To date, 42 states and the District of Columbia have adopted Common Core State Standards for Math. What does that mean in the classroom? Students still have to learn to add, subtract, measure, and make bar graphs. They're also expected to develop a deep understanding of math concepts and be able to apply math outside the classroom.

Hands-on engineering is ideal for putting math in a real-world context, and Engineering is Elementary's Linking the E & M in STEM (LEMSTEM) professional development workshop is packed with creative strategies for bringing meaningful math and engineering integration to the elementary classroom.

We know that in July, the last thing educators want to think about is the upcoming school year—but hear us out! This August, we’re offering an exciting, free online professional development opportunity: Getting Started With EiE. With this back-to-school webinar series, you can get a jump start on your professional development and feel confident about teaching engineering in the fall. This series is for EiE educators who need a little support from our PD team—like those who are brand new to teaching engineering, those who have an EiE materials kit sitting unused on their shelves, and those who need a refresher on how our curriculum materials work. In this interactive series, you’ll connect with our PD providers and other educators to get ready to dive into hands-on engineering instruction with ease. Best of all, you can attend these free sessions from the comfort of your own home!

Bringing engineering to your classroom can seem like a daunting task. Visions of a craft supply mountain and a textbook-sized teacher guide can make even the most seasoned teacher hesitate. Here at EiE, we know the importance of introducing engineering to students, but we don’t want teachers to see classroom engineering as a difficult or insurmountable burden. To ease the potentially stressful task of introducing a new subject, the Engineering is Elementary team has worked hard to create resources, guides, and charts that provide educators with everything they’ll need to choose an appropriate EiE unit and easily implement classroom engineering.

A total of 42 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for Mathematics and English Language Arts. An engaging and effective way to meet these standards is through classroom engineering—and Engineering is Elementary offers convenient CCSS Alignment Guides to help you make the connections.

When Camie Walker chose an Engineering Adventures activity for her fifth-grade classroom two years ago, she was thinking about how the lessons would complement her plans for English Language Arts instruction. She never expected that the real-world engineering design challenge would help her students become more resilient in the face of failure . . . or move them to meaningful social action on behalf of a young boy left destitute by a natural disaster.