Christmas STEM Project – Design and Build an Elf Trap

There’s a naughty elf on the loose! Can your students develop a plan to catch this mischievous elf? 

Provide students with sustainable or recyclable materials, like cardboard rolls, tissue boxes, shoeboxes, paper, craft sticks, string, etc. Students will use their supplies to design and build a simple trap to catch this naughty elf. 

In addition to STEM learning, through this activity, students will: 

🎁 Exercise critical thinking skills

🎁 Explore creativity

🎁 Strengthen verbal and motor skills

🎁 Consider cause and effect, and

🎁 Have fun!

Tips for Differentiation + Scaffolding  

In addition to individual student work time, use this STEAM project to enhance learning through partner projects or whole class discussions. 

If you have a mixture of above and below-level learners, check out these suggestions for keeping students on track with the concepts: 

🆘 Support Struggling Students

Assist students with learning challenges by participating in brainstorming and listing conversations with them. Discuss the different features and how those features might contribute to their overall design idea.

➕ Challenge Fast Finishers

Encourage fast finishers to develop another concept for a trap, create an advertisement for their elf trap or write a newspaper article about the naughty elf and what he has got up to.

Easily Download & Print

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to choose between the PDF or Google Slides version of this resource. 

To save paper, we suggest printing this 2-page worksheet double-sided.

Additionally, project the worksheet onto a screen and work through it as a class by having students record their answers in their notebooks.

This resource was created by Lisamarie Del Valle, a teacher in Florida and Teach Starter Collaborator.