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STEM Tuesday– Mixing Science and Poetry/Verse — Special NSTA Conference Edition

By STEM Tuesday on April 16, 2019 / Common Core & NGSS, Cross-Curricular, Poetry/Verse, STEM Tuesday

Yes. It’s April–National Poetry Month. Yes. It’s STEM Tuesday, and our theme this month is STEM in verse. Yes, our book list for the month includes books with poetry in them that are devoted to STEM themes.

But April is also the time when the National Science Teachers Association holds its annual conference, and the usual STEM Tuesday post in line for this week is all about connecting STEM books to the classroom. This year NSTA did something bold and exciting that is begging for recognition on this particular post, so that’s what this week is all about.

With J. Carrie Launius coordinating, NSTA invited a slew of nonfiction authors who write on STEM themes to participate in a 5-hour Linking Literacy event over two days–including 5 panel discussions, an opportunity for science educators and authors to mingle, and a book signing. Wow! As you can imagine, it was an opportunity to revel in creativity, caring, and collegiality. After a kick-off panel discussion featuring Steve Light, Melissa Stewart, Jennifer Swanson, Tracy Nelson Maurer, Shanda McCloskey and presiders Jacqueline Barber and E. Wendy Saul, four break-out panels delved into various themes.

There was a lot happening, often simultaneously. As I was a panelist and mixing-and-mingling author, I’m quite sure I missed a bunch, but still, I hope to share some of the take-aways from the conversations that took place informally and in some of the panels. I’ve tried to stick to the topics that most directly connect to bringing STEM books into the classroom.

STEM-themed biographies and scientist stories are for everyone. Laurie Wallmark, biographer of women in STEM, reminded us that while it is great to share books about women, people of color, or other underrepresented groups in STEM with girls or kids of color only, it’s even better—and vitally important—that we share these stories with all children (and adults). It’s also key to break out of biographies and include stories for middle grade readers of scientists doing science. Need some examples? How about Patricia Newman’s Eavesdropping on Elephants or Mary Kay Carson’s The Tornado Scientist?

Cross-disciplinary content is a natural part of many STEM books, especially those that feature topics that lure children in. Cheryl Bardoe, who writes picture book Cheryl Bardoe speaking with mic in hand biographies, pointed out that individual STEM thinkers are specific to their place, time, and social contexts. Meanwhile, books about technology, including, for example, my Running on Sunshine or Jennifer Swanson’s Super Gear, root conceptual information in strong, motivating contexts. (It was wonderful to chat with teachers who appreciate the connections between their curriculum about “the sun” and solar energy technologies. This is just the type of connection-making that the NGSS emphasizes.)

The rich visual imagery in STEM books can help readers connect to content and spark their interest and imagination. Of course, this is true of the illustrations in picture books, such as Steve Light’s Swap! But there’s more to look for. Keep your eyes peeled for primary source materials in picture books, such as photographs related to a remarkable discovery in Darcy Pattison’s Pollen. Keep in mind–as Jen Swanson pointed out–there’s also powerful imagery in books for middle grade readers.

It’s important to consider the whole range of roles that various STEM books can play in education.

E. Wendy Saul and Jacqueline Barber’s thoughtful questions and insightful reflections helped us consider some of these roles. Some books are great at fostering curiosity before a classroom unit on a given topic, while others are perfect resources to bring in after children have had a chance to try to make sense of their first-hand experiences and are looking for factual resources. STEM reading can inspire children to see themselves as competent STEM learners and future STEM professionals. Putting the right book in the hands of a particular child may be a pivotal moment in that child’s life, honoring and responding to his or her curiosity, interest, or moment of need.

Books and experience go hand-in-hand.

Educators check out simulated canine vision with Jodi Wheeler-Toppen (center).

Weaving my way through the tables during Linking Literacy’s informal time, I was struck by the many ways we authors link our books to opportunities for readers to experience the world. Of course, we generally provide teachers’ guides, but we also offer dynamic activities and interesting artifacts. I saw evidence of the added value of visiting with an author. For example, I showed visitors how I simulate stars orbiting mystery objects and how that relates to finding black holes. In addition, to extend the content of Dog Science Unleashed, Jodi Wheeler-Toppen provides customized Viewmasters that offer comparisons of human and canine vision. Meanwhile, Heather Montgomery shows off a fox pelt (among other artifacts) that she prepared as part of her research for Something Rotten. Truly, STEM authors can bring their own brand of multi-dimensional learning experiences and inspiration to the NGSS’s emphasis on 3D learning.

The STEM stories we share are a powerful aspect of creating a culture that honors STEM literacy. Do you have a story to share—some way in which you have used a STEM book in a middle grade classroom or out-of school setting? Let us know; leave a comment below. And keep your eyes open for NSTA ’20 (in Boston). Hopefully, Linking Literacy will be a recurring and integral component of future conferences!

Six of the STEM Tuesday crew at NSTA19!

Diversity in MG Lit #8 Black Girls

By Rosanne Parry on April 15, 2019 / Book Lists, Diversity, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers

For the month of April I’m featuring books with amazing black girls.

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo, Harper Teen

This YA novel will appeal to mature MG reader. The main character Emoni is a teen mother in her senior year of high school. With the help of good friends and a mentor teacher/chef, Emoni discovers a passion for cuisine and hones the discipline she will need to succeed. There is some mild swearing but there is also a romantic relationship with a boy respectful of Emoni’s boundaries making it a nice choice for older middle grade readers on the cusp of their dating years.

Black Enough: Stories of being Youn and Black in America edited by Ibi Zoboi, Balzar & Bray

This anthology is a mix of MG and YA short stories about the wide ranging experience of being African-American in all its variety: urban and rural, immigrant and 10th generation American, wealthy and struggling. I’m a big fan of short stories for kids who are almost ready for YA and feeling unsure about where to start. This collection features 17 of the strongest Black writers being published in this decade.

Blended by Sharon M. Draper, Atheneum

Biracial children are the fastest growing demographic so I was particularly thrilled to see Blended take on such an important topic head on. Sharon Draper uses the conflict between her protagonist Isabella’s divorced parents to illuminate Isabella’s own conflicting feelings about her identity. This book addresses the pain of micro-aggressions head on and the topic of lynching comes up in a history class so although this is a solidly MG title it is also gritty in the very best way.

A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée, Balzar & Bray

It’s always great to highlight debut authors. Lisa Moore Ramée’s story features a tender-hearted 12 year old who gets very anxious about conflict. A transformative experience at a Black Lives Matter rally helps her face her fears and learn to stand up for change even when the consequences of change are hard. There’s plenty of humor and heart even as this book takes on difficult topics.

Love Like Sky by Leslie C Youngblood, Hyperion

Another debut, this one from Leslie C Youngblood is set in Georgia and covers the challenges of moving into a blended family, into a new neighborhood and into a period of family illness. It should resonate with blended families and is a lovely tribute to the bonds among sisters.

My Life as an Ice cream Sandwich by Ibi Zoboi, Dutton

This delicious summer read will be out in August but I couldn’t help talking it up now. The cover is charming. The fairly familiar ground of a middle school aged child moving from a small town (Huntsville, AL) to a big city (Harlem, NY) is made fresh and engaging by introducing a grandfather who was a NASA engineer. He inspires his grandchild’s fascination with space and feeds her science fiction habit. The story is set in 1984 and includes a few very short sections of graphic novel. Sure to be a winner with Star Trek fans and space enthusiasts.

A Streetcar to Justice: How Elizabeth Jennings won the right to ride in New York by Amy Hill Hearth, Greenwillow

I’m going to end with a really terrific biography of Elizabeth Jennings the woman who was a forerunner to Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin. In 1850 in New York City she was forcibly ejected from a public streetcar. She took the trolly company to court and won the right of black citizens to ride a public street car alongside white passengers. In 1850! I had not heard of her before this book and I’m thrilled to see it join the canon of books about civil rights. It’s a slim volume but it’s packed with maps and photographs and first person sources.

BOOK LIST FOR A BLACK HOLE

By Jennifer Swanson on April 12, 2019 / Articles, Book Lists

Black Hole Photo History

It’s been an exciting week for space enthusiasts, space fiction fans, rocket scientists, and computer scientists. For the first time ever, we have an idea of what the elusive, oft-written-about black hole looks like.

Beautiful, right? Incredible even. What’s amazing to me is that we took pictures of light in a place where light gets sucked in but never spit out again. I always imagined that we could never see anything once that big vacuum cleaner in the cosmos had swallowed it, not even if we built the world’s strongest computer with the most sophisticated brain.

Fortunately for all of us, I’m not an astrophysicist or a computer scientist. Even more fortunately for all of us, Dr. Katie Bouman is. Bouman is a computer scientist who was part of a team that created a set of algorithms that took the “sparse and noisy data” collected from telescopes and turned them into an image. According to TIME magazine, Bouman says what really makes her tick is “coming up with ways to see or measure things that are invisible.”

The MIT postdoctoral fellow shared this photo of herself “watching in disbelief as the first image I ever made of a black hole was in the process of being reconstructed.”

Encouraging More Women in Space and Science

What’s great about Dr. Bouman’s story is that in addition to raising the profile of all the brilliant women researchers in #STEM, we get a chance to talk again about books that focus on women in STEM, computer science, black holes, and the study of space. (And we get to say Event Horizon Telescope a lot, which is just plain fun.)

Unfortunately, the numbers on women researchers in STEM fields are still dismal, hovering somewhere around 30% by many estimates. Clearly, we’ve got a lot of work to do encouraging and supporting women in these fields–and it begins with our middle-grade readers.

Book List for a Black Hole Moment

Here’s a handful of books to help stir our girls’ imaginations and spur them to become the next Dr. Katie Bouman.

NON FICTION

A Black Hole is not a Hole, by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano

If a black hole is not a hole, then what is it? Find out what black holes are, what causes them, and how scientists first discovered them. Learn how astronomers find black holes, get to know our nearest black-hole neighbor, and take a journey that will literally s-t-r-e-t-c-h the mind.

Exoplanets, by Karen Latchana Kenney (Twenty-First Century Books TM)

Until the mid-1990s, scientists only guessed that the universe held exoplanets, or planets beyond our solar system. But using advanced physics and powerful telescopes, scientists have since identified more than three thousand exoplanets. This work has revealed fascinating worlds, including a planet that oozes lavalike fluids and a planet that glows bright pink.

Even more fascinating, scientists think that some exoplanets might contain life. Many orbit in the Goldilocks zone, the region around a star that’s not too hot or too cold for liquid water, a key ingredient for life. This book examines exoplanets, the possibilities for life beyond Earth, and the cutting-edge technologies scientists use to learn about distant worlds.

This book features astrophysicist Sara Seager.

Astronaut/Aquanaut, by Jennifer Swanson (National Geographic)

Margaret on the Moon, by Dean Robbins and Illustrated by Lucy Knisely (Knopf)A true story from one of the Women of NASA!

Margaret Hamilton loved numbers as a young girl. She knew how many miles it was to the moon (and how many back). She loved studying algebra and geometry and calculus and using math to solve problems in the outside world.

Soon math led her to MIT and then to helping NASA put a man on the moon! She handwrote code that would allow the spacecraft’s computer to solve any problems it might encounter. Apollo 8. Apollo 9. Apollo 10. Apollo 11. Without her code, none of those missions could have been completed.

Dean Robbins and Lucy Knisley deliver a lovely portrayal of a pioneer in her field who never stopped reaching for the stars.

FICTION:

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux/Square FIsh)

Not a new entry, not even from this century, but I couldn’t resist reminding everyone that an early and definitive female character in a book about space was Meg Murray.

A Wrinkle in Time, winner of the Newbery Medal in 1963, is the story of the adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O’Keefe. They are in search of Meg’s father, a scientist who disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government on the tesseract problem — a wrinkle in time.

A Wrinkle in Time is the winner of the 1963 Newbery Medal.

Beep and Bob, by Jonathan Roth (Simon and Schuster)

In this adorable chapter book series that School Library Journal said is for “kids who love funny stories but may be too young for books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” space-school attendee Bob and his alien bestie Beep star in hilarious intergalactic adventures.

Does anyone have any other books that should make this list? Let us know in the comments. And in the meantime, let’s keep reading and encouraging our girls to reach for the stars.

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