Teaching TinkerClass
in 4 Easy Steps
Where to Begin?
Start Small to Succeed!
Aligning With
Your Curriculum
TinkerClass in 4 Easy Steps!
“From How? to Wow! ” is here to help you integrate TinkerClass into your existing curriculum and schedule. Let’s get your K-5 students to Listen, Wonder, Tinker, and Make like scientists and engineers!
Start by choosing a podcast episode to create a podject around. Easily assign students an episode from our library of engaging NGSS-aligned content. Here’s how!
- Using Search Filters– Watch our brief how-to video
- Assigning LISTEN– Watch our brief how-to video
- TinkerClass in 4 Easy Steps– Download and share this getting started guide with your students
- Listen Up! Blog Post – Learn how to cultivate listening skills with your students
- Teacher2Teacher Blog Post– Tips for bringing TinkerClass into your classroom
Next, encourage students to reflect on what they heard, record their WOWs and then brainstorm new ideas or WONDERs inspired by the episode.
- Assigning WONDER, TINKER, or MAKE – Watch our brief how-to video
- Tips for WOWing and WONDERing– Tips to get the WOWs and WONDERs flowing
- WOWs and WONDERs Worksheet– A place to record ideas during and after listening
- Brainstorming WONDERs Worksheet– Try this brainstorming tool in your classroom
Then ask students to think critically about their initial ideas and then work collaboratively toward choosing a BIG WONDER to investigate.
- Tips for TINKERing– Tips to get your students TINKERing
- BIG WONDERs Worksheet– Try this organizer to help your students get to the BIG WONDER
- Think Like a Scientist Blog Post– Learn how TinkerClass helps your students think like a scientist
Finally, students actively investigate a real-world question, challenge, or problem with a hands-on experiment or design project. Choose from our provided guided activities, or make your own!
- Explore a Guided Activity– Watch our brief how-to video
- Explore the Make Your Own Experiment Template– Watch our brief how-to video
- Explore the Make Your Own Design Challenge Template– Watch our brief how-to video
- What Is a Podject?– Podcast + Project = Podject! Learn more
- Re-Testing Plans Worksheet– Use this organizer to support students with their experiments
- Improve Your Design Worksheet– Use this organizer to support students with their engineering projects
- Learn about the research behind Project Based Learning
But Wait! There’s More…
Not quite ready to jump in? We’ve got even more support to get you going!
- What Is TinkerClass?– Learn about all the baked-in benefits of this tool.
- Quick Start Guide– A deeper dive into the 4 steps to get you up and running!
- Standard-Alignment for Episodes– See how Wow in the World episodes align with NGSS.
- Standard-Alignment for Guided Activities– See how the Guided Activities align with NGSS.
- Teacher2Teacher– Tips for bringing TinkerClass into your classroom
- Listen Up! – Learn how to cultivate listening skills with your students
- Think Like a Scientist Blog Post– Learn how TinkerClass helps your students think like a scientist
