Teaching Students to Not Give Up

Teaching students to not give up is an important part of one second grade STEM class, as kids learn the power of persistence.

Irene VanArsdale’s second grade class at Forest Vista Elementary have been learning the value of not giving up when their projects do not turn out the way they expect. To introduce them to the lessons, VanArsdale first sparked their interest by reading “Rosie Revere, Engineer” to her class.

The story is about Rosie, a quiet girl who wants to be an engineer. She is visited by her aunt Rose (Rosie the Riveter) who tells her about her one remaining goal, to fly. Rosie sets herself to build something to make that happen. However, her invention hovers and crashes. Rosie is ready to quit but Aunt Rose says that the invention is successful as long as she keeps on trying.

Van Arsdale challenged her students to work in teams designing a container that would hold at least three apples and be easy to carry for ten steps.

“I want my students to look forward to engaging lessons that make them excited about learning,” VanArsdale said. “Through designing, creating and using their investigative nature, students will work as teams to collaborate and build their critical thinking and problem solving skills. STEM is emphasized in a way that motivates students to explore potential solutions using a variety of materials.”