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Engage children in meaningful STEM experiences with these books, articles, and discussions.

Books that Support STEM

cover of Making and Tinkering with STEM
Book

Making and Tinkering With STEM: Solving Design Challenges With Young Children

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cover of Making and Tinkering with STEM: Solving Design Challenges With Young Children
Book

Sample Engineering Design Challenge from Making and Tinkering with STEM: Solving Design Challenges With Young Children

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Ramps & Pathways: A Constructivist Approach to Physics With Young Children
Book

Ramps & Pathways: A Constructivist Approach to Physics With Young Children

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Resources for Teachers

A small group of children conducts an experiment
Article

Growing in STEM: STEM Resources and Materials for Engaging Learning Experiences

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HOT and Coding graphic
Blog

The T in STEM: Creating Play-Based Experiences That Support Children’s Learning of Coding and Higher Order Thinking

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electricity project
Article

Growing in STEM: From Static to Circuits: Inquiry-Based STEM Explorations of Electricity

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Two boys painting
Article

Including All Children in Making and Tinkering!

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A young girl draws and takes notes in a forest
Article

Community-Based Engineering STEM Experiences From a Second Grade Urban Classroom

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Teacher guiding student with STEM game
Blog

Make STEM Social to Motivate Preschoolers

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For Families

toddler in an outdoor kiddie pool
Blog

Bathtime Science

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Toddler in the bathtub playing with rubber ducks.

Math in the Bath

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Child using sculpting techniques
Article

Message in a Backpack™ Making at Home

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Two toddler girls playing with blocks

Toys as Tools: Everyday Science Experiences

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Two young girls playing with a xylophone

Support Math Readiness Through Music

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Toddlers playing with toy balls in pool
Blog

Splish Splash: Science Time Without Spending a Dime

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Most Recent

A classroom of children playing with wooden blocks
Article
Young Children
May 1, 2020

STREAM Education at Work—No, at Play! A Toy-Making Unit

Early achievement in math and science predicts later school success as well or better than early literacy skills do.

Authored by

Authored by: Douglas H. Clements, Julie Sarama, Kimberly Brenneman, Nell K. Duke, Mary Louise Hemmeter
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teacher reading a book to a group of children
Article
Young Children
May 1, 2020

Story Time STEM: Nurturing Children's Joy and Wonder through Shared Reading Experiences

In this article, we share ideas for how to integrate math, science, and literacy during shared reading. These ideas are inspired by our research project Story Time STEM, a collaborative effort by a team of preschool and elementary grade teachers, children

Authored by

Authored by: Allison Hintz, Antony T. Smith, Kristin Gray, Erin Gannon, Ashley Wishart
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young girl putting together a 3D block puzzles using blocks
Article
Young Children
May 1, 2020

Learning Engineering through Block Play: STEM in Preschool

In recent years, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) have been increasingly emphasized for elementary-age children, and this trend should extend into preschool too. Blocks—a fundamental material found in almost all early childhood se

Authored by

Authored by: Zachary S. Gold, James Elicker, Barbara A. Beaulieu
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A young boy in a classroom taping an image to block.
Article
Young Children
May 1, 2020

Transforming Our Community with STEAM

The preschool bucket brigade took place four weeks into an intensive study surrounding the unit Our Community. While this topic is very common in preschools, for these teachers, this community unit was almost all new. This was their first experience with

Authored by

Authored by: Lea Ann Christenson, Jenny James
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Four-year-old Kurt created a family portrait for a project in his preschool classroom. He made sure to include his baby sister o
Article
Young Children
May 1, 2020

Nurturing Wonder: STEM Projects Bring Joy to the Classroom

When intentional teachers ask questions to expand children’s thinking and help them explore related vocabulary and concepts, children’s learning is enriched and their curiosity grows, fueling yet more inquiries.

Authored by

Authored by: Lisa Hansel
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Young child doing a science experiment at table
Article
Teaching Young Children
February 1, 2020

Breaking Down STEAM for Young Children

In early childhood, we encourage STEAM teaching to integrate these subject areas within a meaningful context.

Authored by

Authored by: Sandra M. Linder, Angela Eckhoff
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Hands together in a circle
Article
Teaching Young Children
December 1, 2019

9x: Creating a Culturally Responsive STEAM Curriculum

The following tips can support you in creating a culturally responsive STEAM curriculum.

Authored by

Authored by: ​Anthony Broughton, Michiko B. McClary
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Teacher reviewing STEM resources and activities online
Article
Young Children
July 1, 2019

To Pin or Not to Pin? Choosing, Using, and Sharing High-Quality STEM Resources

With an internet connection, teachers can access an almost infinite number of STEM resources, but how can they tell if the activities and lesson plans are high quality?

Authored by

Authored by: Sherri Peterson, Cindy Hoisington, Peggy Ashbrook, Beth Dykstra Van Meeteren, Rosemary Geiken, Sonia Akiko Yoshizawa, Sandy Chilton, Joseph B. Robinson
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Tinkering objects
Blog
April 22, 2019

Making and Tinkering at Home

Read about how this author helped her 4-year-old daughter create a tinkering space at home.

Authored by

Authored by: Julia Luckenbill
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Teacher and student drawing
Article
Young Children
September 1, 2018

Growing in STEM. The Design Process: Engineering Practices in Preschool

In this article, we explain why engineering practices are an important part of early STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) learning and share examples of exploring engineering practices.

Authored by

Authored by: Jolyn Blank, Stefanie Lynch
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Two boys painting
Article
Teaching Young Children
December 1, 2017

Including All Children in Making and Tinkering!

With the open-ended experiences of making and tinkering, you can give a child like this access to a whole world of learning and expression.

Authored by

Authored by: Karen Nemeth, Pamela Brillante
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Young girl uses blocks to bulild
Article
Young Children
November 1, 2017

More Than a Foundation: Young Children Are Capable STEM Learners

The research is clear: when we say children are “born scientists,” we’re not just being cute; they really are active scientists, right now, systematically and intentionally exploring their environments, even from the day they are born.

Authored by

Authored by: Elisabeth McClure
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