15-Minute STEM Book 2
More quick, creative science, technology, engineering and mathematics activities for 5–11-year-olds
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Format: Paperback
Pages: 64
Size: 297 x 210mm
Published: November 2020
ISBN 13: 9781785835070
Availability: Available
Product Details
Emily Hunt’s 15-Minute STEM Book 2: More quick, creative science, technology, engineering and mathematics activities for 5–11-year-olds offers a stimulating selection of easy-to-resource STEM activities designed to engage and inspire young learners.
Like most teachers and parents, you probably recognise STEM as being an important priority area for modern education. You may, however, be wondering:·
- What does STEM education look like for young learners?
- How do I get children excited about STEM education?
- How can children learn STEM skills in just 15 minutes?
- What equipment do I need to teach STEM activities?
Enter 15-minute STEM with the answers!
Full of engaging and practical ideas, this innovative resource builds on the success of Emily’s 15-Minute STEM (ISBN 978-178583335-9) and reassures teachers and parents that they don’t need to be experts to deliver high-quality STEM education.
Each of the 40 activities includes step-by-step instructions, takes just 15 minutes to complete and can be resourced from everyday materials found in the classroom or at home. This means that, with minimal preparation, teachers and parents can slot these cross-curricular activities into an otherwise busy day – simultaneously broadening children’s learning and piquing their curiosity about the world around them.
Accompanying instructions are phrased in a way that encourages the children to lead the learning and exploration, and opportunities for further investigation are provided in order to broaden the learning focus. Hand-drawn illustrations and full colour photographs are also included alongside each activity to give an idea of what the end results might look like.
The activities make connections to real-world scenarios and have been linked to conceptually similar STEM-related careers – all of which are individually profiled in a glossary at the back of the book. The practical, problem-solving element of each activity offers a great way for children to develop important soft skills such as creativity, critical thinking and spatial awareness. Suitable for both educators and parents of young children.
Activities include:
- Bottle Rockets: How do rockets propel themselves into space?
- Bug Count: What bugs live in different habitats?
- Earthquake-Proof Structures: How can we design a building to survive an earthquake?
- Hot Air Balloon Flight: How do hot air balloons fly?
Author Details
Reviews
Emily Hunt has truly succeeded in creating a book that not only offers fun, quick projects for all the family but also clearly explains why we should all be excited about STEM! Each activity is accompanied by clear illustrations, as well as references to future careers, which are all explained in a short easy-to-understand glossary. The mix of indoor and outdoor activities, as well as ideas of how to bring the outdoors indoors, is really great given the tendency of changeable British weather.
Each short project has its own explanation of connections to the built and natural environment, and the book is sure to spark curiosity and connection to our planet in both children and adults!
They say the secret of good comedy is timing. Well, if this secret applies to books too, then the publication of Emily Hunt’s 15-Minute STEM Book 2 is not just good – it’s perfect!
It offers a delightful mixture of classic science experiments and novel investigations, each of which is presented in an engaging and accessible format that is enticing and fun and will appeal to both children and adults. The book is packed full of short, easy-to-follow STEM activities that can be carried out with equipment and materials found in the home or at school.
The simple, easy-to-follow steps, combined with the ‘You will need’ lists, provide a valuable learning experience and will be useful for teachers and for parents looking for ideas for home-schooling. The activities are suitable for younger children with the support of an adult, and the suggestions for further investigations mean that the activities can be scaled up for older children too. Furthermore, the colour photographs show how to carry out the activities, and the charming illustrations highlight and explain the concepts involved. Resources and templates are also included, which will simplify and reduce the preparation time required for each activity.
The ‘What are we learning?’ sections aid understanding of the activities by explaining what is happening and why, plus a real-world context is provided by linking the activities to a range of STEM careers. This section uses technical/scientific terms alongside everyday words, which builds familiarity with terms that children will meet later in their education.
So, 40 easily resourced, hands-on, inspirational STEM activities, all beautifully presented in one book. What’s not to love?
With home learning now embedded in our education system and with many parents reaching into their memories of their own school days for resources, a new book about STEM activities is most welcome. 15-Minute STEM Book 2 by Emily Hunt is a great addition to the home science library with activities across the spectrum of learning.
It’s refreshing to see resources for children that take a detailed and methodical approach to conducting experiments and investigations at home, and my bet is that children will want to spend much more time than the 15 minutes described to introduce the STEM connections.
Activities are clearly explained in well illustrated and laid out pages, with the instructions including what equipment is needed (all pretty much in the household cupboards), what to do and how, suggestions for
further investigations and the lessons and scientific principles to be learned.
Forty different activities are described that cover all aspects of STEM – from knots to constellations, and from origami engineering to the environmental science of ocean plastic pollution. With a comprehensive
Q&A introduction for hesitant or nervous parents that includes the excellent advice of letting children lead the learning, and finding the key takeaway points, this book offers a practical and wide-ranging selection of
engaging and fun experiments.
Recognising that they are innately curious – and therefore naturally and instinctively scientists now – is a great point of principle for turning children onto STEM for future study and careers. 15-Minute STEM Book
2 will stimulate curiosity and motivate the investigator and researcher in all children.
In a world in which our children will increasingly be expected to possess skills from the STEM world in order to thrive and flourish as adults, this inspirational book is a must-have for any primary school staffroom or indeed for parents with young children. Emily Hunt has collected 40 imaginative, engaging and easy-to-access STEM activities that will open up the minds of our young people.
This book is crammed with loads of exciting and challenging learning opportunities to really get children hooked into STEM subjects. It offers engaging activities with clear instructions, and the beautiful illustrative photography makes it clear that we can all get stuck in, get mucky and develop our creative and logical thinking.
15-Minute STEM Book 2 is just the resource to get kids excited for learning, and it will prove to be a treasure trove of ideas for the busy teacher.
Emily has compiled a perfect book for teachers and families looking for simple STEM activities to do with young children. There are 40 ideas that can be done in any home or classroom using everyday resources. Plus, each challenge has career connections and ideas for further exploration. Get this book for every parent and teacher you know!
15-Minute STEM Book 2 offers a wide range of inexpensive, hands-on activities to stoke young children’s engagement and develop their transferable soft skills as they explore new ways of thinking and doing.
The book features an amalgamation of well-known and loved activities as well as new ones (e.g. the Ocean Plastic Problem) that let the children lead their learning, while the hook questions will also be very effective in generating excitement and sparking debate. Furthermore, the ‘What are we learning?’ explanations will allay some adults’ potential concerns about not knowing the answer, offering them a valuable scaffold with which to answer the children’s questions on the subject.
Emily Hunt does it again! 15-Minute STEM Book 2 is a must-have resource for busy teachers wanting to implement meaningful hands-on STEM learning. It offers highly engaging activities that walk you through the challenge, beginning with the set-up and materials and ending with connections to STEM careers as well as the concepts behind each activity. Your students will beg for more!