Looking to incorporate STEM and the NGSS into your early childhood environment? I presented this inquiry-based workshop where administrators, teachers and I explored some hands-on activities to appropriately introduce topics of matter, energy, and engineering into an early childhood classroom. Teachers walked away with a list of activities and an understanding of how to navigate the NGSS website in search of appropriate standard connections.

1. Embedding Matter, Energy and Engineering into the Early Childhood Curriculum
Kengo Yamada, STEM Enrichment Specialist: Early Childhood

2. Introductions
Who am I?
What do I do?
Why am I here?
STEM Enrichment Specialist:
Early Childhood
PreK – 2nd grade.
I believe STEM education can be
implemented at the early childhood level.
Kengo Yamada
Montclair State University
B.A. Elementary Education
P-3 Certification

3. What is the goal for
today?
To observe some ways in which we, as
early childhood educators, can introduce
STEM concepts into our classrooms and
daily schedules.

4. Jump In, Jump Out
Ice Breaker

5. What is STEM?
Think, Pair and Share

6. What is STEM?
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Math) is a interdisciplinary approach to
education in which subjects are merged
while also presenting opportunities to
consider real-world application.
So what does this look like?

7. What does STEM
look like?

8. I believe…
“Children are engineers, problem solvers, and collaborators at
heart – with boundless potential for leadership, creativity and
innovation. Filling their days building and creating with blocks
and manipulatives, wooden sticks and Legos, finger-paints and
clay, they naturally seek solutions to challenges, discuss multiple
options and, when necessary, start over!”
(Stone-MacDonald, 2011)

9. Understanding the NGSS

10. Important Roles
• Two educators work on completing the lesson.
• One educator brainstorms the parts in the school day during which
we can include the activities.
• After completing the activity, we will come together in a share out
of our experience and how we can integrate it into our classroom’s
daily experience.
Please consider switching roles during the course of this presentation.
It is good practice to try navigating the NGSS website if you have not
done so already.

11. Sample Activity
Simple Machines: Making a Lever

12. When can we include this
during our daily schedule?

13. When can we include this
during our daily schedule?

14. What’s the Matter?
Exploring Solids, Liquids and Gases

15. Solids and Liquids
Have a indefinite shape.
But have a definite volume.
Have a definite shape.
Have a definite volume.

16. But what about gas?
Do you see gas? Can we make it?

17. But what about gas?
Do you see gas? Can we make it?

18. So what did we learn
about gas?
It has an indefinite volume.It has an indefinite shape
because it takes the shape of its
container

19. When can we include this
during our daily schedule?

20. Measuring Matter
Exploring Mass

21. Cooling and
Heating Matter
Exploring Dry Ice

22. What do we know already?
• What states of
matter can we
observe?
• How can we review
these states?
• What do we have to
help us reinforce the
states of matter?

23. Dry Ice Bubbles
• Attach the hose to the
flask.
• Add water into the flask.
• Add dry ice to the flask
and plug the top.
• Take out the bathroom cup
and pour a small amount
of water into it.
• Add soap to the cup and
dip the hose into the cup.
• Take the hose out and
observe the bubbles
created.

24. When can we include this
during our daily schedule?

25. When can we include this
during our daily schedule?

26. Light it Up!
Exploring properties of light and its reaction to things around us.

27. Where do we start?
• To encourage inquiry based
learning, go ahead and explore
the items independently.
• Classify how the items react
differently when interrupted by
the various objects in your bag.
• Afterwards, discuss what these
objects have in common.

28. Transparent, Opaque, and Translucent
• Following the classification of the objects in the bag, students
will be introduced to the concepts below.

29. When can we include this
during our daily schedule?

30. When can we include this
during our daily schedule?

31. Conductors & Insulators
Exploring how electricity flows.

32. Light exploration bag
• After receiving your bag,
attach the materials one at a
time and observe what
happens to the light
depending upon the item
attached.
• Group materials together
depending upon the items
attached.

33. Conductors & Insulators
• Items hold onto their
electrons differently
depending upon the material
itself.
• Insulators hold onto its
electrons very tightly.
• Conductors hold onto their
electrons loosely so they can
flow through it.

34. When can we include this
during our daily schedule?

35. Flashlights
Engineering a working flashlight

36. Constructing your
flashlight

37. When can we include this
during our daily schedule?

38. Paper Sail Boats
Exploring the Engineering Design Process

39. Building a Boat
Using the materials in the bag, create a sail boat with your team
that will travel the furthest distance when powered by wind.

40. How far did your team’s travel?
• Did your boat travel as far as
you were expecting?
• Did you redesign your boat
to make it more efficient?
• What were some of the
challenges you faced?
• How might this experience
be better?

41. How far did your team’s travel?
• Did your boat travel as far as
you were expecting?
• Did you redesign your boat
to make it more efficient?
• What were some of the
challenges you faced?
• How might this experience
be better?

42. Differing Designs
• Despite having similar materials, there are a myriad of designs
students can follow or create. Students can additionally test the
results of how their designs influence the distance traveled.

43. When can we include this
during our daily schedule?

44. Paper Helicopters
Engineering
helicopters and
testing
variables.

45. Graphing
Results
• Using the graph sheet
available, track the
number of rotations
completed for each
variable.
• Graph the results in the
table provided. What
variable proved to
facilitate the largest
number of rotations?

46. When can we include this
during our daily schedule?

47. Catapults
Engineering, Measurement, and Data Collection

48. Design your catapult
• Using the materials provided, design a catapult to launch a
marshmallow the further distance possible.

49. Test &
Redesign
• Using the meter sticks
provided, track the
distance your team’s
catapult was able to
launch.
• Can you redesign your
catapult to increase the
distance?

50. When can we include this
during our daily schedule?

51. Engineering & Literacy
Integrating engineering skill practice into
our literacy time

52. Questions & Comments