Football STEM Ideas That Make You Say “Touchdown!”

As the countdown to the Super Bowl begins, there’s a palpable buzz in the air – the excited chatter of fans, the friendly banter between rival supporters, and the collective anticipation of a sports spectacle that unites millions. In the midst of all of this, I found myself pondering the power of these big televised events that captivate the hearts and minds of my students. The cheers, the discussions about favorite teams, and the camaraderie surrounding the game are not just moments of entertainment but they can also be learning opportunities. Eager to channel that spirited energy into our curriculum, I set out to fuse the thrill of football fandom with the magic of STEM. Today, we are exploring how simple STEM projects, with a football twist, can turn the Super Bowl excitement into an educational touchdown for our students.

Why Adding STEM Through These Simple STEM Projects is Essential

Just as the world of education keeps evolving, so does the need to infuse it with dynamic elements that inspire and engage. The increasing emphasis on STEM education has proven to be a game-changer. It goes beyond preparing our students for future job opportunities. Simple STEM projects nurture their critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity skills.

In my blog post, Adding STEM to Everyday Teaching: Strategies for Success, I dive deeper into how to add STEM into your curriculum and why it’s essential. From worthwhile professional development to co-teaching dynamics, the journey highlights the seamless integration of STEM into everyday teaching.

Make sure to discover the strategies within the post to cultivate a love for learning and empower the next generation in an ever-evolving, STEM-centric world.

If you’re ready to begin the football STEM adventure, let’s dive into some of my favorite activities and lessons for football season!

Football STEM Challenge

One simple football STEM project that always wins amongst my students is my Football STEM Challenge, where they collaboratively create a goal post and football launcher! To add to the fun, they even test out their goalpost by playing a good ole’ game of table football. They use a pom pom or a triangular folded paper and their launcher to try to get it through the goalpost.

Overview of What’s Inside

I love using this hands-on activity during the football season because it is a great way to add STEM easily into your classroom. Engaging students in creativity, math, and building, this experience goes beyond traditional teaching methods.

Within this packet, I have created differentiated educational tools. There are three distinct styles of task cards designed to spark curiosity and challenge young minds. I have found that visuals are a key player in our simple STEM projects. So, I included a comprehensive design process poster to help students navigate through the activity.

To make these projects even more accessible for all learners, there are different levels of student response sheets for a more personal learning experience. As a positive-reinforcing touch, stickers, and certificates await to celebrate the accomplishments of budding innovators.

Needed Materials for Challenge

Before starting any simple STEM projects, I make sure to prepare all the possible needed materials. You may have most materials on hand, but substitutes can also work. The materials below I have found my students have the best success with while working on this football STEM challenge. They are simple but enrich the hands-on experience greatly. Here are some material suggestions:

• Toilet Paper/Towel Rolls: Sturdy and versatile, these rolls will form the base of your structures.
• Popsicle Sticks: Ideal for creating frameworks and adding structural support.
• Play-Dough: A pliable material that adds a touch of creativity and serves as a connector for various components.
• Straws: Perfect for creating extensions and dynamic features in your projects.
• Tape: A trusty resource for securing elements together.
• Rubber Bands: Adding flexibility and tension to your designs.
• Spoons: A key design component for the catapult.

Feel free to explore beyond this list by incorporating disposable building materials such as cardboard, index cards, and construction paper. These items open up the realm of possibilities for imaginative design structures even more!

For the item representing the football in this activity, consider adding a dash of sporty fun:

• Brown Pom Poms: Mimic footballs with these fluffy brown pom poms.
• Brown Paper Triangles: Alternatively, fold brown paper into triangles to create makeshift footballs.

Introducing the Simple STEM Project

Before the hands-on excitement begins, I lay the groundwork for the goal post and catapult with a captivating read-aloud session. The perfect accompaniment to this football STEM exploration is “Charlie Brown: Snoopy’s All-Star Football.”

In this endearing tale, Charlie Brown’s gang gathers for an exhilarating game of football. However, as is often the case with Charlie Brown’s adventures, things take an unexpected turn. Snoopy, the imaginative and lovable beagle, takes center stage as the team’s star player. With his unique and creative approach to the game, Snoopy transforms the football field into a stage for antics and unexpected triumphs.

This heartwarming story brings laughter and serves as an engaging introduction to the world of football that sets the perfect tone for our STEM activity. As an added bonus, your students are also prepared with inspiration for their upcoming goal post and catapult construction!

Whole Group vs. Center Activity and Beyond with Football STEM Projects

Flexibility is one of the bonuses to this STEM challenge. I have led this challenge as a whole group and as a center activity. Below, I walk you through how to do each setup and what to do after the challenge.

Whole Group Experience for Football STEM Challenge: Setting the Stage

As mentioned above, I kick off the challenge by utilizing the Google Slide Show to engage the whole class with a football-related read-aloud, such as “Charlie Brown: All-Star Football.”

Then, I clearly explain the task of creating a goal post and a catapult-style device to launch “footballs.” I do specify here that we won’t be throwing actual footballs. There will be some disappointed groaning, but they will quickly get over it!

I display the digital task card for the class or provide individual task cards to each student. Sometimes, I even do both, especially if the group of kiddos has a tricky time staying task-focused! The task card simply communicates the problem they are solving and the challenge they are being given.

Whole Group Activity in Action

After the task card is on the board or each student has one, I set the timer for at least 25 minutes for students to construct their devices. I know figuring out the right amount of time for building can be tricky, but this amount seems to be a good starting point for most groups.

If appropriate for your student’s level, explain and display the design process steps. Even if they are familiar with the steps, I still go through a quick review of the process to get them into the mindset! I even print out task-size versions of the design process for each group to refer to while moving through the steps.

Part of the process is to test how well one’s design works. So, I let my students test their devices by launching pom poms at the goalpost. While launching, I encourage them to refine their design and retest.

I usually have them stop building with 10 minutes left in the period. Once they have all stopped, I hand out response sheets for students to draw and document their creations.

Center Experience for Football STEM Challenge:

When it comes to centers, I choose the student activity sheet that aligns with my students’ proficiency level to participate in the center. I find this truly allows each learner to have a seat at the table. Plus, when materials and resources are at their level it makes the challenge more approachable to achieve!

Over the years, I learned to laminate the selected sheet and provide dry-erase markers for reusable engagement. Not only does this allow the materials to be reused, but it saves me time too. I quickly realized how important my time is and started putting into place time-saving strategies like this for prepping!

Once materials are laminated, I make sure to place the task card and necessary materials at the center for students to access. Especially for my younger learners, this was a game-changer in my classroom management and my students’ productivity levels. Having all the needed materials in one spot at the location you want your students to be at will help them to start immediately on the task with fewer distractions.

Then, I give my students at least 20 minutes to complete the task and associated responses. As a center activity, this challenge smoothly integrates into rotation schedules while allowing students to rotate through various tasks. So, depending on the number of rotations, the number of days you want to spend on rotations, and the level of ability of your kiddos, you can adjust the timing as needed.

After the Football STEM Challenge

Some additional skills I want my students to walk out of my classroom with are ownership of work, pride in their project, and the ability to speak in front of a group. Public speaking can be terrifying. I tell my classes how I even still get nervous before I have to speak in front of a group. Practice makes progress, and I know I can’t improve without trying. So, I try to create a space where my students become comfortable in sharing their thinking and decisions for their creations and drawings. As the school year progresses, I can see their growth in all of these areas!

STEM can be intimidating for some students, so I always want to reinforce a positive atmosphere! I do this by presenting certificates and stickers of completion to each student. This acknowledges their efforts and celebrates their creativity shown during the STEM challenge. In return, my teacher’s heart warms at seeing their eyes light up and their smiles spread across their faces!

By adapting to whole group or center settings and incorporating post-challenge activities, this STEM adventure becomes an inclusive learning experience for all students.

If this sounds like just what you need, make sure to visit my TPT store to explore my Football STEM Challenge Activities as well as other simple STEM projects and challenges.

More Football STEM Projects Your Students Will Love

Beyond the catapult and goal post-challenge, the football STEM field is wide open for additional STEM projects that promise both fun and learning. Below are three other exciting football STEM projects that you could use to enrich your students’ STEM experience!

1. Build a Football with LEGO:

This football STEM project challenges my students with the exciting engineering task of constructing a football using LEGO bricks.

I start by introducing the task and encouraging them to carefully examine the structure and design of a real football. I’ll use reference images for inspiration. I’ll even bring in a real football that I’ll pass around.

When it’s their turn with the football, I encourage them to observe the design, logo, texture, shape, and size. Observation is a huge part of STEM and a great skill for students to have.

The next step involves providing LEGO bricks of different colors and sizes to allow my students’ creativity to flourish as they bring their football designs to life.

Once their constructions are complete, I lead a class discussion where students share insights into their design choices and proudly showcase their unique LEGO football creations. This hands-on activity not only enhances their engineering skills but also promotes collaboration, self-confidence, and creative expression in the classroom.

2. Build a Trophy:

This next football STEM challenge fosters creativity among my students. They design and build their own football-themed trophies to celebrate their STEM achievements.

I kick off the activity by explaining the task and brainstorming with my kiddos about the key elements of a trophy. We think about its shape, base, and decorative aspects. Once my students are feeling confident enough to begin, I hand out cardboard, paper, markers, and glue. Once they have the main structure, my students love to add an extra flair with decorative items like stickers, ribbons, or metallic paints.

These trophies can also be constructed with LEGO bricks as well. We’ve used both options in the past with great results. The sky is the limit with this one, so don’t be afraid to mix it up!

As they dive into this hands-on process of bringing their trophy designs to life, they’re encouraged to incorporate unique football-related elements. These elements include the shape of the trophy, the name of the award, the date, and designs that match what the award is for. For example, if it’s for the best kicker, the trophy might be shaped like a cleat. Once the creative process is complete, they proudly showcase their personalized trophies to the class!

3. Design Football Helmets for Safety:

Another fan-favorite football STEM challenge is where my students design and construct football helmets with a primary focus on safety. Football can be a scary and nerve-wracking sport to play. Watching my kiddos at recess, they’re diving and moving like they’re professionals in the Superbowl with minutes remaining!

I wanted to engage students in the engineering process while making them more aware of the importance of safety features in sports equipment.

We start by discussing safety in sports. I make sure to highlight the crucial role of football helmets as protective gear. This sets the stage for students to brainstorm safety features that an ideal football helmet should include.

Prepared with their ideas, I provide them with cardboard, foam sheets, pipe cleaners, scissors, and glue. Students take the safety ideas they brainstormed and begin designing and building their miniature football helmets. Once the structure of the helmet has been finalized, they can use their markers to add their designs.

As much as I love watching them construct, I always look forward to hearing my students share their designs with their peers. They describe and show the safety elements they incorporated into their helmets and explain the why behind them. They truly do come up with some game-changing improvements to the helmet!

Ready…Set…Hike These Football STEM Projects into Your Curriculum!

As we wrap up this exploration of football STEM projects, it’s evident that the fusion of sports excitement and educational innovation has created a winning playbook for our students. From constructing field goals to launching pom-pom footballs, this journey showcased the power of hands-on activities to seamlessly add STEM into our curriculum.

The flexibility of these challenges, whether undertaken as a whole group or center activity, ensures inclusivity and sparks creativity. As we celebrate their achievements with certificates and stickers, we emphasize that STEM is a key that equips our students with essential skills.

With this dynamic combination, we’re fostering future scientists and engineers while nurturing critical thinkers, problem-solvers, and innovators. Together, we’re paving the way for the next generation to thrive in an increasingly STEM-focused world! Be sure to grab the Football STEM Challenge to use in your classroom today!

Save for Later

Remember to save this post to your favorite STEM Pinterest board for when you need engaging football STEM projects!