Teacher friends,
It’s typical for students to begin losing focus in the classroom as the end of the school year is approaching. Real learning does not have to go out the window just yet, you just have to mask it such a way where it doesn’t quite seem like learning to students… but in fact, still is!
Do your students enjoy playing games? They are a great way to keep students engaged and still learning! Games + STEM activities are the perfect way you and your students can survive until the end of the school year!
These game-themed challenges have science, technology, engineering, and measurement activities for your upper elementary kids that will really get their brains going until the end of the school year!
Students will work together to plan and design a game with characters, obstacles, and commands. The game must have an objective with a staring point and a finishing point. It is up to the group how detailed they would like their game to be. Once the board is put together, students will split into their two groups – the players and the programmers. The programmers will be in charge of developing the game – placing the obstacles, characters, and writing down the commands in the exact order that will allow the players to win the game. It is up to the programmers how difficult they want their game to be. ***for more information on the challenge, scroll down to the end of the post!
Students must design a Pinball machine that contains the following properly-functioning parts: flippers, drain, holes, bumpers, and plunger. For extending learning, students can decide to incorporate a spring in the design of their plunger. Students must be able to successfully launch the ball using the plunger. They must have a certain number of obstacles such as bumpers an holes that award points to the player. The flippers must be able to function in preventing the ball from reaching the drain. ***for more information on the challenge, scroll down to the end of the post!
Students must construct a functioning foosball table that has at least 12 players (6 per player) and 6 rods. (3 per player) Students must be able to push, pull, and turn the rods properly to move the players. The players must be secure enough to not fall off and hit the ball properly. There must be two opposing goals that the ball can be knocked into by the players. ***for more information on the challenge, scroll down to the end of the post!
Integrating end of the year activities into the classroom can sometimes be tricky with upper elementary grade levels, but with STEM, celebrating the end of the year will be a blast!
You may also be interested in… STEM All Year Long!
Great ideas! in PARTICULAR i LIKE THE FOOSBALL TABLE CHALLENGE. AT FIRST iT SEEMS LIKE IT MIGHT BE THE SIMPLEST OF THE THREE BUT I SUSPECT THE FORCE OF HITTING THE BALL REPEATEDLY WOULD REQUIRE SOME SERIOUS ENGINEERING TO KEEP THE PLAYERS STEADY OVER TIME.
tHANKS FOR SHARING!