The importance of STEM

Joe | Dec 17, 2025Dec 12, 2025

LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this ESL lesson on STEM are to:

• talk about STEM from different perspectives;
• share ideas and experiences involving science-related fields;
• watch a video about an unusual physics professor.

In this lesson, students learn the definition of the acronym STEM, discuss their experiences with it and explore statistics on STEM education and careers in the US. They share their opinions, watch a short video about an unusual science teacher and discuss ways to encourage young people to take an interest in STEM. Students also investigate arguments for and against STEM teaching scenarios and reflect on teaching various STEM fields.

WARM-UP AND DISCUSSION

This ESL lesson on STEM begins with a warm-up. Students read the definition for STEM and say what each letter stands for (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). After that, they can do an extra vocabulary activity. Students complete gaps with the correct forms of academic vocabulary (e.g. statistical, empirically, hypothesized). They then decide which field of STEM the sentences refer to. Moving on, students discuss questions about personal experiences with STEM subjects. Next, they read statistics about technical and scientific areas in the US and complete gaps with percentages. After that, students share their opinions and experiences with STEM careers and discuss the statistics from the previous exercise. 

VIDEO AND MORE DISCUSSION

In this part of the ESL lesson on STEM, students watch a video about an unusual STEM teacher. They then talk about their thoughts on the professor’s methods and their own experiences. Afterwards, students explore various ways to spark young people’s interest in science-related fields (e.g. taking students on regular trips to science museums). They share whether they experienced any of these as a student and how effective they think they are. Following that, students list arguments for and against statements about STEM teaching (e.g. it’s important that students learn STEM as early as possible). After that, they say whether they agree or disagree with them. Then, students look at STEM fields (e.g. 3D printing, environmental engineering, nutrition) and do tasks where they reflect on personal STEM learning and other teaching ideas.

WORKSHEETS

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