Using STEM Challenges to extend the story Sneezy The Snowman
Bring the story to life in your classroom
Using STEM building challenges can bring a read-aloud story to life in your classroom. “Sneezy the Snowman written by Maureen wright is a winter story favorite. The story is all about problem-solving, testing your idea, then redesigning your solution. It’s a wonderful way to introduce the engineering design process. If you are not familiar with the story. Sneezy gets cold. The children come up with a variety of ways to warm Sneezy up. However their solution is too effective and Sneezy melts.
So they start again with a new idea. Critical thinking at it’s best!
Extend the story with STEM challenges
All good STEM challenges start with a problem. Here’s an example of one of the STEM challenges the students must solve. Just like in the story, your students will need to build a hot tub for Sneezy.
A great way to introduce STEM challenges is with a list of materials. start with your students sitting on the rug and brainstorm what materials might work to build the item. Use whatever materials you have – Legos, blocks, counting cube, pipe cleaners. It doesn’t matter let their creativity soar.
Next they need to design their solution. The drawing doesn’t need to be perfect. It’s a place to begin to “see” your solution. Then the fun begins when they build.
Seeing a classroom of students standing up and fully engaged in solving a problem is one of the true joys of teaching.
Focus on the process of building, testing, and redesigning. Just like in the story Sneezy the Snowman. The kids’ idea didn’t work out at the beginning. But they tried again, and again. The fun is in the process – not the solution.
After they test their design it’s time to reflect on what did or didn’t work.
Now it’s time to share your experience. What did you learn? What improvements can you make? Giving students opportunities to”fail” is crucial for building resilience. Don’t shy away from failure. It’s where students learn the most. Make sure you post the “My Student Objective “
page so all the adults who enter your room realize the standard you are addressing.
For some reason admins often think hands on learning isn’t actually work.
Show them that learning problem solving and critical thinking can be fun and engaging.
Shop Sneezy the Snowman STEM
If you haven't tried STEM challenges grab a FREEBIE and give it a try.
