Grade 1 STEM Challenge Cards | 96 Print-and-Go Engineering Cards
This Grade 1 STEM Challenge Cards resource provides 96 student-facing, print-and-go cards designed to make STEM activities easy to launch, manage, and differentiate. The cards complement the Grade 1 STEM Full-Year Curriculum by putting the driving question, criteria, and constraints directly in front of students, encouraging greater independence during engineering challenges.
The resource includes 36 Weekly Challenge Cards, 36 Level Up Cards, 12 Engineer Talk Cards, and 12 Quick Build Cards. Cards are formatted four per page and can be printed on cardstock, laminated, and reused. Color-coded borders correspond to the curriculum units.
The 36 weekly challenges cover six units: Engineering & Design, Materials & Structures, Forces & Motion, Plants & Animals, Weather & Earth, and STEM Problem Solving. Activities include building towers, bridges, windproof houses, earthquake-resistant structures, boats, balloon-powered cars, weather instruments, erosion barriers, signal devices, playgrounds, and more.
Each Weekly Challenge Card clearly identifies the driving question, criteria, constraints, and prediction prompt. Students can refer to the specifications independently instead of relying on constant teacher clarification. This encourages them to check whether their designs meet the requirements and take greater ownership of the engineering process.
The Level Up Cards provide meaningful extensions for students who finish early or successfully meet the original criteria. Rather than simply repeating an activity, students face competing goals that require them to analyze data and make engineering trade-offs.
The Engineer Talk Cards reinforce vocabulary, sentence stems, process steps, and team roles such as Planner, Builder, and Recorder. They support discussions about predictions, data, improvements, and design decisions.
The 12 Quick Build Cards provide short, approximately 10-minute challenges using readily available materials, making them useful for morning work, spare time, indoor recess, centers, or substitute plans.
Overall, the resource develops skills in defining problems, identifying criteria and constraints, predicting, planning, measuring, testing, comparing results, using evidence, communicating ideas, and collaborating while building student independence throughout the year.
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K - 5 STEM Challenge Cards Bundle | Full-Year Engineering Activities
K–5 STEM Challenge Cards Bundle | 554 Print-and-Go Engineering Challenge Cards | Full Year, Every Grade 216 weekly engineering challenges — one for every week of the school year in Kindergarten through 5th Grade — plus 338 extension, discussion, and quick-build cards. Print, cut, laminate, and you're set for the year. These are the student-facing cards that put the problem, criteria, and constraints directly in students' hands so they can check their own designs against the specification instead of asking "Is this allowed?" Every challenge runs on materials you already have: cups, straws, tape, paper, string, blocks. What's Included Six complete grade-level card sets (216 pages, 554 cards): Kindergarten STEM Picture Cards (60 cards) — picture-based challenges for pre-readers, plus Ask/Imagine/Build/Share step cards, 8 tool-bin labels, and 12 sorting cards 1st Grade STEM Challenge Cards (96 cards) — 36 weekly challenges, 36 Level Up extensions, 12 Engineer Talk cards, 12 Quick Builds 2nd Grade STEM Challenge Cards (98 cards) — adds required trial counts and data-recording prompts on every weekly card 3rd Grade STEM Challenge Cards (98 cards) — adds independent variables, efficiency calculations, and an unplugged coding strand 4th Grade STEM Challenge Cards (100 cards) — adds client scenarios and budgets to every challenge 5th Grade STEM Challenge Cards (102 cards) — adds optimization/trade-off focus, flowchart and pseudocode keys Across the bundle: 216 Weekly Challenge Cards, 180 Level Up Cards, 60 Quick Build Cards, and 98 process, sentence-stem, team-role, tool, and sorting cards. What the Challenges Look Like The same six-unit structure runs through every grade — Engineering Design, Materials/Matter, Forces & Motion or Energy, Life Science, Earth & Weather/Space, and Engineering for Communities — with the challenge growing up alongside the student: K: A Chair for Teddy · Ramp Racers · Boats Afloat · Rain Shelter · Stop the Flood 1st: Windproof House · Balloon-Powered Car · Seed Dispersal Device · Erosion Barrier · Pulley Power 2nd: Design a Water Filter · Marble Run Grand Prix · Design a Parachute · Pollinator Garden Model · Design for Everyone 3rd: Create a Solar Oven · Wind-Powered Vehicle · Earthquake-Resistant Structure · Model Ecosystem · Engineering for Water Access 4th: Solar and renewable energy · Communication systems · Erosion protection · Biomimicry · Product design 5th: Water purification · Wind turbines · Energy grids · Mars habitats · Assistive technology · Sustainable cities Every Weekly Card Provides The driving question Criteria — what the design must accomplish Constraints — the limits students work within A prediction prompt From 2nd Grade up: required trials and what data to record From 4th Grade up: a client scenario and a budget How It Works Post the weekly card in your Build Zone and leave it there for the whole challenge. Level Up cards go to pairs who meet the criteria early — each one introduces a competing goal (stronger and lighter, faster and carries more cargo), not just "build another one." Talk cards stay posted all year and give students the language to explain evidence and disagree using data. Quick Build cards are ten-minute, no-prep challenges for indoor recess, morning work, or a sub day. Skills Progression K–5 Students move from observing, building, and sharing (K) → identifying criteria and constraints and changing one variable at a time (1st–2nd) → planning fair tests, calculating ranges and efficiency, and graphing results (3rd) → working within budgets for a client and calculating rates and cost-effectiveness (4th) → optimizing across trade-offs and communicating with flowcharts and pseudocode (5th). The card system is built to shift students from "Is this allowed?" to "Let me check the specification." Format 6 PDF files, 216 pages total 4 cards per page (2 per page for Kindergarten), designed for cardstock and lamination Color-coded borders match the unit structure in the companion curricula Teaching duration: 1 full school year per grade Pairs With the K–5 STEM Curriculum These are the student-facing cards. The teacher-facing lesson plans for each weekly challenge are in the grade-level STEM Full-Year Curricula, sold separately or together in the K–5 STEM Curriculum Bundle. Each card set also includes 60+ extension, discussion, and quick-build cards that are not in the curriculum. Want everything for one grade? See the individual grade-level STEM Bundles. Want everything for all six? The K–5 STEM Mega Bundle includes these cards, the curricula, and more. Why Buy the Bundle Six sets bought separately cost $29.94. This bundle is $19.99 — and gives a STEM specialist or a whole elementary building one consistent challenge system from Kindergarten to 5th Grade. Predict. Build. Test. Improve — every week, every grade.
$19.99
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1st Grade STEM Bundle | Full-Year Engineering Activities
1st Grade STEM Bundle | Full-Year STEM Curriculum | Engineering Activities, Projects, Task Cards & More Make STEM and engineering easy to teach all year long with this comprehensive 1st Grade STEM Curriculum Bundle! Packed with multiple formats for hands-on learning, this collection gives first grade students repeated opportunities to explore engineering, problem-solving, creativity, and design through engaging, age-appropriate STEM activities. With curriculum lessons, challenge cards, STEM journals, projects, task cards, early-finisher activities, and substitute plans all included, this 1st Grade STEM Bundle provides flexible resources for keeping young learners engaged while saving teachers valuable planning time. What's Included This bundle includes 7 first grade STEM resources: • STEM Curriculum — 36 weekly challenges across 6 units, 5 sessions each • STEM Journal — 180 student recording pages • Challenge Cards — 96 student-facing cards including 36 Level Up extensions • STEM Projects — 6 unit capstones plus 12 standalone mini-projects • Task Cards — 80 math, science and coding skill cards • Early Finishers — 40 no-prep challenges with choice board and bin labels • Sub Plans — 12 emergency lessons with word-for-word scripts Together, these resources provide multiple formats for introducing, practicing, applying, documenting, and extending STEM and engineering learning throughout the school year. How It Works in the Classroom Use this 1st Grade STEM Curriculum Bundle for: • Daily or weekly STEM instruction • Engineering challenges • STEM centers and stations • Whole-group lessons • Small-group activities • Independent STEM practice • Hands-on projects • STEM journals and reflection • Early-finisher activities • Substitute teacher plans • Enrichment and extension • Flexible no-prep or low-prep STEM learning The variety of resources makes it easy to adjust instruction based on your schedule and classroom needs. Use the curriculum for structured instruction, challenge cards and task cards for shorter activities, projects for hands-on application, journals for student reflection, and early-finisher resources for meaningful extension. Standards & Learning Goals Students build foundational STEM and engineering skills through age-appropriate challenges and activities, including: Engineering Design • Identifying problems • Brainstorming solutions • Designing and building • Testing ideas • Improving solutions Problem-Solving • Thinking creatively • Trying different strategies • Learning from mistakes • Making decisions • Explaining solutions STEM Thinking • Observing and investigating • Asking questions • Making predictions • Applying reasoning • Connecting ideas to real-world situations Communication & Reflection • Describing designs • Sharing ideas • Recording learning • Reflecting on challenges • Explaining how solutions can be improved Why Teachers Love It * Uses common classroom and recycled materials — full materials list included * Complete first grade STEM resource collection * Seven complementary STEM resources in one bundle * Full-year engineering activities * Multiple instructional formats * Supports hands-on STEM learning * Encourages creativity and problem-solving * Includes projects, task cards, challenge cards, and journals * Provides early-finisher activities * Includes substitute teacher plans * Flexible for whole-group, small-group, centers, and independent learning * Saves valuable planning time Instead of searching for different STEM activities throughout the year, teachers can use this 1st Grade STEM Bundle as a flexible resource library with options for instruction, practice, enrichment, projects, and unexpected schedule changes. Download Today Add this 1st Grade STEM Curriculum Bundle to your classroom and give students a full year of opportunities to design, build, explore, problem-solve, and think like engineers! Whether you need a structured STEM curriculum, a quick challenge, a hands-on project, an independent activity, an early-finisher option, or a substitute plan, this bundle gives you resources you can reach for throughout the school year.
$48.00
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