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💡 Week 1: Welcome Innovators

Lesson Overview
Grade Level Grades 5-6
Duration 45 minutes
Curriculum Year B
STREAM Focus All Areas (Introduction)

Week 1: Welcome Innovators

🎯 Learning Objectives

STEM Objectives

Students will be able to: 1. Understand innovation mindset 2. Preview Year B curriculum themes 3. Establish collaborative norms 4. Connect innovation to problem-solving

Faith Integration Objectives

Students will be able to: 1. See innovation as using God-given creativity 2. Understand Catholic contributions to science 3. Commit to ethical innovation

Week 1: Welcome Innovators

🙏 Faith-Reason Integration

Catholic Teaching Connection

Innovation for Human Flourishing — God calls us to use our gifts to serve others. Catholic innovators throughout history have created solutions that improve lives while respecting human dignity. Our creativity is meant to serve the common good.

Scripture Connection

"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." — Ephesians 2:10

Saint Connection

Catholic Innovators — The Church has a rich history of innovation:

  • Gregor Mendel — Father of genetics

  • Georges Lemaître — Proposed Big Bang theory

  • Sister Mary Kenneth Keller — First American woman PhD in computer science

  • St. Hildegard of Bingen — Medieval scientist, herbalist, musician

📚 Materials Needed

  • Innovation timeline/images

  • Year B curriculum preview

  • Design thinking posters

  • Innovation journals

  • Collaborative agreement materials

📝 Lesson Procedure (45 minutes)

Opening Prayer (2 min)

"Creator God, You gave us minds to think and hands to build! Thank You for the gift of creativity. Help us use our innovation skills to serve others and honor You. Bless all who use science and technology for good. Inspire us this year! Amen."

What is Innovation? (8 min)

Defining innovation:

Discussion:

  • What does "innovation" mean?

  • How is it different from "invention"?

  • Who are innovators you admire?

Key concepts:

  • Invention = Creating something new

  • Innovation = Improving how we do things

  • Both = Solving problems creatively

Innovation mindset:

  • See problems as opportunities

  • Learn from failure

  • Collaborate with others

  • Think about end users

  • Consider ethics and impact

Catholic Innovators (10 min)

Faith and innovation together:

Gregor Mendel (1822-1884)

  • Augustinian friar

  • "Father of Genetics"

  • Discovered heredity through pea plants

  • His monastery supported his research

  • Faith community enabled science!

Sr. Mary Kenneth Keller (1913-1985)

  • Sisters of Charity nun

  • First American woman with CS PhD

  • Helped develop BASIC programming

  • Founded computer science department

  • "The computer should be liberating"

Georges Lemaître (1894-1966)

  • Catholic priest and physicist

  • Proposed Big Bang theory

  • Showed faith and science unite

  • "There is no conflict between religion and science"

St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)

  • Benedictine abbess

  • Wrote about medicine, nature, music

  • Created her own scientific encyclopedia

  • Doctor of the Church

Discussion:

  • "Why did their faith support their science?"

  • "How can we follow their example?"

Year B Preview (10 min)

What's coming this year:

Major units:

  • 🧬 Biotechnology — DNA, cells, life science applications

  • ⚡ Renewable Energy — Solar, wind, sustainable power

  • 🦎 Biomimicry — Learning design from nature

  • 📱 App Development — Creating mobile applications

  • 💼 Social Entrepreneurship — Business that serves others

  • 🏥 Health Technology — Innovations that help people

Skills you'll develop:

  • Advanced coding (App Inventor)

  • Engineering design

  • Data analysis

  • Entrepreneurial thinking

  • Faith integration

  • Presentation skills

Questions:

  • What excites you most?

  • What do you want to learn?

  • How might you use these skills?

Innovation Norms (10 min)

Establishing our culture:

Design thinking principles: 1. Empathize — Understand others' needs 2. Define — Clarify the problem 3. Ideate — Brainstorm solutions 4. Prototype — Build quick versions 5. Test — Get feedback, improve

Lab agreements:

  • Risk-taking — It's okay to try and fail

  • Respect — All ideas deserve consideration

  • Responsibility — Use tools ethically

  • Collaboration — We're better together

  • Faith lens — Consider: Does this serve others?

Create class agreement:

  • Students contribute key principles

  • Post in classroom

  • All sign commitment

Innovation Journal Setup (3 min)

Create Year B journal:

First pages:

  • Title: "Year B Innovation Journal"

  • Name and date

  • "My innovation goals for this year..."

  • "I want to learn..."

  • "I hope to create..."

Closing (2 min)

Challenge: "This week, notice a problem in your daily life. Come back ready to share — it could become an innovation project!"

Closing Prayer: "Lord, thank You for the gift of innovation! Help us be like the Catholic scientists and inventors who used their gifts for good. Give us courage to try new things, wisdom to serve others, and humility to learn from failure. Bless our Year B journey! Amen."

📎 Home Connection

"We started Year B today, exploring innovation and Catholic scientists! Ask your child: 'What does innovation mean?' 'Which Catholic innovator was most interesting?' 'What do you want to create this year?' Discuss innovators your family admires and how they've helped others."

✅ Assessment

  • Articulated understanding of innovation

  • Engaged with Catholic innovator stories

  • Contributed to class agreements

  • Set up innovation journal

Lesson Version: 1.0 — Year B | **