How Do Molecules Stay Together?
by Madeline J. Hayes, illustrated by Srimalie Bassani
How Do Molecules Stay Together? is a picture book that introduces readers to some basic chemistry concepts. This could be a good read-aloud as an introduction to chemistry, although I suspect older students may find the call-and-response phrases a little too childish for their liking.
Marie Curie for Kids
by Amy M. O’Quinn
This is a book that’s great for readers who love history and activities. Follow Marie Curie’s life from a bright, young girl in occupied Poland through her Nobel prize winning discoveries. This book is packed from activities that explore a wide range of topics, including geography, culture, and science. I read this book in its e-book version, which had some formatting issues that occasionally made it challenging to absorb. This could be an opportunity to explore those areas with an activity. (See below)
The Radium Girls
by Kate Moore
What happens when people are exposed to light waves emitted from radioactive material? That’s what this book covers, by telling the stories of a group of women who worked with radium. This is not an easy read emotionally, but it tells a very important story. It’s referenced in Marie Curie for Kids, and would be a great follow-on book for that one.
Bonus Books:
Werewolves and States of Matter
by Janet Slingerland, illustrated by Angel Mosquito
For readers who love graphic novels and/or werewolves, this book provides a great introduction to chemistry. It explores the concept of matter, what states it can exist in, and how matter transforms from one state to another.
Explore Atoms and Molecules! (with 25 Great Projects)
by Janet Slingerland, illustrated by Matt Aucoin
If you’re looking for activities that help explore atoms and molecules, be sure to check out this book. It covers lots of different chemistry topics, including atomic structure, the periodic table, and chemical reactions. There’s even a section that introduces readers to Lewis dot diagrams, a great way to visualize how atoms combine.
As always, there are lots of different things that can be done with these books. Be sure to check out the activities provided in the books. Some of the books also have educator materials or informative websites associated with them. Here are links to some of them:
There is a website dedicated to The Radium Girls. There is an educator guide linked on this page of the site: https://www.theradiumgirls.com/the-radium-girls-young-readers
The Atoms and Molecules page of my website has some links of interest: http://janetsbooks.com/atoms-and-molecules
There is a classroom guide and a free downloadable activity on the Nomad Press site: https://nomadpress.net/nomadpress-books/explore-atoms-molecules
Some of this month’s books are older, and the web links provided in them no longer work. However, since the authors thought they were worthy of inclusion, exploring them might be a good exercise. If a link no longer works, can you find the same information on another reliable website or page?
Here are some other ideas for activities.
Create a Timeline
As mentioned in the book descriptions, I had some difficulties with the book formatting in Marie Curie for Kids. This was particularly true for the timeline provided in the book. In order to better visualize the timeline, create one of your own. This could be done on a single sheet of paper, or it could be constructed so it wraps around an entire room. This can also be an opportunity to explore the use of technology in presenting a timeline, whether it’s created with a graphic tool like Canva, a slideshow like PowerPoint, or whatever your favorite tool is.
Students can choose what should be placed on the timeline, based on the books they’ve read. Including pictures or illustrations of the events helps everyone visualize the events better. This provides lots of opportunities to practice research skills. This is also an opportunity for students to work together to create it.
Here are some ideas of things that could be included on the timeline:
- Major life events for the people involved in the science (the Curies, Mendeleev, Bohr, etc.).
- Important discoveries, including elements, atomic structure, effects of elements, etc.
- Key dates related to products using chemicals.
- Major world events like the World Wars.
Get Messy!
Chemistry can be one of the messiest of the scientific disciplines. The books on this month’s book list include lots of experiments that explore chemical reactions. Here are a few popular experiments:
Elephant Toothpaste:
- https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities/elephant-toothpaste
- https://chemistrytalk.org/make-elephant-toothpaste
Erupting Soda:
- https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/adventures-in-chemistry/experiments/mentos-diet-coke.html
- https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities/diet-coke-mentos
Making slime:
- https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/adventures-in-chemistry/experiments/slime.html
- https://chemistrytalk.org/making-slime-from-borax
Get Thoughtful
Scientific discoveries often have unintended consequences. The stories of the Curies and the Radium Girls are perfect examples of this. Here is an article from the Society of Physics Studies and the American Institute of Physics that addresses this topic: https://students.aip.org/radiations/discoveries-unintended-consequences-and-the-values-of-science. After reading it, have some discussions about the topic. Does the scientific process help to address this?
This opens up the topic of the scientific process. This website from UC Berkeley has lots of information on this topic: https://undsci.berkeley.edu/understanding-science-101/how-science-works
Explore (Largely Unsung) Scientists
Marie Curie was the first women to achieve many accomplishments. There are other groups of people who have historically faced huge obstacles to achieving things like college degrees and scientific discoveries. Often, discoveries made by women and minorities were attributed to others.
Explore some of the underrepresented people who have made great discoveries related to chemistry.
Each student could explore a different scientist and incorporate it into the timeline from above.
February is Black History Month. Here are a few lists of scientists to explore (there is some overlap between the lists):
- https://www.sciencebuddies.org/blog/black-history-month-scientists
- https://www.discovermagazine.com/8-amazing-black-scientists-and-how-they-changed-history-43313
- https://post.edu/blog/a-legacy-of-innovation-6-trailblazing-black-scientists-who-still-inspire-us-today
March is Women’s History Month. Here are some lists of women scientists to explore:
- https://www.sciencebuddies.org/blog/women-in-science-history
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Women-in-Science-2100321
- https://www.nobelprize.org/women-who-changed-science
Janet Slingerland has written over 2 dozen books for young readers, including Werewolves and States of Matter and Explore Atoms and Molecules! (with 25 Great Projects). To find out more about Janet and her books, check out her website: http://janetsbooks.com
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Jennifer is also the creator and administrator of #STEMTuesday and #STEAMTeam2020
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