From our classroom to yours – STEMterprise (By Hollie White)
Hi, my name is Hollie White and I am an educator with the Grand Erie District School Board. I have been teaching for 12 years and 6 of those years have been at Lansdowne-Costain Public School in Brantford. Last year I taught a Grade 3/4 class who shared a love of inquiry-based tasks and hands-on learning.
My teaching partner introduced me to the STEMterprise project and upon further research, I was thrilled to learn that all materials, lessons, slides, and resources are FREE. I could hardly believe it – even better, these resources and lessons were tied explicitly to expectations across the Ontario curriculum. Initially, I was hesitant to begin as we were in the thick of EQAO season, swim to survive, track and field (the list goes on as it does!) but after meeting our project lead, I felt confident and capable to jump in.
To set the stage, my students watched a Dragon’s Den episode about young entrepreneurs selling mismatched socks. Many had never seen youth in the business world, pitching to adults and asking for more money than they could fathom. The excitement continued when I explained that we would be creating our own granola companies and pitching to our very own dragons (Grade 8 leaders).
In the coming weeks we learned about where grain comes from, how it is processed and grown, what types of soil are best for farming, how to market and build a brand, and finally how to make our very own granola bars. Throughout the process students were actively engaged in learning and collaborated with one another to create the most incredibly unique granola companies like Oat Pucks, Raise the Bar, and Dino Bites, to name a few.
It finally came time to present to the Dragons. Groups delivered a confident and competent presentation outlining important elements of their brand, providing detailed explanations of why they deserved the investment and distributed samples of their homemade granola. It was a tremendous success and, let’s just say the Dragons had a difficult time choosing only one company to invest in.
This being my first year participating in STEMterprise, I was nervous about having time to go through all of the incredible lessons and activities that are provided. But this is truly a program that makes teaching and programming easier for educators. You can align it with your Science lessons, Literacy activities, or Health projects. It is so versatile and well-thought-out that I will absolutely be participating in this program for years to come. I look forward to integrating it more thoroughly and providing students more time to work through the process of building and marketing a brand.
