The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

In this episode, I’m joined by four elementary STEAM teachers who worked together to build a brand-new K–4 STEAM program across their district: Kristina Lodes, Jenny Bradley, Miranda Berry, and Mary Linneman.

We’re chatting about what that process actually looked like—from defining their roles and creating a curriculum to working with a budget, using materials they already had, and figuring out how to fit robotics, coding, engineering, makerspace, 3D printing, and more into a meaningful learning experience for students.

You’ll also hear about some of the biggest successes they’ve had along the way, including STEM Survival Camp, 3D printing, digital portfolios, and their district-wide STEAM Fest and Recycled Runway. Most importantly, they share how collaboration, having a strong starting point, and being willing to adapt lessons for their own students helped make an overwhelming process feel much more manageable.

Whether you’re brand new to teaching STEM or STEAM, helping build a program from scratch, or looking for ways to strengthen the program you already have, this conversation is packed with real-life ideas and encouragement you can use in your own STEM classroom.

Resources Mentioned

• Naomi Meredith’s K-5 STEM Year Long Plan Bundle
• STEAM T-Shirts that the team is wearing
• Episode 1 of Elementary STEM Coach Podcast: I’m a new STEM Teacher, what should I focus on?

Head to the show notes for a full transcript of this episode, pictures, and all the links: https://naomimeredith.com/episode217

Download my Free K-5 STEM & Teach Year-Long Plan

Leave a voice message HERE for the podcast with your questions and comments!

TpT Shop: Naomi Meredith | naomimeredith.com/tptshop

Course: STEM Teacher 101

Workshops:

• K-2 STEM Planning
• 3-5 STEM Planning
• K-5 STEM Planning Bundle
• Stellar School-Wide News
• STEM Career Day

Check out more inspiration on her website: naomimeredith.com

Connect with her on Instagram: @naomimeredith_

YouTube Channel: Naomi Meredith

Facebook Group: The Elementary STEM Coach Community | Technology & STEM for K-6 Teachers

Check out my other podcast for kids: The STEM Career Quest

If you’re wondering how to manage tape in your STEM classroom, you’ve come to the right place. This is a HOT TOPIC among the STEM teacher community! When I posted about this on my Instagram, @naomimeredith_, I showed the most common ways you might have students use tape in the classroom. The responses to this post spanned across the board, and there were other strategies shared as well!

Let’s dive into what you said and see where your strategy lands, and maybe you’ll gain a new strategy while listening.

Resources Mentioned

• Tape Instagram Post from @naomimeredith_
• Classroom Makerspace Menu

Head to the show notes for a full transcript of this episode, pictures, and all the links: https://naomimeredith.com/episode216

Download my Free K-5 STEM & Teach Year-Long Plan

Leave a voice message HERE for the podcast with your questions and comments!

TpT Shop: Naomi Meredith | naomimeredith.com/tptshop

Course: STEM Teacher 101

Workshops:

• K-2 STEM Planning
• 3-5 STEM Planning
• K-5 STEM Planning Bundle
• Stellar School-Wide News
• STEM Career Day

Check out more inspiration on her website: naomimeredith.com

Connect with her on Instagram: @naomimeredith_

YouTube Channel: Naomi Meredith

Facebook Group: The Elementary STEM Coach Community | Technology & STEM for K-6 Teachers

Check out my other podcast for kids: The STEM Career Quest

Having a Growth Mindset isn't just something important for STEM classes; it's important as a life skill. I'll be sharing Growth Mindset STEM lessons for 3-5 that you can teach in a week. Each lesson has a growth mindset theme to start as the focus, a paired kid-friendly video, a picture book to read to the class, and a hands-on activity to apply the skill.

These lessons not only work well in a STEM classroom setting, but in homeroom elementary classrooms as well!

Resources Mentioned

• Free Download-Week of Growth Mindset Plans
• Growth Mindset Video Playlist for Kids
• K-2 Growth Mindset Lesson Bundle
• 3-5 Growth Mindset Lesson Bundle
• 'We Create Work We are Proud Of' & Be You! By Peter H. Reynolds
• 'We Do Hard Things' & Someone Builds The Dream by Lisa Wheeler and Loren Long
• 'We Make Mistakes to Help Us Grow' & Builder Brothers Big Plans By Jonathan and Drew Scott
• 'We Dream Big & Take Risks' & What Do You Do With an Idea? By Kobi Yamada
• 'We Look at the World in New Ways' & Have You Thanked an Inventor Today? By Patrice McLaurin **Innovator Thinking Strategies poster is in this resource

Head to the show notes for a full transcript of this episode, pictures, and all the links: https://naomimeredith.com/episode215

Download my Free K-5 STEM & Teach Year-Long Plan

Leave a voice message HERE for the podcast with your questions and comments!

TpT Shop: Naomi Meredith | naomimeredith.com/tptshop

Course: STEM Teacher 101

Workshops:

• K-2 STEM Planning
• 3-5 STEM Planning
• K-5 STEM Planning Bundle
• Stellar School-Wide News
• STEM Career Day

Check out more inspiration on her website: naomimeredith.com

Connect with her on Instagram: @naomimeredith_

YouTube Channel: Naomi Meredith

Facebook Group: The Elementary STEM Coach Community | Technology & STEM for K-6 Teachers

Check out my other podcast for kids: The STEM Career Quest

Having a Growth Mindset isn't just something important for STEM classes; it's important as a life skill. I'll be sharing Growth Mindset STEM lessons for K-2 that you can teach in a week. Each lesson has a growth mindset theme to start as the focus, a paired kid-friendly video, a picture book to read to the class, and a hands-on activity to apply the skill.

These lessons not only work well in a STEM classroom setting, but in homeroom elementary classrooms as well!

Resources Mentioned

• Free Download-Week of Growth Mindset Plans
• Growth Mindset Video Playlist for Kids
• K-2 Growth Mindset Lesson Bundle
• 3-5 Growth Mindset Lesson Bundle
• 'We Create Work We are Proud Of' & The World Needs Who You Were Made to Be
• 'We Do Hard Things' & Unflappable
• 'We Make Mistakes to Help Us Grow' & Rosie Revere, Engineer
• 'We Dream Big and Take Risks' & After the Fall
• 'We Look at the World in New Ways' & Perfect Square

Head to the show notes for a full transcript of this episode, pictures, and all the links: https://naomimeredith.com/episode214

Download my Free K-5 STEM & Teach Year-Long Plan

Leave a voice message HERE for the podcast with your questions and comments!

TpT Shop: Naomi Meredith | naomimeredith.com/tptshop

Course: STEM Teacher 101

Workshops:

• K-2 STEM Planning
• 3-5 STEM Planning
• K-5 STEM Planning Bundle
• Stellar School-Wide News
• STEM Career Day

Check out more inspiration on her website: naomimeredith.com

Connect with her on Instagram: @naomimeredith_

YouTube Channel: Naomi Meredith

Facebook Group: The Elementary STEM Coach Community | Technology & STEM for K-6 Teachers

Check out my other podcast for kids: The STEM Career Quest

STEM Survival Camp is a great way to get kids outside and look at the world in new ways. Through these lessons, you can authentically teach the Engineering Design Process. After many years of teaching these lessons to students in my classes, here are some tips and tricks I learned along the way that can help you too!

Resources Mentioned

• STEM Project Plan Rubric for Students (4 Star Plan)
• STEM Survival Camp Bundle: K-5
• 5th Grade: Build a Shelter
• 4th Grade: Design a Hiking Backpack
• 3rd Grade: Create a Game from the Land
• 2nd Grade: Protect the Food
• 1st Grade: Fishing Pole
• Kindergarten: Cross the River

Head to the show notes for a full transcript of this episode, pictures, and all the links: https://naomimeredith.com/episode213

Download my Free K-5 STEM & Teach Year-Long Plan

Leave a voice message HERE for the podcast with your questions and comments!

TpT Shop: Naomi Meredith | naomimeredith.com/tptshop

Course: STEM Teacher 101

Workshops:

• K-2 STEM Planning
• 3-5 STEM Planning
• K-5 STEM Planning Bundle
• Stellar School-Wide News
• STEM Career Day

Check out more inspiration on her website: naomimeredith.com

Connect with her on Instagram: @naomimeredith_

YouTube Channel: Naomi Meredith

Facebook Group: The Elementary STEM Coach Community | Technology & STEM for K-6 Teachers

Check out my other podcast for kids: The STEM Career Quest

How do you authentically teach students how to use the Engineering Design Process in K-5? I'm chatting with K-5 STEAM teacher, Bre Smith and how she uses STEM Survival Camp to kick off the school year with her classes, and has even made it a tradition to start the Back to School Season.

Resources Mentioned

• STEM Project Plan Rubric for Students (4 Star Plan)
• STEM Survival Camp Bundle: K-5
• 5th Grade: Build a Shelter
• 4th Grade: Design a Hiking Backpack
• 3rd Grade: Create a Game from the Land
• 2nd Grade: Protect the Food
• 1st Grade: Fishing Pole
• Kindergarten: Cross the River

Head to the show notes for a full transcript of this episode, pictures, and all the links: https://naomimeredith.com/episode212

Download my Free K-5 STEM & Teach Year-Long Plan

Leave a voice message HERE for the podcast with your questions and comments!

TpT Shop: Naomi Meredith | naomimeredith.com/tptshop

Course: STEM Teacher 101

Workshops:

• K-2 STEM Planning
• 3-5 STEM Planning
• K-5 STEM Planning Bundle
• Stellar School-Wide News
• STEM Career Day

Check out more inspiration on her website: naomimeredith.com

Connect with her on Instagram: @naomimeredith_

YouTube Channel: Naomi Meredith

Facebook Group: The Elementary STEM Coach Community | Technology & STEM for K-6 Teachers

Check out my other podcast for kids: The STEM Career Quest

Attending STEM teacher conferences can be such a blast, but also exhausting! You are gathering so much information within a few days, so how do you even implement it all? (Spoiler: you don't!) I'll be sharing my strategy on how I organize information I learn from these conferences in a meaningful way and actually use what I learned in the classroom.

Resources Mentioned

• Beekle & Unimaginary Friends Lesson (3D printing included!)

Head to the show notes for a full transcript of this episode, pictures, and all the links: https://naomimeredith.com/episode211

Download my Free K-5 STEM & Teach Year-Long Plan

Leave a voice message HERE for the podcast with your questions and comments!

TpT Shop: Naomi Meredith | naomimeredith.com/tptshop

Course: STEM Teacher 101

Workshops:

• K-2 STEM Planning
• 3-5 STEM Planning
• K-5 STEM Planning Bundle
• Stellar School-Wide News
• STEM Career Day

Check out more inspiration on her website: naomimeredith.com

Connect with her on Instagram: @naomimeredith_

YouTube Channel: Naomi Meredith

Facebook Group: The Elementary STEM Coach Community | Technology & STEM for K-6 Teachers

Check out my other podcast for kids: The STEM Career Quest

Have you wanted to 3D print with younger students but realized Tinkercad is too hard for them? Trust me, I've been there too! I love Tinkercad and prefer using it starting with 2nd graders. But for my younger students and one-day challenges, I prefer using Doodle 3D Transform. I'll be digging more into this app and sharing some lesson ideas along with tips when using it, including multi-color printing!

Resources Mentioned

1. Join the 3D Printing Workshop for Teachers here
2. XMaker 3D Printer
3. Bambu Labs [Amazon Link] [Direct Website]
4. My favorite 3D filament
5. 3D Print Software, website & app: Tinkercad.com
6. 3D Print Software, website & app: Doodle 3D Transform
7. Beekle & Unimaginary Friends Lesson (3D printing included!)
8. 3D Printing Lessons for Elementary Students | K-5 STEM Bundle
9. 5th Grade 3D Print Project: Environment Invention
10. 4th Grade 3D Print Project: Night Light with a Circuit
11. 3rd Grade 3D Print Project: Life Cycle Model
12. 2nd Grade 3D Print Project: Custom Birdhouse
13. 1st Grade 3D Print Project: Animal Family Traits
14. Kindergarten 3D Print Project: Earth Care Charm
15. Freebie- 3D Printing Station Signs
16. 3D Printing Video Tutorial playlist by Naomi [Tinkercad & Doodle 3D Transform]

Some items are linked to my Amazon Affiliate account. When you purchase through my link, there is no added cost to you, but I receive a small commission in return.

Head to the show notes for a full transcript of this episode, pictures, and all the links: https://naomimeredith.com/episode210

Download my Free K-5 STEM & Teach Year-Long Plan

Leave a voice message HERE for the podcast with your questions and comments!

TpT Shop: Naomi Meredith | naomimeredith.com/tptshop

Course: STEM Teacher 101

Workshops:

1. K-2 STEM Planning
2. 3-5 STEM Planning
3. K-5 STEM Planning Bundle
4. Stellar School-Wide News
5. STEM Career Day

1:1 STEM Coaching Support: naomimeredith.com/coaching

Check out more inspiration on her website: naomimeredith.com

Connect with her on Instagram: @naomimeredith_

YouTube Channel: Naomi Meredith

Facebook Group: The Elementary STEM Coach Community | Technology & STEM for K-6 Teachers

Check out my other podcast for kids: The STEM Career Quest

While this show is all about elementary STEM, some of you teach beyond K-5 and even dive into preschool. What are some ways you can effectively plan preschool STEM lessons and keep them engaged? I'll share with you my strategies and a lesson topic that you can adapt for your classroom.

Thanks to Laural S. for sending in this question!

Send me your STEM questions, big or small, and you can be featured in an episode!

1. Leave a voice message HERE
2. Email: [email protected]
3. Instagram DMS @naomimeredith_

Resources Mentioned:

1. Grab all the links to the physical items below in one list here on my LTK page

1. Story: Never Touch a Polar Bear by Rosie Greening
2. Experiment: Animal Blubber
3. Vegetable Shortening (for the “blubber” experiment)
4. Gallon ziplock bags
5. Craft: Paint a seal inside a bag
6. Crayola Washable Paint
7. Gallon ziplock bags
8. Science/Sensory table station
9. Arctic Animal Plastic Toys
10. Arctic Animal Wooden Toys **similar to the wooden set I have. Just make sure to take out the penguin!
11. White Pom Poms
12. Flat Clear & Blue Marbles
13. Scoops
14. Clear Bowls
15. Small Sensory Table **I have this one and it’s a great small size!
16. Another sensory table option that’s similar
17. Technology station
18. Sparkly Picasso Tiles (Magnetic)
19. Arctic Animal Magnet Tiles Set
20. Portable Light Table
21. Math Station
22. Arctic Animal Puzzles
23. Arctic Animal Sorting Game**just make sure to take out the penguin

Head to the show notes for a full transcript of this episode, pictures, and all the links: https://naomimeredith.com/episode209

Download my Free K-5 STEM & Teach Year-Long Plan

TpT Shop: Naomi Meredith | naomimeredith.com/tptshop

Course: STEM Teacher 101

Workshops:

1. K-2 STEM Planning
2. 3-5 STEM Planning
3. K-5 STEM Planning Bundle
4. Stellar School-Wide News
5. STEM Career Day

1:1 STEM Coaching Support: naomimeredith.com/coaching

Check out more inspiration on her website: naomimeredith.com

Connect with her on Instagram: @naomimeredith_

YouTube Channel: Naomi Meredith

Facebook Group: The Elementary STEM Coach Community | Technology & STEM for K-6 Teachers

Check out my other podcast for kids: The STEM Career Quest

Welcome back to another year of the podcast! Excited to be back with this new podcast refresh!

We are chatting all about easy and helpful ways to get STEM Professional Development for elementary teachers that you'll actually use! Likewise, you can access all of this in the comfort of your own home or school; no need to travel anywhere!

1. Get credit for listening to the podcast! Download the free podcast playlist categories & certificate.

1. Follow me HERE on Like To Know It, LTK, for links to my favorite STEM products, outfits, and daily life behind-the-scenes

Head to the show notes for a full transcript of this episode, pictures, and all the links: https://naomimeredith.com/episode208

Download my Free K-5 STEM & Teach Year-Long Plan

Leave a voice message HERE for the podcast with your questions and comments!

TpT Shop: Naomi Meredith | naomimeredith.com/tptshop

Course: STEM Teacher 101

Workshops:

1. 3D Printing 101
2. K-2 STEM Planning
3. 3-5 STEM Planning
4. K-5 STEM Planning Bundle
5. Stellar School-Wide News
6. STEM Career Day

1:1 STEM Coaching Support: naomimeredith.com/coaching

Check out more inspiration on her website: naomimeredith.com

Connect with her on Instagram: @naomimeredith_

YouTube Channel: Naomi Meredith

Facebook Group: The Elementary STEM Coach Community | Technology & STEM for K-6 Teachers

Check out my other podcast for kids: The STEM Career Quest