed when they dropped it. How well did their paper-copter work? What changes can they make in the design to make their paper-copter stay in the air longer? 

Have your students draw their new design and then make a new paper-copter. 

Extra Credit:

For students that need a little extra, I have them answer the following questions.

• What changes did you observe when you redesigned your paper-copter.
• What caused your paper-copter to stay in the air? 

Try your design with different types of paper. Does printer paper work better than construction paper?

Wrapping It Up: 

Once students get the hang of folding their paper-copters they can make their own designs and they don’t need a pattern. The measurements are flexible and they just need to try and see what works. I’ve used this STEM activity in a whole-class setting, but I’ve also sent home the instructions, the pattern, and paper clips and had students make them at home. If you need the printed instructions or a pdf of the pattern check out my teacher pays teacher site. This activity is part of a series of STEM activities that I do with students that are based on children’s picture books.