5.0 out of 5 stars This book was the one our team wanted most during ...

E.S.S. · August 2, 2018

This book was the one our team wanted most during our MakerSpace set-up. Everyone is eager to use the lessons included.

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars

J.P. · June 11, 2018

Very useful when planning STEM activities this year

5.0 out of 5 stars Great STEM Resource for 3-5 Teachers!

J.S. · June 14, 2018

An excellent resource book jam-packed with well-designed lessons to integrate STEM into your 3-5 classroom using high-quality children's literature and nonfiction. Aligned to the 5 E's and NGSS Standards as well as Common Core. Emily and Karen are experts in their field and have created many exemplary resources for teachers.

4.0 out of 5 stars Great resource! Leaves you wanting more.

M.B. · October 9, 2018

This is a great resource that is very well organized and structured. I really appreciate having everything laid out for me and that it overlaps subjects (reading, language arts and science and math, etc) for condensed lessons with maximum learning. Upon a quick scan, 99% of materials needed for experimentation are easily available aroundthe house or affordable purchase. It is designed for multiple students or groups, but I dont think I'll have an issue adapting it for my one student. I love all the accompanying visuals, worksheets and "take home" sheets with info and resources for further learning at home!One thing they could have done better was to at least let us preview the table of contents or make a brief list of all of the subjects that are covered in the product summary. This was intended to be a supplemental resource for me this year.. Out of the 15 lessons, I can only relate 4 or 5 to this year's curriculum (main curriculum purchased elsewhere). As a homeachooler with a tight budget, it would be better to know in advance what is covered so I can know if it will be worthwhile. Dont get me wrong, I will squeeze the other 10 lessons in somehow over the next couple of years, but it would be best for me if it tied in with themes we are already covering in our main units, and I'd have a better review if that info had been available somewhere prior to purchasing. I have a kiddo who LOVES science, is a kinesthetic learner, and I'm looking for ways to keep my work load reasonable while offering as many chances for hands on experiments...So this book has a lesson for:Inventors/being inventivePower of advertisingMachines with springsThe lightbulbFire/wildfiresEcolution of electronic devicesCollaboration/sharing resourcesSpiders being engineersProsthetics for animalsPlant growth on earth and in spaceHurricanes and storm relief effortsOceanography introSpace explorationStarsRecycling, specifically plasticsThis is a very brief gist of each topic. Again, great resource!! But if you're looking for a good supplement to build on lessons you already have planned, this may leave some spaces you'll need to fill with more supplemental material.

1.0 out of 5 stars Not Realistic for 90% of Classrooms

M. · October 28, 2023

I have never left a one star review, but I cannot believe what a waste of money this book was (thank goodness I got I used for much less than here). Unless you have a school that will give you a high budget, these experiments are not feasible. They want you to buy wind up toys (that the kids destroy, so you can't reuse them for the next class), floating toys (that you once again destroy), candles (really? What school will allow you to have lit candles in elementary?), record players, cassette players, Walkman, just to name a few. That's in addition to investing in the books for each lesson - an investment I was willing to make as it would be a one time thing and then I'd have them for years to come. But adding the lengthy materials list for each lesson puts it way out of most people's budgets.The only way I see most of these lessons working is if you are doing a STEM camp with a limited number of students, and its a one time investment (not year after year). Regular classroom teachers just don't have the time, resources, or in the case of the light bulb activity and the candle one, the insurance to cover these experiments. I love STEM, but this book was clearly not written by teachers actively in the field where resources are limited.It was also frustrating that the lessons that included websites (which was almost every one) didn't have the websites embedded in the lesson when called for. They were instead just listed at the end of the lesson (with super long urls to try to type to find and hope they aren't deactivated).Out of the 15 lessons, I found 3 to be reasonable and not a bank breaker. I'll give them a whirl, and I'm sure the kids will love them. But for the cost of this book, I was expecting so much more. It was more of a dream vision of STEM rather than usable but engaging lessons for actual teachers.STEM is amazing and this certainly doesn't deter me, but if I was new to STEM and was given this book, I would be so disheartened thinking the only way to do great lessons was by pouring all my own money into one time lessons. Save your money and skip this book.