Global STEAM Curriculum Bundle of 4 Units

See descriptions and standards in the individual unit listings.

Here is an overview video: https://lifeschools.wistia.com/medias/xdqb6l0eoj (start at 2:20).

The authors of this curriculum teach these units in small group, Gifted and Talented, one time per week classes. This is the sequence:

3rd grade - Architecture and Culture

4th grade - Innovation and Engineering

5th grade - Ecosystems and Interdependence

6th grade- Alternative Energy

More units appropriate for middle school learners are available upon request (systems, careers).

These units were created by my partner teacher and me out of a desire to create meaningful learning opportunities for our students. But with closer reflection, we admit that they were also created from our desire to come to work each day and feel personally fulfilled. In August of 2015, as a new school year began, it had only been two months my first visit to Africa where I witnessed the inexplicable joy and also the great suffering of the people of Uganda. My partner teacher, Yvonne, was actively advocating for vulnerable children around the globe through her support of a worldwide charitable organization. Our focus was outward, our hearts and minds were expanding, we wanted the same for our students, and so began our journey of creating the project contained in this publication. 

Over the next few years we designed, implemented, edited, reconsidered, and reworked the studies in this series. Admittedly, in our professional environment, we have been pegged as bleeding hearts for the troubles of the global majority living in developing countries. However, our students’ work speaks to the truth that through science, engineering, design, critical thinking, and effective communication, we are championing the problem solvers of today and tomorrow. It is our students’ (and your students’) ingenuity, coupled with the power of knowledge, conviction, and compassion, that will be the impetus for the alleviation of human suffering and the setting right of the tenuous state of our planet.

We have designed each study/project in this series to begin as individual work, merge into group work, and culminate in a team presentation. However, with minor adjustments, projects can be completed individually. In our school district, many campuses come together on one day to share their designs and oral presentations with live audiences, experience a day of celebration for what has been learned, and imagine what can still be accomplished. During this time, we explore ways that we can make contributions to organizations who are implementing solutions to the challenges we’ve studied and participate in activities that increase our understanding of the plight of the global majority. This is a day that our students eagerly anticipate each year, and we certainly recommend consideration of designing a day like this for your students as well. 

The projects in this series will develop in students critical thinking skills such as information literacy, social awareness, effective communication, problem solving, collaboration, and humility. These projects are appropriate for students as young as second grade and through high school. We have written these projects with particular ages and grades in mind, but the projects could be modified for use across a broad age range - depending on the setting, available support, and individual student readiness. 

It is our humble privilege to know that you will guide your students through this project and possibly others in this series. We imagine that your students will join the ranks of everyday heroes who are working to heal the world, make it a better place, for you, and for me, and the entire human race. Thank you for being their champion.