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MT OPI Indian Education for All Resources

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MT OPI Indian Education for All Resources

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Copy of Digital Literacy Choice Board for PVCC

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Free resources

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Netsmartz digital citizen lessons & resources

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Netsmartz digital citizen lessons & resources

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National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

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PowerPoint Presentations

NetSmartz offers free, multimedia internet safety presentations tailored for specific audiences - parents and communities, teens, tweens, and younger children. Our innovative presentations make use of online resources, videos, and expert tips to educate, engage, and empower children and adults to be safer on and offline.​

The presentations below are categorized by age of the intended target audience. However, we strongly encourage presenters to review the PowerPoint presentations before deciding which one to use and to consult with the hosts of your presentation (e.g. administration and/or support staff if presenting at a school) to select the most appropriate presentation for your audience. Depending on your audience's previous exposure to internet safety and related topics, you may need to deviate from the age guidelines given below to find the most relevant information and format. Contact us at outreach@ncmec.org with questions or for assistance.

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PowerPoint Presentations NetSmartz offers free, multimedia internet safety presentations tailored for specific audiences - parents and communities, teens, tweens, and younger children. Our innovative presentations make use of online resources, videos, and expert tips to educate, engage, and empower children and adults to be safer on and offline.​ The presentations below are categorized by age of the intended target audience.

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Safer Internet Day US Homepage | Safer Internet Day USA

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Safer Internet Day US Homepage | Safer Internet Day USA

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A Wellness Resource Hub Brought to You by The Dawson County Health Department

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A bilingual site for educators and families of english language learners

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A bilingual site for educators and families of English language learners

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My Montana Tribes and Reservations. JMayer

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Virtual Field Trips - Buffalo Bill Center of the West

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Take a virtual trip out West! Visit the Buffalo Bill Center of the West by signing your class up for one of our free, interactive virtual field trips. Take your [...]

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By Amy Cowen on November 4, 2022 4:00 PM
Inspire students of all ages to enjoy STEM when you let them loose in a creative makerspace! These hands-on engineering activities use simple materials and encourage students to brainstorm, problem solve, and innovate.
Enabling Exploration

Community makerspaces are collaborative spaces where people of all ages can get hands-on with science and engineering. With an array of materials available, a visit to a local makerspace is an invitation to play with science and engineering and really see how things work.

You may have a makerspace in your school or at the library, or maybe you have an area of your classroom dedicated to maker activities students can explore or certain days of the week on which you turn the room into a makerspace. With a few materials and a surface to work on, garage or basement spaces can easily be recast as home makerspaces, too!

You don't have to have expensive materials to start up your own makerspace. With an assortment of craft supplies, electronics parts, and recycled materials, you can set up a makerspace full of inspiring STEM that kids can explore. Figuring out what will work with the materials available is part of the challenge and part of the fun!

Bookmark or pin these projects to add to your makerspace!

Update! This post has been updated for 2022!

Free Projects and Activities for Your Makerspace

Try one of these STEM projects for creative hands-on science and engineering with a DIY "maker" flair:

1. Make Cardboard Automata: Plan and build an automaton from cardboard and craft materials.

2. Build a Wind-Powered Car: Add a sail to a DIY toy car and experiment to see how changes to the sail make a difference in the car's stability and speed.

3. Build a Differential from K'Nex®: Use the K'Nex® toy building system to build a model differential.

4. Build A Wall Marble Run: Use cardboard tubes and other simple materials to build a wall marble run.

5. Make an Awesome Paper Lantern: Design and make a paper lantern that holds a battery-operated tealight candle or uses a night light circuit.

6. Flippy, the Dancing Robot: Build a simple dancing robot and use the engineering design process to improve it.

7. Build a Paper Roller Coaster: Build a paper roller coaster and try to add a loop.

8. 3D Print with Sand: No 3D Printer Required!: Use sand and glue to simulate one type of 3D printing.

9. DIY Mini Propeller Car: Make a small toy car with a simple circuit and a propeller.

10. Build a Robot Hand: Use craft materials to design and build a robotic hand.

11. Build a Mini Trebuchet: Use craft sticks, rubber bands, and other craft materials to make and explore the physics behind a miniature trebuchet.

12. DIY Light Up Unicorn Headband: Make a unicorn horn headband with a paper circuit that lights an LED at the tip.

13. Build a Rubber Band-Powered Car: Build a car with an axle made from straws and rubber bands that store potential energy when wound.

14. Build a Popsicle Stick Catapult: Make a small catapult from craft sticks and rubber bands.

15. Duplicate Your Drawings with a Machine: Make and experiment with a pantograph, a device that can be used to make a larger or smaller copy of a drawing.

16. Make a Paper Circuit: Learn how to make simple circuits from paper, copper tape (or aluminum foil), and a battery. (See Paper Circuits Science Projects for additional ways to explore.)

17. Make a Cotton Ball Launcher: Use a recycled cardboard tube to make a launcher that can launch lightweight materials.

18. The Impossible Arrow Illusion: 3D print and explore the "impossible arrow" illusion - the arrow's reflection in a mirror always points the other way!

19. Make Your Own Harmonica!: Explore how a harmonica creates sound waves by making a small one from wooden sticks, rubber bands, and a straw.

20. DIY Mini Drone: Make a basic mini drone. (Add additional parts to explore a series of questions related to drone flight.)

21. Build a Balloon Car: Use a balloon to power a homemade toy car.

22. Study Kinetic Energy with a Rube Goldberg Machine: Use assorted materials to create a set of chain reactions in a machine designed to perform a simple task.

23. Build a Cardboard Scissor Lift: Use craft materials to make a scissor lift and explore simple machines.

24. Junkbots: Robots from Recycled Materials: Design and build simple robots made from recycled and craft materials.

25. Build a Paper Speaker: Make a working speaker from paper and neodymium magnets.

26. Make a Night-Light: Build a working night-light with an intermediate circuit project and design the custom housing, too!

Makerspace Learning in Action

The following STEM videos demonstrate some of the highlighted activities:

Ready for More Makerspace Ideas?

See 16 Next-Level Makerspace STEM Projects for projects and activities to help scale your makerspace for students ready for additional challenge.

You Might Also Enjoy These Related Posts:

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26 Projects to Jump-start Your Makerspace | Science Buddies Blog

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26 engaging hands-on STEM activities that use recylced and craft materials for a home, library, or classroom makerspace

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Indigenous Morning meeting greetings Sept 2025

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Indigenous Morning meeting greetings Sept 2025

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Public Sept 2025 Indigenous Morning Greetings

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How to teach about 9/11

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Note for screen reader users: once expanded, the first four items of the navigation menu have some associated content which may provide additional information of interest. These sections can be located by jumping to the level 3 heading which follows each sub-menu.

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Welcome to the Glendive Public Library, the living room of the community. There is something for everyone:
books, Interlibrary loans, audio books on cassette and CD, newspapers, magazine, DVDs, computers with internet, free down loadable e-books a

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AI Help Desk: Your Partner for Navigating New Tech The Frontier Learning Lab is excited to launch the nation’s first AI Help Desk for educators, a resource built for Montana’s schools, but open to …

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There are a wide variety of low-tech making projects that are sure to get the wheels of creativity turning for your students.

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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Home Page | National Museum of the American Indian

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The NMAI fosters a richer shared human experience through a more informed understanding of Native peoples.

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A comprehensive suite of e-learning resources designed for all ages and abilities with articles, videos, educator tools, eBooks, research guides and more.

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Search for library materials

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Borrow ebooks and audiobooks instantly with your library card. The Libby app makes reading on-the-go easier than ever. Download today!

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I've used Whooo's Reading with my middle school students for just over a year now and absolutely love it! My students keep track of their independent reading and answer questions/take quizzes during class time. I can adjust the question level to differentiate for my lower readers, can set goals for students, and reward students who go beyond the requirements.

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Translator website- better then google translate

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Translator website- better then google translate

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Tech giants Google, Microsoft and Facebook are all applying the lessons of machine learning to translation, but a small company called DeepL has outdone them all and raised the bar for the field.
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DeepL Translate: The world's most accurate translator

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Teachers and students need your support more than ever. Get crayons, books, cleaning supplies, technology, and more to help students get back to learning.
See classroom projects
Our efficiency and transparency have earned us the highest rating on Charity Navigator.

About us

Founded in 2000 by a high school teacher in the Bronx, DonorsChoose empowers public school teachers from across the country to request much-needed materials for their students. Right now there are thousands of teacher requests that you can help bring to life with a gift of any amount.
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Support teachers and students with a

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Choose a new project every month.

We'll charge you once a month, and you handpick the projects you want to support. No time to pick? We'll use your donation to help an urgent teacher request.
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We know that you care about how effectively your donation is being used. That's why we show you how every dollar was spent, how you made a difference, and how grateful the students and teachers are!

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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by teachers, donors, administrators, and partner organizations across the country.
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Looking to help out? There are thousands of exciting teacher requests that would benefit from a donation of any size!
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DonorsChoose: Support a classroom. Build a future.

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Teachers and students need your support more than ever. Get crayons, books, cleaning supplies, technology, and more to help students get back to learning. See classroom projects Our efficiency and transparency have earned us the highest rating on Charity Navigator.

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Indian Nations

Sacred Lands from Peaks to Plains

Meet the First Nations of Montana

Meet Montana's Indian Nations and feed your soul by experiencing the many tribal communities, diverse cultures and history of this vast, unspoiled land.

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Information on Montana's Indian Nations.

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Diverse BookFinder | Identify & Explore Multicultural Picture Books

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Are you looking for multicultural children’s books? We’ve got you covered! You can search our circulating collection of picture books (2002-present), explore our quick lists, then borrow our books from your own library through interlibrary loan. We believe that too many children are left out of main…

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Through the MDU Resources Foundation, we share our success and help our neighbors make our communities better places to live and work.

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Welcome to Dawson County

Dawson County is in central-eastern Montana. The population of Dawson County is approximately 8,904 and includes the communities of Richey, West Glendive and Glendive. We are home to the largest state park in Montana, Makoshika State park! Where there are plenty of outdoor activities to enjoy like hiking, biking, camping and disc golf. Agriculture is a large aspect of our community, with 1,132,990 acres of farm land raising livestock and/or crops. MSU Extension in Dawson County provides services for the 4-H program, agriculture, horticulture and community development.

What is Extension?

Universities engage in research and teaching, but land-grant universities like Montana State University have a third critical mission - Extension. Extension means out reach and "extending" resources, solving public needs with university resources through collaboration, workshops and programing.

The Montana State University Extension Service is an educational resource dedicated to improving the quality of people's lives by providing research-based knowledge to strengthen the social, economic and environmental well-being of families, communities, and agriculture.

The Dawson County Extension office provides services in the following areas:

4-H & Youth Development

Agriculture and Horticulture

Soil & Nitrate Testing

Water Tests

Insect Identification

Plant Identification & Disease Diagnostics

Montana Private Pesticide Applicators Licensing and Education

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IEFA Leadership Symposium - Regional Lessons

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Regional Teachers Resources- These lessons are for teachers outside of the Billings Public School District

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Buffalo Bill Center of the West Indian Ed resources

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Buffalo Bill Center of the West Indian Ed resources

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You can book virtual field trips with the museum staff

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K-12 School Resources: Indian Education for All

The Buffalo Bill Center of the West offers many K - 12 programs and resources to help teachers and students meet Montana and Wyoming's Indian Education for All Social Studies Standards.

A visitor studies a tipi in the Plains Indian Museum.

On-site Professional Development

Join us at the Center of the West on June 4th-June 6th, 2023, for our on-site Indian Education for All Professional Development course. Registration is FREE! Connect with Indigenous knowledge keepers, develop a professional learning community, learn in our galleries, and earn PTSB or UW credit. Contact Heather Bender at [email protected] to enroll.

Click on the button below for the course overview, a detailed schedule, and a special lodging rate.

Virtual Professional Development Modules

Information for the next cohort of the Center's Virtual Indian Education for All Teacher Professional Development courses will be available soon! In these sessions, you will build community, connect with Indigenous knowledge keepers, and earn PTSB or UW credit. Contact Heather Bender at [email protected] for more information.

Click on the buttons below for past course overviews.

Are you interested in information about upcoming professional development courses and resources to use in the classroom? Please fill out this brief form, so we can keep you updated on professional development and resources. Contact Heather Bender at [email protected] or 307-578-4096 for more information.

Guided Experiences - On-site and Virtual

The Center offers various Plains Indian culture and history focused programming both as onsite guided experiences and as live virtual field trips. All experiences are aligned to Montana and Wyoming's Indian Education for All Social Studies Standards.

Contact Alex Martin or visit the links below for more information or to register for these immersive and interactive experiences for your students.

Guided Field Trip Experiences

Visit the Center on a field trip and schedule Plains Indian culture and history guided experience.

Virtual Field Trip Experiences

Is it too far to visit us in person? We offer all of our onsite Plains Indian guided experiences as live virtual field trips.

Please print scavenger hunts for your students prior to your field trip visit. This document contains scavenger hunts for all museums, including the Plains Indian Museum.

Teacher Guides and Resources for Plains Indian Guided Experiences
The following guides are available for teachers to print. Each guide contains objectives, standards, pre- and post-visit activities, and a resource list. All teacher guides are aligned to Montana and Wyoming's Indian Education for All Social Studies Standards.
Click on the image captions below for each tour to view its teacher guide.

Download Teacher Guide

Download Teacher Guide

Download Teacher Guide

Additional Resources for Your Classroom

Self-Guided Field Trip Opportunities

Outreach Trunks

Click on each image for a larger view of trunk contents. Visit our Outreach Trunk page to learn more about reserving and borrowing one of our outreach trunks.

Plains Indian Art Trunk

This trunk fosters an understanding and appreciation for the culture of Plains Indian people. Materials in the trunk include examples of traditional Plains Indian arts such as: bead work; quill work; and painted objects. A teacher's guide is enclosed.
Weight: 51 lbs. Size: 30 x 15 x 15 inches

Powwow Trunk

Music and dance have long been central to American Indian cultures. Today's powwow is a celebration of that heritage. Learn about powwows in their present form and the history behind them with a video, dance outfits, musical instruments, accessories, and a teacher's guide.

Weight: 56 lbs. Size: 32.5 x 20.5 x 19 inches

Outreach Trunks Curriculum

Each trunk's curriculum is aligned to Montana and Wyoming's Indian Education for All Social Studies Standards.

Click on the images below to download the Plains Indian Art Trunk Curriculum and the Powwow Trunk Curriculum.

View Curriculum

View Curriculum

Professional Development

What's the Story: Teaching with Objects in Your Classroom to Facilitate Student Centered-Learning

Did you every think different kinds of shoes have a story? Or maybe, different hats? Together we'll work with teachers to uncover the hidden stories about objects centered around our Plains Indian collection at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Then teachers can take what they've learned back to their classroom. Click on the photo to the left to get a sneak peek into this new lesson.

Wyoming and Montana State Standards Alignment

All of our K-12 school offerings meet Wyoming and Montana state Social Studies Standards, including Indian Education for all. Please click on the link below to view our standards correlation chart.
Wyoming and Montana State Standards Correlation Chart
Online Resources

Teachers and students can use our online resources to supplement their Indian Education for All curriculum. Each resource is designed to meet the needs of K-12 schools, whether they visit the Center or not.

Plains Indian Map Project

This Plains Indian Map-created with generous funding from The Brown Foundation, Inc., of Houston-is a fusion of scholarship and educational interpretation. The map represents 230 years of movement on the Plains amongst more than 45 different Indian cultures. Territorial, treaty, reservation, and state boundaries flow in an animated timeline.

The innovative scholarship and interpretation showcased in this map is recommended for a broad audience, including K-12 teachers and students. Viewers can pause the online animation at any point to study a particular map.

McCracken Research Library

The Center's McCracken Research Library has extensive primary resources, including photographs of Plains Indian history and culture. The library also offers specialized research for middle and high school groups.

The Plains Indian Museum tells the significant story of the lives of Plains Indian peoples, their cultures, traditions, values, and histories, as well as the contexts of their lives today.

In the words of Plains Indian Museum Advisory Board member and Crow tribal historian Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow, the Museum is "a living, breathing place where more than just Indian objects are on display." Since 1979 the museum has been a leader in promoting public recognition of the importance of Plains Indian art due to its nationally significant collection.

Paul Dyck Plains Indian Buffalo Culture Collection

Vest, Santee Sioux, Center Plains, ca. 1880. Tanned Hide, dyed porcupine quills, silk ribbon, cotton cloth, silk cloth, wool cloth, metal sequins. Paul Dyck Plains Indian Buffalo Culture Collection. NA.202.1445

The 2,000 piece collection consists of objects dating from the late 1700s to 1890s. With many individual pieces of exceptional artistry and historic significance, the collection as a whole includes works from every Plains tribe.

The Paul Dyck Collection includes objects associated with individuals of national significance in American cultural history including leaders such as Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce; great Lakota leaders Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse; the last recognized chief of the Crow nation, Plenty Coups; Mountain Chief, leader of the Blackfeet; and historic explorers, Lewis and Clark. Other collection materials are associated with significant historical events including firearms and other weapons used at the Battle of Little Bighorn and objects associated with Curly and White Swan of the Crow 7th Cavalry scouts at the battle.
To view information on the various tribes represented in the collection, visit the following links:
Researching Plains Indian Tribes

For more information about some of the Plains Indian tribes in our region, please follow these links:

Social Media

Follow us on social media to stay current on all of our Plains Indian related posts.
Plains Indian Museum on Facebook Plains Indian Museum on Instagram Buffalo Bill Center of the West Facebook Kids Programs at the Center of the West Facebook
Videos

Other Resources

The links below provide more valuable resources available to students and teachers.
Wyoming Department of Education's Native American Education Resource Page Wyoming PBS's Wind River Education Project (History of Wyoming's Native Americans) Montana's Indian Education for All Website

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Indian Education for All resources from the Buffalo Bill Center of the West

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The Buffalo Bill Center of the West offers many K - 12 programs and resources to help teachers and students meet Montana and Wyoming's Indian Education for All Social Studies Standards. Join us at the Center of the West on June 4th-June 6th, 2023, for our on-site Indian Education for All Professional Development course.

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Indian Education for All Background - Indian Education for All | Montana State University

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National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition

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National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition

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Montana History Portal- Boarding School History

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Montana History Portal- Boarding School History

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Native American Boarding Schools in Montana

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Read the full record details for Exhibit Narrative: Native American Boarding Schools in Montana

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Home Page | National Museum of the American Indian

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The NMAI fosters a richer shared human experience through a more informed understanding of Native peoples.

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Montana’s largest state park features badland formations and the fossil remains of Tyrannosaurus Rex, Triceratops, and other prehistoric life. You’ll find a visitor center at the park entrance with interpretive exhibits great for all ages.

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Sign up with your school email for a free Canva Pro account

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The Community Action Partnership is a national, nonprofit organization that works to strengthen, promote, represent and serve its network of member Community Action Agencies (CAAs) to assure that the issues of poverty are effectively presented and addressed. Action for Eastern Montana is committed to strengthening and enhancing the quality of life within the communities we serve by promoting education, advocacy and dignity for achieving independence.In accordance with Federal regulations, Action for Eastern Montana provides copies of our Tax Form 990, conflicts of interest policy, governing documents and financial statements to the public upon request.

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LIFTT | Living Independently For Today and Tomorrow

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Dawson County Mental Health Resource Guide

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Dawson County Mental Health Resource Guide

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Dawson County Mental Health Resource Guide - Nami Montana

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NAMI Montana supports, educates, and advocates for Montanans with mental health conditions and their families. We have affiliates in several Montana communities and a resource guide for every county in Montana.

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Free templates for making Google Slides games

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Free templates for making Google Slides games

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Free customizable templates for Games for Google Slides or PowerPoint - SlidesMania

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Free fun games to maximize your students enjoyment and engagement through gamification and inspire them to continue learning.

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What is a Makerspace? Is it a Hackerspace or a Makerspace?

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A makerspace is a collaborative work space inside a school, library or public/private facility for making, learning, exploring and sharing. Maker Education

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Renovated Learning is a place where I help educators who are tired of the status quo and who want to infuse creativity into their schools.

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Defining Makerspaces: What the Research Says - Renovated Learning

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After receiving criticism that my space was not a “real makerspace”, I decided to draft my own definition & take a look at how research defines makerspaces.

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***This post contains affiliate links for hand2mind, Walmart, and Creative QT. By purchasing an item on these site using this links, I will receive a small commission.***

My most frequently asked question in emails and blog posts is how to start, schedule, and manage an elementary Makerspace. I've had a Maker area for K-2nd Grade in my classroom for the past five years, and for almost two years, my room has served as a full blown Makerspace for two days per week, serving close to 300 early childhood students. (Our sweet full day Pre-K babies have also recently joined our Makerspace time!) I've learned A LOT about how to organize, manage, and schedule effectively, what to do, and what not to do. I'm also always seeking out new strategies and experimenting with new materials to make our space and time as engaging as possible, which means I'll be updating this post regularly with new materials, tips and tricks. So whether you're a classroom teacher, media specialist, STEM teacher, or specialty teacher, I hope the following suggestions can help you get your Makerspace rocking and rolling!

First thing's first....What is a Makerspace exactly? And more importantly, how can it benefit my students?

If you've been following me for awhile, you know that I'm BIG on purposeful play, hands-on learning, and the engineering design process that accompanies STEM challenges. A Makerspace supports and nurtures all of these philosophies and promotes exactly the type of creativity and growth mindset that are so critical for our students. Whether you choose to structure your Makerspace as more open-ended or more teacher-guided, student choice is key as their multiple intelligences are nurtured and new passions are discovered.

There are FIVE key areas to keep in mind as you envision your Makerspace.
This post has a section for each of these five main areas, so feel free to scroll to the section that best applies to you!
When you consider a space for making, you have to work with any place you might have available. It's what teachers do best, am I right?! Some of you may be blessed with an entire room, while others may have a section of a room, closet, or even a small shelf, cabinet, or cart. Keep in mind that student access is of optimal importance, so it needs to be somewhere where they can easily move in and out. Keep plastic trays near the materials so that students can easily bring creation materials to the floor or other tables in the room.

Here are some examples of some amazing options for Makerspaces from Instagram. Check the captions for some awesome teachers to follow!

Left: @njstinson
Top right: @classin_it_up
Bottom right: @mcgarra

I know that it can be a bit overwhelming to walk into a fully stocked Makerspace that has been up and running for awhile. I often have visitors at my school, and I always make a point to emphasize that it takes a LOT of time and patience to fully equip a full Makerspace. Case in point:

Many of the materials you see above were left over after 10 years of teaching in the general education classroom. Many of them were also scraped out of the back of cabinets and even my home pantry. After LOTS of grant-writing, scavenging, collecting, and utilizing funds from PTA, district, and state, this is what my Makerspace looks like today:

The Maker Shop furniture piece and play table in the center has become our favorite part of our Makerspace! It has interactive panels on the sides, consumable arts and crafts materials on the interior shelves, engineering materials on the lower shelves, and STEM Bins along the top. My amazing husband built it for us last summer, and I'm excited to share that we've recently partnered with an educational furniture company to produce and sell our design. More info to come soon!

Ellie and I created these jumbo Makerspace letters together last year. They are paper mache letters from Hobby Lobby that we painted black, and we hot glued a variety of Makerspace materials to the surface.
The left shelf contains a variety of math manipulatives as well as LEGO, LEGO Baseplates, and Alpha Briks on the top, and the right shelf contains a variety of engineering materials and robotics.

The posters above the shelves are specific to our Makerspace expectations for our school. On the right poster, I add new apps, mini lessons, and project ideas for the students throughout the year.
GRAB FREE POSTERS HERE
The LEGO Wall in the center has baseplates that we hot glued to a piece of plywood, and Andy added a silver frame before we drilled it into the wall. I printed the Maker Mat above it poster sized and switch it out each month with different creation ideas. Some of the items on the right shelf that we love are Snap Circuit Jr., Botley the Robot, Gears, Code and Go Mouse, KEVA Bot Mazes, Sumblox, and Lakeshore Engineering Kits.

This is a view of the right side of our Makerspace. I made the giant "PLAY" letters using building brick clip art from Photoclipz. I enlarged the bricks in PowerPoint, printed on Astrobrights paper, and taped them together to make letters. The small table on the left is our Osmo station. The lap trays on the right are from Target Dollar spot and the "Think Big" tub is filed with cardboard rocket tubes and jumbo pipe cleaners for big engineering. The turquoise cart and and black shelf house STEM materials and projects that are still in progress.

To invent, you need a good imagination, and a pile of junk.
Thomas Edison

There are three main categories of materials that I recommend for a Makerspace:

More specifically, here are suggestions for materials within each category AND where to find them. I HIGHLY recommend Donorschoose if you're interested in writing an easy grant! Check out my list of all my favorites:

That last point - Start small and build over time - is very important to keep in mind! A room full of "stuff" does not guarantee engagement. I have absolutely loved growing our Makerspace right along with my students over the years, and I get just as excited as they do when we have a new robot or engineering material to explore together. We've also learned a lot - through practice and discussion - about being resourceful with consumables and reusing materials whenever possible.

Here are some options for Arts and Crafts materials. Many are consumable, which is why I limit these sections to only ONE grade level per month in order to conserve supplies. During our first year of Makerspace, I figured out very quickly that they would be gone within a week if all grade levels used them. I do allow them to bring their arts and crafts creations home as long as they're not being wasteful with supplies.

Students use our monthly Maker Mats for creation ideas:

The pack above also includes a variety of blueprint options for students to document their creations, as well as a parent supply request letter.

One of my students' favorite creative materials is paper! Best of all, it's readily available and easy to reuse. Here are just a few ideas. The chart shown is from my friend, Ashley's, Makerspace (@teachingwithashley on Instagram).

Engineering is the second "big area" of a Makerspace (and also happens to be my personal favorite!) My STEM Bins are one of the easiest, space-saving ways to get creative engineering materials into your kids' hands. We use them for everything, from early finishers to STEM challenges to Makerspace time. They also include task cards for creation ideas and blackline masters for student recording sheets.

Here are some more of our favorite go-to engineering materials:

Here are a few more engineering areas in our classroom. The magnetic roller coaster and LEGO wall are big favorites! Snap circuits are also perfect for teaching beginning electrical engineering.

Here are some of the technology and robotics options in our Makerspace. I store these on the counter tops underneath my cabinets because we have plenty of outlets on that side. We have 8 iPad minis for my students to share.

We LOVE coding with apps, unplugged coding, and robotics and my students have lots of options to choose from during Makerspace:

Check out the blog post below for information ALL about Robotics!
Also, check out my Bot Basics for simple Robotics challenges to set up in your Makerspace.

Green Screens are an excellent resource for movie-making and student presentations. You can create an inexpensive Green Screen backdrop for the characters using a green plastic table cloth, green fabric, or even an empty pizza box with green construction paper taped inside. The Do Ink app is very kid-friendly and Anita Goodwin on TpT has an AMAZING bundle of themed resources that make Green Screen movies a snap!

We also love creating Stop Motion videos with Stik Bot robots using the Stik Bot Studio app.

Alright, so you've hopefully got a space, and you've gathered some stuff! Now what?! Let's talk about fitting Makerspace into your already very busy schedule. There are three ways that I recommend squeezing it in:

In our Makerspace, each class visits for 45 minutes per week and chooses from a set of activities. In between sessions, I teach new skills, design challenges, apps, and robotics that students can extend and practice during their Makerspace time. Here is our current schedule:

Here are a few other scheduling options you might consider. Perhaps you might keep only one area open per day, or you might rotate small groups and keep one group with you for a specific skill or app. If you have only a small group of students in Makerspace each day, you might have specific choices or materials available to them.

All of the scheduling charts shown above and more are found in my Makerspace Starter Kit. They're also EDITABLE to best suit your needs!

To begin the year with Makerspace, I hold 30 minute orientation sessions with each class that visits. During this time, we review procedures and expectations, go over material options, and discuss key "Dos" and "Don'ts." I use this PowerPoint to guide our discussion. ( Expectations Poster found here.) I will say that now that we're in the SECOND year of Makerspace instead of the first, this process is much easier and our space stays much cleaner than in the beginning. Students view their Makerspace time as a privilege (as they should!) and teachers will hold them accountable for their behavior in order to visit.

Here are a few simple management tips to keep in mind to keep things running smoothly:

Makerspace time can be structured in a variety of ways, from open-ended explorations to simple design challenges to skill workshops. Whenever I receive new materials, here is the structure that I prefer:

Introduce and Explore (student-driven)

Teacher Guided Challenge (teacher-driven)

Makerspace Extension (student-driven)

For example, I might have an exploratory session with Dash robots, then a series of Bot Basics challenges before opening them up during Makerspace. Because the element of student choice is important, all sessions should not be teacher-guided and students should be given ample time to choose activities that cater to their interests and learning styles. This is also an ideal opportunity for kids to collaborate and teach one another new skills.

The case for student-driven learning and purposeful play in Makerspace cannot be overemphasized. Consider the fact that every great idea, new app, or innovative invention started out with someone, somewhere, playing around with a bunch of "stuff!" The element of student ownership in a Makerspace is paramount as they grow in their problem solving and collaborative skills. Here is a simple organizational method to allow that choice within a set of parameters that you, as the teacher, can decide:

The Makerspace choices are outlined by the teacher on the left side of the chart (photo cards are used for the littles.) Student numbers (or names) are randomly drawn out of a baggie and students may put it in the chart next to their first activity. Some activities may have a limited number of spots, for example, I only had 3 Pre-K students at a time with me at the Bee Bot station. They also have an expectation that they must clean up at their current activity before moving to a new one. This system promotes fairness because names /numbers are drawn randomly and the same students don't get the same first choices each time. This also encourages students to branch out and try new activities if there aren't spots left at their first choice.

So...are you ready to start a Makerspace?! I certainly hope the answer is a big, enthusiastic YES and I hope this post makes it a little easier! To save you some time, check out my Makerspace Starter Kit with schedules, challenge cards, posters, and more!

***This post contains affiliate links for hand2mind, Walmart, and Creative QT. By purchasing an item on these site using this links, I will receive a small commission.***

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This post contains affiliate links for hand2mind, Walmart, and Creative QT. By purchasing an item on these site using this links, I will receive a small commission.*** My most frequently asked question in emails and blog posts is how to start, schedule, and manage an elementary Makerspace.

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Why plant a school garden? School gardens have entered the national spotlight as an effective way to promote life-long healthy eating habits and connect students to the natural world. Gardening provides educators with opportunities to enhance student education through practical, reality-based learning. Goals of school garden programs often include:

Providing opportunities for hands-on learning, inquiry, observation and experimentation across the curriculum.
Although science and nutrition are the focus of many garden programs, curriculum ties can also be made to the subjects of language arts, math, science, social studies and art. Additionally, the garden is an excellent location to model sustainable practices and present environmental education lessons.

Motivating kids to eat and love fruits and vegetables.
Gardens help get students excited about fruits and vegetables and provide countless opportunities to experience and try the foods that are often the hardest to get kids to eat.

Promoting physical activity and quality outdoor experiences.
Many schools are searching for opportunities and space to offer movement to students. Gardening offers students ample opportunities to walk, lift, carry, dig, plant, and rake, as well as practice balance and dexterity, all while participating in an enjoyable and engaging activity

Supplying local produce to the students.
The nation-wide growth of Farm to School programs and increasing USDA support of local and regional food systems have made serving local, sustainable produce in school meals a reality. Although school garden produce may not account for a large portion of the produce served in the café, there may be enough of a harvest to hold sampling events.

Educators and researchers have noted many benefits to students participating in school garden programs including:

Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables

Improvement in attitudes towards fruits and vegetables

Improvement in science achievement scores

Improvement in social skills and behaviors

Improvement in environmental attitudes and instillation of respect for nature

Positive impact on student achievement and behavior

The school garden offers a place to enrich teaching efforts with powerful hands-on experiences that make learning come alive. Each school or youth garden is as unique as the school or community that plants it. Gardens may come in many configurations, ranging from a collection of container gardens or a grouping of raised beds to a half-acre of plowed land. Garden programs can also be conducted using indoor light gardens or greenhouse plantings to accommodate the challenge weather poses in many areas during the school year. Successful garden programs do have certain features in common, however - they are designed to meet local program needs, to be sustainable, and to use the physical site and available resources to their fullest.

Although the physical appearance of school gardens varies greatly, there are a few common steps all garden leaders must take to create a successful and sustainable program. Developing a school garden program comes down to planning and building in three main areas: people, place, and plant care. The basic steps to building a successful school garden program include:

Taking goals and potential benefits into account, it is easy to see why interest is high in installing school gardens and implementing gardening programs to serve as teaching tools. These articles on our website will introduce you to all the steps necessary for launching and sustaining a successful school garden program. We hope it will empower you to begin your journey and excite you about the possibilities.
Although following through on each of these steps may seem cumbersome, taking time to properly plan leads to a stronger program. Planning is the systematic process of working through each of these areas to develop a strategy for making your own school garden program function successfully.

Defining the functional goals of your garden is simply stating what you want to teach, but within the garden setting instead of the classroom. School gardens are not just places for plant science and ecology; they are places for art, music, math and creative writing. In the garden you can teach about sharing and teamwork, as well as the interconnected web of life.

Keep in mind that it is best to plan big, but start small. A large project can exhaust the enthusiasm of your students and volunteers. Let them get excited about the success of a bountiful, enjoyable, but small garden; then expand as your confidence and experience increases.

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Starting a School Garden Program: Overview

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School gardens promote healthy eating habits and connect students to the natural world. Learn how to build a successful school garden program with these goals and steps.

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Digital Resources for School Makerspaces | Common Sense Education

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Digital Resources for School Makerspaces is a list of 18 apps, games, and websites curated by Common Sense Education editors.

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By Amy Cowen on November 4, 2022 4:00 PM
Inspire students of all ages to enjoy STEM when you let them loose in a creative makerspace! These hands-on engineering activities use simple materials and encourage students to brainstorm, problem solve, and innovate.
Enabling Exploration

Community makerspaces are collaborative spaces where people of all ages can get hands-on with science and engineering. With an array of materials available, a visit to a local makerspace is an invitation to play with science and engineering and really see how things work.

You may have a makerspace in your school or at the library, or maybe you have an area of your classroom dedicated to maker activities students can explore or certain days of the week on which you turn the room into a makerspace. With a few materials and a surface to work on, garage or basement spaces can easily be recast as home makerspaces, too!

You don't have to have expensive materials to start up your own makerspace. With an assortment of craft supplies, electronics parts, and recycled materials, you can set up a makerspace full of inspiring STEM that kids can explore. Figuring out what will work with the materials available is part of the challenge and part of the fun!

Bookmark or pin these projects to add to your makerspace!

Update! This post has been updated for 2022!

Free Projects and Activities for Your Makerspace

Try one of these STEM projects for creative hands-on science and engineering with a DIY "maker" flair:

1. Make Cardboard Automata: Plan and build an automaton from cardboard and craft materials.

2. Build a Wind-Powered Car: Add a sail to a DIY toy car and experiment to see how changes to the sail make a difference in the car's stability and speed.

3. Build a Differential from K'Nex®: Use the K'Nex® toy building system to build a model differential.

4. Build A Wall Marble Run: Use cardboard tubes and other simple materials to build a wall marble run.

5. Make an Awesome Paper Lantern: Design and make a paper lantern that holds a battery-operated tealight candle or uses a night light circuit.

6. Flippy, the Dancing Robot: Build a simple dancing robot and use the engineering design process to improve it.

7. Build a Paper Roller Coaster: Build a paper roller coaster and try to add a loop.

8. 3D Print with Sand: No 3D Printer Required!: Use sand and glue to simulate one type of 3D printing.

9. DIY Mini Propeller Car: Make a small toy car with a simple circuit and a propeller.

10. Build a Robot Hand: Use craft materials to design and build a robotic hand.

11. Build a Mini Trebuchet: Use craft sticks, rubber bands, and other craft materials to make and explore the physics behind a miniature trebuchet.

12. DIY Light Up Unicorn Headband: Make a unicorn horn headband with a paper circuit that lights an LED at the tip.

13. Build a Rubber Band-Powered Car: Build a car with an axle made from straws and rubber bands that store potential energy when wound.

14. Build a Popsicle Stick Catapult: Make a small catapult from craft sticks and rubber bands.

15. Duplicate Your Drawings with a Machine: Make and experiment with a pantograph, a device that can be used to make a larger or smaller copy of a drawing.

16. Make a Paper Circuit: Learn how to make simple circuits from paper, copper tape (or aluminum foil), and a battery. (See Paper Circuits Science Projects for additional ways to explore.)

17. Make a Cotton Ball Launcher: Use a recycled cardboard tube to make a launcher that can launch lightweight materials.

18. The Impossible Arrow Illusion: 3D print and explore the "impossible arrow" illusion - the arrow's reflection in a mirror always points the other way!

19. Make Your Own Harmonica!: Explore how a harmonica creates sound waves by making a small one from wooden sticks, rubber bands, and a straw.

20. DIY Mini Drone: Make a basic mini drone. (Add additional parts to explore a series of questions related to drone flight.)

21. Build a Balloon Car: Use a balloon to power a homemade toy car.

22. Study Kinetic Energy with a Rube Goldberg Machine: Use assorted materials to create a set of chain reactions in a machine designed to perform a simple task.

23. Build a Cardboard Scissor Lift: Use craft materials to make a scissor lift and explore simple machines.

24. Junkbots: Robots from Recycled Materials: Design and build simple robots made from recycled and craft materials.

25. Build a Paper Speaker: Make a working speaker from paper and neodymium magnets.

26. Make a Night-Light: Build a working night-light with an intermediate circuit project and design the custom housing, too!

Makerspace Learning in Action

The following STEM videos demonstrate some of the highlighted activities:

Ready for More Makerspace Ideas?

See 16 Next-Level Makerspace STEM Projects for projects and activities to help scale your makerspace for students ready for additional challenge.

You Might Also Enjoy These Related Posts:

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26 Projects to Jump-start Your Makerspace | Science Buddies Blog

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26 engaging hands-on STEM activities that use recylced and craft materials for a home, library, or classroom makerspace

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After years of tinkering with my kids, this comilation of the best science projects for kids will delight and engages children ages 3 and up.

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Science Projects for Kids

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Makedo | Cardboard Construction Tools For Kids

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Makedo is a simple to use, open-ended system of tools for creative cardboard construction purposely design for kids. Build imaginative and useful creations from upcycled cardboard.

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Dawson County Montana
fair grounds & event center

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Dawson County Montana
fair grounds & event center

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We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.

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School Garden - Montana Farm to School | Montana State University

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Resources to help cultivate school gardens in Montana schools and early care and education facilities.

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Whole Kids Foundation for School Gardents

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Whole Kids Foundation for School Gardents

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One of the continuing jobs for the planning committee will be to find funding and secure resources for the work of the garden. Funding can come from a variety of sources including grants, produce sales, and donations. If you are a 501 (c) 3 or are connected to a school, you are eligible to receive grants.

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This guide will assist you with: starting a new school garden, maintaining an existing school garden; and providing high-quality garden-based instruction.

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Play Mission Us

1848 the antebellum era

Flight to Freedom

Teach mission us

Mission US includes extensive teaching materials for each mission. The educator guides feature:

What people are saying about Mission US

About mission us

Mission US is an award-winning educational media project that immerses young people in transformational moments from U.S. history.

Developed for use by middle school students in the classroom and beyond, Mission US is a deeply-researched, award-winning educational media project with proven positive impact on history learning. To date, more than three million registered users across the country have played and learned from Mission US.

Mission US is committed to teaching complicated and sensitive topics in American history. We recommend that teachers/parents preview game content to make sure it is appropriate for their students/children.

Go to about

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Play Mission Us 1848 the antebellum era Teach mission us Mission US includes extensive teaching materials for each mission. The educator guides feature: What people are saying about Mission US About mission us Mission US is an award-winning educational media project that immerses young people in transformational moments from U.S.

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Resource Hub - Missoula County Public Schools

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Play Mission Us

1848 the antebellum era

Flight to Freedom

Teach mission us

Mission US includes extensive teaching materials for each mission. The educator guides feature:

What people are saying about Mission US

About mission us

Mission US is an award-winning educational media project that immerses young people in transformational moments from U.S. history.

Developed for use by middle school students in the classroom and beyond, Mission US is a deeply-researched, award-winning educational media project with proven positive impact on history learning. To date, more than three million registered users across the country have played and learned from Mission US.

Mission US is committed to teaching complicated and sensitive topics in American history. We recommend that teachers/parents preview game content to make sure it is appropriate for their students/children.

Go to about

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Play Mission Us 1848 the antebellum era Teach mission us Mission US includes extensive teaching materials for each mission. The educator guides feature: What people are saying about Mission US About mission us Mission US is an award-winning educational media project that immerses young people in transformational moments from U.S.

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Learn to Type | Type Better | Type Faster - Typing.com

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World's most popular free typing program! Typing.com's K-12 typing curriculum features touch typing, digital citizenship, coding lessons, and games.

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A social network and book discovery tool that nurtures a love of reading in elementary and middle school students. It’s like Goodreads made just for kids.

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Bookopolis is a safe online community for young readers to share their favorite books and discover new ones

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Rural Technology Fund - Reducing the digital divide between rural and non-rural communities

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The mission of the RTF is to help rural students recognize opportunities in technology careers, facilitate pathways to work in the computer industry, and provide equitable access to technology for students with disabilities. We reduce the gap between rural and non-rural communities by providing technology education resources, scholarships, and assistive technology devices to rural students.

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Support access to technology education by funding hands-on projects that engage students in:
- Computer science
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Grant Award Total Amount

Up to $2,500 per school
- Larger amounts may be considered for exceptional proposals

Allowable Purchases

Funds may be used to purchase technology-based educational tools. LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Essential and SPIKE™ Prime solutions, along with LEGO® Education Science kits and professional development, align well with this grant's focus on:
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Program Implementation Requirements

Projects must:
- Benefit multiple students
- Promote technology-based learning
- Spark interest in careers such as computer science, cybersecurity, or engineering

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2025-26 Rural Technology Fund Grant | LEGO® Education

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Apply for the Rural Technology Education Grant—funding hands-on tech projects in computer science, robotics, and more for rural public schools and libraries.

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Discover Sora: A K-12 student reading app by OverDrive Education

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Give your school access to ebooks, audiobooks, and more on any device. K-12 students can access books anytime using their school login credentials.

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Dawson County Economic Development Council | Working with businesses, individuals & government to make a strong viable community to live, work & play.

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PROMOTING BUSINESS BY WORKING WITH INDIVIDUALS, BUSINESSES, & GOVERNMENT AS A WHOLE, ENSURING STABILITY & SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH IN DAWSON COUNTY

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MontanaWorks | Advancing opportunities for business and job seekers in Montana

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Advancing opportunities for business and job seekers in Montana

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Visit Glendive and stay and play while discovering dinosaurs, river adventures, hiking trails, museums, and Montana’s best state park, Makoshika State Park.

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Dawson County Domestic Violence Program in Glendive, MT

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Dawson County Domestic Violence Program is a domestic violence service near Glendive, MT providing help for people dealing with domestic abuse. Call 406-989-1318.

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Montana State Literacy Association - Grants, Awards & Scholarships

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MSLA is dedicated to the professional development of teachers in our state. If you know a deserving educator, please view our awards, grants and scholarships for more information. Grants: Community Assistance Grant: The Montana State Literacy Association will award a maximum of $1,000 to a MSLA member working with a local, state or national organization(s) to promote literacy within their community and/or school.

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Each day, YBGR's employees work with close to 1200 youth throughout Montana who struggle with controlling emotions and behaviors. YBGR has impacted more than 10,000 youth and their families since 1957 through Residential Services in Billings, Community Based Services throughout Montana, and the Yellowstone Academy in Billings.

Thinking about becoming a Foster Parent, hear from folks just like you Click to Watch

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Home Page - Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch

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Each day, YBGR's employees work with close to 1200 youth throughout Montana who struggle with controlling emotions and behaviors. YBGR has impacted more than 10,000 youth and their families since 1957 through Residential Services in Billings, Community Based Services throughout Montana, and the Yellowstone Academy in Billings.

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Be Internet Awesome- Google's digital citizenship curriculum

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Be Internet Awesome- Google's digital citizenship curriculum

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Google’s gamified digital citizenship curriculum. Play your way to Internet Awesome.

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The Internet Keep Safe Coalition is dedicated to protecting children, families, and schools by assessing, advising, and certifying organizations that collect, use, and share personal information and data that is protected by law.

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Be Internet Awesome is a multifaceted program that includes a fun and free web-based game called Interland and an educational curriculum to teach kids how to be safe and responsible explorers of the online world.

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Digital literacy lessons

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Our website for families provides reviews and ratings of movies, books, games, apps, and other media to help parents and families make informed decisions about the media their children use.

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Common Sense Education provides educators and students with the resources they need to harness the power of technology for learning and life. Find our free K-12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum, reviews of popular edtech apps, tips on teaching responsible AI use, and resources for protecting student privacy and online safety.

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Learn more about the four types of reading assessments: universal screeners, diagnostic tests, progress monitoring tools, and summative assessments. It’s important to begin by asking yourself: “What do I want to know about my students? What do I want to assess?”

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A great website to get students to start writing. Interactive similar to kahoot or blooket where the whole class participates.

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Traveling to communities of all sizes, the Our Montana Voices program expands access to humanities and civics education. The program aligns closely with MT250's goals of increasing awareness of shared history, celebrating Montana and America's heritage, and strengthening connections through storytelling and education. Drawing on their expertise in history, culture, civics, and Indigenous knowledge, these speakers work closely with HM staff and host sites to tailor content for audiences across the state. Their talks are organized into three core themes: Montana History and Culture, Indigenous Culture, and Civics.

This program ensures that communities across Montana engage with themes central to the 250th anniversary of the United States while connecting Montana's history to the larger national story.

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Traveling to communities of all sizes, the Our Montana Voices program expands access to humanities and civics education. The program aligns closely with MT250's goals of increasing awareness of shared history, celebrating Montana and America's heritage, and strengthening connections through storytelling and education.

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A tool you can share with parents who are asking for advice.

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Are you worried about your child? We offer education and therapeutic support to empower and give you hope as you support your child's mental health. Get started free Are you worried about your child? We offer education and therapeutic support to empower and give you hope as you support your child's mental health.

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Digital creation tool for students to write and publish their own books

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Digital creation tool for students to write and publish their own books