Steam

We are a small, close-knit community of teachers who are passionate about our craft and there is a great deal of cross-content teaching woven into our everyday classroom routines. For example, among us are a 5th grade teacher with a strong background in the dramatic arts, particularly in Shakespearean plays, a Social Studies and English teacher with a degree in Art History, and a science teacher who holds a Masters in Education with a concentration in STEAM and is a freelance artist.

It is common practice for a teacher at CES to consult with a colleague to ask for input from their particular discipline. Not every one of the STEAM subjects will be covered in a given lesson or unit, but there will always be opportunities to add the creative spark that comes from the Arts.

Also important is adherence to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). For instance, our Mathematics teacher was asked to collaborate with the Science teacher on an Astronomy lesson to create a scale model of the solar system. He came up with two models; one based on the actual scale of the planets versus the size of the Sun, and one based on the length of the hallway (NGSS #5: Using mathematics and computational thinking). Then the students researched their assigned planet (Language Arts and NGSS #8:Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information) made 3-D models of each planet (Sculpture and NGSS #2: Developing and using models), and painted their planet on a paper plate and affixed it to an informational poster (Visual Arts, Language Arts and NGSS #8:Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information).

At CES, the K-8th Grade Art teacher and the Middle School Science teacher share a classroom space, with each teacher using it at different times of the day. This unique arrangement allows them to listen in on one another's lessons, and ideas for STEAM crossover lessons happen organically and easily.

The Science of Geology is taught in sixth grade. The science textbook used follows a typical STEM format where each type of rock, whether igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic, is described, and each type of rock’s uses are discussed. We learn how humans have used powdered rocks for myriad uses throughout the history of civilization. One use is as pigments for cosmetics and paints.

We follow with History/Language Arts questions- who might have used these paints, and why? One answer would be the people who painted the caves in Lascaux in Southern France, who used powdered rocks such as reddish-orange iron oxide. Did they use the drawings for some sort of religious purpose? What did the fact that they could spare enough manpower to have artists and shamans say about how advanced they were as a community?

Technology is next, with a virtual tour of the caves. Students can explore the caves as though they are there in person, and the Art teacher will guide them through the techniques used to create the drawings. She will point out drawing techniques, and they will analyze the images and make decisions about what they would draw if they lived at that time.

Engineering comes into focus when the students think about how high up some of the paintings are- how did they build scaffolding that high? What kinds of materials might they have used? How did they bring a light source with them to see, and how did they carry their tools through the dark, cramped spaces?

And finally, the Arts; what tools might the artists have used to draw with the powdered rocks? Their fingers? Did they intentionally try to use natural bulges in the rock to emulate the shapes of animal bodies? And were the handprints significant? Were they the way artists signed their work back then?

Once the students have enough information, they begin to draw their own images with actual powdered rock pigments on crumpled brown paper, and the results are quite impressive.