"A Night Divided" S.T.E.A.M. Activities Packet

Influenced by the novel, A Night Divided, the S.T.E.A.M.-based activities included in this product focus on the content areas of math, science, engineering, and art. Students will learn about historical events such as the Space Race, the Cold War, the Berlin Wall, and the work of artist Keith Haring, who used artistic expression to advocate for social justice. Both PDF and Google Slides (digital) versions included!

Collectively, as a class, the students will create a mural. Using the novel as a guide, students will analyze concepts such as theme, symbolism, elements of plot, character analysis, and more, then represent their understandings of these concepts through art.

In addition, students become engineers as they design a method to dig through mountains to create sturdy and leak-proof tunnels; learn about simple machines in order to design and build a transportation system that can carry a load of dirt and rocks; and design and build a structure that will hold weight without collapsing. Finally, after learning more about the Space Race and how rockets work, students will build and launch a rocket.

⭐️This resource includes:⭐️

Both PDF and Google Slides (digital) versions included

Mural Art

• Teacher’s Guide

• List of Materials & Teacher Notes

• Introduction: Videos and other resources about the Berlin Wall and the artist Keith Haring who created a mural on the Berlin Wall to advocate for social justice.

• Mural Art Activity

• Student Handouts

• Artist: Keith Haring Handout

• Mural Art Paper (3 options)

• Mural Art: Artist’s Note

• Mural Art: Rubric

Critical Load Structural Design (6 pages total)

• Teacher’s Guide (3 pages)

• List of Materials & Teacher Notes

• Day 1: Introduction, or review, of structural engineering, efficiency ratings, & critical load; Planning

• Day 2: Construction, Testing, Present & Evaluate

• Student Handouts (3 pages)

• Student Planning Sheet

• Student Construction & Testing Sheet

• Student Evaluation Sheet

Tunneling Through (8 pages total)

• Teacher’s Guide (4 pages)

• List of Materials & Teacher Notes

• Day 1: Introduction: Hook, Information about Mountain Tunneling, Planning

• Day 2: Construction

• Day 3: Testing & Evaluate

• Student Handouts (3 pages)

• Student Planning Sheet

• Student Evaluation Sheet (2 pages)

• Rubric (1 page)

Wheeling Weight (8 pages total)

• Teacher’s Guide (4 pages)

• List of Materials & Teacher Notes

• Day 1: Introduction: Information about Simple Machines & Planning

• Day 2: Construction & Testing

• Day 3: Evaluate

• Student Handouts (4 pages)

• Student Planning Sheet

• Student Construction & Testing Sheet

• Student Evaluation Sheet (2 pages)

Rocket Launch (6 pages total)

• Teacher’s Guide (3 pages)

• List of Materials & Teacher Notes

• Building Background: Videos and other resources on the Space Race and the Cold War.

• Day 1: Mini Lesson: Information and videos about how rockets work & Construction

• Day 2: Testing & Evaluate

• Student Handouts (3 pages)

• Student Construction Sheet

• Student Testing Sheet

• Student Evaluation Sheet

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