STEAM FINAL PROJECT

Cover Letter

To Whom It May Concern:

One of my favorite curriculum areas is childrens literature. I love how
children react to books they enjoy and how invested they can get in
read-alouds. I feel like some of the most meaningful lessons and
activities are ones that relate directly to a book they have read or
listened to. Children are so imaginative that it is easier for them to
connect with fictional characters and fun stories than it is for them to
connect with a lesson by itself. My thinking is that, especially at a
young age, if I can come up with some lesson ideas that incorporate all
aspects of STEAM into a fun book (which will also in turn, incorporate
literature), my students will be exposed to meaningful, value-based,
and memorable learning.
I reluctantly chose the story The Three Little Pigs because, at first, I
wanted to choose something fresh, modern, and different, but then I
decided that there is nothing wrong with sticking to a proven classic! I
know children love this storyand I was able to think of a bunch of fun
activities that are STEAM related.
This project is an expanded lesson (or a mini-unit) featuring activities
based on The Three Little Pigs. All of these activities and interactive
and integrative, and I know that the students who complete this will
learn a wide array of skills. The activities should take (according to my
pacing) about three days and should be exciting enough to hold the
childrens interest for that long as well.
When coming up with this project, first I chose a story, and then I
looked online for some activity inspiration. From that, I build lessons
around the book (I tried to find one for each aspect of STEAM!). I
believe that this is an enjoyable extended lesson and I hope to use it in
some way, shape, or form when I am teaching one day!
Enjoy!
Alexandra Clark

STEAM FINAL PROJECT

Alexandra Clark
STEAM Integrated Mini-Unit Based on The Three Little Pigs
CONTEXT:
Im calling this a mini-unit because it is technically one lesson
with several related activities. Reading the book, reflecting and doing a
post-reading comprehension activity, and completing all of the
activities I came up with could take anywhere from 2 to 4 days. I think
this activity suits new(er) 1st graders better than older onesmost of
the standards I have picked out to work for this lesson come from the
beginning of the 1st grade SOLs. I also believe this is appropriate for
this age because Ive chosen a story that many children are familiar
with and enjoy. It is a classicand there are many fun activities you
can do with your students as a follow-up to this book. I believe this is a
meaningful, value-based, developmentally appropriate, integrative,
and hands-on.

RELATED VA STANDARDS OF LEARNING

Math:

1.1: The student will a) count from 0-100 with the corresponding
numerals; and b0 group a collection of up to 100 objects into tens and
ones and write the corresponding numeral to develop an
understanding of place value.
1.14: The Student will investigate, identify, and describe various
forms of data collection (e.g., recording daily temperature, lunch count,
attendance, favorite ice cream), using tables, picture graphs, and
object graphs.
1.15: The students will interpret information displayed in a
picture or object graph, using the vocabulary more, less fewer, greater
than, less than, and equal to.

Science:
1.1
h) Predictions are made based on patterns of observations
j) Simple investigations and experiments are conducted to answer
questions.

Social Studies:
1.10 The student will apply the traits of a good citizen by
a) focusing on fair play, exhibiting good sportsmanship, helping others,
and treating others with respect;
b) recognizing the purpose of rules and practicing self-control;

OBJECTIVES

The students will understand that a strong structure can withstand

more elements (like wind).

The students will be able to draw plans of their houses before they
build them.

The students will be able to build a house out of different classroom

objects.
The students will know how to make predictions and record results on
their science experiment.

The students will know how to make and read a bar graph based on
experiment results.

SEQUENCE OF LESSON/ACTIVITES (Description of activities listed

below)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Read-Aloud: The Three Little Pigs

Post-Reading Activity: Mini-Picture Walk
Art Activity: What Will My House Look Like
Technology/Engineering Activity: Build My Own House
Science Activity: What Will Blow My House Down?
Math Activity: Material Tally (this will take place during the
technology/engineering activity) and Bar Graph of experiment
results.

PROCEDURES (with suggested pacing)

Day 1:

-Read-Aloud
-Questions to ask during Read Aloud: Do you think its a good
idea to make house out of straw, etc.? Why/Why Not? How
would you feel if someone was trying to blow down your house?
Was the third pig being a good neighbor (letting the first two pigs
stay with him)?
-Post-Reading Comprehension Activity
Picture Walk: Students will observe the houses and take notes on
the structure and details.

-What Will My House Look Like? Art Activity

-Children will make plans for their own houses/structures. (This
assignment is more of a test to their creativitythey will not be
judged if they do not follow their plans while building their
houses)
-They will be given plain construction paper and will be able to
use their own markers, colored pencils, or crayons to draw what
they would like their house to look like. I will give them a list of
materials that they will be able to use the next day, so they must
keep those in mind while drawing their plans.

Day 2:

-Build My Own House! Technology/Engineering Activity

-Students will be given classroom materials (listed in materials
section below) to build their own houses. They can work in
partners and may use their plans as a guide if they would like. I
will encourage them to build sturdy houses and remind them
about the story and how easy it was for the wolf to blow down
the first two houses because they were not built well.
-Part 1 of math activity (materials tally) will take place while the
students build their houses).

(This should be the only activity for day two, because the houses will
probably need to dryI assume most students will use glue!)

Day 3:

-What Will Blow My House Down? Science Activity

-Students will use hairdryers, their breath, fans, etc. to try to
blow their houses down. Students will make predictions about
what will item will blow their houses down, and how many tries it
takes. Then they will record the results of the experiment.
-Graph The Results: Math Activity
Students will make a bar graph together (with my help) of all of
their results from the science experiment, and we will read it
together as a class.

-Conclusion:
We will discuss, as a class, what we learned about building
structures from The Three Little Pigs and the completed activities. We
will also discuss how it was helpful to make plans of our houses, and
how fun it was to do an experiment on how to knock it down. Then we
will discuss how helpful it was to have a bar graph of all of our results,
and why bar graphs are important. We will finish up by discussing how

to be a good friend and neighbor like the 3rd little pig, who took the first
2 little pigs in when they lost their homes.

MATERIALS

-The Three Little Pigs Childrens Picture Book:

Wiesner, D. (2001). The three pigs. New York: Clarion Books.
-Photos of the three houses
- White construction paper (enough for the whole class)
-Markers, crayons, and colored pencils
-Cardboard bases (for houses)
-Other cardboard (for other sections of houses)
-Popsicle Sticks
-Straws
-Pom-Poms
-Glitter
-Construction Paper
-Styrofoam
-Elmers Glue
-Glue Sticks
-Hot Glue gun (teacher use only)
-Prediction/ Experiment Worksheets
-Large paper (for class bar graph)

-Extra Paper (for material tally)

-Pencils/Pens

What Will Blow My House Down?

Predictions

Results

Blow Dryer

Blow Dryer

Breath

Breath

Fan

Fan

Other?

Other?

How Many Tries?

How Many Tries?

STEAM PROJECT RUBRIC

Excellent
4
My unit
plan was
integrative
enough to
involve all
five aspects
of STEAM in
a
developme
ntally
appropriate
way.

-involved all
5 aspects of
STEAM; was
developmen
tally
appropriate
in every
way.

Proficient
3

Marginal
2

-involved at
-involved 3
4 aspects of
aspects of
STEAM, but
STEAM, but
made a
made an
good case
acceptable
for why 1
case for why
was not
the other 2
involved;
were not
mostly
involved;
developmen
mostly
tally
developmen
appropriate.
tally
inappropriat

Unsatisfac
tory
1
-involved 2
or less
aspects of
STEAM and
gave go
explanation
for the
missing
aspects;
developmen
tally
inappropriat
e.

e.
My lessons
were
creative
and
entertainin
g, while
still being
educational
and
effective.
My ideas
were well
thought out
and
prepared;
each aspect
of the
project was
completed.

-creative,
-creative
education,
and
and relevant
relevant,
lessons!
but could be
more
educational.

-creative,
but not
entirely
relevant or
educational.

-uncreative
lessons with
no
educational
value.

-All areas
were well
prepared.
Each part
was
completed.

-Generally
ill-prepared
content with
one or two
exceptions.

-Rushed,
unprepared,
and
incomplete
project.

-Mostly well
prepared
and
completed
with minor
exceptions.

Total= _11_/12
I believe I created a fun, meaningful, integrative, and hands-on
STEAM project that could be very enjoyable for my targeted age. I
believe I met all areas of my rubric, but some of parts of my write
up could have been more flushed out. Overall, I am very happy
with my final product!