Kindergarten STEM Full-Year Curriculum | 36 Hands-On Engineering Challenges
This Kindergarten STEM Full-Year Curriculum introduces five-year-olds to engineering, problem solving, science, and design through 36 hands-on challenges. Designed specifically for young learners and pre-readers, the program uses pictures, teacher read-aloud directions, familiar materials, and a consistent Ask → Imagine → Build → Share process.
The curriculum includes 36 weekly challenges across six themed units, with four short sessions of approximately 20–30 minutes per challenge. Teachers receive step-by-step guidance, materials lists, differentiation suggestions, classroom management tips, observation-based assessment guidance, STEM vocabulary, a family letter, and week-by-week NGSS, Kindergarten Math, and Kindergarten ELA alignment.
The six units cover What Is an Engineer?, Build It!, Forces & Motion, Plants & Living Things, Weather & Earth, and Designing Solutions. Challenges include building towers, bridges, shelters, ramps, marble runs, boats, paper airplanes, bird nests, habitats, weather-resistant structures, playgrounds, and inventions.
Each challenge follows a simple four-day routine. On Day 1—Ask, students explore the problem through pictures and discussion. On Day 2—Imagine, they draw their idea before using materials. On Day 3—Build, they create, observe, test, and try again. On Day 4—Share, they count, compare, explain, and discuss their designs.
A key focus is developing early engineering habits. Students learn to plan before building, observe results, compare solutions, communicate ideas, and view mistakes as opportunities to improve. The curriculum encourages teachers to use supportive language and observation rather than traditional testing to assess engineering behaviors.
Students practice identifying simple problems, creating drawings and models, comparing solutions, counting and measuring, sorting materials, recognizing shapes, observing forces and motion, exploring living things and weather, and speaking about their ideas.
The program relies on accessible materials such as cups, craft sticks, straws, cardboard, paper, blocks, tape, and play dough, making preparation simple and affordable.
The year concludes with an Invention Convention, where students apply their developing engineering skills to design and share their own solutions, providing a meaningful celebration of their progress as young engineers.
Get this resource as part of a bundle and save up to 37%
A bundle is a package of resources grouped together to teach a particular topic, or a series of lessons, in one place.
Bundle
K - 5 STEM Curriculum Bundle | Full-Year Engineering Activities
K–5 STEM Curriculum Bundle | 216 Weekly Engineering Challenges | Full-Year Teacher Lesson Plans for Every Grade Six full-year STEM curricula — 36 weekly engineering design challenges per grade, one for every week of the school year, in six units with a five-session structure — 1,074 pages of teacher-facing lesson plans from Kindergarten through 5th Grade, using materials you already have. This is the backbone of the K–5 STEM program: the lesson plans a teacher opens on Monday. Every other resource in the store — the challenge cards, journals, projects, task cards, early finishers, and sub plans — is built to sit on top of these six curricula. Buy this and you have the year planned. Add the companions when you want them. What's Included Six complete grade-level curricula (1,074 pages, 216 weekly challenges): Kindergarten STEM Curriculum — 36 challenges on an Ask → Imagine → Build → Share routine, sized for five-year-olds. Ends with an Invention Convention. 1st Grade STEM Curriculum — Units: Engineering & Design · Materials & Structures · Forces & Motion · Plants & Animals · Weather & Earth · STEM Problem Solving. Capstone: Young Engineers Showcase. 2nd Grade STEM Curriculum — Units: Engineering Design · Matter & Materials · Forces & Motion · Living Systems · Earth & Weather · Human Solutions. Capstone: STEM Problem Solvers Showcase. 3rd Grade STEM Curriculum — Units: Engineering Design · Forces & Motion · Matter & Materials · Life Science · Earth & Space · Engineering for Communities. Capstone: STEM Investigators Showcase. 4th Grade STEM Curriculum — Units: Engineering Design · Energy · Waves & Communication · Earth Systems · Life Science · Engineering Our World. Capstone: STEM Designers & Innovators Showcase. 5th Grade STEM Curriculum — Units: Engineering Design & Innovation · Matter & Chemical Systems · Energy · Earth & Space · Ecosystems & Sustainability · Technology & Future Solutions. Capstone: STEM Innovators Showcase. The Challenges Six units per grade, six challenges per unit, one per week. A sample from each year: K: Tower Power · A Chair for Teddy · Bridge for a Toy Car · Ramp Racers · Boats Afloat · Magnet Movers · Rain Shelter · Stop the Flood · Playground Designers 1st: Tallest Tower Challenge · Windproof House · Earthquake-Proof Tower · Balloon-Powered Car · Seed Dispersal Device · Erosion Barrier · Pulley Power · Design a Playground 2nd: Design a Stronger Bridge · Design a Water Filter · Build a Marble Run · Design a Parachute · Pollinator Garden Model · Erosion Control Engineers · Design a Water-Saving Device · Design for Everyone 3rd: Design a Bridge · Build a Wind-Powered Vehicle · Create a Solar Oven · Build a Model Ecosystem · Design a Weather Station · Create an Earthquake-Resistant Structure · Engineering for Water Access 4th: Solar and renewable energy · Communication systems · Erosion protection · Earthquake-resistant buildings · Biomimicry · Product design 5th: Water purification · Solar-powered devices · Wind turbines · Energy grids · Earthquake-resistant structures · Mars habitats · Assistive technology · Sustainable cities How a Week Runs From 1st Grade up, each challenge follows the same five-session structure — Ask, Investigate/Imagine, Plan, Build & Test, Improve & Reflect — so students learn one routine and use it all year. Kindergarten runs a simpler four-step routine in shorter sessions. Every challenge has a driving question, criteria, constraints, and a prediction before building; from 2nd Grade up, required trial counts and data to record; from 4th up, a client scenario and a budget. How It Grows, K–5 K: count, compare, build, and try again — Ask · Imagine · Build · Share 1st: change one thing and test again; measure in cm; simple data 2nd: three ideas before choosing; repeated trials; graphs; numbers as evidence 3rd: independent/dependent/controlled variables; fair tests; efficiency; claim–evidence–reasoning; unplugged coding 4th: measurable criteria; budgets and cost per unit; weighted decision matrices; source reliability 5th: trade-offs and optimization; ratios and rates; technical summaries; flowcharts and pseudocode By Week 36 of 5th Grade, students independently define a problem, research it, run the full engineering process, and report a recommendation someone could act on. Format 6 PDF files, 1,074 pages total Teacher-facing lesson plans; print-and-go All challenges use everyday classroom supplies — cups, straws, tape, paper, string, blocks — with a materials list for every challenge and no kit required Teaching duration: 1 full school year per grade Build Out From Here Each curriculum has six companion resources, all built on the same 36-week sequence and unit colors: K–5 STEM Challenge Cards — the student-facing card for every weekly challenge, plus Level Up extensions and Quick Builds K–5 STEM Journals — the student recording pages for every weekly challenge K–5 STEM Projects — the six unit capstones per grade, extended into full team projects, plus 72 mini-projects K–5 STEM Task Cards — 5–10 minute skill practice with answer keys K–5 STEM for Early Finishers — a self-managing routine for independent time K–5 STEM Sub Plans — scripted lessons for absence days All seven, for all six grades, are in the K–5 STEM Mega Bundle. Why Buy the Bundle Six curricula bought separately cost $142.94. This bundle is $89.99 — and gives a STEM specialist or a whole elementary building one 216-week engineering sequence, K through 5, with every companion resource designed to plug straight in. Ask. Imagine. Plan. Build. Test. Improve — 36 weeks, every grade.
$89.99
Bundle
Kindergarten STEM Bundle | Full-Year Engineering Activities
Kindergarten STEM Bundle | Full-Year STEM Curriculum | Engineering Activities, Projects, Task Cards & More Make STEM learning fun, hands-on, and easy to plan all year long with this comprehensive Kindergarten STEM Curriculum Bundle! This collection gives young learners multiple opportunities to explore engineering, solve problems, build ideas, and develop creative thinking through age-appropriate STEM activities. With a full-year STEM curriculum, picture cards, STEM journals, projects, task cards, early-finisher activities, and substitute plans included, this Kindergarten STEM Bundle gives teachers flexible resources for STEM instruction, enrichment, independent learning, and classroom coverage. What's Included This bundle includes 7 kindergarten STEM resources: • Kindergarten STEM Curriculum — 36 weekly challenges across 6 units • Kindergarten STEM Picture Cards — 60 picture-based cards for pre-readers • Kindergarten STEM Journal — 108 drawing-and-labeling recording pages • Kindergarten STEM Projects — 18 hands-on build projects • Kindergarten STEM Task Cards — 60 picture-supported skill cards • Kindergarten STEM for Early Finishers — 36 no-prep challenges with choice board • Kindergarten STEM Sub Plans — 12 emergency lessons with substitute scripts Together, these resources provide multiple ways to introduce, explore, practice, document, and extend STEM and engineering learning throughout the school year. How It Works in the Classroom Use this Kindergarten STEM Curriculum Bundle for: • Daily or weekly STEM instruction • Whole-group STEM lessons • Small-group activities • STEM centers and stations • Engineering challenges • Hands-on projects • Picture-supported STEM learning • STEM journals and reflection • Task card activities • Early-finisher enrichment • Substitute teacher plans • Flexible STEM exploration Use the curriculum for structured STEM learning, picture cards to support visual learning and discussion, projects for hands-on exploration, task cards for shorter activities, and journals for recording student thinking. Standards & Learning Goals Students develop foundational STEM and engineering skills through age-appropriate exploration, including: Engineering Design • Identifying simple problems • Brainstorming possible solutions • Designing and building • Testing ideas • Observing results • Making improvements Problem-Solving • Exploring different solutions • Thinking creatively • Making choices • Trying new strategies • Learning through hands-on discovery STEM Thinking • Observing and investigating • Asking questions • Making predictions • Exploring materials and designs • Connecting STEM concepts to everyday experiences Communication & Reflection • Sharing ideas • Describing designs • Explaining solutions • Recording learning through pictures and writing • Reflecting on STEM experiences Why Teachers Love It * Uses common classroom and recycled materials — full materials list included * Journals use drawing, labeling, and dictation, not written responses. * Complete kindergarten STEM resource collection * Seven complementary STEM resources in one bundle * Full-year engineering activities * Multiple formats for flexible STEM instruction * Picture cards support visual and language-rich learning * Encourages creativity and problem-solving * Includes hands-on projects and engineering activities * Provides meaningful early-finisher options * Includes substitute teacher plans * Works for whole-group, small-group, centers, and independent activities * Saves valuable planning time Instead of searching for different STEM resources throughout the year, teachers can use this Kindergarten STEM Bundle as a flexible resource library. Pull out a picture card for discussion, use a task card for a quick challenge, complete a hands-on project, or use the curriculum for structured STEM instruction. Download Today Add this Kindergarten STEM Curriculum Bundle to your classroom and give young learners a full year of opportunities to explore, create, build, test, and problem-solve! Whether you need a structured STEM lesson, a visual learning activity, a hands-on project, an independent task, an early-finisher activity, or a substitute plan, this bundle gives you flexible STEM resources for the school year.
$42.00
Something went wrong, please try again later.
This resource hasn't been reviewed yet
To ensure quality for our reviews, only customers who have purchased this resource can review it
Report this resourceto let us know if it violates our terms and conditions.
Our customer service team will review your report and will be in touch.
$18.00