Have you ever done a STEM challenge in your classroom and it was too easy or too hard for your students?

There are a few quick and easy ways to challenge the difficulty of ANY STEM challenge or activity!

If you want to make a STEM challenge EASIER...

• Increase the amount of time for the challenge.
• Eliminate timed challenges.
• Give students a second chance at the STEM challenge using what they learned from their first experience to guide them.
• Give hints!
• Increase the amount of tape or any other supplies that were limited in the challenge.
• Let students switch teams.
• Turn an individual challenge into a pair or team challenge.
• Give struggling groups a hand.
• Allow groups to attach towers, bridges, or other structures to a table or the floor.

If you want to make a STEM challenge HARDER...

• Decrease the amount of time for the challenge.
• Add a time component to a challenge if it is not already a timed challenge.
• Reduce the amount of materials, like tape, that students get for the challenge.
• Take away supplies like scissors at a certain time during the challenge.  You can make it a known time or a surprise!
• Turn a team challenge into a challenge for individuals or pairs.
• Make student teams move to a new table and begin work on another team's project.  Try moving teams every 10 minutes!  This change makes them crazy!

I believe ANY group of kids can do ANY of the different STEM challenges that are out there.  Adjusting each challenge to meet the needs of their students is up to the classroom teacher.

Finding the perfect balance of frustration and success during a STEM challenge is so important!

Click here to grab a FREE and FUN STEM Challenge to do with your students the first week of school!

Get those kids engineering right away this fall!

Crocodile Day isn't an official worldwide holiday, but it could be a fun theme day for learning or celebrating crocodiles—amazing reptiles that live in rivers, lakes, and swamps!  

This year it is celebrated on June 17th!

🐊 Crocodile Day – A Day to Learn About and Celebrate Crocodiles!

What is a crocodile?

A crocodile is a big reptile with rough, scaly skin, a long tail, and lots of sharp teeth. Crocodiles live near water and are great swimmers. They are one of the oldest animals on Earth!

Making actual size alligators and crocodiles is a great way to celebrate this day!  We used bulletin board paper, tape measures, and researched the different types of alligators and crocodiles sizes!

Click here to check out this product in my tpt store!

Learning about the RMS Titanic is always a topic my students are interested in each year!  We read an informational book about the Titanic and the I Survived graphic novel about the Titanic disaster.  We also complete a few science labs about salt and ice and the kids are always amazed!

This lab answers the question of:  Which amount of salt will melt the ice cube the fastest, a pinch, a teaspoon, or a tablespoon?

It requires easy to find and cheap materials and the kids are usually surprised!

The students had three bowls, three ice cubes, and some salt for the lab.  We used measuring spoons to measure out the right amount of salt.

The students were surprised by our results after five minutes!  There are four labs in the pack.  We did them over the course of a week.

You can find this set of labs in my blog store or in my tpt store for just $2!  Click here for the link to the item in my tpt store.

Capture your students' interest and learn a little about the Titanic as we approach the date this disaster occurred on April 15th.

Looking for something fun to do with your class this spring?  Why not try a set of 8 quick STEM challenges in your classroom?

This set uses plastic eggs and a few other supplies like small cups, tape, tape measures, boxes, and tubs of water.  Most teachers can find these other items around their classroom or school building.

I buy one bag of plastic eggs for each team.  I grab the plastic eggs at the Dollar Tree.

We do all of these challenges in a day, but you could also do them over the course of a few days or a week.  Student teams then add their numbers together to get a total score for their team!

The pack includes challenge cards and a score sheet to use for each team.  I give my students a chance to practice before we set the timer for a minute.

We do many of these quick challenges in our classroom and we do a few outside.

There will be more of these added to my store soon...

Keep your kids excited and engaged until the end of the school year, and get them working together as a team!

Challenge your students today!  If your students need more time, feel free to increase the minute to 2 or even 3 minutes!  Do what works for your kids and your classroom!

What can your kids get done in a short period of time?