STEM Breakthrough Rainbow

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A starter activity leading to a window display


Inspired by the recent vaccine breakthrough I have been asking my classes all week to complete a short start activity. They were given a coloured card and after a class discussion they wrote down on the card the details (alongside a small illustration) of what they considered to be 'STEM breakthrough' from the history of humanity.

We had suggestions that spanned from the invention of the wheel to the introduction of Wifi. I was so impressed with the detailed conversations and discussions taking place around this task. Some of the breakthroughs the students came up with were things we often take for granted such as in invention of cement or the creation of soap. There were some students who chose to focus on a particular hobby or interest of theirs and there were some that focused on medical advancements some of which that made a big difference to their lives.

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