2. Designing the Maps of STEM Areas in our School

1. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to demonstrate spatial awareness by creating accurate maps of the school and evaluating their understanding of spatial relationships and scale.
   • Evaluate students’ understanding of spatial awareness and scale in their maps. Look for proportional representation of distances and sizes of landmarks. Assess if students have appropriately scaled their maps to accurately reflect the relative positions and sizes of the school features.
2. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to demonstrate developed observational skills by accurately including all essential elements in their work and representing them according to the task.
   • Evaluate if students have included all essential elements and if they have represented them accurately (according to the task). 

In this lesson, we dive into the exciting world of mapmaking as we continue our STEM journey. After the engaging walking tour, students return to the classroom, armed with their insights and map drafts. The process begins with providing students with the Rubric for Creating Your Maps (Elementary Level), which will be their guiding star in this creative endeavor.

In the classroom, students gather in collaborative groups, ready to translate their discoveries into captivating visual representations. Each group focuses on a designated STEM area. With a keen eye, students mark the precise location of the STEM spots on their maps and embellish them with descriptive details that breathe life into each area. This collaborative effort mirrors the very essence of STEM, where different fields come together to build something extraordinary. 

Throughout this activity, the teacher plays the role of guide and mentor. They ensure that each group is on the right track and lend support when needed. As students craft their maps, the teacher offers feedback that fuels their creativity. One might hear questions like, “How can you weave the thread of STEM through this school location?” These interactions propel students forward, helping them connect the dots between STEM and the school landscape.

Provide students with a rubric beforehand on what all they need to do in their maps. Give students feedback on their group’s maps. Make your feedback critical. The teacher should have high expectations for students’ work. If they do not meet your expectations leave constructive comments and have students fix their work.

• Printed school satellite map
• Printed school outline map
• Clipboard
• Google slides or Microsoft PowerPoint
• Poster products from the previous lesson. 
• Pens & markers
• Sticky notes
• Cameras or smartphones
• Rubric for Creating Your Maps (Elementary Level)
• List of Group Roles
• Instructions for Group Mapping
• Assessment Instrument Guide

This lesson assumes you have 90 minutes (about one and a half hours) for this activity. No problem if you have less time! This lesson could be completed in an hour (or even 45min) as well.

Introduction (10 min)

The closing activity for the previous lesson was designing a draft of map. So, during this lesson your students will come back to design the actual maps of STEM areas in your school.

Ask the students to review their draft maps of STEM in their school. If it were several days between the lessons, ask the students to share if they noticed any new places or object related to STEM. Ask them to add those findings to the draft maps.

Finally, ask the groups to share what specific STEM area they zeroed in on during the walkaround.

Designing The Map (up to 45 min)

1. Provide students with the Rubric for Creating Your Maps (Elementary Level)
2. Provide students with maps of the school (printed or digital) and their drafts.
3. Instruct students to mark all the locations where they we able to find STEM places and objects and to add any relevant details or descriptions. The maps should be built collaboratively.

The teacher monitors each group and makes sure students feel well supported in designing their maps. The teacher makes comments or asks questions on students’ work which helps them proceed. Example, “How do you plan to connect STEM with this location of the school?”

Microsoft PowerPoint: Microsoft PowerPoint is widely available presentation software that can also be used to create maps. You can insert the school plan as a background image on a slide and then use shapes, text boxes, and icons to mark and label the different areas of the school. 

Google Slides: Google Slides is a web-based presentation software similar to Microsoft PowerPoint. It offers similar features and can be used to create maps by importing the school plan as a background image and adding shapes, text, and icons to represent school areas.

Group Presentations and Reflection (20 min)

1. Have each group present their findings and map to the rest of the class, explaining the STEM places they have marked and their significance.
2. After each presentation, engage in a class discussion, allowing students to ask questions and share their thoughts on the different STEM areas.
3. Facilitate a reflection session where students discuss the connections between the various STEM areas and how they contribute to their learning and engagement in STEM. 

From the Indiana Academic Standards Science: Grade 5

• SEP.6: Constructing explanations and designing solutions. Constructing explanations and designing solutions in 3–5 builds on K–2 experiences and progresses to the use of evidence in constructing explanations that specify variables that describe and predict phenomena and in designing multiple solutions to design problems.
• SEP.8: Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information in 3–5 builds on K–2 experiences and progresses to evaluating the merit and accuracy of ideas and methods.

From the Next Generation Science Standards

• ETS1.B: Developing Possible Solutions: There are systematic processes for evaluating solutions with respect to how well they meet the criteria and constraints of a problem.

1. Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont “Schoolyard Resources” https://gsmit.org/educator-resources/  
2. Ladson‐Billings, G. (1995). But that’s just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy. Theory into practice, 34(3), 159-165.
3. National Geographic Education. (Year, Month Day). Map Skills for Elementary Students. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.org/education/map-skills-elementary-students/
4. Tanase, M. (2020). Is good teaching culturally responsive?. Journal of Pedagogical Research, 4(3), 187-202.
5. Weisser, C. R. (2007). The Locations of Composition. United States: State University of New York Press.