Winter is here and, teachers, we all know the winter season calls for your “A” game. The holiday attention deficit and insane cabin fever will be setting in soon, if they haven’t already. Will you be ready? Do you have a game plan yet?

You don’t have to choose between academics & winter fun. For. REAL! Winter STEM Challenges are where it’s at!

Let’s have a Snowstravaganza!

Here are six snowy winter challenges, that are pure winter (no Christmas conflicts here!)

via GIPHY

Winter STEM Challenge 1: Snowman Stretch

What I love about this challenge is how easy it is to implement and differentiate. You can do this challenge with nothing more than a few sheets of paper and a pair of scissors (though adding a couple other elements makes it even more interesting)!

Build for height, volume, and/or surface area. Mix it up by having material or shape requirements for each tier, or ask for inverted snowmen. You could easily spend a week on this same challenge, varying one detail or another in the Criteria & Constraints List. You’ll end up with a small army of snowmen, but think of all the data collection it could bring!

I’ve gone over all the basics you need — materials, how to differentiate, ways to extend & more — in the video walk-through below.

More details on this challenge can be found on this blog post.

Resource is available for purchase here.

Snowman Stretch STEM Challenge Pandemic Makeover

Winter STEM Challenge 2: Snow Scoop

I am always shocked by the different types of scoops students create for this one! And if you have time to switch the types of “snow” you use, things can get really interesting!

This challenge is perfect for launching or reviewing lessons on levers, capacity, measuring mass and more!

I’ve gone over all the basics you need — materials, how to differentiate, ways to extend & more — in the video walk-through below.

Snow Scoop STEM Challenge Pandemic Makeover

More details on this challenge can be found on this blog post.

Resource is available for purchase here.

Winter STEM Challenge 3: Frozen Fortress

This one is not for the faint of heart! It can turn into a sticky, crazy mess, but it doesn’t have to! Pro tip: you can avoid a LOT of the stickiness by adding a constraint not to pierce any marshmallows!

By now, you know the drill >>I’ve gone over all the basics you need — materials, how to differentiate, ways to extend & more — in the video walk-through below.

More details on this challenge can be found on this blog post.

Resource is available for purchase here.

Frozen Fortress STEM Challenge Pandemic Makeover

Winter STEM Challenge 4: Frosted Forest

Geometry nerds, unite! Aren’t triangles grand? If . you have any kind of math standards to cover on triangles, you have to check out Frosted Forest (AKA: Triangle Trees).

See all the basics — materials, tips, how to differentiate, ways to extend & more — in the video walk-through below.

More details on this challenge can be found on this blog post.

Resource is available for purchase here.

Frosted Forest STEM Challenge Pandemic Makeover

Winter STEM Challenge 5: Winter Waiter

Here’s another geometry winner! This one is fantastic for cabin fever because the kids have to get up and get moving, but it is meant to be kept indoors since a lot of us are facing inclement conditions outside! If you hold on to the 3D solids, you can even have them build towers and fortresses and have paper snowball attacks, if you’re feeling adventurous!

See all the basics — materials, tips, how to differentiate, ways to extend & more — in the video walk-through below.

More details on this challenge can be found on this blog post.

Resource is available for purchase here.

Winter Waiter STEM Challenge Pandemic Makeover

Winter STEM Challenge 6: Sled & Slope

I originally designed this as a Christmas STEM Challenge (Sleigh & Slope), and then realized I can make this work all winter long for everyone just by changing one word and the clip art throughout the resource. I like having two options on this one anyway!

See all the basics — materials, tips, how to differentiate, ways to extend & more — in the video walk-through below.