Two new editions to the STEM Road Map Curriculum Series (NSTA Press) make science and technology more applicable to students’ lives. The books provide lessons that will allow students to roll up their sleeves and conduct stimulating experiments while learning to solve real world challenges.

The newly released Physics in Motion: STEM Road Map for Elementary School, Grade K, addresses five themes: Cause and Effect; Innovation and Progress; The Represented World; Sustainable Systems; and Optimizing the Human Experience.

With the “Physics in Motion Module,” students will explore cause and effect through roller coaster design. In the module, students collaborate to investigate energy, gravity, friction, and speed.

The module guides students in learning to demonstrate awareness of important concepts. They will use technology to gather research, while also developing theories and testing them. Students will learn about careers associated with roller coaster design and construction, and they will design, construct, test, and evaluate the success of their own marble track roller coasters.

The module outlines prerequisite key knowledge, how the knowledge can be applied, and how to differentiate lessons for students needing additional support, as well as identifying commonly held misconceptions specific to the lesson content that educators should address.

For Grade 1, the new book Influence of Waves continues the series by challenging students to create instruments they can play in their own “Show Me the Waves” musical production.

Students will discover that there are different types of waves (water and sound), that come from different sources and travel in various waves. They will explore the ways that eyes, ears, and skin respond to sound and light.

Students will also have rich opportunities to conduct experiments and collect data about how people experience and interact with sound and light differently, and they will work as musical engineers, musicians, stage hands, and set and lighting designers for their classroom production.

Physics in Motion and Influence of Waves add to STEM Road Map curriculum series, which includes 16 books that address topics that include wind energy, car crashes, bridge design, solar energy, amusement park design.

Edited by Carla C. Johnson, Janet B. Walton, and Erin Peters-Burton, each book in the series can be used as a whole unit or in part, and the lessons are anchored in the Next Generation Science Standards, the Common Core State Standards, and the Framework for 21st Century Learning.

Learn more about the STEM Road Map series and find the right book for your class. 

Read the free chapter from Physics in Motion.

Read the free chapter from Influence of Waves.