February's STEM-tastic Learning Opportunities

Kareem Abdul - Jabbar and Tom Torlakson

In October of 2012, CA State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson appointed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to be California's After School STEM Ambassador for the 2013 calendar year. At the time Tom Torlakson stated:

"Few things are more important to children's education and to California's economy than the STEM subjects, and few people have more vision and commitment to making an impact in kids' lives than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar," Torlakson said. "I've long admired Kareem as an athlete, and I'm delighted now to count him as an ally in giving California's kids every chance to succeed, not just in the classroom, but after school as well."   

But what stood out for me most during this October 2012 CA STEM Symposium are the following two items that Kareem shared with the audience:

"If America is to maintain our high standard of living, we must continue to innovate," said Abdul-Jabbar. "We are competing with nations many times our size, and STEM learning represents the engines of innovation. With these engines we can lead the world, because knowledge is real power."

To me the most powerful part of Kareem's speech came when he stated:

 " My 7' 2" inch frame predestined my future to that of an NBA basketball player. It wasn't only my body type that led me to believe this, but it was also the era that I grew up in. As a child, I did't know that people who came before me, who had my same color of skin had done great things in Science. It wasn't until I started my college career at UCLA that I started learning about all the wonderful, amazing contributions that African Americans had made in the field of Science. If I would have known this when I was younger, maybe this would have set me off on a different career trajectory."

It was also at this conference that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar revealed his children's book that he had just written entitled "What Color is my World? The Lost History of African 
American Inventors." He wrote this book in particular so that African American children of today and tomorrow could see that their ancestors have done great things in the past, continue to do great things, and that the students themselves can do great things in the future.

As educators, parents, community members we must make it our number one goal to unearth all of the hidden figures from the past so that no matter what ethnicity a child is that they can see that people that looked just like them have made tremendous contributions to the society that we all currently live in. We need to celebrate diversity day in and day out. We do not need to confine it to a month.


With the above being stated: Here are a few ways that you can celebrate Black History month not only in February, but all year long.


1) Black History Month Lessons and Activities for Grades K-5 (NEA)

2) Black History Month Lessons and Activities for Grades 6-8 (NEA)

3) Black History Month Lessons and Activities for Grades 9-12 (NEA)

4) 6 Teaching Tools for Black History Month (Edutopia)

5) Black History Month Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources K-8 (Scholastic)

6) Black History Month Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources K-12
   (Share My Lesson Plan)


Now lets check-in with Region 3 Expanded Learning Programs and see what STEAM
Learning activities they are engaging youth in.


Name of Expanded Learning Program Provider: 
Sacramento Chinese Community Service Center


Name of District: Twin Rivers Unified School District


Name of School Site: Dry Creek Elementary


Grade Level of Activity: 1st - 3rd Grade


Number of Students who took part in the activity: 50 students


Type of Activity: STEAM - Egg drop competition. Students were grouped into smaller teams and using only a few resources to design and engineer a contraption to protect their egg from impact.


Learning Outcomes - Students were able to:

• Collaborate and work towards a common goal
• Brainstorm an idea on paper before building their contraption
• Test the Engineering Design Process
• Compare and contrast their design versus their classmates

Dry Creek Elementary Expanded Learning Students working on their Egg Drop Contraption.

For more information about this activity please contact Program Manager Tiffany Chan at tiffany@sccsc.org.




Name of Expanded Learning Program Provider: 
Sacramento Chinese Community Service Center


Name of District: Twin Rivers Unified School District


Name of School Site: Del Paso Heights Elementary


Grade Level of Activity: 4th Grade


Number of students who took part in the activity: 20 students


Type of Activity: Lego Education WeDo 2.0 Core Set


Learning Outcomes - Students were able to:

• practice team work and collaboration
• work on their fine motor skills 
• utilize their creativity
• develop their problem solving and mathematical skills
• develop their communication skills while working on various projects

Del Paso Heights Expanded Learning students working together on their Lego WeDo project.

For more information on this activity please contact Program Manager Julio Roman at julio@sccsc.org.


Name of Out-of-School-Time Provider:
Sacramento Chinese Community Service Center


Name of District: Natomas Unified School District


Name of School Site: American Lakes School


Grade Level of Activity: 1st Grade


Number of students who took part in the activity: 20


Type of Activity: Marble Obstacle Course


Learning Outcomes- Students were able to:

• Make a prediction 
• Create an obstacle course to navigate with a marble
• Understand that changes in angles and height can cause objects to move at different speeds
• Observe, discuss, compare, and contrast results
• Describe and present findings

Expanded Learning students at American Lakes Elementary school presenting their Marble Run obstacle courses.

For more information about this activity please contact Program Manager Rebecca Bonton at rebecca@sccsc.org.



Name of Out-of-School-Time Provider:
Sacramento Chinese Community Service Center


Name of District: Elk Grove Unified School District


Name of School Site: Franklin Elementary


Grade Level of Activity: K-6


Number of Students who took part in the activity: 99 students


Type of Activity: STEAM


Learning Outcomes - Students were able to:

• Science: Learn about the Science of Colors and the color Wheel
• Technology: Learn about Color Schemes, Complimentary, Analogous, Primary, Secondary, Warm and Cool Colors: How they affect one another
• Engineering: Learning to Engineer Secondary Colors and Neutral Colors by Mixing Primary Colors and Complimentary Colors together
• Art: Study and Learn about Colors in Art and color schemes
• Math: Learn the correct ratios of paint mixtures to make a variety of secondary colors, neutral colors and custom colors through scientific experimentation

Franklin Elementary School Expanded Learning Students engineering their color wheels.

For more information on this activity please contact Program Manager Christopher Lloyd at christopher@sccsc.org.


Name of Out-of-School - Time Provider:
Sacramento Chinese Community Service Center


Name of School Site: Twin Rivers Unified School District


Name of School Site: D.W. Babcock


Grade Level of Activity: K-6th


Number of students who took part in the activity: 25


Type of Activity: Engineering Marshmallow Towers


Learning Outcomes - Students were able to:

• Create towers using only marshmallows and toothpicks
• Create a solid structure with a strong base to help support the tower
• Collaborate and develop team chemistry
• Utilize the Engineering Design Process

D.W. Babcock Expanded Learning students showing off their marshmallow towers.

For more information on this STEAM activity please contact Program Manager DeMarcus Wooten at demarcus@sccsc.org.




STEAM / Expanded Learning and Other Pertinent Articles:

1) Sparking Curiosity About STEM 
    (Edutopia article by Alessandra King, July 11, 2018)

2) Using Science to Bring Literature to Life
   (Edutopia article by Amy Schwartzbach-Kang 
   and Edward Kang February 22, 2018)

3) 10 Powerful Community- Building Ideas
    (Edutopia article by Emelina Minero, February 5, 2019)

4) Understanding a Educator's Long-Term Impact
     (Edutopia article by Youki Terada, February 4, 2019)

5) Teachers Decorating Doors for Black History Month Say Representation Matters
   (Edweek article by Sarah Schwartz, February 15, 2019)

6) Want Students to Attend School Every Day? Make Sure They Feel Safe on the Way
    (Edweek article by Sarah D. Sparks, February 13, 2019)

7) In the Field: Stand-out examples of quality STEM programming
    (Afterschool Alliance by Leah Silverberg, February 14, 2019)




STEAM (other core content) Activities / Websites / Podcast:

1) Starting your podcast. A guide for students (NPR)

2) Ph. D. Student Breaks Down Electron Physics Into A Swinging Musical
    (NPR Podcast)

3) 5 STEM Lessons to Celebrate Black History Month (Grades 3-12) 
   (Scholastic)

4) Classroom Ready STEM Lessons for Black History Month (Grades 3-12)
    (Bright Ideas Blog)




STEM / Non-STEM Educational Grants:


1)  Afterschool Alliance Grant Page

2)  Bank of the West Grant Page

3) CAN Funding Opportunities Webpage

4) The Impact Foundry Grant Page




STEAM / Non-STEAM Professional Learning Sessions / Contest / Events:

1) Region 3 Winter Conference for Expanded Learning Practitioners
    (Date: March 12, 2019) (Time: 8:30 am to 1:00 pm) (Cost: Free)

2) Exploring Creativity Through Theatrical Writing in Expanded Learning Programs
     (Date: March 20, 2019) (Time: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm) (Cost: Free)

3) STEM Kit Explorations: Exploring SCOE's STEM Learning Library
    (Date: April 8, 2019) (Time: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm) (Cost: Free)

4)  Mixed Media Collage Activities for Expanded Learning Programs
    (Date: April 11, 2019) (Time: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm) (Cost: Free)

5) Making the Most of Read Alouds in Expanded Learning Programs

    (Date: May 14, 2019) (Time: 9:30 am to 12:00 pm) (Cost: Free)

Thanks again for all that you do in the field. Please keep us posted about STEM 
events / activities in your area. Please feel free to contact us at any time.

Monica Gonzalez-Williams (SCOE: Region 3: After School Regional Lead):
mgonzalez@scoe.net

Phil Romig (SCOE: Science Curriculum Specialist): promig@scoe.net

Mark Drewes (SCOE: Project Specialist II: Expanded Learning) mdrewes@scoe.net