Link to read aloud: https://youtu.be/EK0jBBRpzSk

Big ideas include learning from failure, community connection, and perseverance. This book could be used in the classroom to inspire students to overcome challenges and failure, as well as teaching students to be innovative and creative.

This book aligns with the idea that students shouldn't fear failure and should embrace it in order to learn and move forward. It also aligns with ISTE 1.1a Learning Goals, as it states "Students connect their learning needs, strengths and interests to their goals and use technology to help achieve them and reflect on their progress." This book follows Rosie doing exactly that, and how she overcomes the challenges that arise.

This book examines how mistakes are opportunities for new ideas and growth, like how a bit of spilt paint could be changed into a new painting.

Beautiful Oops also has big ideas revolving around how mistakes are good things and shouldn't be feared, as they provide opportunity for new ideas and learning experiences. This book could be used in a lesson regarding how mistakes could be fixed or overcome, and that students need to be creative and innovative in order to solve their problems.

This book aligns with practice 1 of the NGSS Science and Engineering practices, Asking Questions and Defining Problems, as in order to identify and learn from a mistake, students have to understand how to start to solve a problem by asking the right questions.

This book follows Shoshana as she goes to her grandma's art studio and learns about art and innovation, as well as Jewish traditions and culture. She makes paper-cut out art and uses her imagination to see nature in her work.

The big ideas from this book include how art connects a culture/community, and the importance of creativity and a big imagination. The book includes instructions on how to create a cut-out Star of David, as well as some information about Jewish culture and traditions. The Art Lesson could be used to encourage creative thinking, and could be used as a multicultural connection.

This book aligns with the National Core Arts Standards creating anchor standard 1: generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work. Students can engage in the art form Shoshana is learning in the story.

This book discusses what to do when you feel anxious or insecure about yourself or your abilities. It encourages students to feel capable and confident in everything they do.

Big ideas include trying again instead of giving up, the importance of community and personal relationships, and the importance of positive self-esteem and instilling confidence in students.

It could be used in the classroom to show students what they should do when they feel frustrated or overwhelmed while doing a project or activity and how they can calm themselves down or ask for help.

This book aligns with NGSS standard Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions, as it involves students identifying a problem and figuring out how to solve it.

This book follows Vashti, a girl who believes she isn't creative or good at art. Her teacher challenges her to make something, and she decided to draw a dot. This dot helps her become more creative and confident in her abilities as the story progresses.

The big ideas in this book are the importance of having growth mindset, the importance of positive student-teacher interaction, and positive interaction with peers.

This story aligns with Analyzing data in K–2: builds on prior experiences and progresses to collecting, recording, and sharing observations.

This book follows Ada Twist, a naturally curious girl who designs and completes a lot of experiments. After an experiment makes her family mad, she has to reflect on her actions.

Big ideas include designing experiments, being curious, and an introduction to the scientific method. This book could be used when about to start an experiment or problem based learning activity that will involve students following the scientific method. It introduces creating a hypthesis, designing an experiment, and analyzing an experiments outcome.

This book aligns with Practice 3: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations of the NGSS, as well as Practice 1: Asking Questions and Defining Problems. Ada Twist spends the entire story asking questions and planning experiments in order to answer her questions.

This book follows a child who wants to build a garden just like they used to have at home. They rally the school and gather supplies to create a garden on the roof of the school.

Big ideas in this book include the importance of community, teamwork, perseverance, and problem solving. This book could be used in an earth science/gardening project, or could be used to inspire students to be creative and passionate about their work.

Some NGSS standards this story addresses are Practice 2: Developing and Using Models and Practice 8: Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information.

This book is about how kids will feel different than the peers at times, and how it's okay that everyone is different, and how peers can support and welcome each other. It's important for kids to feel a sense of belonging and comfort in their classroom and community.

The big ideas relating to STEAM are the importance of creating a welcoming community, the importance in having strong peer relationships, and this book has a lot of connections to SEL.

The Day You Begin could be used in the classroom to show and explain why classrooms need to be made a safe environment for everyone to learn together, and that the best learning comes from collaboration.

The standards this story addresses are NGSS Practice 8: Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information, as this story relates to how students can form positive student relationships and hold respectful discussions.

This story is about Cece, a curious girl who embarks on a science investigation in her class. Her teacher lets her pick her own investigation, and she designs her investigation around whether or not her dog likes vegetables.

This book is great for explaining the scientific method to kids, as Cece walks through her investigation step by step. She starts with a question, then observation, then experimentation, and then collects data to come to a conclusion. This book could be used in the classroom to introduce the scientific method and inspire students to begin their own investigation or science project.

This book very closely aligns with all 8 NGSS practices, Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering) 2. Developing and using models 3. Planning and carrying out investigations 4. Analyzing and interpreting data 5. Using mathematics and computational thinking 6. Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering) 7. Engaging in argument from evidence 8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information. Cece and her classmate do all of these practices as they design and complete their investigation.

This book is about a student who observes his school, noting that it's boring and that he would make a lot of changes and additions to the school. He is very imaginative, and some of his additions included a zoo at the entrance, a transport tube, and floating words instead of whiteboards.

Some big STEAM ideas present in this book is the importance of observation, innovation, and creative thinking. This book could be used in the classroom to inspire a creative writing project and design/engineering project, as students could write about what additions they would make to the school and can model how that would be possible.

This book aligns with NGSS Practice 1: Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering) and 2. Developing and using models, as our main character is questioning the make of his school and brainstorming how he would change it.

Dr. Rosalind Franklin was a trailblazing chemist, x-ray crystallographer, and researcher whose work allowed us to see the real form of DNA, helped us understand viruses, and her Photo 51 of DNA's double helix helped Watson and Crick win the Nobel Prize 4 years after her death in 1958.

She is an inspiration to all women in STEM despite the fact her contributions to Photo 51 going largely unrecognized for nearly 50 years. Dr. Franklin is a reminder that we need for women in STEM and that many women have contributed to largely to the field of science and did not receive proper recognition.

A PK-2 activity around Dr. Franklin and her work could involve students researching diverse or minority scientists and how their contributions influenced science today. This could also inspire minority students, as students are better engaged when they are represented in their learning.

Read aloud Resource 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRhydboXqbY

Katherine Johnson was a mathematician for NASA and her work was crucial in early space exploration. Her calculations helped "synch Project Apollo’s Lunar Module with the lunar-orbiting Command and Service Module, and she also worked on the Space Shuttle and the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS, later renamed Landsat) and authored or coauthored 26 research reports." She was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2015 when she was 97 years old.

Hidden Figures is a book and movie about her experience as a black woman working for NASA, as well as her black women peers at NASA. Her story is an inspiration to young girls and people of color who wish to pursue STEM.

Attached above is the children's book Hidden Figures: True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly. This book could be used in the classroom when learning about different STEM careers,what a STEM career would look like, and who works in STEM.

George Washington Carver was a scientist and inventor who was born into slavery in 1864. He was interested in botany and other plant sciences from a young age, and grew up to be an expert in the agricultural field. He's largely known for his research on plant biology, much of which focused on the development of new uses for crops including peanuts, sweet potatoes, soybeans, and pecans.

George W. Carver was a renowned scientist in his time and his research and discoveries still impact us today.

His story is one of hardship and perseverance, and his brilliant contributions to the field of agriculture and plant biology make him a trailblazing pioneer in STEM.

His story could be used in a lesson about earth sciences, like a seed growing project, in order to teach about plant sciences as well as who works in plant sciences. George W. Carver is an inspiration to minority students interested in STEM and great representation for children of color.

Radia Perlman is often referred to as the Mother of the Internet. She is a mathematitian and engineer who attended MIT and grafuated in 1976. Her work in software and network routing was groundbreaking, and "Perlman’s work has been described as having put the “basic traffic rules into place” for the Internet." She earned her PhD in computer sciennce from MIT in 1988, and today continues her work in network security.

Perlman's groundbreaking work in computer science paved the way for the internet now as we know it. She was often the only woman engineer and mathematician in her field, and serves as a great inspiration and role model for girls interested in STEM.

A classroom activity centered around Radia Perlman and her contribution could be a deep dive into the history of the internet and some of the basics of how the internet works. Kids PK-2 have likely been exposed to the internet and are familiar with different websites or social media apps, so they would likely be interested in learning about the history and development of the internet.

Tim Berners Lee invented the World Wide Web. He studied physics at Oxford University and became a software engineer. He also created the first web browser and editor in 1991. His contributions to the development of the internet and the field of computer science make him an important pioneer in STEM.

A lesson including Tim Berners Lee could involve students conducting research in order to create a timeline of the creation and development of the internet. Him and his contributions would be a notable part of this timeline.

The article/resource lists the different STEM categories and careers that are included under each STEM umbrella.

The article is titled 10 STEM Careers That Pay Off by Garrett Andrews, and it lists 10 valuable and highly sought after STEM careers. The list includes the career title, average salary, educational requirements, and a job description.

This article/resource can help kids conceptualize and understand what a STEM career means and entails. It's sometimes hard to imagine what a data scientist or software developer actually does, so this article is super helpful in explaining what these jobs entail in language that's easy to understand.

This relates to the PK-2 grade-band because students in STEAM education need a good grasp of what it means to work in STEM and just how broad STEM careers can be. It also relates to the Life and Career Skills section of the 21st Century Learning model, as learning about these STEM careers assists students in their learning of skills relating to these professions.

This amazing resource was compiled by actual scientists and people in each STEAM field. It describes a STEAM career for each letter of the alphabet and what that career entails. The careers include fields in human behavior sciences, biology, mathematics, economics, or chemistry to name a few.

This resource is a great way to conceptualize and understand STEAM careers for kids, and this resource covers a variety of STEAM related fields.

This source relates to the PK-2 grade-band as students are to become well versed in the skills needed for a variety of STEAM careers and need to know what kind of careers fall under the STEM umbrella. This resource also touches on the Life and Career Skills section of the 21st Century Learning model, as students will learn and practice the skills needed for a STEAM career.

This resource defines STEAM education and its applications, its importance, and its results. It also gives tips for implementing a STEAM activity or lesson, as well as some tips for interdisciplinary integration.

This Arts Integration article is beyond helpful in assisting teacher's in understanding STEAM education and it's importance, as well as how to teach STEAM education.

This resource is useful in the classroom as it defines how the different disciplines like literacy, social studies, and the arts can be integrated into STEAM education.

It aligns with the STEAM education standards and the PK-2 grade-band because it follows the 21st Century Learning framework and explains how teachers can teach these skills to young learners. This resource could be improved by adding a set of sample activities and lesson plans so that teachers can get a feel for what a STEAM lesson would look like in action.

This resource delves in to all things archaeology. It describes what the science of archaeology entails, what archaeologists do, and what they do with their findings.

This resource could be used in the PK-2 setting to introduce the career to them and do a few archaeology related activities. The language may be too sophisticated for younger kids, but this is a resource that a teacher could share and explore with kids. It relates to the grade-band of PK-2 because students could use this resource to assist in an archaeology related investigation, which would fall under NGSS Practice 3: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations.

Resource 2: https://www.steamsational.com/learn-about-insects-and-bugs/

The first resource is from Environmental Science, and it explains what the study of entomology is and what entomologists do.

The second resource is an article called Creative Insect Stem Activities for Kids by Steamsational. It lists 21 ideas for entomology related activities ranging from preschool level to upper elementary. These activities are hands-on and have an overlap with art disciplines.

The first resource would be great to use as a informational introduction to entomology in order to set the groundwork for an activity from the second resource. I know a lot of kids who have an interest in bugs, so I feel that a lot of kids would be engaged by an entomology activity.

These resources relate to the PK-2 grade-band because the first involves exploration of the career and teaches about the career skills needed for entomology. The second resource involving different entomology activities has a lot of resources for building big models, which aligns with NGSS Practice 2: Developing and Using Models.

Resource 2: https://www.educationcorner.com/weather-activities-preschool-kindergarten/

The first resource from National Geographic delves into the science of meteorology and what meteorologists do. The second resource has a list of 30 activities for preschool-kindergarten kids relating to weather and weather science. 2 activities that looked fun/interesting was the Shaving Cream Rain Cloud activity and the What's the Weather dramatic play center.

These resources could be used in the classroom during an earth science unit, like ESS2.D Weather and climate in K-2 where students learn about weather, weather changes, and how weather is recorded. Many of the weather activities involve building a weather model, which aligns with NGSS Practice 2: Developing and Using Models.

This resource has a compilation of free math and science activities with reading material, video material, and instruction/implementation guides of activities for all grade levels. Some content you have to pay for, but there is a lot of free lesson guides and lesson plans, as well as inspiration for different STEAM activities.

This resource has high quality lesson plans and activities that are easy to navigate and follow along. It also has a section discussing standards the activities meet and you can search by state, which is super helpful and makes teaching the activities easier to plan. The site could be improved by including video, reading, and activities in all lesson guides, as some are missing one or more of these elements, or some elements are paywalled while other elements aren't.

Generation Genius promotes student-centered activities that engage students in exploration, experimentation, and collaboration, which are all core tenets of STEAM education.

Cool.org in an Australian educational resource institution that provides lesson plans and ideas for STEAM learning activities. It has a wide range activities spanning all grade levels. The activity I found called Bees in the Yard in an early learning activity that brings kids out in nature and observe bees in a garden. The free lesson plan includes materials, directions, and why how this activity will benefit kids both educationally and socially. This activity was also made in partnership with ACT for Bees, a not-for-profit organization taking action to preserve these essential pollinators, ensuring a food-secure future. The resource is a little hard to navigate, so there's room for improvement in the organization of the resources.

This activity meets NGSS standards for exploration, asking questions, and planning out and carrying out investigations. It informs students of environmental safety and environmental preservation while also teaching STEAM skills.

Raft is the Resource Area for Teaching organization which has information for STEAM events, project kits, learning activities, makerspace ideas and materials, and summer camps. I found an activity titled Bean Race, which is a hands-on lesson where students build a track to race beans, teaching them about forces and motion. The lesson plan includes directions for implementation, materials needed, and extension ideas. It also lists the NGSS standards the activity meets, including K-2-ETS1-1. Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change and

ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting Engineering Problems to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.

This source gives ideas for about to implement STEAM activities in a special education classroom, as well as how STEAM activities can be modified for students with exceptionalities.

This is a 2 part article where Mrs. D first showcases a series of modified activities and then reflects and gives new ideas after a year of implementation.

Modifications include using materials that are easier to grip and manipulate, as well as having pre-made graphic organizers for students to use to stay organized.

One activity that I thought sounded cool was the Let's Go Coding! activity where students are introduced to coding in a physical way. You can create hopscotch tiles that correlate to arrows indicating movement and direction for students to experience what coding entails in a real life situation.

There is a lot of fluff in this resource and it doesn't seem super professional, as it's more like a teacher's blog, but it still has some great tips and ideas for STEAM lesson implementation.

This activity aligns to PK-2 grade-band standards by introducing the science of technology and the basics of how coding and technology works.

PBS Learning Media has an extensive collection of lesson plans and activities for all subjects and grade levels. Lesson plans are free and include directions for implementation, materials, and lists specific standards addressed.

An activity I found on the site was The Moon's Changing Appearance in the Sky, which is an activity about how the moons appearance and location changes throughout the day. It has a focus question, an introductory activity, learning activities (investigation), and a wrap-up activity. This lesson plan covers everything a teacher would need to know in order to teach this lesson.

This activity aligns with Standard: ESS1.A: The Universe and Its Stars: Patterns of the motion of the sun, moon, and stars in the sky can be observed, described, and predicted. It allows involves students in questioning, exploring, investigating, and reflecting.

Since PBS Learning Media is a large site with a lot of different information, it was pretty hard to navigate and find the right kind of resource you're looking for. I also think the lesson plan could've been improved by adding picture examples of what the moon paper models should look like for reference.

Scholastic has a series of articles about different STEAM activities and lesson plans for teachers and parents.

One fun activity I found is the Zooming Fish activity, where students use water, dish soap, cardboard fish, and a cooking dish to make their fish swim. The article doesn't include standards met by the activity or list what skills or standards the lesson is teaching, which I think would be a helpful addition. There is a large collection of high quality STEAM activities for all grade levels.

This Zooming Fish activity could align with NGSS standards PS2.A Forces and motion and PS2.B Types of interactions for the PK-2 grade-band.

PhET Interactive Simulations by University of Colorado Boulder has a number of high quality simulations for chemistry, biology, physics, and earth and space. Most of them are somewhat complicated, so it might not be a great idea to let PK-2 use it on their own, but using it to show students how a concept works would be a great idea. This resource could be improved by adding a few simpler or easy to navigate simulations for younger kids. You could also use it to let students explore a concept on their own. One simulation that I explored was the Projectile Motion simulation, where you can choose different objects of different weights to launch and compare the difference in distance of the objects. This would be a great addition to a lesson about mass or force and motion. It could be modified to align to the K-2 NGSS standard PS3.C Relationship between energy and forces.

Science Friday has a collection of free STEAM activities, lessons, and resources for students of all ages. One fun engineering design lesson I found is called Can Animals Sail Across the Sea? It involves students creating a raft to support a stuffed animal in a bin of water. It teaches about accidental animal migration, as students are asked to build their raft with scavenged materials (sticks, leaves, mulch, mud, etc.) and simulate how an animal could accidentally float to a new place.

This activity is fun and engaging for younger students, and teaches a science concept and explores engineering design when building a functioning raft. One addition I would add to this resource is a list of standards their activities meet, as well as grade-level progressions and potential modifications to the activity.

This lesson could address NGSS standard LS4.D Biodiversity and humans: A range of different organisms lives in different places. It also addresses K-2-ETS1-1. Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change and

ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting Engineering Problems

to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.

This NASA resource is an interactive game where students can explore the universe and view pictures and information gathered from NASA's Hubble telescope.

This resource doesn't include any lesson plan or activity ideas, which would improve the resource. However, this game would be very fun for students to explore images from space and learn about NASA and how these pictures were taken. It could be used in a space and solar system unit in the PK-2 grade-band, and could align with NGSS standards ESS1.A The universe and its stars and ESS1.B Earth and the solar system.

The Kanza Energy Park in Topeka, Kansas is sponsored by Evergy Energy Services and is owned by Topeka Public Schools. Kanza Education and Science Park is focused on hands-on learning opportunities, and has "learning stations including a century-old milk barn that was updated with photovoltaic solar panels, an Energy Education Center that has a functioning electrical substation specifically designed for viewing and learning by students, and a wind turbine that generates power for the substation."

Students would get to explore how energy is stored and used in their community, as well as the science behind wind and solar energy. This would be a great field trip idea as it ignites curiosity in young students and closely follows STEAM activity standards.

The standards that could be met by the Kanza Energy Park activities are:

K-2-ETS1-2.Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.

K-2-ETS1-1.Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change

ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting Engineering Problems

to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.

Sunset Zoo in Manhattan, KS has a number of family, child, and adult classes and programs. They have a summer camp, a Zoo Ambassador Program, and a number of educational activities. You can book for field trips, or book a Zoo Ambassador Program to learn about animals, their habitat, and their habits.

Most kids love the zoo, so the zoo would already be a great field trip idea, and Sunset Zoo has a number of educational programs to teach kids about zoology.

Students could go to the zoo for a field trip during a biology or earth science unit to deepen their understanding of the content. Some standards that could be addressed during a trip to Sunset Zoo are:

LS1.B Growth and development of organisms: Parents and offspring often engage in behaviors that help the offspring survive.

LS1.C Organization for matter and energy flow in organisms: Animals obtain food they need from plants or other animals. Plants need water and light.

LS2.A Interdependent relationships in ecosystems: Plants depend on water and light to grow, and also depend on animals for pollination or to move their seeds around.

The MHK Play Studio is an organization dedicated to play based learning and rooted in STEAM disciplines. Their website states "Grounded in the principles of science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM), we offer so many ways for your family or team to learn through play: Open play, structured classes, camps, corporate retreats, and more." I explored a few of the classes that you can book, and was surprised that they offer classes from infant-3rd grade. One class that I thought was cool was titled Mad Scientist and is for kids K-3, and entails "exploring science, technology, engineering, art, and math in a playful, collaborative environment. Each session encourages critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving as students investigate life, earth, and space sciences, experiment with the engineering design process, and build a strong foundation in math."

You can also book MHK Play Studio for a field trip to learn about and participate in hands-on, collaborative activities.

This program follows NGSS and uses play and project based learning activities.

Mad Science Greater KC and SW MO has a number of workshops that you can book and have a Mad Scientist Instructor join your classroom and teach a STEAM lesson.

The description for their Elementary level workshops is "Our elementary-level in-class interactive workshops are aligned to STEM objectives and are curriculum correlated for each grade level. With professional lesson plans, pre-and-post activity guides, and animated instructors, Mad Science workshops are an ideal way to reinforce core science concepts." One workshop that I thought sounded cool was the Seeking our Senses workshop where students explore their 5 senses through the use of optical illusions, experimentation with their hearing, and trying to read braille.

A standard that could be addressed through this workshop activity could be

NGSS Practice 1: Ask questions based on observations to find more information about the natural and/or designed world(s), and Ask and/or identify questions that can be answered by an investigation.

Science City at Union Station in KCMO has a large collection of interactive science exhibits that students can explore and learn about different STEAM elements.

The website has an interactive map where you can click on exhibits and read about what they entail. Science City makes science education fun and has a variety of different science and engineering subjects to explore.

One exhibit that I found interesting is the Giant Lever exhibit, its description reading "During a tug-of-war, our Giant Lever’s high rope at six feet has a 3-to-1 mechanical advantage over the low rope at two feet. It takes three times as many people on the low side to have a chance of winning the tug-of-war. The higher rope is easier to pull since it is further away from the Giant Levers fulcrum – the point where the lever pivots."

This Science City Exhibit teaches NGSS standard PS2.A Forces and motion: Pushes and pulls can have different strengths and directions, and can change the speed or direction of its motion or start or stop it. Its a physical and hands-on example of this science concept, and I think young kids would have fun playing tug-o-war.