Simple STEM Activities That Still Build Deep Thinking

Overcomplicated STEM lessons don’t lead to deeper learning—they lead to burnout. In this episode, we unpack why simple, well-designed STEM challenges create stronger thinking, better engagement, and more meaningful classroom moments.

Tired of feeling like STEM needs fancy kits, perfect conditions, and a superhuman level of classroom management? We break that myth and show how simple tools, real problems, and a steady structure can unlock big thinking without the overwhelm. Using the engineering design process as our anchor, we walk through a clear path that keeps creativity high and anxiety low—both for students and for us as teachers.

We start with mindset: reassurance and permission to keep it simple. Then we explore story-based STEM and use After the Fall as a launchpad for force, motion, gravity, and impact. A familiar narrative gives context, builds empathy, and bridges literacy with science so students care about the challenge and ask sharper questions. From there, we move into the practical: cardboard, tape, craft sticks, pipe cleaners, recyclables, and LEGO bricks are more than enough to prototype, test, and iterate. No fancy kits required—just thoughtful constraints and a culture that values iteration over perfection.

Testing and revision get special attention because that’s where learning deepens. We share why splitting the process across sessions helps students reflect, compare, and refine their designs without rushing. Along the way, we highlight classroom strategies that reduce chaos: clear steps, visible goals, and time set aside for reflection. The core takeaway is simple: simple doesn’t mean shallow; it often means safe. And safe environments are where students take risks, embrace productive struggle, and grow real grit.

Ready to try story-driven STEM with minimal prep? Grab the free grit STEM story station inspired by After the Fall and see how far cardboard and conversation can go. If you find value here, follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a quick review to help more teachers find calm, creative STEM.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

February Freebie- GRIT STEM Story Station

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Core Promise
• 0:55 Reassurance And STEM Mindset
• 1:38 Why Simple Tools Work
• 1:58 Engineering Design As Structure
• 2:23 Story-Based STEM: Humpty Dumpty
• 4:04 Materials You Already Have
• 4:39 Test, Revise, Reflect
• 6:17 Safety, Simplicity, And Takeaways
• 6:37 Free Grit STEM Station CTA
• 6:55 Closing And Sign-Off

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Hi, welcome to One Tired Teacher, episode 282, when simple is actually powerful. So today we're going to talk about something that often prevents teachers from moving forward with things like STEM. They feel like it's overwhelming or it's too open-ended or they don't have the right materials. And so we're going to address that on this episode. Hope you stick around.

SPEAKER_01: 0:32

Welcome to One Tired Teacher. And even though she may need a nap, this teacher is ready to wake up and speak her truth about the trials and treasures of teaching. Here she is, wide awake. Wait, she's not asleep right now, is she? She is awake, right? Okay. From Trina Debori Teaching and Learning, your host, Trina Debori.

SPEAKER_00: 0:55

Hey, so today we're talking about keeping it simple and how this can actually be really powerful. And we are continuing a series from February where we are focusing on reassurance and permission with STEM as our spark. And I want you to remember, you are enough. You don't need to perform to matter. All right, so let's jump into when simple is actually powerful. You don't need elaborate materials or perfect conditions. Simple tools, real problems, and thoughtful questions questions can open huge conversations. So today we are focusing on the engineering design process as a calming structure. This is another reason why sometimes people get overly worked up about STEM thinking I don't I can't do it. I um it's gonna cause this mayhem. But actually, when we work through like a structure, it doesn't necessarily and I don't mean structure like everything has to, we're gonna all be aligned in this one way. We're all inside the box. No, this is outside of the box. This is outside of the box thinking. So this is, but the the structure can still give us some kind of guide. So why I love the engineering design process so much is because it allows our brain to like think through things. So for example, we usually take a problem, and I've been doing a lot of STEM story stations where I'll take a problem in a story. For example, I'll share one that goes with my um February freebie, which is a STEM story station focused on grit. And it's based on the story after the fall, which is with Humpty Dumpty. We know the problem is that Humpty Dumpty falls and he cracks open. So, how are we gonna solve that problem? And this is where kids get the opportunity to ask questions about it, like, you know, how much force? This is a great place for force and motion, how much force was was involved with the uh with how Humpty fell? Like, was it a higher, a higher level, which would cause more of a force? And then we can talk about gravity and we can talk about things like that. And you know, the impact on hitting the ground at that kind of speed, and that makes you know, makes it really easy to integrate science. And but the fact that we've read after the fall, we've integrated reading. And if we do some activities with reading, then you know, we've got that covered as well. Anyway, so they ask questions and they start to brainstorm solutions. This gives them the opportunity to think about what they might do, how they might solve the problem, what materials they might need, or what they're going to use. And we allow them to do that. Then we actually allow them to build. And this is the part that people are like, oh, this gets crazy, but it doesn't have to get crazy. The other thing is they're like, oh, I don't have the materials, but we don't need anything fancy. We can use cardboard and tape, we can use pipe cleaners, we can use popsicle sticks, we can use toilet paper rolls, which are a little harder because you have to ask for those to come in. So maybe you don't want to use those. Maybe you want to use whatever you have in your classroom, maybe you want to use trash. I mean, recycling is a big deal. And or maybe you want to use play-doh or Legos, something that you have probably on hand or that you might put, get on hand and keep and like repeatedly use. So those are just some ideas. Then we test our solutions to see if they actually work, and then we give kids a chance to revise solutions. This is really important. It often is the skip, the step that's skipped because they don't feel like you have enough time. I like to kind of break up the the engineering design process. I like to like do that first part maybe in one time period and then come back maybe the next day or later in the day and do the you know the revision part and allowing kids to like work through some product productive struggle. Last week I talked about failure not being the end of the world. If you want to check that out, it's episode 281 and it's it's a good one. Anyway, so then they they revise, they reflect. I like to have them compare and contrast and take a look at how things worked and how they didn't work and have conversations that I feel are really powerful for kids. So you don't need, you know, you don't need elaborate materials, you don't need perfect conditions, simple things, real problems, quite problems from a book, questions, these can lead to huge conversations. All right. So why cardboard, tape, and conversation matter more than the than than you think? The kids uh the kids are what's the most important part. The materials don't have to be complicated. You don't have to they don't have to be complicated. You don't have to make it harder for yourself. And this structure, this actually reduces anxiety for both the kids and the teachers. All right, here's a takeaway. Simple doesn't mean shallow, it often means safe. And we all thrive in a safe environment. All right, so if you are interested in my free grit STEM story station based on after the fall, all you need to do is go to Trina Deborah Teachingandlearning.com forward slash grit, or just go to the show notes and click the link. That's it for this week. Until next time, sweet dreams and sleep tight.