Engaging Elementary Students with Weekly STEAM Classes
Customer: Landau Elementary School
Teacher: Chelsea Casillas
Grades taught: K-5 STEAM
She uses: SAM Labs STEAM Solution
With only one required science class each week, teachers and administration at Landau Elementary School had the challenge of finding a program that aligned with, while also supplementing, their science curriculum.
Elementary STEAM Teacher, Chelsea Casillas, explains how SAM Labs was incorporated to align with existing standards:
“As STEAM teachers, we are not required to teach science, but our classroom teachers are only required to teach one science lesson every week. So when we adopted SAM Labs as our only curriculum for STEAM, our curriculum director made sure it aligned to our science curriculum, Amplify.”
Tailored by grade level, SAM Labs proved to be an excellent fit for weekly kindergarten through 5th grade science classes. Even more, Chelsea began to see more engagement during lessons with her second and fifth grade students.
“Then, we pulled the SAM Lab lessons that were aligned to each grade level kindergarten through fifth grade, so we have standards-aligned lessons each week. I’m a big fan of the new 5E lessons. Those are even more engaging for my second through fifth graders than the previous lessons that were available.”
SAM Labs Reinforces Learning
According to Chelsea, Sam Labs helps support and reinforce lessons students are currently learning in the classroom.
“We are not the core science teachers in this, but it is nice because I feel like the STEAM lessons supplement what they are doing in the classroom so perfectly. The new 5E lessons teach beyond the coding.”
The curriculum at SAM Labs helped set foundational knowledge while giving teachers the tools to explain new concepts in meaningful ways.
“These lessons don’t assume students know what a habitat is, but they actually give us something to explain to the kids about habitats and how they’re different for different animals. And this is why we’re going to simulate what a habitat looks like and code that prototype. When the lesson is about things that they have talked about in their classes. It’s cool because then I can expand on it with additional coding activities.”
Going even further, Chelsea notes the role SAM Labs plays in helping her stay on-course when planning lessons.
“The best part about the curriculum includes everything needed and is tied to science standards. I’m not having to go and figure out what I’m doing myself week to week. I have a guide like I would teaching any other curriculum.”
Do you think your school can benefit from SAM Labs innovative curriculum? Our tailored STEAM solutions engage students at the K-5 grade level and support educator’s goals for their science and programming curriculum.
Learn more about our solutions today.
Shaunda Douglas is a former educator with over 15 years of experience in all levels of education. In her free time, she reads, plays with her dogs, watches baseball, and loves a good nap.