2,229 results
Critical thinking projects under $5
STEM Index Card Tower Challenge - Easy Prep Project- 2 Versions
This easy prep STEM Activity is surprisingly challenging! Students will have a fantastic engineering opportunity through problem-solving. Index Card Towers show your students how to persevere and redesign based on their initial thinking and planning (plus the towers are fun to build!) The best part is that your prep includes one basic material and the students take over from there. Just stand back and watch them brainstorm and build incredibly tall towers. They will groan when the tower falls, d
Grades:
3rd - 5th
Types:
NGSS:
3-5-ETS1-3
, 3-5-ETS1-1
, 3-5-ETS1-2
Math Project Plan a Party
For this project, students will use math skills to plan a party with a budget of $100. Great enrichment activity for gifted students or early finishers.
Three project options are included: math only, math and scrapbook page, and math plus extended final product. Rubric Included for all options!
Check out this money-saving bundle that includes this math project and 4 of my other popular math projects:
Math Project Super Bundle
More Math Projects that are More Than a Worksheet:
Math Project:
Subjects:
Grades:
3rd - 5th
Types:
Also included in: Math Project Super Bundle
Create a Board Game! Project Based Learning Unit - Templates + Rubrics + Slides
Unleash creativity with our Board Game Project Based Learning Unit! Ideal for 1st grade and up! Make learning fun by creating a board game. Includes templates, rubrics, and more! PDF & Powerpoint Slides to introduce the project to students.KEY FEATURES:64 PAGES OF VALUE: Includes 464 pages of resources to support the entire project lifecycle from planning and crafting to reflecting.TEMPLATES FOR EVERYTHING: Comes with a variety of templates including warm up activities, planning, game design
Grades:
2nd - 8th
Growth Mindset Art Project
“A growth mindset is when students understand that their abilities can be developed,”(Dweck, 2014).It is so important for students and teachers to change their "Fixed Mindset" into "Growth Mindset." With this fun art project, students are encouraged to reflect on their thinking and set a Growth Mindset goal for the school year. This project is great for the first couple of weeks of school, New Year's, and/or Open House.This resource includes:· Materials List· Step by Step Directions· Zentangle
Subjects:
Grades:
Not Grade Specific
Cookie Crime Scene Investigation: An Activity in Making Inferences
BEST SELLER ALERT!Lead your students on an engaging, hands-on, inference-making journey using this crime scene investigation!Students will come back to the classroom, which has been the scene of a crime! Their teacher (you, of course!) baked two-dozen cookies to share with the class this afternoon. However, while away from the classroom, someone came into the room and stole those cookies after snacking on one of them him or herself!By planting clues in your classroom and creating a crime scene,
Grades:
3rd - 6th
Types:
End of the Year Creativity Challenges Brain Break Activities, STEM Warm-ups
Unlock creativity in your classroom at the End of the School Year!!Need quick, no prep, end of the year activities to get your students thinking outside the box?!May Creativity Challenges are great for engaging students during morning work, early finishers, or add some creative thinking tasks to your last week of school classroom activities!The goal of creativity challenges is to help students think in different ways. The ability to generate unique thoughts and ideas is known as divergent thinki
Subjects:
Grades:
1st - 5th
Types:
Passion Projects that are Primary Friendly
Looking for a Passion Project or Genius Hour resource that is primary friendly? You've found it! This resource includes planning pages and note taking pages geared towards younger learners who are just beginning to read. Visuals provide students with the scaffolds and confidence to work independently.
This resource is not a step by step guide to how to implement passion projects or genius hour. If you're interested in how I implement passion projects in my classroom, click here . There are man
Grades:
1st - 4th
Types:
Genius Hour Activities
This is a pack of organizing tools to help you get started with genius hour in the primary grade classroom. In the pack, you will find resources that will help you get started and keep your students organized through the process.If you are not familiar with genius hour, you can see it in action here.I wanted to be sure I left most of the process of learning about something for my students to figure out, but I also needed to be sure I provided some structure. That is where this pack comes into p
Subjects:
Grades:
1st - 2nd
Intro to Unplugged Coding: Directional Coding
Unplugged Coding made easy!Everything you need to get started with unplugged coding. No robots needed! Students learn the basics of directional coding and write their own code!Unplugged Coding Process:Students learn the logic and thinking that goes into writing codes using Directional Coding. They learn 5 vocabulary words: Programmer, Code, Command, Bug, and Debug.Students practice debugging codes before writing their own codes with a partner. After they have completed their activities, there is
Grades:
K - 5th
Types:
STEM Project Cardboard Arcade | Caine's Arcade Challenge
Newly updated, now includes digital and printable versions! This STEM project gives students the opportunity to create an arcade out of cardboard! It is a highly engaging activity that will take your students through the Engineering Design Process! It also incorporates optional math concepts such as computation, determining area/perimeter, and identifying/creating polygons. It is simple to use just print and the students can begin building using recycled materials. Be ready for your student
Subjects:
Grades:
3rd - 5th
Types:
Also included in: STEM Challenges Bundle
St. Patrick's Day STEM Task Cards (March) - Distance Learning + SeeSaw
This resource includes six St. Patrick's Day STEM Activity Task Cards, an editable worksheet, and a STEM process poster! I've added SeeSaw versions for each activity! The links are located on page two of the pdf document and will take you directly to that specific assignment in SeeSaw. Just save it to your SeeSaw library and assign it to your class! Super simple :-)*****Save Money, buy the bundle!! Click Here! Save 30%*****These STEM St. Patrick's Day activities are extremely EASY to set up!! Th
Grades:
K - 3rd
Types:
Also included in: Elementary STEM Activities Task Cards for the Whole Year + SeeSaw
Design and Build a Board Game - Project Based Learning Activity - STEM
All of us grew up playing board games. It was fun for the whole family. Design a Board Game is a project based learning unit that involves students learning about the history of games, the importance of playing games, and skills learned by playing games. Students will design and create a game that is either educational or for entertainment. Playing games has important values, both educational and social. Games provide families with an opportunity to play and spend time together. In the classroom
Subjects:
Grades:
3rd - 6th
STEM Easy Bridge Challenge One-Day Project
Here’s another easy prep and easy materials STEM challenge that will be the most fun in your STEM class ever! It’s a bridge-building activity that gives students a choice of the style of bridge they want to try. The best news is: there are only two materials! That’s right! Two materials!➡️ Click here to save 20% on this STEM Challenge in a 3-pack bundle!➡️ Click here to save 20% on this STEM Challenge in a 6-pack bundle!What is the challenge?In this challenge, students will have images of four k
Grades:
4th - 5th
Types:
NGSS:
3-5-ETS1-3
, 3-5-ETS1-1
, 3-5-ETS1-2
Also included in: STEM CHALLENGES ENTIRE YEAR 60 Projects, Planning Guide, and Posters
Trick or Treat Guess Who is Under the Sheet | Halloween Craft
This fun craftivity will get the whole class excited for Halloween! Students write down clues about themselves, and their classmates can flip over the ghost to see who it is! This file can also be used as an interactive bulletin board for visitors to admire when they come to your classroom! Bulletin Board Lettering Included!There is more than one way to can create this product:Students can color one of the provided illustrations or insert a photo of the students' head. You can decide to cut out
Subjects:
Grades:
PreK - 2nd
Roller Coaster STEM Challenge Engineering Design (Grades K-5)
Roller Coaster STEM ChallengeWho doesn't love roller coasters? Using the Engineering Design Process, student teams are tasked with designing a thrilling roller coaster ride! Students learn about the science of roller coasters including various forms of energy, and then using common materials such as craft sticks, paper, and tape, students need to design a track for a ping pong ball to land safely in a cup at the bottom. The student packet also includes STEM career highlights of civil engineering
Subjects:
Grades:
K - 5th
Types:
NGSS:
K-2-ETS1-2
, K-2-ETS1-3
, K-2-ETS1-1
, 3-5-ETS1-3
, 4-PS3-1
...
Also included in: Year-Round STEM Activity Bundle (Elementary STEM)
Persuasive Techniques and Media Literacy - Make a Commercial Project
Get students up, moving, and speaking while they demonstrate their knowledge of persuasive techniques and make a commercial. This is a great way to integrate drama and media literacy in the ELA classroom, and students' creativity will make you laugh.Your Persuasive Techniques project includes:✅ Step-by-Step guidelines to make a commercial (editable)✅ Analytic & holistic rubrics✅ +/Δ Peer Feedback sheets Why should you have your students make a commercial? Putting their understanding of persu
Grades:
7th - 10th
Nutrition Project - Meal Planning and Budget
Health and Nutrition Project Based Learning - This Nutrition Project will get your students excited about both healthy eating and math! In this real-life nutrition and budget project, students will plan nutritious meals for a day. They must stick to a budget of $40 and choose foods for the recommended food groups using the provided "shopping pages". The food choices have been updated to reflect the new USDA guidelines for eating. This Nutrition Project will teach students beginning budgeting s
Subjects:
Grades:
1st - 3rd
Types:
Intro to Unplugged Coding: Binary Coding
Unplugged Coding made easy!Everything you need to get started with unplugged coding. No robots needed! Students learn the basics of binary coding and create a binary coding bracelet with their own code!Unplugged Coding Process:Students learn the logic and thinking that goes into writing codes using Binary Coding. They learn 3 vocabulary words: Binary Code, Bit, and Byte.Students practice coding and decoding words with a partner. They build their own Binary Coding Bracelet! After they have comple
Grades:
K - 5th
Types:
Global Warming, Climate Change Research Project!
NO-PREP! "Global Warming, Climate Change Research Project, Vocabulary, Vocabulary Project, Enrichment Project Menu, and Student Handout!" With this science resource, your students will gain an in depth understanding of important environmental topics such climate change, global warming, the Greenhouse Effect and more! Upon completing the research question portion of their assignment, the students will complete two follow-up projects using their researched information from a menu of six projects.
Grades:
4th - 6th
Types:
Think OUTSIDE the Box Drawing Prompts ORIGINAL | Doodle Challenges | No Prep
These are challenging and creative drawing prompts that will nurture your artists' creative juices. There are 32 drawing prompts that varies in difficulty and theme and will work well throughout the school year. Also included is a set with name/date pages. This resource is intended for all ages to complete, however I do suggest starting with grades 1 or higher. There are other drawing prompts that are specific to early learners. This is a great way to nurture creative and critical thinking skil
Grades:
1st - 8th
Types:
Valentine's Day STEM Activities Task Cards + SeeSaw
This resource includes six Valentine's Day STEM Activity Task Cards, an editable worksheet and a STEM process poster! I've added SeeSaw versions for each activity! The links are located on page two of the pdf document and will take you directly to that specific assignment in SeeSaw. Just save it to your SeeSaw library and assign it to your class! Super simple :-)*****Save Money, buy the bundle!! Click Here! Save 30%*****These STEM Valentine's day activities are extremely EASY to set up!! They re
Grades:
K - 3rd
Types:
Also included in: Elementary STEM Activities Task Cards for the Whole Year + SeeSaw
"City Designer" Geometry Project: Parallel lines, Transversals & Special Angles
Students will become civil engineers in your geometry class by designing their own cities using parallel lines, transversals and special angles!
This project will help master the concepts of
* parallel lines
* transversal lines
* alternate interior angles
* alternate exterior angles
* corresponding angles
* same side interior angles
and
* vertical angles
in a fun and hands-on way.
What an exciting way to integrate art into math and master the math concepts while doing so!
Step-by-step direct
Subjects:
Grades:
6th - 9th
Multiplication and Division Math Project Zoo Theme
This performance task project was designed to help your 3rd grade students practice their basic multiplication and division facts and strategies. This project works well as a multiplication and division unit wrap up, an end of the year activity, or as an independent practice math center activity. In this project, students are hired to work at an imaginary zoo. They must use what they know about multiplication and division to come up with an ID number, design habitats for the animals, make sur
Subjects:
Grades:
3rd - 4th
Types:
Also included in: Multiplication and Division Practice Activity Bundle
The Sinking of the Lusitania: Solve the WWI Mystery w Primary Source Analysis!
Perhaps one of the most important events of World War One, the sinking of the Lusitania has fascinated kids and adults for years. Use this mystery to harness that fascination and engage students in an inquiry-based mission that they will remember all year long!In this mystery, students are posed with an engaging scenario - they are CIA Agents that must piece together once and for all how and why the Lusitania sank. They are presented with a variety of "exhibits," all cleverly designed to engage
Grades:
5th - 12th
Types:
Also included in: GROWING WWI BUNDLE: Higher Order Thinking WWI Activities (SS5H2)
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