STEM Bins® Speed Builds for Fast Finishers, Morning Work, and More
As a Gifted and Talented teacher, I’m always looking for ways to keep my kids’ brains engaged. We use our STEM Bins® Speed Build challenge cards whenever possible to incorporate hands-on learning, spatial reasoning, logical thinking, and problem solving. They’re perfect for fast finishers, morning work or soft starts, Fun Fridays, enrichment, Makerspace, and so much more!
STEM Bins® Speed Builds are challenge cards for early finishers that work with LEGO bricks, pattern blocks, mini cups, and more: “Build it Flat” cards fit Pre-K–2nd grade, and “Build it Up” cards fit advanced 1st through 5th grade.
In this post
1. When to Use STEM Bins® Speed Builds
My favorite part of STEM Bins® Speed Builds is that they can be used for as little as five minutes or as long as an hour, depending on how and when you’d like to incorporate them in your classroom. There are a huge variety of material options and challenge cards for students to choose from, so the engagement always stays high.
2. Benefits of STEM Bins® Speed Builds
Here are a few of the many reasons why I love incorporating Speed Builds in my classroom. There are so many social-emotional and cognitive benefits!
3. How to Use STEM Bins® Speed Builds
Wondering how Speed Builds work?!
There are TWO options for use:
1) PARTNER OR SMALL GROUP SPEED BUILDS:
Groups of 2-4 students race to build each challenge card the fastest. The first student to complete the build hits a buzzer or bell and “wins” that card. Play continues for the full set of cards. (The buzzer or bell is optional. Students may also simply collaborate to build challenge cards together.)
2) INDEPENDENT SPEED BUILDS:
Students work through each challenge card independently.
4. Differentiated STEM Bins® Speed Builds Cards
Two difficulty levels of STEM Bins® Speed Build cards are provided in each set: “Build it Flat” (2D) and “Build it Up” (3D) to accommodate a range of learning levels. “Build it Flat” cards are recommended for Pre-K-2nd Grade and “Build it Up” cards are recommended for advanced 1st Grade-5th Grade. You can see in the examples below that the “Build it Up” cards provide a variety of views and spatial perspectives (top, front, side) to add to the building challenge. There are 12 cards provided per difficulty level and 6 different choices for STEM Bins® materials.
My original STEM Bins® Speed Builds set has 6 different materials to choose from with 23 challenge cards per material:
- Pattern Blocks
- Mini Cups
- Building Bricks / LEGO
- Snap Cubes / Linking Cubes
- Base Ten Blocks
- Dominoes
5. Organizing STEM Bins® Speed Builds
These Rainbow Photo Cases are perfect for organizing Speed Builds Cards! Simply tape the covers on the front of the photo cases and store the challenge cards inside. You may even choose to store the buzzers right inside the case.
6. More STEM Bins® Speed Builds Sets
My students loved my original set of Speed Builds so much that I’ve expanded the challenge cards to many more building materials over the years, including hashtag blocks from Target Dollar Spot, Brain Flakes, Pool Noodles, Magnetic Tiles/Shapes, and Magnetic Cubes. You can check out all those sets, plus my full Mega Bundle at the links below!
This one is part of the Summer School STEM Activities BUNDLE on TPT, which puts all 10 together in one download.
7. STEM Bins® Speed Builds Mega Bundle
If you’re looking for ALL of my STEM Bins® Speed Builds sets in one place, then my discounted Mega Bundle is definitely for you! This Bundle will also include any and all future Speed Build sets that I create!
More STEM Bins® on TPT
Speed Builds are one piece of the STEM Bins® family. These are the sets my students use the rest of the week: the original bins, team building stations, seasonal cards and storytelling. Click one to see it on TPT!
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