science activities for special education students

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Valerie Cox

7 Ideas for Making Science Fun for Kids with Special Needs

Science is everywhere in the world around us, and it’s important to help all children find joy in science. It can be tricky finding ways to help kids with special needs engage in learning about science. However, there are easy ways to work around accessibility and sensory challenges to make science activities fun for every child. 

Thinking outside the box and tailoring science activities to fit children’s specific needs are key ways to ensure that everyone will have fun. Read more below on ways to help children with special needs engage in science-related learning and activities.

1. Modify experiments to fit sensory needs

Performing science experiments is a fun way to explore science, but children won’t enjoy the experiments if they feel discomfort doing them. The good news is, many experiments can easily be modified to fit sensory needs.

Fingerprint Balloon

Teach your child about our individual uniqueness with this experiment. Color your child’s finger (or your own) with a marker and press it down on a balloon. After you blow the balloon up, your child will be able to see an enlarged fingerprint which is a great introduction to fingerprints and DNA.

Walking Water

Help your child learn about capillary action. Fill cups with water and use food coloring to make each cup a different color. Next, place folded paper towels into each so each cup is connected to another color. As time passes, the colored water will travel up each paper towel and into the next cup. 

2. Learn about scientists who overcame obstacles

Help your child learn about scientists who overcame obstacles to change the world with their scientific discoveries. Alexander Graham Bell had dyslexia , Thomas Edison had hearing loss and Nikola Tesla had OCD. Show your child that everyone has something to offer to the scientific community and can make a difference.

3. Experiment with seasons

During the spring, you can plant flowers with your child and watch them grow. In the summer, you can use the hot temperatures to monitor how quickly water evaporates or try the popular trick of frying an egg on the sidewalk. 

In the fall, experiment with pumpkins . During the winter months, melt snow to see how much water is actually in snow or chart the weather to study trends.

4. Build with building blocks

Not only do building blocks help with counting, sorting, and motor skills, but this STEM activity is a fun way for children to learn about engineering and architecture. As you help your child build different creations, you can talk about the importance of having structural support.

5. Spend time exploring nature

Exploring nature is a wonderful way for your children to learn more about science. Many parks have paved walking trails to make nature more accessible for everyone, and this is a great way for children to learn more about the plants, trees, and wildlife local to your area. 

If your child loves animals, you could visit a local farm . Many stables offer programs that allow everyone to participate in riding horses.

6. Tailor your activities to their interests

One of the easiest ways to make science fun is to tailor your activities to your child’s interests. If your child enjoys playing with cars, you could build a racetrack to learn about physics. If your child likes learning about space, you could build a rocket or learn about key figures in space exploration. 

Once you find a scientific aspect that your child enjoys, you can visit the library to find books on the topic or see if any local museums have exhibits or programs.

7. Allow your child to help you in the kitchen

From mixing ingredients to understanding the states of matter to learning about the importance of using the correct measurements, so many science lessons can be learned in the kitchen . Even simple tasks like preheating the oven, stirring ingredients, and rinsing items provide the opportunity to learn more about science.

Valerie Cox is a contributing writer for LOC Scientific .

WRITTEN ON February 25, 2021 BY:

Valerie Cox is a contributing writer for LOC Scientific. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, playing with her dog, and volunteering in her local community. https://www.locscientific.com/

Special Educator Survival Guide

Science Curriculum for Special Education: Teaching the States of Matter

Science standards have you stressed? I completely get it! Very few districts have a science curriculum for special education, yet you are expected to teach all of the standards anyways. Whatever standards you have to follow, my guess is, you are trying to figure out how to tackle the states of matter. For many years, I was in the same boat. It took a lot of trial and error before I had states of matter resources in my tool belt that made me feel like I was doing my students and the standards justice. Here are the activities, I have found most useful over the years for teaching the states of matter!

Don’t spend time trying to figure out what resources to use in your science curriculum for special education when it comes to teaching the states of matter. These are the top 6 resources I use in order to teach this scientific concept!

Cut and Paste

One thing that I have found about teaching the states of matter (or any science concept!) is that my students need hands-on practice and different answering modalities. These are often missing from typical science curriculum. So, I always like to start off my exploration of states of matter with some cut and paste worksheets .

After introducing examples of solids, liquids, and gasses, I give students these cut and paste worksheets to practice the concept of states of matter. I start with errorless worksheets so that I am able to easily reinforce the correct responses and students are not practicing errors with the new concept (more info on errorless learning here!).

Once students have completed the errorless worksheets, I have them complete cut and paste worksheets that have multiple states of matter. This allows them the hands-on visual practice that they need while also testing their understanding of the concept.

Cut and paste worksheets are great for having students focus on and identify one concept, such as identifying a solid. The next step is to be able to identify multiple concepts and differentiate between each. That is why I love using sorting activities in my science curriculum for special education!

I set up the activities so that students are still cutting and pasting visuals, but now each concept needs to go in the appropriate column. For example, all of the visuals of gas need to go in the gas column and all the visuals of liquids need to go in the liquids column.

This type of activity allows for differentiation in several ways so that you can provide quality states of matter instruction for all of your students. Here are some ways you can set up sorting activities to teach the states of matter:

• The same visuals from the cut and paste worksheets
• Different visuals from the cut and paste worksheets
• Different visuals for one concept
• Use different visuals of both concepts
• A mix of words and visuals

Special Educator Academy

Free resources, science in the special education classroom: plant life cycle activities.

Sharing is caring!

I’m back today with another post of science in the special education classroom.  The next unit up is the plant life cycle.  With spring finally beginning in most areas of the country and alternative standards focusing on plants, this is the perfect time of year to teach about plants and plant facts.  Like my butterfly life cycle unit, this one has lots of options and work products that are already differentiate for students to demonstrate their knowledge. So I wanted to share with you what’s included in these plant life cycle activities and how I would use the different materials to meet a diverse range of needs.

And make sure you stick to the end, because I’ve got a free plant life cycle activity from this set for you!

One of the tricky parts about teaching science in a special education classroom, particularly one that includes students with developmental disabilities, is that typically it’s hard to figure out what to include and what you might be able to leave out.  For instance, is it important to have all the students understand all the vocabulary of the life cycle of a plant like photosynthesis, or do you want them to have more time to experience how plants grow and adapt to changing conditions?  How much time you have for this instruction plays a role as well.  Often science gets taught as an afterthought to meet the alternate curriculum standards and may not be part of the everyday curriculum.  Also, because it’s part of the alternate curriculum, many students have IEP goals related to the science units, so you need some way to reliably measure their mastery of the material.  And finally, there is always the issue that all of the students in the classroom are significantly different in their skill level so there is a good bit of differentiation involved.

So, let’s talk about the plant life cycle activities. The plant life cycle is a fun unit to teach because it’s great for hands-on activities, the students can learn about how things grow and how we can grow the food we eat. For young student it can give them a chance to dig in the dirt, plant things, and watch them grow.  For older students, it can also be incorporated into vocational skills of working in a nursery or a greenhouse.  Or a leisure skill of just planting their own garden.  So, if you look at it with these goals in mind, you can make some decisions based on the needs and skills of the student how important different parts of the unit are.

Hands-On Science in the Special Education Classroom

There are so many hands-on activities you can do with plants that I like to include gardening or some type in all classrooms regardless of age.

• You can work on following directions to plant seeds.
• Students whose independence skills are at the stage of put-in tasks can fill the peat pots or containers with the dirt for planting.
• Students who are working on math skills of measuring, graphing, and simple data collection can plant flowers or plants and then measure them each day or week, recording their height or how many blades of grass have grown.
• Students who are counting can plant seeds, counting how many they have planted and then counting how many turned into seedlings.
• Students who are working on understanding the scientific method can put a plant in the light and another plant in a dark place and record which grows faster.  Or they can water one and not the other and compare them.  This can also be worked into a writing or journaling activity.
• Students could plant a vegetable garden and harvest fast-growing vegetables, like beans and squash, and then cook them (I love cooking in the classroom ) or take them home to show families.

Hands-On Science Activities from Around the Web

If you are looking for other ideas and directions, here are some science activities from around the web that might be useful.

• You can always check out my Science Pinterest Board for Ideas for supporting science in the special education classroom. Here are some links from that board that you might want to try for this unit.
• Seed Jar Science from Little Bins for Little Hands
• How Does a Leaf Breathe from KC Edventures
• Kids’ Science Sprout House from The Stem Laboratory
• And finally, check out these videos gathered by Primary Themepark

To supplement these activities and assure you are teaching the cycle of plant life, you can share information and practice sequencing the life cycle.  This is great practice for students working on sequencing to tell a story as well as meeting science objectives.  To that end, I created the Science in the Special Education Classroom: Plant Life Cycle Activities Unit.  It provides what you need to supplement the hands-on activities to teach about the plant life cycle and facts about plants through a presentation, hands-on materials, cut-and-paste sequencing and worksheets / tests for demonstrating mastery.

Materials to Introduce the Unit and the Steps

• Slide Show / Presentation: Students are exposed to the life cycle and facts about plants in a PowerPoint you can show with a projector or on a computer. Students can also read it on a tablet.
• Interactive book  (can be printed in 2 sizes).
• 20 Picture Vocabulary Cards : Photographs and words of key terms for a word wall or picture dictionary.
• Mini-Book : Black and White for students to color; Color version for teacher example

How You Can Implement the Plant Life Cycle Activities Unit in the Classroom

Clearly you can choose how to use your materials, but here are some ways I would use it and reasons I designed it the way I did.

▪ Introduce the unit with the presentation on a projector, computer or tablet. Edit the slides to remove slides you don’t need for your class (e.g., if your students don’t need to learn “germinate”). ▪ Read the interactive book to the morning meeting or during another group time. Have students find the pictures to match to the page. Review the book 2 or 3 times during the week. Alternate with the presentation as appropriate for your students. ▪ If you have a student who needs to hold his/her own book with pieces, print out the smaller version of the book to read during the group. ▪ During art or small group instruction have the students color the mini-books. Again customize them by removing pages you don’t need your students to review. ▪ While reviewing the mini-books, slideshow or interactive books, have students go to the word wall or word ring for the picture cards to find the vocabulary words.  Have them identify them in the presentation or books with a definition.

Work Product / Documentation

Data on a daily basis is hard enough for all the other skills the student is learning, so I made this unit to create work products you can grade or assess to provide proof of students’ mastery of the material.

Included for doing this are:

• Sequencing Sheets : 18 versions for students to sequence the life cycle of plants including one you can laminate with color pictures, a black and white version for cut and paste and versions students write on with and without pictures. Includes general life cycle, bean life cycle, sunflower life cycle, and apple life cycle.
• 3 Worksheets – Tests : Versions with symbols to assist in reading, with symbols for answering or simply written and fill-in-the blank for students who can read and write more successfully.

 The Way I Would Use Them

▪ Have the students practice with the various life cycles for general plants, sunflower, beans, and apples. Each life cycle cut and paste activity is offered in black and white and color. ▪ Students working on the basic level can do the general, sunflower, and apple tree cycles with 4 steps. More advanced students can do the 9 steps of the sunflower or bean life cycle. ▪ Have the students answer the questions on the worksheets or tests. There are symbol supported options and written options. ▪ Have advanced students write the steps of the life cycle with graphic organizers. ▪ Use the written work to provide permanent product for meeting curriculum goals.

I’ve tried to give you everything you need, other than the hands-on experiments, to learn about the life cycle of plants and then demonstrate the knowledge and mastery of the concepts.  You can check the unit with plant life cycle activities out in my TPT Store by clicking the picture below.  If you have science you units you would like me to create materials for, let me know.  Happy Spring!

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STEM for Students with Special Needs: Part 1

STEM. We’ve all heard of it. Some of us are implementing it, while the other half of us have no idea what it means or what it is or how to even implement it… especially in a special needs classroom .

And some of us still have absolutely no idea what STEM stands for… that was me about a month ago.

Enter Brooke Brown . I met this amazing woman through TeachersPayTeachers and she forever changed my classroom and how I lesson plan for science… and math… and technology… and apparently I now teach engineering. Yes ya’ll, in a moderate to severe SPECIAL NEEDS CLASSROOM. I teach STEM.

Wow, that was pretty amazing to say. I teach STEM.  AHH! It’s so exciting!

So what is STEM? Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics. But it’s so much more than just teaching those subjects and implementing them into our classrooms. It’s about the thought process and the higher order thinking that goes in to solving problems.

Why should we, special education teachers, teach STEM?

Because not only are we knocking out pretty much all subject areas at once, but we are allowing our students to problem solve and think critically. STEM gets my students collaborating in a high engagement, hands-on activity, all while using their smarts to generalize and apply this knowledge into the real world. Plus, STEM touches on multiple learning styles and intelligences!

It’s like walking into Target only to find out the Dollar Spot was just freshly stocked up. It’s like a gold mine!

Let me just say that special education teachers are pros at modifying stuff… and accommodating stuff. Everything really. We are kind of like lesson planning superheroes when it comes to taking a set general ed curriculum on a 4th grade level and morphing it to fit the needs of a student on a kindergarten level… and another student on a first grade level… and four more students on a second grade level. I mean, we’ve got it covered .

So what I’m going to do is show you two different STEM activities that we did this week. I’ll first show you the recommended way to try the activity, and then show you how I modified it to fit the needs of my students with special needs.

The first activity was building a waterproof house for a critter.

I didn’t have an empty tissue box to use for this activity, so I modified it a lot based on the supplies I had in my classroom.

To save time, I let my student choose clip art animals. He was so excited that I had dinosaur clip art too!

Then he had to cut out each animal and tape it on to a small dixie cup. Inside of each cup, we put a piece of sponge (I cut up a kitchen sponge I had left over from making glue sponges).

Since we tested 6 critter houses and not just one, I made him a super quick graphic organizer to keep track of his data on the back of the worksheet provided in the STEM packet.

Since we had 6 different critters, he had to build 6 critter houses. He used foil, a small baggie, a large baggie, cling wrap, Legos, and a plastic container.

We lined all of the critter houses up in front of our “pond.” I let him choose critter houses in any order he wanted. Then we set a timer for 1 minute and he had to hold the critter house under the water for 1 minute.

After the timer went off, he would pull the critter house out of the “pond” and deconstruct the house to see if the sponge got wet. If it got wet, he wrote “no” and if the sponge stayed dry, he wrote “yes.”

I would have guessed that the foil critter house would be waterproof…

…along with the Lego house… but I was wrong 🙂 LOL so it was a learning experience for me too!

The second STEM activity we did this week was building straw rockets.

This activity did not need modified for my student…

…but he did struggle a little bit with figuring out how to construct his rocket. This made it a great real life problem solving activity for him. He used the rocket “pocket” that I constructed as a model after a few minutes.

Then it was time to test out the rockets. He created 4 different rockets. We use two different straws: a small, thin straw and a longer, wider straw. So we trialed each straw twice.

He quickly realized that the larger, wider straw worked better to launch his rockets. He also learned really quickly that he needed to leave space at the top of the rocket for his air to blast the rocket off of his straw. He’s so smart!

One modification we used for this STEM activity was practicing measurement with nonstandard units of measure instead of using a ruler or a yardstick. He chose to use the ten frames to measure ( he said it was because they were the longest and it would go quicker… see what I mean? SO SMART ! )

We used the green tape on the floor as a baseline for him to begin his measurement.

We labeled each of his rockets and then measured them and recorded the data one by one.

After seeing how much fun we were having with straw rockets, the other students wanted to join in with us. So I made a fun game out of it.

I used red painter’s tape to tape numbers on the line ( as shown in the picture above ). They each got one rocket and four rounds. Whoever earned the most points after four rounds was the winner… although everyone got 3 M&M’s for participating, so we all won 🙂

The numbers are actually still on our classroom floor… 3 days after the lesson… and the kids are still exciting about their new “game.”

My friend also worked on this STEM activity with one of our paraprofessionals.

You could say that after two weeks of implementing STEM activities into my special needs classroom, I am hooked. My students are hooked… and the best part is, they WANT to do these activities!

You can find all of these activities in Brooke’s TPT store .

Read STEM for Students with Special Needs: Part 2 here .

Do you teach STEM in your classroom? Tell us in the comments below! *I was not compensated to write this blog post. The views within this post are strictly and honestly my own.*

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• STEM in Special Ed: Part 2
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Science Activities for Special Education Students

Heather kinn.

Special education students often learn well from instruction that is multi-sensory and hands on. Science activities that involve experiments they can perform and then write about are a wonderful way to integrate meaningful instruction and reinforce reading and writing skills.

Explore this article

• Hands-On Projects
• Ice Cream for Science
• Prepare Your Experiment
• Leading Instruction
• Cross Curriculum Instruction and Children with Learning Disabilities

1 Hands-On Projects

Children love science, especially science they can eat. One simple, easy experiment children can do is make butter. Have the students bring in a small jar with a lid--an old peanut butter, jam or jelly jar is good--and put in some heavy cream. Seal the jar and have the students shake it. As they shake the jar, the protein and fat molecules in the cream will stick together and make butter. There will also be a liquid that the students can pour off called buttermilk. The science takeaway from this is that friction can cause a change in state of the cream.

2 Ice Cream for Science

Butter is nice, but ice cream is even better. This experiment flows best if you call children up one at a time, or in pairs to do each step. Let the students work together in small groups to write up their experiment results.

3 Prepare Your Experiment

Use a no-cook ice cream recipe and assemble your ingredients. As you put the ice and salt in the bag, ask them why you might need to do this. What is the ice going to do to your mixture? Why add salt? What does salt do to the ice? Once both bags are sealed, let the children put on mittens or gloves and take turns kneading the bags.

4 Leading Instruction

As the mixture begins to freeze, talk to the students about what is happening to the ice cream. The ice and salt have lowered the temperature, and ice crystals are beginning to form. Why are we kneading the mixture? When the ice cream is ready, let the students eat their creation, and then write up the results.

5 Cross Curriculum Instruction and Children with Learning Disabilities

This teaching technique is multi-sensory, which is favored for children with learning disabilities. It is also an example of integrated curriculum. However, it should be stressed that even though this is integrated instruction, the instructor should be concerned with teaching the science and making certain the students grasp the underlying principles of how the experiments work. Spelling and grammar are not to be weighed equally to these principles, because it will distract the students' focus. Children who have learning disabilities often have to concentrate on sound-symbol correlation and spelling, to the detraction of content. Use this activity to reinforce language arts, but do not introduce new concepts in that subject. Let the students enjoy the science.

• 1 Multisensory Structured Language Programs: Content and Principles of Instruction
• 2 PBS ZOOM: Butter
• 3 How to Make Ice Cream in a Bag

About the Author

Heather Kinn has been writing professionally since 2005, and her work appears at Dark Roast Press. She has experience in information technology and Web design and uses her background in these fields for her writing. Kinn holds a Bachelor of Science in special education and another in speech-language pathology from the University of South Florida.

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Where I Aut-a Be

Teaching tips, ideas, and resources for Special Education

5 Tips For Teaching Science In Special Education

Special education science curriculum.

Science can be one of the most abstract concepts to teach. It’s rare to be given a special education science curriculum. So it can be such a challenge to come up with hands on science activities. Throughout the years, I have figured out ways to make abstract concepts digestible for ALL students. Below are my best tips on how to keep science as engaging and accessible to all.

Use Real Life Objects

Let’s think outside the box here. In order to keep those abstract concepts interesting and engaging, we have to use ways of learning that involve movement. My favorite way to do this is to use props and real objects. Science becomes more applicable to real life when you use real life objects. Like these measuring containers from Oriental Trading . When learning about measurement, I can have my kids actually practice measuring and pouring. Which is so relatable to countless life skills. For example, pouring a cup of milk, pouring laundry detergent, or measuring ingredients for cooking. The more hands on practice they get, the more meaning it has. Most importantly, the more meaning, the higher chance of generalization.

Offer Visual Comprehension

Finding a special education science curriculum that works for your students can be hard to do. I like to include visuals in ALL of my student’s work. Now don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean that I don’t use ANY words. But I love introducing science concepts with BOTH pictures and words. I love to open any science unit with an adapted book. This walks through each step of the concepts I’m teaching. Therefore my students are exposed to the vocabulary paired with the picture. I always hand out a couple adapted pieces to each student to keep them engaged. As I’m reading, they can see each visual in the book and the students can recognize when it’s their turn to place the adapted piece onto the page.

Differentiate

Chances are that if you’re a special education teacher, you’re teaching several grade levels. Not all of your students will have the same level of understanding when it comes to science. Sometimes you need a more advanced comprehension worksheet for a student and other times you need an errorless version. Hello differentiation! They key is to have all of these options available to give your students the appropriate opportunity to be challenged yet gain understanding.

Repetition Is Key

If you teach about science safety in the August and then never talk about it again. What are the chances that your students will retain and generalize that knowledge? Probably slim to none! There are 2 things I love to do in order to keep what we talked about in August applicable to the entire year.

First, I like to utilize the same images throughout the whole unit. For example, if on Monday we do a sorting activity and on Tuesday we do a labeling activity, the pictures within those activities stay the same! This way, my students can gain a deeper understanding before we introduce a new picture.

Secondly, I love to keep those 3 dimensional real life objects we used during our lesson displayed in the classroom. For example if we talk about science safety in August, I’ll make sure to keep the science safety goggles and science tools displayed on the window sill. I’ll sprinkle them throughout the classroom so that they’re visible.

Keep Reinforcement Science Related

I don’t know about you, but there are certain science related reinforcers that my students LOVE. Keeping your reinforcement science related can help reiterate everything you’ve learned. Some of my student’s favorite science related reinforcers include slime, recipes, and experiments. Before you introduce your science unit, give your students the choice of what they would like to work for. Offer them 3 really enticing options that you KNOW they love. They don’t have to know it’s just an extension of your science lesson. I love offering a choice board that says, “I am working for _____”. My students can then choose the picture that says slime, recipe, or volcano experiment. It keeps them motivated to start and complete their work.

So how can you take some actionable steps to make your science curriculum for special education more engaging? I want to challenge you in one small way! Grab some real life objects before you teach your next science lesson. If you’re teaching about rocks, look around outside and grab some sand, rocks, or dirt! Maybe you’re teaching about plants. So grab some leaves or some flowers from outside to help make it concrete for your students! If you’re teaching about food and health, don’t be afraid to use real life food. Chances are you have some of these laying around in your home.

If you’re interested in a visual science curriculum to pair will all of your experiments and real life objects, you can check one out here .

I hope you enjoyed reading these special education teacher tips! Be sure to check out my other sped teacher tips and tricks here!

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Mrs. P's Specialties

Easy Fall Science Activities For Special Education Classrooms

Instruction and Lesson Plans

Fall lends itself to some great EASY science lessons for students who need hands on lessons. Here are a few engaging science lessons that my students have greatly enjoyed.

Apples are perfect for science lessons! We do a whole apple theme unit so students can learn vocabulary, concepts and about the life cycle. During this unit, we explore the different colored apples. We talk about how they look different and taste different, but look the same inside.

I’m a huge advocate of integrating subjects. Our students have a lot of needs, so combining subjects whenever possible is a win in my book. To integrate subjects with this science activity, we have students try bites of  each apple and we made a graph their answers. We then review the life cycle of an apple with this interactive book:

Pumpkins are also a great item to use in your science lessons. A favorite in my class is sink or float with mini pumpkins. Read HERE for more details on ways to run the lesson. There are tons of different things you can do with this one!

You can easily make this a 2 part science lesson by targeting the parts of a pumpkin while hallowing the pumpkins out. We did this the day before the sink and float activity.

October is fire safety month! Here is a fun science activity to do during your fire safety theme unit . Click the photo for information on how to do this experiment.

In this science experiment we talk about how the fire fighters come to put out fires and their tools. We integrate reading & literacy by reading this fire safety interactive book about the tools the fire fighters will bring and what they will look like.

Does your class have a favorite fall science activity? Drop it in the comments so everyone can hear about it!

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How STEM Education Can Help Children With Special Needs

You walk into your child’s classroom, just hoping…

• He got along with his classmates.
• His work was completed in class.
• The teacher doesn’t want to sit you down to talk about behavioral issues again.

You are amazed to see him participating in a group activity rather than off to himself.

He is so attentive to the activity he doesn’t even notice you come in.

What could he possibly be doing that he enjoys so much?

He is building a bridge with straws, popsicle sticks, and legos during a STEM Education Activity.

He had a good day…

What is STEM Education?  

Want One-On-One Expert Help?!

Check this out.

• In simplified terms , STEM is an acronym that stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
• STEM Education is a curriculum of teaching that combines two or more of these together.

A more formal definition from Nancy Tsupros (Director of STEM Services at CMU):

“ STEM is an interdisciplinary approach to learning where rigorous academic concepts are coupled with real-world lessons as students apply science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in contexts that make connections between school, community, work, and the global enterprise enabling the development of STEM literacy and with it the ability to compete in the new economy.” (Tsupros, 2009) 

Why is STEM Education Important? 

Recent studies show many of the future careers are going to have some form of STEM integration. As a Special Education teacher, I went to a conference, and one of the sessions was on STEM Education.

STEM can mean something different to each teacher and how they integrate it into their classroom. PreK and Kindergarten students may be exposed to legos or building time during their day.

Unfortunately, in upper grades, students may not necessarily be exposed to any STEM opportunities.

If your children are interested in the following activities, they need STEM exposure:

• Video Games
• Architecture
• Construction Building

Benefits of STEM Integration

  Creativity/Experimentation

• Students can create and use science, math, technology, and engineering in creative ways. Students also get to experiment and find a solution in their own unique way. 

Creates an environment of Resilience

• Children need the opportunity to fail and know that they can try again. In many STEM activities at my conference, my group failed at the task. However, we were able to try again. 

Team Building

• Many of the activities in STEM Education often require team building activities. In our middle school, they have a coding class in which the students have to work together to create a robot. 

Encourages students to show off their prior knowledge. 

• Many students use their prior experience when solving problems. STEM activities require students to use their prior knowledge while also using higher-order thinking to solve the problem.

How STEM Education Can Help Children with Special Needs  

STEM education is an ongoing opportunity for students to use problem-solving skills and higher-level thinking in a fun way. Because most of the careers in the future will involve one of these subjects, it is essential to expose special needs children to STEM education.

A special needs child may be delayed in one subject like reading but be exceptional (and even gifted) in another like math. This is called Twice Exceptional . Participating in a subject he excels at will give him a sense of achievement that he doesn’t feel otherwise.

Not only are students with special needs capable of doing STEM activities, but they also enjoy them. And you know when a child enjoys something they will want to do it more.

Getting them to do educational activities is half the battle.

Taking part in the activities more often will help them retain what they learn.

Stem Activities to Try

Many of my current students LOVE Legos! Did you know that LEGOs often promote STEM? Legos are a great way to help students problem solve and use their higher-order thinking skills.

Lego Glasses

One of the activities that we learned about in the conference is giving students Lego Glasses within the first week of school. These special glasses allowed you to attach Legos to them.

The presenters discussed how students had to create their own pair of glasses based on their personalities. Letting students express themselves through Lego Glasses is incorporating STEM in a fun way.

One way that you can integrate STEM education is by using PlayDoh. PlayDoh allows children to use their imagination to create things. PlayDoh may not be cool in the upper grades though.

Building Things

Allowing children to use Lincoln Logs, popsicle sticks, and pipe cleaners to create and build things from scratch is another fun way to incorporate STEM education.

Here are a few other great resources for finding STEM activities:

• 50+ Hands-On STEM Activities for Learning
• 5 Best STEM Products for Kindergarten Students 
• STEM for Students with Special Needs

Here are a few Special Education Resources specifically for math and science you can work on together at home.

• Strategies To Assist In Today’s Math 
• 3 Incredible Science Strategies
• 4 Outside Of The Box Ideas For Children Struggling with Math
• Educational Resources Online

Is your child struggling in one of these areas? 

We offer one-on-one special education tutoring that can be done from anywhere you are! Why? Because our special education experts conduct their sessions online!

Get started with a free consultation !

Taylor Fulcher

13 comments.

Wonderful article! I’m a fan of STEM!

Thank you for this helpful article on STEM education. My son has a speech delay and is very active. I can definitely see how this learning approach could be very helpful for him!

I never knew that this could be helpful. Thanks for the great info. It is definitely something to consider.

Thankfully our girls arent going through this yet. But if they do this is very helpful!

LOL you are preaching to the choir here! I love how STEM activities can integrate kids of all different levels and abilities into the same activity. My LD daughter is especially into building things with her Legos (for hours on end!), and is as obsessed with her music practice as she is with practicing math (which, of course, reinforce each other nicely). And they SO help with behavioral problems. too, you’re right! – LD daughter is doing much better this year now that she is at a Montessori school where there is a lot more hands-on learning like what you describe above.

I love this! And I think I’ll want a consultation for my son. Great post.

Thank you! I hope this article helps! We are ready for your call 🙂

Love this! STEM had made such a difference in our homeschool. Night and day difference!

What wonderful points. My husband was talking about possibly putting our daughter in a STEM school. I’ll have to look into it more.

Great post on STEM activities. It’s nice to know that it is a helpful tool for kids with special needs. I can see a child with ASD excelling at STEM activities and improving their behavior through those activities.

This a very informative article.. I am going to share in some of the mom groups I am part of.. Hoping it will come of help to mums and teachers alike. Thank you for sharing!

Thank you so much for this informative article. I love STEM toys and there are many good ones available today. I have gotten a few for my god daughter as she loves those types of toys and I love that they are having fun while learning at the same time 🙂

STEM definitely helps with sensory. I can see how it will help children with special needs. Thank you for sharing.

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Especially Education

Adapted high-quality curriculum to help special education students succeed in the classroom

Hands-On Science in the Special Education Classroom

April 19, 2016

As a special education teacher, I know the challenge of differentiating instruction.

While my district provides a specialized reading and math curriculum for special education classrooms , they are seriously lacking in the science and social studies department.

“Oh, just take what the grade level is doing and modify that,” I was instructed , as a general education teacher handed me a 6-page multiple choice test to review as a guideline.

I will tell you this, though: one can only adapt the Declaration of Independence so much.

Made For Me Literacy creates curriculum for a whole month.

Differentiating Curriculum is Time-Consuming

I would spend hours planning my lessons and nearly twice the amount of time searching for resources and making accommodations and modifications to everything. It was truly exhausting.

The sole purpose of my TPT store is to provide teachers with resources that have already been adapted and meet the needs of their students.

I take the prerequisite skills needed to master grade-level standards and provide you with engaging, hands-on activities that make learning exciting and appropriate.

This week I tested out one of my science resources on magnets.

My students LOVED them.

And I’m not just saying that because I spent two weeks manipulating little boxes in PowerPoint and downloading more clip art than I should have.

I’m saying this because my kids were participating.

Hands-On Science Curriculum Kids Love

My students were excited to make predictions with their table tent prediction cards.

They were dashing around the room to test the magnetic properties of anything and everything in the classroom.

Most importantly, they were the little scientists I knew they could be and were accessing the grade-level curriculum in a way that best met their needs.

I love science and am so happy I found a way to make my students care even just a little bit more!

below are a few more in the Especially Education “All Sorts of Science” series

Click below to see all my TpT science downloads.

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Super Science - For Groups With Special Needs

The activities in this pack have been designed for use with children who have difficulty following instructions given purely in text and may have difficulties remembering a series of verbal instructions.

The activities cover a mixture of topics including: magnets, forces, light, states of matter and sound. Using symbols and photographs to support learning, they are designed for use in class, within a science week or club to promote investigative work.

Activities include:

• changing the pitch on an instrument
• investigating planes
• the water cycle

The activities and investigations have been adapted from existing STEM enrichment resources provided by the British Science Association for its National Science & Engineering Week and Crest Star Investigator award programmes. Widgit Software have translated existing activities from National Science & Engineering Week and CREST Star Investigator activity packs to symbol-supported activity sheets.

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Home / Teachers News / 7 easy STEM activities for students with developmental disabilities

7 easy STEM activities for students with developmental disabilities

• January 27, 2020

Teaching STEM is now a standard component of early childhood education, but do we pay enough attention to students with special needs?

Educational institutions – from traditional schools to home school programs – are recognising the value of early childhood STEM programs in teaching critical thinking, encouraging curiosity and fostering a love of collaborative learning and problem-solving.

However, as educators continue to build out their STEM offerings for younger children, it’s important they pay attention to the needs of students with developmental disabilities. All too often, students with disabilities find that STEM activities aren’t designed with enough consideration for their needs. That lack of consideration is an especially big loss considering that STEM-focussed activities can be especially stimulating and enjoyable for many students with disabilities and that disability-inclusive STEM education can have substantial benefits for childhood cognitive development.

Fortunately, incorporating STEM education for kids with disabilities doesn’t have to be difficult. If you’re an educator interested in creating fun and interesting STEM activities for younger children with developmental disabilities, try these seven easy and fun activities in your classroom. They’re designed to be accessible, interesting and rewarding for students of many different ability levels, and they help lay the foundations of logical and creative thinking that lead to a world of discovery.

1. Sticky-note matching numbers

A Post-It Number Match Game is a great way to teach basic math skills using a method that also provides the kinetic stimulation that many learners with disabilities need in their lessons. All you need for this activity are some markers, sticky notes, painter’s tape and butcher paper.

RELATED: The rise of cybersecurity education 

Create a wall display with dots for each number, as well as a numeral on a sticky note to match. Then, hide the numbers around your classroom and send your kids on a hunt. Kids will love the accomplishment of finding each number, counting out the dots and applying each note to its spot! Best of all, the activity can be easily modified for identifying shapes, colours or any other learning goal.

2. Microscope activities

Microscopes are a classic way to get kids interested in the world around them, and starting with a student microscope kit will help introduce these important tools in a way that’s accessible for young children with disabilities.

Learning to manipulate the different parts of a microscope can be an excellent sensorimotor experience for students with disabilities and can help improve their confidence in operating STEM equipment, with many student microscope kits also coming with learning aids such as books, experiment cards and prepared slides. Finally, microscopes with digital cameras are also available that are great for guided learning exercises, as they make it easy for educators to display specimens on larger screens for easy viewing.

3. Popsicle stick builders

Experimenting, creating and building are all key parts of the STEM process, and popsicle stick builders can be an excellent way to get kids going on these key concepts. All you’ll need are a few velcro dots and a big bag of multicoloured popsicle sticks (also called craft sticks). Each dot should come as a pair with a hook and a loop side. Place one of each on each end of the craft stick and you’ve got a fun and versatile building toy great for building letters, numbers, shapes and anything else a child’s mind can dream up!

4. Classroom caterpillars or tadpoles

Classroom caterpillar or tadpole kits can be a great choice for STEM classrooms with students with disabilities. Watching and caring for a living creature as it grows and develops is a priceless STEM experience that can foster a lifelong love of life sciences. Students of all different ability levels will learn about the life cycles of the animals around us, and they’ll love watching the amazing transformation of caterpillars into butterflies or tadpoles into frogs. On top of that, these kits help teach responsibility and care for living things, which can benefit children’s social and emotional learning.

RELATED: 7 Benefits of inspiring STEM education in young girls

5. Easy stick blocks

With bristles that let them stick together on all four sides, these fun building blocks (also called bristle blocks) offer all kinds of building opportunities that other block toys don’t. They’re easy to stick together, but also require effort and concentration, so they can help students with disabilities learn to solve problems and work independently. Grab a big lot of them and let your learners’ imaginations run wild, or challenge them to build structures that support small objects in the classroom.

6. Solar UV Beads

A box of solar UV beads offers two activities in one — a creative exercise that children of different ability levels can do, plus an awesome demonstration of a key concept in STEM. Making jewellery with these clear white beads is a great fine motor skill activity that offers simple, creative fun, but the real enjoyment begins once you take them out in the sun. Kids will be amazed to watch the colours of the beads change when they’re exposed to sunlight, and it offers a great opportunity to show them the power of the sun and how natural forces can change the things around them.

7. Pattern Blocks

Recognising, matching and manipulating patterns is a key early skill for STEM learners of all ability levels, and pattern blocks are an accessible and fun pattern-teaching tool that has been used for decades. These brightly-coloured blocks are an early childhood classic that give children a dazzling array of shapes that they can rearrange to learn critical STEM concepts such as how parts come together to form a whole, shape symmetry and measurement. They’re also great for many different kinds of learning, from structured lessons in which learners work to imitate a design, to creative play exercises in which they make their own.

A disability-inclusive classroom is one in which all students are given opportunities to thrive, and inclusive STEM education is a key part of cognitive development for students with disabilities. With these easy and fun activities, educators can provide a range of appropriate STEM lessons that will ensure students with disabilities are included in the thrill of discovery.

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Special Education and Inclusive Learning

150 EYFS & SEN Sensory Learning Ideas

Free, simple sensory activities for eyfs or sen.

There are many options for embedding effective sensory learning curriculums for children who cannot access worksheets and online teaching resources. Sensory learners need sensory learning ideas. Preferably simple and free ones. This list of 150 (ish) ideas should give you some ideas to try at home, EYFS settings and in classrooms. You may also like our post on Scavenger hunts for children at home.

 If you really liked this list of sensory learning activities and SEN activities for Early Years please consider sharing it on Twitter, Pinterest or Facebook.

Frequently Asked Questions about Sensory Learning

Before we look at the ideas here are 10 FAQs about educational sensory learning:

• What is sensory learning? Sensory learning involves using the five senses – sight, sound, smell, touch and taste – to engage students in the learning process. When multiple senses are stimulated during hands-on activities, it can enhance memory, and focus and help children understand concepts.
• How does it benefit students? Sensory learning activities have been shown to boost brain development and skill retention. Multi-sensory input allows students to make real-world connections and learn in their preferred modalities. Research also links sensory activities to improved behaviour, focus and academic achievement.
• What types of sensory activities are most effective? Activities involving movement and tactile experiences tend to be most engaging. Things like outdoor exploration, playdough, sand or water play activate vestibular and proprioceptive senses for better attention. Multi-step sensory bins require problem-solving, numbering and literacy skills.
• How can it be used across subjects? Sensory maths uses objects like paint, rice or play money to learn addition/subtraction. For science, students can touch/observe real plants/animals. Sand trays bring stories and history to life. Music encourages creativity and language development. Cooking integrates reading/following directions and collecting data.
• How do I get started with sensory activities? Begin by only selecting 1-2 activities related to your lesson to keep focus. Introduce materials one at a time. Model expected behaviours. Give concrete directions and don’t expect too much at first. Remember to make activities open-ended for various engagement levels. Start simply and expand options over time. Do not worry about having your activities look instagram-worthy.
• Are there safety considerations? Yes, supervise all activities closely at first. Avoid anything with small parts for choking hazards. Be conscious of allergies/sensitivities. Wash hands after messy play. Sanitise materials and organise areas to be clutter-free. Be inclusive of sensory needs and don’t force participation.
• How can I fit it into a busy schedule? Incorporate movement into transitions whenever possible. Use sensory activities at centres during work time. Replace less engaging tasks with sensory options. Sensory stations outside of lessons can stimulate development too. Just 5-10 minutes regularly makes a difference without disrupting routines. Finger Gym can be a brilliant filler activity and sometimes you need hands-on activities that calm the class .
• How do I ensure focus on learning? Explain how sensory activities connect to subject learning. Have students discuss the purpose and identify targets. Guide participation toward goals using specific questions/feedback. Rather than rewards, praise effort/progress in skill-building. Observe for understanding before/after doing a hands-on task.
• How can parents support at home? Suggest carrying over learning from activities by discussing takeaways from school. Recommend using common household items for sensory experiences related to current topics. Share activity ideas through newsletters and encourage caregivers to participate in school events promoting the approach.
• What research supports the approach? Studies have found that sensory-rich classrooms see increased engagement, self-regulation, literacy/numeracy skills and focus. The neural mechanisms behind multisensory learning are well-documented too (Shams & Seitz, 2008) .

Proprioceptive Sensory Learning Activities

Balance walk along masking tape on the floor:

Tight hugs administered by a trusted adult.

Sensory Circuit Activities:

• Wall pushes
• Hand Squeezes
• Superhero poses
• Animal Walk – Based on our sensory trail
• Bear stretch

Follow the light/Follow the sound – The child’s whole head/body follows the movement of a torch

Vestibular Sensory Learning Activities

Imitate head positions

Sway in time with chill out music

Back and forth rowing

Spinning (10 seconds in each direction)

Jumping Jacks

Musical statues

Scooter rides

Cone spinner

Auditory Sensory Learning Activities

Guess the sounds:

• Animals – Great animal sound video here.
• Vehicles – Great vehicle sound video here.
• Instruments – Pretty tricky instrument video here

(you can link this to a “What’s in the bag” game)

Make a rain tube

Bottle blowing

Guess the song intro – Use favourite cartoon theme tunes. A CBeebies video playlist here.

Follow a drum beat – use biscuit tin or saucepan with wooden spoon

Follow a clap pattern

Discrimination Sound Game make a sound and see if the child can work out if it is:

• Near or Far
• Soft or Loud
• High or Low

Visual Sensory Learning Activities

Drop & watch bouncy balls

Colour mixing

Washing up liquid and food colouring experiment

Torch/Light Activities:

• Shadow Puppet Play
• Make numbers with your fingers
• Guess animals from silhouette
• Tray and guess shapes from silhouette
• Guess book characters from silhouette (Gruffalo etc)
• Put into tupperware and retrieve/Watch
• Create a light table .

Find items of interest in a picture/Find self in pictures

Sensory bottles

Sort boxes shape/size

Pile and knock down boxes/tower building

Pull colourful fabric slowly from a bag

Taste and Mouth Sensory Learning Activities

• Boats with straws
• Cotton Balls

This can help with limited diets and support food chaining .

• Crunchy/Chewy Items – Alternate
• Smooth, rough foods (smooth and crunchy peanut butter)
• Frozen Fruits
• Drink through a straw
• Cut vegetables into strips
• Smoothies – blend and taste
• Ask questions like, “Which food here tastes salty? Which ones are sweet?
• Colour cubes (cut food into cubes and sort by colour i.e cucumbers, apples.)
• Mashing foods, ripe pears, potatoes, grapes

Tactile Sensory Learning Activities

This can include essential hygiene routines such as hand washing etc. Here are more tactile sensory learning ideas that use your outdoor areas.

Sensory Ball Games:

• Throw/roll into bucket
• Different textured balls – Wrap in paper, cling film, tin foil
• Roll from head to toe and back
• Roll in playdough to make patterns
• Splat into paint and roll/throw onto paper

Touch and Texture Sensory Learning Ideas

Put objects in a box and feel/guess

Sandpaper shape cut-outs

Tearing paper (either to glue onto something or just to tear up)

Crumpling newspaper

Sponges- Get out bowls and a sponge to transfer water from one bowl to the other.

Bubble wrap popping

Tin foil sculpting or squishing

Salt painting

Shaving foam art

Sand art – glue and sand and glitter

Fizzy water play (bath bombs)

Water play – using bottles, sprays and tubes.

Stress balls

Goop/slime manipulation

Earth, sand and water trays – Classic “ We’re going on a bear hunt ” sensory activity

Hay play – hide items in hay or straw (allergies allowing)

Fine Motor Sensory Learning Activities

AAC games – Especially Shark Bite !

Use rubber gloves to make dots

Cotton buds to make dots

Use a stick to trace letters/mark making

Cutting with scissors paper, straws

Ten Tweezer games

• Move items into different pots
• Pick items out of slime
• Pick items out of water
• Put items into a pattern
• Feed the dog
• Feed toy spiders to a frog
• Put beads into a bottle
• Bean number matching game
• Coloured pom-pom drop

I ce Excavations (freeze objects in ice)

Retrieve items from shaving foam

Hole punch coloured paper then use to blow/for art

Trace numbers in sand

Use a pipette to drop liquid watercolours/food colouring onto toilet paper

Clothespin Number Match

Use clothes pegs and sort by colour to a “line” of wool

Core Strength Activities

Circuit Training

• Bicycle kicks
• Stand on one leg
• Hop, skip, jump

Cosmic yoga

Body Awareness Sensory Activities

Sensory Ball throw/roll

Which hand is hiding the object?

Obstacle Course

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Self-Regulation Sensory Ideas For Anxious Children

Breathing activities for anxiety. Find other self-regulation home learning ideas here.

• Blow out the candle
• Blow the windmill
• Smelling a flower
• Open a window
• What can you smell game
• Blow up a balloon

Make faces in the mirror

• Tense all face muscles
• Relax all face muscles

Count backwards

Count to 5 with a deep breath

Put beans/dried peas/rice in a balloon

Fiddle toys

Follow simple lego instructions

Make a Calm Down Jar

Create a Daisy chain or flower Bouquet

Blow up balloons

Guess the smell:

• Spices (mix with water to avoid sneezing)

Scavenger Hunts

A sensory garden is great for embedding sensory learning ideas. The suggestions below should be findable in any garden.

• Short Stick
• Thick Stick
• Shiny Stone
• Little spoon
• A frying pan

References and Further Reading About Sensory Learning

Shams, L., & Seitz, A. R. (2008). Benefits of multisensory learning .  Trends in cognitive sciences ,  12 (11), 411–417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2008.07.006

We would love to hear your suggestions for simple free sensory learning ideas and activities that you have used. If you have a site that has a demo or resources linked to these ideas let me know and I will add a link to it.

Some of these links are affiliate links and we will earn a small commission to go towards hosting costs if you buy something from amazon (UK only)

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Hands-On Activities for Special Education Students

There are many different types of activities that can be done with special education students to help them learn. Many times, these students need more concrete and hands-on activities to help them understand concepts.

What are Some Teaching Strategies for Special Education Students?

Every student has unique needs, and what works for one may not work for another. However, there are some general strategies that can be effective for many students with special needs. One important strategy is to provide clear and concise instructions. This means breaking down tasks into small, manageable steps and using language that the student can understand. It can also be helpful to use visual aids such as pictures or diagrams to accompany verbal instructions. Another useful strategy is to allow ample time for the student to complete a task. This means giving them plenty of time to process information and avoiding rushing them through an activity. It can also be helpful to provide breaks throughout the lesson so the student can take a break from concentrating if needed. It’s also important to be flexible in your approach and be willing to adjust your plans as necessary based on how the student is responding. Some days may require more or less review than others, and it’s important to go at the student’s pace rather than trying to stick rigidly to a plan.

What are Examples of Hand-on Activities?

There are countless examples of hands-on activities that can be beneficial for children and adults alike. Here are just a few examples:

What are Some Common Hands-on Activities for Special Children?

Here are some ideas for hands-on activities that can be used with special education students: 1. Use manipulatives when teaching math concepts. Manipulatives are objects that can be touched and moved around to help explain a concept. For example, use blocks or counters to teach addition and subtraction. This will allow the student to physically see and touch the numbers they are working with.

2. Get creative with art projects. Art is a great way for students to express themselves and it can also be used as a tool to teach academic concepts. For example, have students create a collage to represent fractions or use clay to sculpt three-dimensional shapes.

5. Painting – Like modeling clay, painting is another activity that can help students understand concepts like colors and mixing colors together. It’s also a great way to encourage creativity and self-expression.

6. puzzles – Puzzles are not only great for building problem-solving skills, but they can also be very calming and relaxing for students. If you have some extra time, try working on a puzzle as a class! 7. sensory bins – Sensory bins are perfect for kids who need some extra tactile input. You can fill them with anything from rice to shaving cream to water beads. Just make sure you supervise closely so that the kids don’t end up eating any of the materials!

How Do You Engage Students With Special Needs?

4. Encourage social interaction among classmates. It’s important for all students – including those with special needs –to feel like they belong in the classroom community. Help facilitate socialization by organizing group work or project-based learning opportunities where everyone can contribute equally.

Fun Activities for High School Special Education Students

It can be difficult to find activities that are both fun and appropriate for high school special education students. However, there are a number of options available if you know where to look. Here are some ideas for fun activities for high school special education students:

Fun Activities for Special Education Students at Home

Social skills activities for special needs students.

Special needs students often have a difficult time socializing with their peers. However, there are many activities that can help these students develop the social skills they need to be successful. Here are a few social skills activities for special needs students:

Fun Activities for Special Education Students Online

Teaching students with autism through hands on activities- special needs.

Special education students often benefit from hands-on activities that help them to learn and retain information. In this blog post, we share some ideas for hands-on activities that can be used with special education students. These activities can be used to teach a variety of subjects, including math, science, reading, and writing.

Dwight Hughes Sr

I am Dwight Hughes Sr., your specialist in Special Education and Preschooler topics at EduEdify.com. Holding a PhD in Early Childhood Education, I bring a depth of knowledge and experience to guide parents and educators in nurturing the younger minds. My mission is to share evidence-based insights, cultivated from years of academic and field research, to help every child flourish during their formative years.

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Take nasa with you on summer vacation, blast boredom with stem crafts and creativity, hungry for more.

The school year has come to an end, and those long summer days are stretching ahead like an open runway. Parents and educators often worry about the “summer slide,” the concept that students may lose academic ground while out of school. But summer doesn’t mean students’ imaginations have to stay grounded!

Are you hoping to slow the summer slide or simply to beat back boredom with some fun options that will also keep young minds active? NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement has pulled together this collection of hands-on activities and interesting resources to set students up for a stellar summer vacation. Read on for ways to keep students entertained and engaged, from learning about NASA’s exciting missions, to exploring the world, to making some out-of-this-world art and more.

Whether you’re whiling away the hours on a quiet summer day or setting out on a travel adventure, NASA offers fun resources for young explorers to learn while passing the time.

Prepare for air travel with the Four Forces of Flight , a set of four activities explaining the forces that make airplanes work, and NASA’s Junior Pilot Program , in which Orville the flying squirrel teaches youngsters about sustainable aviation that’s making airplanes safer and faster. Students can also learn about NASA’s X-59 experimental aircraft , which will fly faster than the speed of sound while reducing the sound of sonic booms to mere “sonic thumps,” and the whole family can sign up as virtual passengers on NASA’s upcoming flights through the NASA Flight Log .

Traveling to somewhere new? Astronauts living and working in low Earth orbit take many photographs of Earth as it rotates. Explore the world using the Explore Astronaut Photography interactive map, or test geography knowledge through the “Where in the World” Expedition I and Expedition II interactive quizzes.

Of course, some kids prefer to kick back with a good book while on the couch, at the beach, in the backseat, or on a plane – and NASA is ready with reading material! Kids aged 3 to 8 can learn about the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will return humans to the Moon with the “ Hooray for SLS ” children’s book and related activities. Students of all ages are invited to take their imaginations on a lunar adventure with fictional astronaut Callie Rodriguez through the First Woman graphic novel series.

Making, baking, coloring, or drawing – there are plenty of ways to keep kids’ artistic abilities engaged while learning.

Students can download and create their own Artemis illustrations through Learn How to Draw Artemis , featuring the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, and younger kids can learn the ABCs of human spaceflight with the Commercial Crew A to Z Activity and Coloring Booklet . Learn about the search for life in the universe while getting creative and colorful with Astrobiology Coloring and Drawing Pages .

If crafts are more appealing, create and launch a soda-straw rocket and use printable templates to build a model of the Orion spacecraft or the Parker Solar Probe . Kids can even create a sundial and use the Sun to tell time on a sunny day.

Finally, summer isn’t complete without a sweet treat, so bake some sunspot cookies . Real sunspots are not made of chocolate, but in this recipe, they are!

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40 Facts About Elektrostal

Written by Lanette Mayes

Modified & Updated: 01 Jun 2024

Reviewed by Jessica Corbett

Elektrostal is a vibrant city located in the Moscow Oblast region of Russia. With a rich history, stunning architecture, and a thriving community, Elektrostal is a city that has much to offer. Whether you are a history buff, nature enthusiast, or simply curious about different cultures, Elektrostal is sure to captivate you.

This article will provide you with 40 fascinating facts about Elektrostal, giving you a better understanding of why this city is worth exploring. From its origins as an industrial hub to its modern-day charm, we will delve into the various aspects that make Elektrostal a unique and must-visit destination.

So, join us as we uncover the hidden treasures of Elektrostal and discover what makes this city a true gem in the heart of Russia.

Key Takeaways:

• Elektrostal, known as the “Motor City of Russia,” is a vibrant and growing city with a rich industrial history, offering diverse cultural experiences and a strong commitment to environmental sustainability.
• With its convenient location near Moscow, Elektrostal provides a picturesque landscape, vibrant nightlife, and a range of recreational activities, making it an ideal destination for residents and visitors alike.

Known as the “Motor City of Russia.”

Elektrostal, a city located in the Moscow Oblast region of Russia, earned the nickname “Motor City” due to its significant involvement in the automotive industry.

Home to the Elektrostal Metallurgical Plant.

Elektrostal is renowned for its metallurgical plant, which has been producing high-quality steel and alloys since its establishment in 1916.

Boasts a rich industrial heritage.

Elektrostal has a long history of industrial development, contributing to the growth and progress of the region.

Founded in 1916.

The city of Elektrostal was founded in 1916 as a result of the construction of the Elektrostal Metallurgical Plant.

Located approximately 50 kilometers east of Moscow.

Elektrostal is situated in close proximity to the Russian capital, making it easily accessible for both residents and visitors.

Known for its vibrant cultural scene.

Elektrostal is home to several cultural institutions, including museums, theaters, and art galleries that showcase the city’s rich artistic heritage.

A popular destination for nature lovers.

Surrounded by picturesque landscapes and forests, Elektrostal offers ample opportunities for outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, and birdwatching.

Hosts the annual Elektrostal City Day celebrations.

Every year, Elektrostal organizes festive events and activities to celebrate its founding, bringing together residents and visitors in a spirit of unity and joy.

Has a population of approximately 160,000 people.

Elektrostal is home to a diverse and vibrant community of around 160,000 residents, contributing to its dynamic atmosphere.

Boasts excellent education facilities.

The city is known for its well-established educational institutions, providing quality education to students of all ages.

A center for scientific research and innovation.

Elektrostal serves as an important hub for scientific research, particularly in the fields of metallurgy , materials science, and engineering.

Surrounded by picturesque lakes.

The city is blessed with numerous beautiful lakes , offering scenic views and recreational opportunities for locals and visitors alike.

Well-connected transportation system.

Elektrostal benefits from an efficient transportation network, including highways, railways, and public transportation options, ensuring convenient travel within and beyond the city.

Famous for its traditional Russian cuisine.

Food enthusiasts can indulge in authentic Russian dishes at numerous restaurants and cafes scattered throughout Elektrostal.

Home to notable architectural landmarks.

Elektrostal boasts impressive architecture, including the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord and the Elektrostal Palace of Culture.

Offers a wide range of recreational facilities.

Residents and visitors can enjoy various recreational activities, such as sports complexes, swimming pools, and fitness centers, enhancing the overall quality of life.

Provides a high standard of healthcare.

Elektrostal is equipped with modern medical facilities, ensuring residents have access to quality healthcare services.

Home to the Elektrostal History Museum.

The Elektrostal History Museum showcases the city’s fascinating past through exhibitions and displays.

A hub for sports enthusiasts.

Elektrostal is passionate about sports, with numerous stadiums, arenas, and sports clubs offering opportunities for athletes and spectators.

Celebrates diverse cultural festivals.

Throughout the year, Elektrostal hosts a variety of cultural festivals, celebrating different ethnicities, traditions, and art forms.

Electric power played a significant role in its early development.

Elektrostal owes its name and initial growth to the establishment of electric power stations and the utilization of electricity in the industrial sector.

Boasts a thriving economy.

The city’s strong industrial base, coupled with its strategic location near Moscow, has contributed to Elektrostal’s prosperous economic status.

Houses the Elektrostal Drama Theater.

The Elektrostal Drama Theater is a cultural centerpiece, attracting theater enthusiasts from far and wide.

Popular destination for winter sports.

Elektrostal’s proximity to ski resorts and winter sport facilities makes it a favorite destination for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter activities.

Promotes environmental sustainability.

Elektrostal prioritizes environmental protection and sustainability, implementing initiatives to reduce pollution and preserve natural resources.

Home to renowned educational institutions.

Elektrostal is known for its prestigious schools and universities, offering a wide range of academic programs to students.

Committed to cultural preservation.

The city values its cultural heritage and takes active steps to preserve and promote traditional customs, crafts, and arts.

Hosts an annual International Film Festival.

The Elektrostal International Film Festival attracts filmmakers and cinema enthusiasts from around the world, showcasing a diverse range of films.

Encourages entrepreneurship and innovation.

Elektrostal supports aspiring entrepreneurs and fosters a culture of innovation, providing opportunities for startups and business development .

Offers a range of housing options.

Elektrostal provides diverse housing options, including apartments, houses, and residential complexes, catering to different lifestyles and budgets.

Home to notable sports teams.

Elektrostal is proud of its sports legacy , with several successful sports teams competing at regional and national levels.

Boasts a vibrant nightlife scene.

Residents and visitors can enjoy a lively nightlife in Elektrostal, with numerous bars, clubs, and entertainment venues.

Promotes cultural exchange and international relations.

Elektrostal actively engages in international partnerships, cultural exchanges, and diplomatic collaborations to foster global connections.

Surrounded by beautiful nature reserves.

Nearby nature reserves, such as the Barybino Forest and Luchinskoye Lake, offer opportunities for nature enthusiasts to explore and appreciate the region’s biodiversity.

Commemorates historical events.

The city pays tribute to significant historical events through memorials, monuments, and exhibitions, ensuring the preservation of collective memory.

Promotes sports and youth development.

Elektrostal invests in sports infrastructure and programs to encourage youth participation, health, and physical fitness.

Hosts annual cultural and artistic festivals.

Throughout the year, Elektrostal celebrates its cultural diversity through festivals dedicated to music, dance, art, and theater.

Provides a picturesque landscape for photography enthusiasts.

The city’s scenic beauty, architectural landmarks, and natural surroundings make it a paradise for photographers.

Connects to Moscow via a direct train line.

The convenient train connection between Elektrostal and Moscow makes commuting between the two cities effortless.

A city with a bright future.

Elektrostal continues to grow and develop, aiming to become a model city in terms of infrastructure, sustainability, and quality of life for its residents.

In conclusion, Elektrostal is a fascinating city with a rich history and a vibrant present. From its origins as a center of steel production to its modern-day status as a hub for education and industry, Elektrostal has plenty to offer both residents and visitors. With its beautiful parks, cultural attractions, and proximity to Moscow, there is no shortage of things to see and do in this dynamic city. Whether you’re interested in exploring its historical landmarks, enjoying outdoor activities, or immersing yourself in the local culture, Elektrostal has something for everyone. So, next time you find yourself in the Moscow region, don’t miss the opportunity to discover the hidden gems of Elektrostal.

Q: What is the population of Elektrostal?

A: As of the latest data, the population of Elektrostal is approximately XXXX.

Q: How far is Elektrostal from Moscow?

A: Elektrostal is located approximately XX kilometers away from Moscow.

Q: Are there any famous landmarks in Elektrostal?

A: Yes, Elektrostal is home to several notable landmarks, including XXXX and XXXX.

Q: What industries are prominent in Elektrostal?

A: Elektrostal is known for its steel production industry and is also a center for engineering and manufacturing.

Q: Are there any universities or educational institutions in Elektrostal?

A: Yes, Elektrostal is home to XXXX University and several other educational institutions.

Q: What are some popular outdoor activities in Elektrostal?

A: Elektrostal offers several outdoor activities, such as hiking, cycling, and picnicking in its beautiful parks.

Q: Is Elektrostal well-connected in terms of transportation?

A: Yes, Elektrostal has good transportation links, including trains and buses, making it easily accessible from nearby cities.

Q: Are there any annual events or festivals in Elektrostal?

A: Yes, Elektrostal hosts various events and festivals throughout the year, including XXXX and XXXX.

Elektrostal's fascinating history, vibrant culture, and promising future make it a city worth exploring. For more captivating facts about cities around the world, discover the unique characteristics that define each city . Uncover the hidden gems of Moscow Oblast through our in-depth look at Kolomna. Lastly, dive into the rich industrial heritage of Teesside, a thriving industrial center with its own story to tell.

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Fall 2024 Semester

Undergraduate courses.

Composition courses that offer many sections (ENGL 101, 201, 277 and 379) are not listed on this schedule unless they are tailored to specific thematic content or particularly appropriate for specific programs and majors.

• 100-200 level

ENGL 151.S01: Introduction to English Studies

Tuesday and Thursday, 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Sharon Smith

ENGL 151 serves as an introduction to both the English major and the discipline of English studies. In this class, you will develop the thinking, reading, writing and research practices that define both the major and the discipline. Much of the semester will be devoted to honing your literary analysis skills, and we will study and discuss texts from several different genres—poetry, short fiction, the novel, drama and film—as well as some literary criticism. As we do so, we will explore the language of the discipline, and you will learn a variety of key literary terms and concepts. In addition, you will develop your skills as both a writer and researcher within the discipline of English.

ENGL 201.ST1 Composition II: The Mind/Body Connection

In this section of English 201, students will use research and writing to learn more about problems that are important to them and articulate ways to address those problems. The course will focus specifically on issues related to the mind, the body and the relationship between them. The topics we will discuss during the course will include the correlation between social media and body image; the efficacy of sex education programs; the degree to which beliefs about race and gender influence school dress codes; and the unique mental and physical challenges faced by college students today. In this course, you will be learning about different approaches to argumentation, analyzing the arguments of others and constructing your own arguments. At the same time, you will be honing your skills as a researcher and developing your abilities as a persuasive and effective writer.

ENGL 201.S10 Composition II: Environmental Writing   

Monday/Wednesday/Friday 1-1:50 p.m.

Gwen Horsley

English 201 will help students develop the ability to think critically and analytically and to write effectively for other university courses and careers. This course will provide opportunities to develop analytical skills that will help students become critical readers and effective writers. Specifically, in this class, students will:

• Focus on the relationships between world environments, land, animals and humankind.
• Read various essays by environmental, conservational and regional authors.
• Produce student writings. 

Students will improve their writing skills by reading essays and applying techniques they witness in others’ work and those learned in class. This class is also a course in logical and creative thought. Students will write about humankind’s place in the world and our influence on the land and animals, places that hold special meaning to them or have influenced their lives and stories of their own families and their places and passions in the world. Students will practice writing in an informed and persuasive manner, in language that engages and enlivens readers by using vivid verbs and avoiding unnecessary passives, nominalizations and expletive constructions.

Students will prepare writing assignments based on readings and discussions of essays included in "Literature and the Environment " and other sources. They may use "The St. Martin’s Handbook," as well as other sources, to review grammar, punctuation, mechanics and usage as needed.

ENGL 201.13 Composition II: Writing the Environment

Tuesday and Thursday 9:30-10:45 a.m.

Paul Baggett

For generations, environmentalists have relied on the power of prose to change the minds and habits of their contemporaries. In the wake of fires, floods, storms and droughts, environmental writing has gained a new sense of urgency, with authors joining activists in their efforts to educate the public about the grim realities of climate change. But do they make a difference? Have reports of present and future disasters so saturated our airwaves that we no longer hear them? How do writers make us care about the planet amidst all the noise? In this course, students will examine the various rhetorical strategies employed by some of today’s leading environmental writers and filmmakers. And while analyzing their different arguments, students also will strengthen their own strategies of argumentation as they research and develop essays that explore a range of environmental concerns.

ENGL 201 Composition II: Food Writing

S17 Tuesday and Thursday 12:30-1:45 p.m.

S18 Tuesday and Thursday 2-3:15 p.m.

Jodi Andrews

In this composition class, students will critically analyze essays about food, food systems and environments, food cultures, the intersections of personal choice, market forces and policy and the values underneath these forces. Students will learn to better read like writers, noting authors’ purpose, audience organizational moves, sentence-level punctuation and diction. We will read a variety of essays including research-intensive arguments and personal narratives which intersect with one of our most primal needs as humans: food consumption. Students will rhetorically analyze texts, conduct advanced research, reflect on the writing process and write essays utilizing intentional rhetorical strategies. Through doing this work, students will practice the writing moves valued in every discipline: argument, evidence, concision, engaging prose and the essential research skills for the 21st century.

ENGL 221.S01 British Literature I

Michael S. Nagy

English 221 is a survey of early British literature from its inception in the Old English period with works such as "Beowulf" and the “Battle of Maldon,” through the Middle Ages and the incomparable writings of Geoffrey Chaucer and the Gawain - poet, to the Renaissance and beyond. Students will explore the historical and cultural contexts in which all assigned reading materials were written, and they will bring that information to bear on class discussion. Likely themes that this class will cover include heroism, humor, honor, religion, heresy and moral relativity. Students will write one research paper in this class and sit for two formal exams: a midterm covering everything up to that point in the semester, and a comprehensive final. Probable texts include the following:

• The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Middle Ages. Ed. Alfred David, M. H. Abrams, and Stephen Greenblatt. 9th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012.
• The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Sixteenth Century and Early Seventeenth Century. Ed. George M. Logan, Stephen Greenblatt, Barbara K Lewalski, and M. H. Abrams. 9th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012.
• The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century. Ed. George M. Logan, Stephen Greenblatt, Barbara K Lewalski, and M. H. Abrams. 9th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012.
• Gibaldi, Joseph. The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 2003.
• Any Standard College Dictionary.

ENGL 240.S01 Juvenile Literature Elementary-5th Grade

Monday, Wednesday and Friday noon-12:50 p.m.

April Myrick

A survey of the history of literature written for children and adolescents, and a consideration of the various types of juvenile literature. Text selection will focus on the themes of imagination and breaking boundaries.

ENGL 240.ST1 Juvenile Literature Elementary-5th Grade

Randi Anderson

In English 240 students will develop the skills to interpret and evaluate various genres of literature for juvenile readers. This particular section will focus on various works of literature at approximately the K-5 grade level. We will read a large range of works that fall into this category, as well as information on the history, development and genre of juvenile literature.

Readings for this course include classical works such as "Hatchet," "Little Women", "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and "Brown Girl Dreaming," as well as newer works like "Storm in the Barn," "Anne Frank’s Diary: A Graphic Adaptation," "Lumberjanes," and a variety of picture books. These readings will be paired with chapters from "Reading Children’s Literature: A Critical Introduction " to help develop understanding of various genres, themes and concepts that are both related to juvenile literature and also present in our readings.

In addition to exposing students to various genres of writing (poetry, historical fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, picture books, graphic novels, etc.) this course will also allow students to engage in a discussion of larger themes present in these works such as censorship, race and gender. Students’ understanding of these works and concepts will be developed through readings, research, discussion posts, exams and writing assignments designed to get students to practice analyzing poetry, picture books, informational books and transitional/easy readers.

ENGL 241.S01: American Literature I

Tuesday and Thursday 12:30-1:45 p.m.

This course provides a broad, historical survey of American literature from the early colonial period to the Civil War. Ranging across historical periods and literary genres—including early accounts of contact and discovery, narratives of captivity and slavery, poetry of revolution, essays on gender equality and stories of industrial exploitation—this class examines how subjects such as colonialism, nationhood, religion, slavery, westward expansion, race, gender and democracy continue to influence how Americans see themselves and their society.

Required Texts

• The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Package 1, Volumes A and B Beginnings to 1865, Ninth Edition. (ISBN 978-0-393-26454-8)

ENGL 283.S01 Introduction to Creative Writing

Steven Wingate

Students will explore the various forms of creative writing (fiction, nonfiction and poetry) not one at a time in a survey format—as if there were decisive walls of separation between then—but as intensely related genres that share much of their creative DNA. Through close reading and work on personal texts, students will address the decisions that writers in any genre must face on voice, rhetorical position, relationship to audience, etc. Students will produce and revise portfolios of original creative work developed from prompts and research. This course fulfills the same SGR #2 requirements ENGL 201; note that the course will involve a research project. Successful completion of ENGL 101 (including by test or dual credit) is a prerequisite.

ENGL 283.S02 Introduction to Creative Writing

Jodilyn Andrews

This course introduces students to the craft of writing, with readings and practice in at least two genres (including fiction, poetry and drama).

ENGL 283.ST1 Introduction to Creative Writing

Amber Jensen, M.A., M.F.A.

This course explores creative writing as a way of encountering the world, research as a component of the creative writing process, elements of craft and their rhetorical effect and drafting, workshop and revision as integral parts of writing polished literary creative work. Student writers will engage in the research practices that inform the writing of literature and in the composing strategies and writing process writers use to create literary texts. Through their reading and writing of fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction, students will learn about craft elements, find examples of those craft elements in published works and apply these elements in their own creative work, developed through weekly writing activities, small group and large group workshop and conferences with the instructor. Work will be submitted, along with a learning reflection and revision plan in each genre and will then be revised and submitted as a final portfolio at the end of the semester to demonstrate continued growth in the creation of polished literary writing.

• 300-400 level

ENGL 424.S01 Language Arts Methods grades 7-12  

Tuesday 6-8:50 p.m.

Danielle Harms

Techniques, materials and resources for teaching English language and literature to middle and secondary school students. Required of students in the English education option.

AIS/ENGL 447.S01: American Indian Literature of the Present 

Thursdays 3-6 p.m.

This course introduces students to contemporary works by authors from various Indigenous nations. Students examine these works to enhance their historical understanding of Indigenous peoples, discover the variety of literary forms used by those who identify as Indigenous writers, and consider the cultural and political significance of these varieties of expression. Topics and questions to be explored include:

• Genre: What makes Indigenous literature indigenous?
• Political and Cultural Sovereignty: Why have an emphasis on tribal specificity and calls for “literary separatism” emerged in recent decades, and what are some of the critical conversations surrounding such particularized perspectives?
• Gender and Sexuality: What are the intersecting concerns of Indigenous Studies and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and how might these research fields inform one another?
• Trans-Indigeneity: What might we learn by comparing works across different Indigenous traditions, and what challenges do such comparisons present?
• Aesthetics: How do Indigenous writers understand the dynamics between tradition and creativity?
• Visual Forms: What questions or concerns do visual representations (television and film) by or about Indigenous peoples present?

Possible Texts

• Akiwenzie-Damm, Kateri and Josie Douglas (eds), Skins: Contemporary Indigenous Writing. IAD Press, 2000. (978-1864650327)
• Erdrich, Louise, The Sentence. Harper, 2021 (978-0062671127)
• Harjo, Joy, Poet Warrior: A Memoir. Norton, 2021 (978-0393248524)
• Harjo, Sterlin and Taika Waititi, Reservation Dogs (selected episodes)
• Talty, Morgan. Night of the Living Rez, 2022, Tin House (978-1953534187)
• Wall Kimmerer, Robin. Braiding Sweet Grass, Milkweed Editions (978-1571313560)
• Wilson, Diane. The Seed Keeper: A Novel. Milkweed Editions (978-1571311375)
• Critical essays by Alexie, Allen, Cohen, Cox, King, Kroeber, Ortiz, Piatote, Ross and Sexton, Smith, Taylor, Teuton, Treuer, Vizenor, and Womack.

ENGL 472.S01: Film Criticism

Tuesdays 2-4:50 p.m.

Jason McEntee

Do you have an appreciation for, and enjoy watching, movies? Do you want to study movies in a genre-oriented format (such as those we typically call the Western, the screwball comedy, the science fiction or the crime/gangster, to name a few)? Do you want to explore the different critical approaches for talking and writing about movies (such as auteur, feminist, genre or reception)?

In this class, you will examine movies through viewing and defining different genres while, at the same time, studying and utilizing different styles of film criticism. You will share your discoveries in both class discussions and short writings. The final project will be a formal written piece of film criticism based on our work throughout the semester. The course satisfies requirements and electives for all English majors and minors, including both the Film Studies and Professional Writing minors. (Note: Viewing of movies outside of class required and may require rental and/or streaming service fees.)

ENGL 476.ST1: Fiction

In this workshop-based creative writing course, students will develop original fiction based on strong attention to the fundamentals of literary storytelling: full-bodied characters, robust story lines, palpable environments and unique voices. We will pay particular attention to process awareness, to the integrity of the sentence, and to authors' commitments to their characters and the places in which their stories unfold. Some workshop experience is helpful, as student peer critique will be an important element of the class.

ENGL 479.01 Capstone: The Gothic

Wednesday 3-5:50 p.m.

With the publication of Horace Walpole’s "The Castle of Otranto " in 1764, the Gothic officially came into being. Dark tales of physical violence and psychological terror, the Gothic incorporates elements such as distressed heroes and heroines pursued by tyrannical villains; gloomy estates with dark corridors, secret passageways and mysterious chambers; haunting dreams, troubling prophecies and disturbing premonitions; abduction, imprisonment and murder; and a varied assortment of corpses, apparitions and “monsters.” In this course, we will trace the development of Gothic literature—and some film—from the eighteenth-century to the present time. As we do so, we will consider how the Gothic engages philosophical beliefs about the beautiful and sublime; shapes psychological understandings of human beings’ encounters with horror, terror, the fantastic and the uncanny; and intervenes in the social and historical contexts in which it was written. We’ll consider, for example, how the Gothic undermines ideals related to domesticity and marriage through representations of domestic abuse, toxicity and gaslighting. In addition, we’ll discuss Gothic texts that center the injustices of slavery and racism. As many Gothic texts suggest, the true horrors of human existence often have less to do with inexplicable supernatural phenomena than with the realities of the world in which we live. 

ENGL 485.S01: Undergraduate Writing Center Learning Assistants 

Flexible Scheduling

Nathan Serfling

Since their beginnings in the 1920s and 30s, writing centers have come to serve numerous functions: as hubs for writing across the curriculum initiatives, sites to develop and deliver workshops and resource centers for faculty as well as students, among other functions. But the primary function of writing centers has necessarily and rightfully remained the tutoring of student writers. This course will immerse you in that function in two parts. During the first four weeks, you will explore writing center praxis—that is, the dialogic interplay of theory and practice related to writing center work. This part of the course will orient you to writing center history, key theoretical tenets and practical aspects of writing center tutoring. Once we have developed and practiced this foundation, you will begin work in the writing center as a tutor, responsible for assisting a wide variety of student clients with numerous writing tasks. Through this work, you will learn to actively engage with student clients in the revision of a text, respond to different student needs and abilities, work with a variety of writing tasks and rhetorical situations, and develop a richer sense of writing as a complex and negotiated social process.

Graduate Courses

Engl 572.s01: film criticism, engl 576.st1 fiction.

In this workshop-based creative writing course, students will develop original fiction based on strong attention to the fundamentals of literary storytelling: full-bodied characters, robust story lines, palpable environments and unique voices. We will pay particular attention to process awareness, to the integrity of the sentence and to authors' commitments to their characters and the places in which their stories unfold. Some workshop experience is helpful, as student peer critique will be an important element of the class.

ENGL 605.S01 Seminar in Teaching Composition

Thursdays 1-3:50 p.m.

This course will provide you with a foundation in the pedagogies and theories (and their attendant histories) of writing instruction, a foundation that will prepare you to teach your own writing courses at SDSU and elsewhere. As you will discover through our course, though, writing instruction does not come with any prescribed set of “best” practices. Rather, writing pedagogies stem from and continue to evolve because of various and largely unsettled conversations about what constitutes effective writing and effective writing instruction. Part of becoming a practicing writing instructor, then, is studying these conversations to develop a sense of what “good writing” and “effective writing instruction” might mean for you in our particular program and how you might adapt that understanding to different programs and contexts.

As we read about, discuss and research writing instruction, we will address a variety of practical and theoretical topics. The practical focus will allow us to attend to topics relevant to your immediate classroom practices: designing a curriculum and various types of assignments, delivering the course content and assessing student work, among others. Our theoretical topics will begin to reveal the underpinnings of these various practical matters, including their historical, rhetorical, social and political contexts. In other words, we will investigate the praxis—the dialogic interaction of practice and theory—of writing pedagogy. As a result, this course aims to prepare you not only as a writing teacher but also as a nascent writing studies/writing pedagogy scholar.

At the end of this course, you should be able to engage effectively in the classroom practices described above and participate in academic conversations about writing pedagogy, both orally and in writing. Assessment of these outcomes will be based primarily on the various writing assignments you submit and to a smaller degree on your participation in class discussions and activities.

ENGL 726.S01: The New Woman, 1880–1900s 

Thursdays 3–5:50 p.m.

Katherine Malone

This course explores the rise of the New Woman at the end of the nineteenth century. The label New Woman referred to independent women who rebelled against social conventions. Often depicted riding bicycles, smoking cigarettes and wearing masculine clothing, these early feminists challenged gender roles and sought broader opportunities for women’s employment and self-determination. We will read provocative fiction and nonfiction by New Women writers and their critics, including authors such as Sarah Grand, Mona Caird, George Egerton, Amy Levy, Ella Hepworth Dixon, Grant Allen and George Gissing. We will analyze these exciting texts through a range of critical lenses and within the historical context of imperialism, scientific and technological innovation, the growth of the periodical press and discourse about race, class and gender. In addition to writing an argumentative seminar paper, students will complete short research assignments and lead discussion.

ENGL 792.ST1 Women in War: Female Authors and Characters in Contemporary War Lit

In this course, we will explore the voices of female authors and characters in contemporary literature of war. Drawing from various literary theories, our readings and discussion will explore the contributions of these voices to the evolving literature of war through archetypal and feminist criticism. We will read a variety of short works (both theoretical and creative) and complete works such as (selections subject to change): "Eyes Right" by Tracy Crow, "Plenty of Time When We Get Home" by Kayla Williams, "You Know When the Men are Gone" by Siobhan Fallon, "Still, Come Home" by Katie Schultz and "The Fine Art of Camouflage" by Lauren Johnson.