Educational standards describe what students should know and be able to accomplish in each subject in each grade. With the increased adoption of standards, even for computer science and engineering subject matters, even young children are required to be prepared to both master the standards and demonstrate this mastery. However, the process of teaching and assessing these standards, with respect to all children, including those with special needs, must incorporate instructional supports and accommodations. Instructional supports should foster student engagement by allowing, for example, multiple, diverse ways for children to act and express their knowledge. One means of incorporating such instructional support in the early childhood classroom is through the use of tangibles and games. In the traditional classroom, manipulatives (or tangibles) are typically defined as objects that enable a learner to perceive some STEM concept through physical interaction. These types of manipulatives are frequently used when teaching concrete representations, the first step involved in teaching computer science and engineering concepts. By also augmenting the use of tangibles with accessible STEM-based gaming apps, the learning needs of young children with diverse abilities can effectively be addressed. In this breakout we will discuss a number of resources that educators can incorporate into their early childhood classroom for teaching STEM concepts. This includes tangibles, math games, and coding apps, with curriculum that can be easily adopted for use.
