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What’s Your STEM Superpower?

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Subject: STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)

Lesson Length: 30 - 40 mins

Topic: STEM Components & Careers

Grade Level: 6, 7

Objective: Critical thinking

Standards:

STEM learning goals

Brief Description: In this lesson, students will imagine a solution to a real life STEM problem by creating a STEM superhero comic.

Know Before You Start: Students should be familiar with the components of STEM (science, technology, engineering, math).

What’s Your STEM Superpower? - Exemplar comic, panel 1 What’s Your STEM Superpower? - Exemplar comic, panel 2 What’s Your STEM Superpower? - Exemplar comic, panel 3 What’s Your STEM Superpower? - Exemplar comic, panel 4 What’s Your STEM Superpower? - Exemplar comic, panel 5

Hook: Read and discuss the sample comic. What type of real life STEM problems could our hero solve with his superpowers?

Activity:

  • Brainstorm real-life problems facing kids, adults, and animals in the world today. Record students suggestions on the board.
  • Have students select one of these problems for their STEM superhero to solve. 
  • Students will now create a 5-8 frame STEM Superhero comic featuring the following elements:
    • A superhero with a superpower based on a component of STEM (science, technology, engineering, math). For example, a hero with super coding powers or math blast abilities. 
    • The comic should show their hero solving a real-life problem using their superpower(s).

Closure: Share and discuss student comics with the class.

Differentiation:

  • Provide examples of STEM superheroes and assign them to specific students as needed.
  • Provide sentence frames as needed.
  • Allow students to use speech-to-text as needed.
  • Allow students to create more than one STEM superhero.

Resources: Comic to print or display: Comic 1.

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