OTT 248: Transforming Story Time: Hands-On STEM Challenges for Young Readers

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Ever watched a child struggle to connect with a story, only to see their eyes light up when they get to build something with their hands? There's magic in that moment when reading transforms from a passive activity into an adventure of problem-solving and creation.

In this episode, we dive into practical ways to blend beloved children's books with STEM challenges, creating powerful learning experiences for all types of learners. For active kids and reluctant readers especially, these hands-on activities provide the perfect bridge to deeper comprehension and genuine engagement with stories. When children step into the shoes of characters like Mo Willems' Pigeon or Humpty Dumpty from "After the Fall," they're not just reading – they're feeling, thinking, and creating alongside these beloved characters.

We explore two primary approaches: building solutions for character problems and creating STEM story extensions. What would help Pigeon want to go to school? How could Humpty safely get back on his wall? These open-ended questions spark critical thinking and empathy while honoring each child's unique perspective. The beauty lies in the simplicity – these activities require nothing more elaborate than basic building materials like blocks, paper, or Legos, yet they yield remarkable results in comprehension and retention. 

Most importantly, storybook STEM challenges help preserve the creativity that too often diminishes as children progress through elementary school. When we combine stories with hands-on exploration, we're not just teaching reading or science – we're nurturing imaginative problem-solvers who see possibilities beyond the page. Whether you're a classroom teacher, librarian, or parent looking to make stories come alive, these playful approaches will transform story time into an unforgettable journey of discovery and joy.

🎁 Bonus! Download my STEM Story Connection Focusing on Grit in After the Fall 
👉 https://www.trinadeboreeteachingandlearning.com/grit

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to One Tired Teacher.
Episode 248, storybook STEMChallenges.
So we're gonna take off fromwhere we were speaking last week
and we're gonna focus on somestorybook challenges and we're
gonna make story time, or we'regonna take story time to the
next level.
Adding makerspace or STEMreally helps take reading to the

(00:20):
next level.
For kids, especially activekids or reluctant kids.
Pairing books with simplehands-on challenges turns
reading into an adventure,especially for kids who learn by
doing.
In today's episode, I'm goingto share two playful STEM
activities inspired by favoritechildren's books.

(00:40):
These are perfect for reluctantreaders, curious builders and
anyone who wants to learn bestthrough movement and exploration
.
I hope you stick around.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
Welcome to One Tired Teacher.
And even though she may need anap, this teacher is ready to
wake up and speak her truthabout the trials and treasures
of teaching here.
She is wide awake.
Wait, she's not asleep rightnow, is she?
She is awake, right?
Okay, from Trina.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
Debery Teaching and Learning.
Your host, trina Debery.
Hey, so today we are talkingabout how to turn a story into a
STEM challenge, easy ways toboost comprehension with
hands-on learning and ideas forthe classroom.
This is One Tired Teacher, sowe're talking about the
classroom and that's what we'redoing from now on.

(01:38):
So, yeah, how are we doing?
We are in the second week ofJune.
Are you still grinding away inthe classroom?
Or how are you finally finallyfree?
I can remember there's so manydifferent ways of tackling the
summer.
Whether you're like I'm goingto take a whole break, I'm going
to take the whole month of June, or the first part of my break

(01:59):
completely off.
I'm going to like sleep andrest and recharge and play with
my kids and, you know, do allthe things?
Go on vacation, all the things.
Or are you like no, I got toget myself prepared for next
year.
I've got work to do, we'regoing to get on a schedule, the
family's on a schedule, we'regoing to be in a routine, we're
going to do this and this andthis, and then I'm going to

(02:20):
relax.
And the second part.
I wasn't like that.
I was more like that for somereason.
I came out the end of the yearready to plan the next year.
I know it's kind of crazy, andthen I would like relax more in
July, but that didn't alwayswork well for me because then my
principal wanted us back and Iwas a team leader and so then he

(02:41):
wanted us to meet.
I'm like we're meeting in Julywhen I'm supposed to be resting,
and so it didn't always workout very well for me.
And also at the time my spousewas very much like we're going
to take a vacation, like rightat the end of the summer, which
really stressed me out.
It would stress me out everysingle year.
So yeah, but you know what youdo, you, you do you.

(03:04):
All right, let's get started.
So we're talking about buildinga solution for our activity
number one.
We're building a solution forthe characters.
So here is the struggle.
Some kids don't emotionallyconnect with characters.
I talked about that last week.
They just move through the plot.
But one thing we can do is wecan make a stem shift or a

(03:24):
makerspace shift.
We can let them step into theshoes of the characters and help
them solve a problem.
For example, this is a book thatI love to do at the beginning
of the year.
The Pigeon has to Go to School.
Such a good one.
The Pigeon has to Go to School.
Now, I didn't get to use thisin my classroom because this
book is relatively new and Ididn't have it in my classroom

(03:45):
in my classroom because thisbook is relatively new and I
didn't have it in my classroom.
But I do have some Pigeonmakerspace like STEM story
stations.
They're a STEM challenge basedon all the Pigeon books.
I also have these for Piggy andGerald because I love Mo
Willems, which I got to do allof those with my students when I
was in the media center and itwas so fun.
And then, when Pigeon has to Goto School came along, I'm like

(04:05):
I got to add this because thisis, you know, a great book at
the beginning of the school year.
These are all by Mo Willems.
Love these books, definitely,check them out.
Hopefully I'll remember to putthem in the show notes because
they're just super fun, and alsoI will try to remember to put
the Pigeon and Piggy.
I have a bundle, so that's thecheapest way to do it, but

(04:28):
anyway.
So what kind of school?
What kind of school?
The problem is, pigeon doesn'twant to go to school, but what
kind of school would make Pigeonwant to go to school?
Like, how are we going to solvePigeon's problem and we don't?
It might not even be that wecreate a new school for Pigeon.
It might be like, you know, wehelp Pigeon go to bed earlier so
he's like rested and ready togo to school.

(04:50):
Or it might be that we makegoing to school really fun, like
he rides on a roller coaster orsomething.
That's the beauty of anopen-ended exploration.
We want kids to think about it,we want them to use critical
thinking and we want them tocome up with solutions.
We don't wanna say the solutionis a new school.
Everyone build a new school,although that could look

(05:12):
different too and it would berequire a lot of creativity from
everyone's differentperspective.
But we want to let them come upwith that solution themselves.
So does that make sense?
All right, and again, you coulddo this with blocks, with
cardboard, with drawing tools,with Legos.
You could even do this withpaper.

(05:33):
You could do it withconstruction paper and you just
build.
You know a little.
Whatever you're going to build,I was thinking of a school.
Let's say it was a schoolYou're going to.
You could build that with paper.
I remember pre-K did this wholelike community out of paper.
Oh, it was so cool.
I mean it was three dimensional, like they also had like boxes

(05:54):
and stuff too, but it was like alot of ripped paper and paper.
Oh, it's the coolest thing ever.
Anyway, um, that could besomething fun to do.
Another book that is a funchallenge, and I have a freebie
and I will link it in the shownotes.
After the Fall by Dan Santat, Idon't know how to say that, and

(06:15):
it would be like what wouldHumpty use to safely get back on
the wall?
Like, how are we going to solveHumpty's problem?
And we could have.
You know, kids design solutionsfor that.
We're not going to tell themthat they have to design a
ladder.
We're going to say how do wesolve this problem?
They may think of a ladder,they may think of an elevator,

(06:37):
they may think of who knows whatthey think of.
They're so smart they come upwith such creative ideas.
You know, what's sad, though,is that some kids, when they get
older, will stop thinkingcreatively.
It's like as soon as they hitthird grade, fourth grade, all
the creativity is gone, and Ithink it's because we've got

(06:58):
such a structured test takingmentality in those grades that
we're like stripping away thecreativity, and I think that's
heartbreaking, anyway.
So why does this work?
Kids engage deeply withcharacter motivations and
problems.
They use creativity and logicto connect reading to real world
thinking and the story becomesthe spark, not just the

(07:23):
assignment.
Ah, love that, all right.
Activity number two is to createa STEM story extension.
So again, kids often forgetwhat they read after the story
ends.
There's no retention, andthat's a problem because
comprehending and remembering isthe key.
So how do we do a STEM shift?

(07:45):
We turn the story into a designchallenge.
Let the learning begin afterthe last page.
So again, we're taking aproblem in the story.
Let the learning begin afterthe last page.
So again, we're taking a problemin the story or taking a
challenge the character mighthave faced, and we're asking
them how to solve that problem.
How, you know, elephant piggyand elephant.
What would help piggy fix aproblem without hurting Gerald's

(08:08):
feelings?
Like we can also, you know,bring in empathy and compassion
and kindness into our challenges, we let kids.
We let kids think of it,imagine it, sketch it on a
blueprint, build a prototype,even test it, revise it, reflect
on what they did.
All of these aspects are soimportant.
So in that little freebie that Iwas talking about from after

(08:31):
the fall, it has these thinksheets that go with it, so they
work through the engineeringdesign process.
So that should also help.
Why does this work?
It extends comprehensionthrough storytelling and design
and it helps kids apply whatthey read in a personal and
meaningful way.
It gives reluctant readers areason to revisit and reflect on

(08:53):
a book.
So helpful, all right.
When you combine books withhands-on building and
exploration, you're giving yourstudents a whole new reason to
care about stories and much morejoyful experience.
All right, so I have thefreebies the STEM Story Station
for after the fall.
You can download it below.

(09:14):
Also, don't forget to subscribeto make sure that you're
getting every updated episode.
I told you I was going to betaking a break soon, and so
you're going to want to knowwhen that ends and when that
starts.
Until next time, sweet dreamsand sleep tight.