STEM-tember: What is STEM?

Happy STEM-tember! 

Hopefully you've taken the opportunity to get your STEM on this month! I'm ending this STEM-tember sharing with you what I've learned about implementing STEM in a primary classroom over the past three years. I'll also share resources I love and a variety of ways to begin adding STEM activities to your repertoire. Check back each day this week for a new post full of ideas and resources!

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. This cross-curricular approach to learning is exciting because it stimulates the creative and investigative nature of young learners! 


Teachers facilitate learning by asking open-ended questions and allowing students to explore potential solutions using a variety of materials. As students work with partners or in groups, teachers help students question, predict, explore, observe, investigate, create, and reflect.


Early exposure to STEM helps students develop important critical thinking and problem-solving skills. It also provides a unique opportunity for all students to be challenged as well as learn to cope with struggle and failure as they work through potential solutions. Bring on the GROWTH MINDSET moments!

Now that we know what STEM is, let's explore the difference between STEM, STEAM, & STREAM.

The term STEM started to grow in the US around 2006. The basis of this movement was the growing concern about the readiness/preparedness of our students for the high-tech jobs of the future. Soon after, a push for adding "arts" and transforming STEM to STEAM began.

Any teacher knows that without the ability to read and write, it is impossible to be fully prepared for any career. Standards for Science and Technical subjects even reference reading and writing. This brings us to the need to add "reading" to the acronym. Hence, STREAM was born. 

Now that we know what STEM is and what the difference is between the acronyms we're ready to learn more about the Engineering Design Process. This cyclical process will walk our young learners through STEM challenges and encourage them to remain engaged through struggle and failure. Check back tomorrow for more information about the Engineering Design Process!

All of this information is available in my Free STEM Starter Kit!