Looking for St. Patrick’s Day activities that your students will love but are more than just a craft or activity to pass the time? This St. Patrick’s STEM Challenge (or STEAM Challenge) will keep your students engaged in brain-busting work disguised as fun!

The basic premise: 

Working against criteria & constraints individually or in partners/groups, students will design and build one or more devices to transfer leprechaun gold from his pot to their own.

 

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Note: Click here for the printable version of this resource.

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Resource includes:

• NGSS aligned standards, Grades 2 – 8

• Teacher Tips:
  • Links to my 5-part video series on getting started with STEM challenges
  • Materials and timing
  • Criteria & Constraints (including modifications to increase difficulty for older students)
  • Measuring results
  • Universal STEM Challenge Notes & How to Use Student Handouts Post-design extension activities list
  • Link to a video walk-through of the challenge

• Student Slides:
  • Criteria & Constraints List (editable version provided)
  • Results and Design Analysis
  • Discussion Questions

• Extension templates
  • Write a Limerick
  • Process Flow Map
  • Math Extension options (Identifying even vs. odd numbers; using divisibility rules with 4-digit numbers; using divisibility rules with square roots and exponents, and create-your-own word problems)
  • Math Extension Option: Identifying equivalent percents, fractions, and decimals

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Sample/suggested materials for each student or group:

(Materials you’ll need to do the activity are easily modified.)

• Pots of “gold” to test designs (1 per group or 1 whole-class)
• Pots: Halloween plastic cauldrons look the part, but any bowl will do.
• Gold: chocolate coins, Almond Hershey’s Kisses, Rolos, etc. (two or three bags should be plenty for the whole class)
  • Alternate option: if you also did the “Guard the Gold” challenge, use student-made pots of gold.
• Pipe cleaners (5 – 10)
• String/yarn (12 24 in.)
• Tape (12 – 24 in.)
• Rubber bands (5 – 10)
• Scissors
• Bags to collect gold (1)
• Ruler/measuring tape
• Design analysis handouts (included)

• Optional:
  • Craft sticks (5 – 10)
  • Paperclips (10 – 20)
  • Straws (5 – 10)
  • Binder clips or clothespins (5)
  • Bowls, cups, or coffee filters (1)
  • Plastic spoons, knives, or forks
  • Decoy/fool’s gold: crumpled yellow paper, cotton balls, etc.

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Benefits of this STEM Design Challenge:

• Focus on critical thinking, problem solving, and application of learning
• Helps students develop growth mindset traits like persistence and resilience
• High levels of student engagement
• The potential to hit upon all NGSS ETS standards depending on the depth and number of iterations you choose to implement in your classroom (modifications included)
• Highly flexible and differentiated for materials, timing, grade levels, and rigor.

Each design iteration should be planned for ~60 min. if you are including data gathering and analysis rather than just building for fun. If you add extension activities, you will need to adjust timing accordingly.

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This resource is available in a printable format as well as in discounted bundles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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