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

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

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to One Tired Teacher
• 1:45 Storybook STEM Challenges Introduction
• 3:05 Building Solutions for Book Characters
• 7:31 STEM Story Extension Activities
• 8:57 Why These Approaches Work

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to One Tired Teacher. Episode 248, storybook STEM Challenges. So we're gonna take off from where we were speaking last week and we're gonna focus on some storybook challenges and we're gonna make story time, or we're gonna take story time to the next level. Adding makerspace or STEM really helps take reading to the next level. For kids, especially active kids or reluctant kids. Pairing books with simple hands-on challenges turns reading into an adventure, especially for kids who learn by doing. In today's episode, I'm going to share two playful STEM activities inspired by favorite children's books. These are perfect for reluctant readers, curious builders and anyone who wants to learn best through movement and exploration. I hope you stick around.

Speaker 2: 0:55

Welcome to One Tired Teacher. And even though she may need a nap, this teacher is ready to wake up and speak her truth about the trials and treasures of teaching here. She is wide awake. Wait, she's not asleep right now, is she? She is awake, right? Okay, from Trina.

Speaker 1: 1:17

Debery Teaching and Learning. Your host, trina Debery. Hey, so today we are talking about how to turn a story into a STEM challenge, easy ways to boost comprehension with hands-on learning and ideas for the classroom. This is One Tired Teacher, so we're talking about the classroom and that's what we're doing from now on. So, yeah, how are we doing? We are in the second week of June. Are you still grinding away in the classroom? Or how are you finally finally free?

Speaker 1: 1:49

I can remember there's so many different ways of tackling the summer. Whether you're like I'm going to take a whole break, I'm going to take the whole month of June, or the first part of my break completely off. I'm going to like sleep and rest and recharge and play with my kids and, you know, do all the things? Go on vacation, all the things. Or are you like no, I got to get myself prepared for next year. I've got work to do, we're going to get on a schedule, the family's on a schedule, we're going to be in a routine, we're going to do this and this and this, and then I'm going to relax. And the second part. I wasn't like that. I was more like that for some reason. I came out the end of the year ready to plan the next year. I know it's kind of crazy, and then I would like relax more in July, but that didn't always work well for me because then my principal wanted us back and I was a team leader and so then he wanted us to meet. I'm like we're meeting in July when I'm supposed to be resting, and so it didn't always work out very well for me. And also at the time my spouse was very much like we're going to take a vacation, like right at the end of the summer, which really stressed me out. It would stress me out every single year. So yeah, but you know what you do, you, you do you. All right, let's get started.

Speaker 1: 3:05

So we're talking about building a solution for our activity number one. We're building a solution for the characters. So here is the struggle. Some kids don't emotionally connect with characters. I talked about that last week. They just move through the plot. But one thing we can do is we can make a stem shift or a makerspace shift. We can let them step into the shoes of the characters and help them solve a problem.

Speaker 1: 3:30

For example, this is a book that I 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 this in my classroom because this book is relatively new and I didn't have it in my classroom in my classroom because this book is relatively new and I didn't have it in my classroom. But I do have some Pigeon makerspace like STEM story stations. They're a STEM challenge based on all the Pigeon books. I also have these for Piggy and Gerald because I love Mo Willems, which I got to do all of those with my students when I was in the media center and it was so fun. And then, when Pigeon has to Go to School came along, I'm like I got to add this because this is, 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 put them in the show notes because they're just super fun, and also I will try to remember to put the Pigeon and Piggy. I have a bundle, so that's the cheapest way to do it, but anyway.

Speaker 1: 4:29

So what kind of school? What kind of school? The problem is, pigeon doesn't want to go to school, but what kind of school would make Pigeon want to go to school? Like, how are we going to solve Pigeon's problem and we don't? It might not even be that we create a new school for Pigeon. It might be like, you know, we help Pigeon go to bed earlier so he's like rested and ready to go to school. Or it might be that we make going to school really fun, like he rides on a roller coaster or something. That's the beauty of an open-ended exploration. We want kids to think about it, we want them to use critical thinking and we want them to come up with solutions. We don't wanna say the solution is a new school. Everyone build a new school, although that could look different too and it would be require a lot of creativity from everyone's different perspective. But we want to let them come up with that solution themselves. So does that make sense?

Speaker 1: 5:24

All right, and again, you could do this with blocks, with cardboard, with drawing tools, with Legos. You could even do this with paper. You could do it with construction 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 school You're going to. You could build that with paper. I remember pre-K did this whole like community out of paper. Oh, it was so cool. I mean it was three dimensional, like they also had like boxes and stuff too, but it was like a lot of ripped paper and paper. Oh, it's the coolest thing ever. Anyway, um, that could be something fun to do. Another book that is a fun challenge, and I have a freebie and I will link it in the show notes.

Speaker 1: 6:09

After the Fall by Dan Santat, I don't know how to say that, and it would be like what would Humpty use to safely get back on the wall? Like, how are we going to solve Humpty's problem? And we could have. You know, kids design solutions for that. We're not going to tell them that they have to design a ladder. We're going to say how do we solve this problem? They may think of a ladder, they may think of an elevator, they may think of who knows what they think of. They're so smart they come up with such creative ideas. You know, what's sad, though, is that some kids, when they get older, will stop thinking creatively. It's like as soon as they hit third grade, fourth grade, all the creativity is gone, and I think it's because we've got such a structured test taking mentality in those grades that we're like stripping away the creativity, and I think that's heartbreaking, anyway. So why does this work? Kids engage deeply with character motivations and problems. They use creativity and logic to connect reading to real world thinking and the story becomes the spark, not just the assignment. Ah, love that, all right.

Speaker 1: 7:26

Activity number two is to create a STEM story extension. So again, kids often forget what they read after the story ends. There's no retention, and that's a problem because comprehending and remembering is the key. So how do we do a STEM shift? We turn the story into a design challenge. Let the learning begin after the last page. So again, we're taking a problem in the story. Let the learning begin after the last page.

Speaker 1: 7:57

So again, we're taking a problem in the story or taking a challenge the character might have faced, and we're asking them how to solve that problem. How, you know, elephant piggy and elephant. What would help piggy fix a problem without hurting Gerald's 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 so important.

Speaker 1: 8:28

So in that little freebie that I was talking about from after the fall, it has these think sheets that go with it, so they work through the engineering design process. So that should also help. Why does this work? It extends comprehension through storytelling and design and it helps kids apply what they read in a personal and meaningful way. It gives reluctant readers a reason to revisit and reflect on a book. So helpful, all right. When you combine books with hands-on building and exploration, you're giving your students a whole new reason to care about stories and much more joyful experience. All right, so I have the freebies the STEM Story Station for after the fall. You can download it below. Also, don't forget to subscribe to make sure that you're getting every updated episode. I told you I was going to be taking a break soon, and so you're going to want to know when that ends and when that starts. Until next time, sweet dreams and sleep tight.