What is the A in STEAM?

In our STEAM introductions, students worked with their homeroom teachers on digital literacy and researching skills. Once a week, small groups met with Ms Buckley in the Shared Space.

We discussed how we might use art in STEAM; to create a clay model of an ecosystem, to produce a poster sharing our knowledge about the Harlem Renaissance, to design a Rube Goldberg machine. 

First, we practiced several styles of drawing, observational, imaginative, and plan.

In STEAM we always draw our plans before moving on to construction. A drawn plan solidifies our ideas. We’re using both our imagination and realistic drawing. The drawing can quickly share our ideas and design with classmates and teachers.

Then Ms Buckley introduced scientific drawing. The purpose of scientific drawing is to record and communicate information. At Mustard Seed School, students are well practiced at observational drawing. This new form of drawing builds on those skills. In the words of the students, “We take time, observe closely, record what you see.”

Scientific drawing can include diagrams (showing how something works), labels, questions, and explanations. We got a lot of ruler practice!

These drawing skills will be useful in our next STEAM unit, Chemistry and Scientific Method.