VEX PD+ Live Sessions: Bring STEM to Life

General Discussions
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Hi all,

Thanks to those who attended our Live Session on May 18th :slight_smile: If you couldn’t catch it live, fear not! The recording will be added to the Video Library shortly, and I’ll share the link here. Here’s a quick recap of what was shared during the session:

This session focused on building integrated STEM projects that have a literacy focus at their core. I shared projects for 123 ,GO, and IQ that could be used to explore different facets of literacy curriculum.

  • Robot Puppet Show with 123 - Choose a story, and a scene from that story to act out with your 123 Robots. Use the Art Rings to turn the robot into the character. Decorate the Field with scenery and setting elements. Narrate the scene as the robots are moving on the Field. Make this as immersive as you can to bring focus to different elements like reading comprehension, character development, writing dialogue, or plot construction.

  • Widgets for Sale with GO - Create a ‘widget’ invention to solve a classroom or household problem and build it with your GO Kit. Then, write build instructions so that the purchaser can construct their widget from the pieces AND write a persuasive paragraph about why someone should purchase this widget, incorporating facts about the build. The key here is that the widgets will be evaluated by others based on the WRITTEN components - does the persuasive paragraph make you want it? and can you actually build it from the instructions?

  • Poetry in Motion with IQ - Choose a poem, and use your IQ Kit to create a free build that represents your interpretation of the poem. The build has to have some kind of movement to it - manual, mechanical, or coded. Students would then present their build to the class and share how/why it connects to the poem. There is so much room for student voice and choice here, and it’s a great way to take something abstract, like poetry, and give students a hands-on, tangible way to connect to it.

Check out the extensions and tips and tricks for planning projects with a curricular focus, like literacy, in the slides from the session.

Please share any ideas these projects give you, or ways that you have used VEX in your literacy instruction in this thread, to keep the conversation going :slight_smile:

Looking forward to our next session on June 15th