STEM Concept: Natural Resources
Humans use resources for everything they do.
This Storytime STEM-Pack includes all the materials you need to engage children in science activities that address the concept of natural resources. The Storytime STEM-pack My Papi Has a Motorcycle was designed to attend to the Learning for Social Justice standards (https://www.learningforjustice.org/frameworks/social-justice-standards) . The book was intentionally selected to feature Hispanic culture. It features Latinx characters in the storyline, with a focus on different cultural norms, food, language, relationships, and community norms that are linked to these cultures. At the core is a focus of looking at cultural differences with an asset-based approach. This is especially important in PreK-2, which is a formative time to develop perceptions of other cultures and peers with different backgrounds.
The author of the book shares how her hometown in Southern California had changed from lemon fields to the town she grew up in, with even more changes happening as new homes are being built. This is a fantastic book as it is rooted in Hispanic culture and Spanish language that the author was surrounded with as she grew up. There are a lot of Spanish words in the book, which is a great way to introduce children to new words and give them opportunities to share their own experiences and places from their communities.
The connection to energy is clear, as the author recalls zipping from place to place on her Papi’s motorcycle. After listening to the story, children wonder how people use different natural resources to generate electricity and then examine different community places Daisy and her Papi visited and think about how people use electricity there. In the last activity children use mathematical practices to analyze electricity use of common appliances in the home and think about how to conserve electricity.
Included in this set, you'll find:
- Detailed instructions (i.e., lesson plan) for the learning activities
- 8 Generating Electricity cards
- 1 Electric Use Teacher Chart
- Spanish Translation cards
- 5 sets of Community Cards (3 pages each)
- 13 Electricity Cards (13 8.5x11 pages with 12 small cards each to cut out)
- 13 Electric Use Charts
- One copy of My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero
The entire activity takes approximately 45 minutes to complete. This STEM-Pack is suitable for grades PreK-2.