STEMterprise spotlight: Ms. Sims’ grade 3/4 split class

Reading time: 5 minutes

We are excited to share more stories about Ontario Farming STEMterprise in the classroom! Nadine Sims’ experience in her split grade 3/4 class inspires us with her ideas for adapting and expanding our project. She also passes along some helpful tips for teachers.

Spotlight: Nadine Sims’ grade 3/4 split class (WRDSB)

Nadine Sims’ class at Lester B. Pearson Public School went all-in with STEMterprise! We have found that some classes do a lighter version of the project, and others like Nadine’s class will use all of the lessons, activities, and inquiries and even add new elements.  

Nadine described teaching the STEMterprise project as “participating and doing things that are real for the students and doing them in their everyday lives whether they think about them or not.”   

This 3/4 split class (with some ELL students) started the project in the early spring and worked on it weekly, every Thursday afternoon. Nadine chose to simplify some of the lessons to fit her classroom needs and modified some lessons to be shared/completed with the whole class. She also modified some STEMterprise slides to accommodate her students’ needs and added measurement standards to the growing and tasting stages. 

Nadine told us she appreciated how flexible the project is, with multiple entry and natural stopping points to encourage each learner to work at the level they can and to pace themselves accordingly.

Check out other STEMterprise Spotlights with Grade 3 educators Jody, Crystal and Meghan.

Nadine shared some pictures that say more than words!

Business groups tracking the growth of their oat and soybean plants, noting the differences in each seedling’s growth.

Students took soil samples from across the school yard and spent time analyzing samples, just like an agronomist!

Nadine’s Tips for Teachers

• Get permission before the tasting session. Students were all eager to consider (and judge) their competition! (Remember, tasting is optional but one of the best parts!).  We’ve included Nadine’s permission letter to parents in the resources
• For the growing inquiry, prepare a list of variables in a posted table to track amounts of water, temperature, cleanliness, variations of light, temperature, soil, etc.
• Students loved the matching game. Just remember to cut out the grain cards in advance.

• If you decide to bake with students, remember that the “test batch” of granola bars is not a necessary step, but do encourage students to customize their bars, noting any changes to the recipe and ingredients.
• Looking to add more media? Consider having the students record a WeVideo advertisement for their parents to view during the final stage.
• Think about how you want to finish the project before you start it. Nadine’s class wrapped up the project with a Business Showcase that included a voting system. What a great idea! Add another STEMterprise stage that includes evaluation and measurement actions.

This may be the first time students take on the responsibilities of growing something, creating something in the kitchen, and marketing a product, but the fun is exploring the different roles from farm to table. The activities offer students, their peers, and the teacher opportunities to take turns guiding the learning experience. And each student can also try each and every role to choose the activities that fit them best. Growing the grains from seed, followed by making, marketing, and selling their product, weaves a truly cross-curricular learning throughout the STEMterprise stages!

We are grateful to receive feedback that only a teaching expert like Nadine could provide and we would love to hear your STEMterprise classroom stories. Please consider sharing what is going on in your classroom in this open form survey.  And if you can, please send us pictures to include in future updates (email it to: web@gfo.ca).  

For your effort, we’ll draw one lucky name and email the $250 Amazon gift card on June 30, 2025.