I just need to build out the lesson plans. Each week focuses on integrating STEM concepts with Catholic teachings, progressively challenging students while using only one CSCOE item per week.
Week 5: Patterns in Nature
CSCOE Item: Life Science Viewers (PreK-4th grade)
Kindergarten:
Topic: Nature Patterns
Activity: Use life science viewers to observe plants and animals, identifying patterns in God’s creation.
Catholic Integration: Reflect on the beauty and order in creation, as designed by God.
Grades 1-3:
Topic: Patterns in Animal Adaptations
Activity: Use life science viewers to study how different animals adapt to their environments.
Catholic Integration: Discuss how God designed animals uniquely, each with a purpose.
Grades 4-6:
Topic: Patterns in Nature and Engineering
Activity: Observe patterns in nature and apply them to design a solution for a real-world problem.
Catholic Integration: Reflect on how we can use God’s designs in nature to solve problems, emphasizing stewardship.
Week 6: Engineering with Robotics
Tools: Lego MINDSTORMS EV3 Kits + iPads
Kindergarten:
Topic: Introduction to Robots
Activity: Build simple robots using Lego MINDSTORMS and explore how robots can help us in daily life.
Catholic Integration: Discuss how robots can help serve others, reflecting God’s call to serve the community.
Grades 1-3:
Topic: Basic Robotics Engineering
Activity: Build and program simple robots with MINDSTORMS to solve a problem, such as helping clean up an area.
Catholic Integration: Emphasize how engineers use their skills to solve problems and serve others.
Grades 4-6:
Topic: Advanced Robotics with Lego MINDSTORMS
Activity: Design and program robots to complete tasks, such as delivering supplies or aiding in environmental cleanup.
Catholic Integration: Reflect on how technology can be used to solve ethical problems and care for creation.
Week 7: Introduction to Coding
CSCOE Item: Bee Bots
Kindergarten:
Topic: Simple Coding with Bee Bots
Activity: Program Bee Bots to navigate simple mazes, discussing direction and basic commands.
Catholic Integration: Discuss how technology can help us understand and appreciate God’s creation.
Grades 1-3:
Topic: Problem-Solving with Bee Bots
Activity: Program Bee Bots to solve tasks, like navigating around obstacles.
Catholic Integration: Reflect on how God calls us to use our talents to solve problems and help others.
Grades 4-6:
Topic: Advanced Coding with Bee Bots
Activity: Create more complex code sequences with Bee Bots to simulate real-world problem-solving scenarios.
Catholic Integration: Discuss ethical responsibility in using technology to help others and protect creation.
Week 8: Building Structures
CSCOE Item: Keva Planks
Kindergarten:
Topic: Simple Building
Activity: Build towers and simple structures using Keva Planks, discussing how structures are designed for stability.
Catholic Integration: Relate building strong towers to building a strong faith foundation.
Grades 1-3:
Topic: Engineering Bridges
Activity: Use Keva Planks to design bridges that connect communities.
Catholic Integration: Reflect on how we are called to connect and serve our communities, just as bridges connect places.
Grades 4-6:
Topic: Advanced Engineering Challenges
Activity: Design complex structures that address specific community needs using Keva Planks.
Catholic Integration: Relate building structures to building a better world, emphasizing stewardship and service.
Week 9: Renewable Energy
CSCOE Item: EiE: Designing Windmills
Kindergarten:
Topic: Introduction to Wind Energy
Activity: Use simple materials to explore how wind can move objects and power things.
Catholic Integration: Discuss how God’s creation, like the wind, can be used to help people.
Grades 1-3:
Topic: Building Windmills
Activity: Design a windmill that can generate power for a small task.
Catholic Integration: Reflect on how we can use renewable energy responsibly to protect creation.
Grades 4-6:
Topic: Advanced Wind Energy Systems
Activity: Build more complex windmills that generate power, and explore how they can help address energy needs.
Catholic Integration: Discuss stewardship in using energy wisely and sustainably.
Week 10: Light, Robotics, and Circuits
Tools: Lego MINDSTORMS EV3 Kits + iPads
Kindergarten:
Topic: Light and Robots
Activity: Build robots with Lego MINDSTORMS that respond to light sensors, teaching the basics of how robots interact with their environment.
Catholic Integration: Relate light to God’s presence in our lives, guiding us in the darkness, and reflect on how robots can serve us by using light.
Grades 1-3:
Topic: Robotics and Circuits
Activity: Program MINDSTORMS robots to navigate using light sensors and create simple circuits to explore how robots can “see” light.
Catholic Integration: Reflect on how engineers can use technology, like robots and circuits, to help people in need.
Grades 4-6:
Topic: Advanced Robotics with Sensors
Activity: Use Lego MINDSTORMS and light sensors to create robots that can respond to environmental changes, such as turning on lights in dark spaces.
Catholic Integration: Explore how robots and technology can help bring light (both literally and figuratively) to communities, serving as a symbol of bringing God’s light to the world.
Week 11: Introduction to Robotics
CSCOE Item: Dash Robots
Kindergarten:
Topic: Robots Helping People
Activity: Program Dash Robots to simulate helping people in need, like delivering supplies.
Catholic Integration: Discuss how robots can be used to serve others, just as we are called to serve.
Grades 1-3:
Topic: Robots and Problem-Solving
Activity: Program Dash Robots to complete a task, emphasizing how technology solves problems.
Catholic Integration: Reflect on how we are called to use our skills to solve problems and serve the common good.
Grades 4-6:
Topic: Robotics in Action
Activity: Create advanced programs for Dash Robots, focusing on solving real-world challenges, such as environmental cleanup.
Catholic Integration: Explore the ethical responsibility of using technology to protect creation and serve others.
Week 12: Exploring Forces and Motion
CSCOE Item: Zometool Class Set
Kindergarten:
Topic: Pushes and Pulls
Activity: Use toy ramps and cars to explore how forces, like pushes and pulls, move objects.
Catholic Integration: Discuss how we can use our strength to help others, just as Jesus did.
Grades 1-3:
Topic: Forces in Engineering
Activity: Explore how structures withstand forces by building stable shapes with Zometool.
Catholic Integration: Reflect on how engineers use their knowledge to build strong structures that help others, like bridges or homes.
Grades 4-6:
Topic: Advanced Engineering with Forces
Activity: Use Zometool to design structures that can withstand external forces like wind or water.
Catholic Integration: Relate building strong structures to building strong communities, serving others and protecting creation.
Week 13: Exploring the Solar System
CSCOE Item: Virtual Reality Classroom Bundle
Kindergarten:
Topic: Introduction to Space
Activity: Use virtual reality to explore the planets and stars.
Catholic Integration: Reflect on the vastness of God’s creation and our place within it.
Grades 1-3:
Topic: Exploring Planets
Activity: Use virtual reality to visit different planets and learn about their features.
Catholic Integration: Discuss how everything in the universe is part of God’s design, and we are called to explore and care for it.
Grades 4-6:
Topic: Advanced Space Exploration
Activity: Use virtual reality to explore space missions and their impact on humanity.
Catholic Integration: Discuss the ethical responsibilities of exploring and potentially colonizing new worlds, always considering stewardship of God’s creation.
Week 14: Advanced Robotics with Biomimicry
Tools: Lego MINDSTORMS EV3 Kits + iPads
Kindergarten:
Topic: Robotics and Nature
Activity: Build simple robots inspired by animal movements using Lego MINDSTORMS.
Catholic Integration: Reflect on how God’s creatures inspire human innovation and how robots can mimic nature to solve problems.
Grades 1-3:
Topic: Biomimicry in Robotics
Activity: Program Lego MINDSTORMS robots to solve problems by mimicking how animals move or interact with their environment (e.g., building a robot inspired by how ants carry items).
Catholic Integration: Discuss how we can learn from God’s creation to design better tools and robots that help people.
Grades 4-6:
Topic: Advanced Robotics with Biomimicry
Activity: Design and program Lego MINDSTORMS robots that mimic animal behavior to solve real-world problems (e.g., a robot that mimics a bird’s flight for delivery purposes).
Catholic Integration: Explore how technology inspired by God’s design in nature can be used to help those in need and protect the environment.
Week 15: Building for the Future
CSCOE Item: Lego Kit #1
Kindergarten:
Topic: Building Simple Structures
Activity: Use Lego blocks to build houses, towers, and other structures, discussing how they serve the community.
Catholic Integration: Discuss how we build homes and communities to serve others, just as Jesus taught us to do.
Grades 1-3:
Topic: Designing for the Future
Activity: Use Lego blocks to design structures that address future community needs, like eco-friendly buildings.
Catholic Integration: Reflect on the importance of sustainable design and how we are called to protect the environment for future generations.
Grades 4-6:
Topic: Advanced Structural Engineering
Activity: Design futuristic cities with Lego blocks, focusing on sustainability and addressing modern challenges like overpopulation or pollution.
Catholic Integration: Discuss how building for the future includes stewardship of God’s creation and serving others.
This curriculum emphasizes STEM learning integrated with Catholic values, using progressive challenges and one CSCOE item (or specified tools) per week.