Students will build a car out of any material that will go fast. Each student can either create one on their own or will create one with a partner. Once everyone has created their cars, we will test them some to see which ones go fastest.

This book deals with temperature and how it can alter different things. I would do a STEM lab where students have different materials (milk and water) as well as hot chocolate mix. They will test the materials in both warm and cold to see what the hot chocolate mix dissolves best in and does best in overall. I will also challenge them after the challenge is done, what would happen if you had the cold materials and warmed them up, would things change or stay the same. They will do predicting, evaluating, observing, improving, recording, etc.

Students will need to create something using one of the different energies in this book (wind, solar, etc.). They will create something while using the engineering design process and once they have completed it, I would have them present it to the class. They would tell the class what it is, what it does/how it works, and what energy or energies they are using to power it.

For this book, I would do another ongoing journal. We start would a unit on weather and this would be the book to start it off. They would be meteorologists each morning when we come into school. They would learn more as the weather changes. For example, they would learn the different types of clouds and how each type of cloud can show us what the weather is to be. During each journal, they would describe what the weather is doing, what it is like, etc.

After reading this book, I would challenge students to create something to help keep an egg from busting if it is dropped out of a 2 story building. They would know that gravity will pull the egg and their invention down but with the egg being so fragile, they must create something that will help break the impact gravity is creating. They can do anything that keeps a regular egg (not hard boiled) from cracking or breaking.

This book talks about soil and things that use soil, live in soil, and that need soil to survive for different reasons. I could have students do a scavenger hunt and find different things that might need soil to survive or grow in. They will need to wear gloves and have set rules, but they will have a brown paper bag to put the items they have collected. They will do this in pairs or small groups. Once they have collected so many items, they would come back together as a class and each group would present their findings and why each item needs soil to survive. 

Each student will work on things as far a technology. They can use remote control cars and learn about it. Maybe by taking it apart and seeing how it works then put it back together and seeing if they can get it to work again. They could use coding apps to learn how coding works and there are even robots now for children and if I had one, I would have them work on coding a toy to move through different obstacle courses. I would not directly read this to them. I would have students read it if they need some help or ideas on what they could do. 

This book provides students with the knowledge of how to plant seeds and shows different objects that they have been planted in. I would challenge my students to find somewhere (other than the places shown in the book) they can plant a seed and watch it grow. This would be an ongoing experiment using the engineering design process. We would bring in items to the class that they find and could use to plant their seeds in. I would provide the soil and fertilizer they would need to plant it. 

Students will use this book and other books to create something that functions like our digestive system. I would have them create something that functions like our digestive system but I would also have some of the students create a model of the digestive system out of food materials and label them. Each group or student will present to the class what they created and explain it. Students could even act out what each part of the digestive system does in order.

Students enjoy going to theme parks, playing on playgrounds, and playing with toys. However, not many know there is science behind them. We would do learning outside on the playground or by playing with their favorite toys. We would do some of the experiments that are in this book to help students relate science to the fun part of life so that they are motivated to actually do science and think about it.

I would read the book to my students then do a simple activity of sink or float. I could do it with different objects around the classroom and/or candy bars like what we did in class ourselves. I could even let my students pair up and each pair comes up with a few different items they would like to test. They would need to predict by stating why they think it will float or sink due to mass (large amount of mass, etc.)I would also have them write after each experiment, why they think it floated or sank and have it related to mass (more mass or less mass).

For this book, I would take students to the nearest pond after reading this book. I would have them journal what they observed and saw. As a class, we would go multiple times and journal what they observed each time. They could also make any notes as long as it pertains to the pond. For example, the students could see something like litter in the pond and make notes about what they could do to make it so there isn't any litter in the pond any longer. 

Before reading the book, I would have students build their own type of hovercraft of some sort. They would design it and then create it using any materials they wish to. Once they have created it and tested it, I would read them the book and then they could make any improvements they felt could make to their craft then test it again.

This book shows different machines or objects that have been invented or created and they purpose of them. It can help students think of different times in their life when they could have used a certain type of machine or object but did not have it. This could spark a creative bug in students to create something that they could use or that anyone could use and what they purpose would be. It also gives students an idea and they could improve an idea or make something similar but different in their own unique way. 

I would use this in my STEM instruction by reading them this book and then asking them to make something to either help the oceans. This could be anything from something to help explore the oceans or to create a device that will help with keeping our oceans clean. They can see the problem or challenge through the pictures, and then have no influence on how they can create something of their own.