Could You Live Underwater?: A Design Thinking and STEM Curriculum Unit for Curious Learners (Grades 4-5)

In this engaging design thinking adventure, students utilize STEM skills and creative thinking to research, design, and build prototypes of the underwater house of the future! After researching the effects of climate change on people throughout the world, learners narrow their focus to tackle an aspect of designing underwater that grabs their imaginations. They utilize design thinking to ideate, prototype, and test, conducting experiments along the way and applying their findings about the properties of water to their work. The unit includes six modules with flexible time constraints, meaning teachers can implement the unit in as little as six class periods or as many as 6 weeks. At every stage, learners draw on creativity and collaboration as they build STEM skills. Packed with engaging projects, experiments, and opportunities to reflect, Could You Live Underwater?: A Design Thinking and STEM Curriculum Unit for Curious Learners invites students to engage with issues they care about while building the skills they need for the future. Grades 4-5

Table of Contents:
Introduction How to Use This Book Getting Started Module: What Is Design Thinking Mini-Lesson 0.1: What Does Design Thinking Have to Do With Me? Mini-Lesson 0.2: Introduction to Blogging Concluding Activities Handouts Module 1: Empathizing and Setting Up the Problem Mini-Lesson 1.1: Introducing the Problem Mini-Lesson 1.2: What Should I Highlight?: A Guide to Active Reading and Annotating Mini-Lesson 1.3: How Would That Feel?: A Guide to Building Empathy Mini-Lesson 1.4: Writing a Response to a Problem and Creating a Problem Statement Mini-Lesson 1.5: What Should I Say?: A Guide to Effective Feedback Concluding Activities Handouts Module 2: Research and Ideation Mini-Lesson 2.1: Open-Ended Questions for Research Mini-Lesson 2.2: Where Can I Find Accurate Information?: A Guide to Choosing Reliable Resources Mini-Lesson 2.3: How Do I Get Answers on the Web?: A Guide to Effective Online Research Mini-Lesson 2.4: What’s the Most Important Idea?: A Guide to Paraphrasing and Taking Notes Concluding Activities Handouts Module 3: Guided Experimentation Mini-Lesson 3.1: What Will Happen?: A Guide to Forming a Hypothesis Mini-Lesson 3.2: What Happened?: A Guide to Quantitative and Qualitative Observation Mini-Lesson 3.3: Guided Experimentation Concluding Activities Handouts Module 4: Designing and Building Prototypes Mini-Lesson 4.1: Challenges, Needs, Advantages, and Opportunities of Designing Underwater Mini-Lesson 4.2: What Will It Do in Saltwater? Mini-Lesson 4.3: Guidelines for Designing Concluding Activities Handouts Module 5: Testing Prototypes Mini-Lesson 5.1: Evaluation Criteria Mini-Lesson 5.2: A Guide to Constructive Evaluation Concluding Activities Handouts Module 6: Sharing Findings Mini-Lesson 6.1: Writing a Response Mini-Lesson 6.2: Creating a Table of Contents Concluding Activities Handouts Appendix A: Design Thinking Resources Appendix B: Resources for Creating a Classroom Blog Appendix C: Rubrics About the Authors Common Core State Standards Alignment Next Generation Science Standards Alignment

About the Author :
Megan Barnhard is an author, writing coach, and curriculum creator committed to helping writers tame the writing process and enjoy self-expression. Jade Rivera is a micro-school builder, author, and STEM educator dedicated to helping gifted learners thrive.