Posts Tagged children’s books

STEM Tuesday — Planets and Stars — In the Classroom

Earlier this year, I read a bunch of books about astronauts. For this month’s theme, I read about astronomical things. (Things related to astronomy, not enormous things – although many astronomical things are astronomical. But I digress…)

The books I read were:

Welcome to Mars: Making a Home on the Red Planet
by Buzz Aldrin and Marianne J. Dyson (2019)

This book imagines what life will be like for the first astronauts and colonists to reach Mars. It looks at how people and things will get there, what their living quarters will look like, and what they might eat for meals. It has activities sprinkled throughout to help understand and think more deeply about different concepts.

A Black Hole is NOT a Hole
by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano, Illustrated by Michael Carroll (2012/2017)

I had only a very general idea of what a black hole was before I read this book. It did a great job of explaining what a black hole is and how astronomers have learned about them – especially since they’re kind of hard to visit.

Beyond the Solar System: Exploring Galaxies, Black Holes, Alien Planets, and More
by Mary Kay Carson (2013)

If you are curious about how human beings have come to understand what’s out in space, this is the book for you. It chronicles important astronomical discoveries and how they have shaped our understanding of Earth and its place in the universe throughout time. It’s packed with activities that help to understand and further explore different concepts.

The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity (2012/2017) by Elizabeth Rusch

This book tells the story of the Mars rovers named Spirit and Opportunity. This book does a lot more than follow the journey of these robots on Mars. It also gives a glimpse into the world of engineering, geology, and so much more.

As always, a great way to explore these books is to do some of the activities in those that have them and explore the back matter (the stuff at the end of the book). Each book recommends additional books and web sites to check out.

Here are a few additional ideas.

Do Some Star, Planet, & Satellite Gazing

Several of the books suggest this activity. It’s a great way to start getting curious about what’s out in space. All you really need is time and a place to sit and watch the night sky. If you want to see things in more detail, a pair of binoculars or a telescope can help.

Want to know what you’re looking at? Check out Sky and Telescope’s “This Week’s Sky At A Glance” (https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/sky-at-a-glance) or Astronomy’s “The Sky This Week” (https://astronomy.com/observing/sky-this-week) for guidance. You could also download an app like Google Sky or Stellarium. There’s a good list of sky watching apps here: https://astrobackyard.com/astronomy-apps-for-stargazing.

If you want to be more scientific and/or creative, keep a sky watching journal. Any notebook or collection of papers can do. Jot down the date, time, and location for each session. Note the weather and sky conditions – while the weather may be fair, there may be a lot of light pollution from nearby buildings and/or towns that make it difficult to see the planets and stars. Then write down what you see.

Where in the sky was it? (A diagram might help – especially if you can note its relation to known things like the Big Dipper.)
What color was it?
Did its light shimmer or hold steady?
Did it move quickly? (If so, it’s probably a satellite – or perhaps just an airplane.)

You can journal about whatever your thoughts inspire you to. What do you imagine you’re looking at? What if you were able to travel there? Does it inspire you to write a song or a poem? Go for it.

Get a Daily Dose of Astronomy

Even if you can’t get out to gaze at the night sky often, you can get a daily dose of astronomy. NASA posts an “Astronomy Picture of the Day,” often referred to as APoD: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html.

Every day, this site posts a picture related to astronomy, along with some kind of explanation. You can browse the archives or use the index or search features to see images of whatever celestial entity, person, or space tech you’re interested in.

Following the index to a topic gives a short list created by the editors as the most educational. Here is their list for Mars: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/mars.html. For a more thorough listing of photographs, go through the search feature.

Take It With You (?)

Imagine you were one of the first colonists traveling to Mars. In Welcome to Mars, Buzz Aldrin points out that NASA is figuring out what you need to survive and how to get it there. As for personal items, you will be allowed to take items that total up to 5 pounds (2.3 kg).

What would you take with you? Why?

Look at how much each thing weighs. This would be a good time to learn how to calibrate and use a scale. If you don’t have a scale, do a little research online to see if you can find a weight for your item. Or you could build your own balance scale, like the one here: https://www.thoughtco.com/kid-science-make-a-balance-scale-2086574. Then you just need to have items with known weights to compare with your objects.

Add up the weights of the things you want to bring. If you go over 5 pounds, you’ll have to let something go.

You thought getting into space was challenging? I think deciding what to take might be more so.

And if you want to watch a show that imagines the journey to Mars, there is a TV series called Mars – https://www.nationalgeographic.com/tv/shows/mars – that does so. It is currently available on Disney+ and Netflix; it may be available on other streaming services, too.

Make Some Celestial Art

It was pretty clear from reading these books that art plays a big role in astronomy – even if it’s only to convey ideas to the general public. Many of the images we see are “false colored.” There is a great explanation of this on NASA’s Earth Observatory web site: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/FalseColor/page1.php, and another one on the Hubble site: http://hubble.stsci.edu/gallery/behind_the_pictures/meaning_of_color/index.php. Computers translate sensor data into an image we can see. There is a more advanced explanation, with links to other resources, here: https://asd.gsfc.nasa.gov/blueshift/index.php/2016/09/13/hubble-false-color.

Now it’s time to get creative with an astronomical spin.

Add Your Own Color

Print out a black-and-white image of something celestial. Here are a few, or you can search around for more:
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/images/299819main_hs-2005-35-b-print_full.jpg
https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic0514b
https://arasteo.blogspot.com/2016/11/helix-nebulangc-7293ha-5nm.html.

Add your own color, using colored pencils, markers, or paint. Try out different color schemes and/or different media.

Create Your Own Starry Night

This blog post – https://artfulparent.com/sticker-resist-starry-night-cards – has instructions for making “starry night” cards. It uses stickers and a salt-watercolor technique. Instead of stickers, you could color in the “stars” with white crayon. The watercolor paint will not adhere wherever the crayon is.

You could use this technique to make cards of different constellations. (There is a set of free printable constellation cards here: https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/constellation-activities.)

To learn more about the salt painting technique, there’s a detailed tutorial here: https://www.scratchmadejournal.com/blog/painting-with-salt-watercolor-tutorial or look around for others.

And if you want to explore Vincent VanGogh’s Starry Night, there are lots of things out there, including this printable: https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/starry-night-for-kids.

Listen to Space-Inspired Music

Lots of artists have been inspired by space and the planets. One of my favorite musical compositions is The Planets by Gustav Holst. Look it up on your favorite streaming service or check a copy out of your local library. There’s a neat listening guide for this piece on ClassicFM: https://www.classicfm.com/composers/holst/pictures/holsts-planets-guide

Composer Eric Whitacre was inspired by the Hubble Telescope’s Deep Field Image. You can listen to the music while watching the images that inspired it here: https://youtu.be/yDiD8F9ItX0.

What do you think of Holst and Whitacre’s interpretations of outer space?

To learn more about how Eric Whitacre’s piece came about, listen to SolveItForKids podcast Episode 5: How Do You Compose Music That’s As Big As the Universe? https://solveitforkids.com/podcast/episode-4-how-do-you-compose-music-that-is-as-big-as-the-universe. (And while you’re there, check out the other space-themed podcast episodes.)

Explore Your Universe!

I could go on, but then we’d all never get on with our days. Hopefully I’ve given you some ideas that will inspire you to explore the universe in different ways. Have fun with your explorations!

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Janet Slingerland has written more than 20 books for children, including many about science-y topics. While she doesn’t do a lot of stargazing, her husband is an astronomy buff. In 2017, Janet and her family traveled to Nashville, TN to see the solar eclipse. This picture shows their viewing spot (along with Janet’s husband and her older son). Although clouds got in the way of a good view of the totality (the full blocking of the sun), the experience was still pretty amazing.

To find out more about Janet and her books, check out her website: janetsbooks.com.

Home Learning: A World of Opportunities to Read & Think

By Aixa Perez-Prado on September 9, 2020 / COVID-19, Homeschool Resource / 3 Comments

by Aixa Perez-Prado

Last March schools across the world closed due the Covid-19 pandemic. Teachers, parents and students were unprepared. Many had difficulty with the online learning that was offered. Even under ideal circumstances, hours of daily screen time will not be feasible for many young learners. Therefore, some families have chosen to try their hand at home learning, otherwise known as homeschooling. If you are one of these families, or if you simply wish to augment the remote learning your child is receiving from school with books that will help you do it, this article is for you.

Out of school learning time can provide kids with a chance to acquire knowledge in a manner that is free and flexible. Allowing kids the freedom to explore topics of interest instills a love for learning and inspires curiosity. But this freedom is not always available in a highly structured school day. Thankfully, it can be available at home. Encouraging kids to nourish their personal passions is one way to help them thrive during this crisis. Giving them books that will help them discover those passions, is another. Does your kid love… Planets and Stars? Mysteries? Birds? There are so many books to choose from!

Opening up the home learning experience to embrace problem solving and critical / creative thinking activities prepares kids for learning anywhere. Giving kids the power to direct some of their own learning will help them obtain the identified 21st century skills: critical thinking, creative thinking, communication and collaboration.

Parents need to provide guidance, resources, great books, and encouragement to kids learning at home. However, they don’t need to provide all of the answers. The best teachers encourage learners to ask interesting questions and discover the answers themselves. They give learners the freedom to fail and try again. Making interesting and informative books available to kids is a great place to start a critical and creative thinking home learning life.

Check out my homeschooling tips and accompanying books below. They will help you help your kids flourish as critical and creative thinkers while learning at home.

Learning at home tips, and books to go with them:

Tip 1: Do not set unrealistic learning goals. Start small and build rather than the other way around. It is better for encouraging learning to start with small successes than to overreach and start by experiencing failure. Short stories can deliver meaningful content and help kids feel a quick sense of accomplishment. They can also be springboards for inspiring kids to read longer texts.

The Hero Next Door by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich (ed)

All the heroes in these stories make the world a better place. They do it by using acts of kindness to help others. Published in partnership with We Need Diverse Books, this vibrant anthology features thirteen acclaimed authors. Stories celebrate the hero in all of us. Authors include: William Alexander, Joseph Bruchac, Lamar Giles, Mike Jung, Hena Khan, Juana Medina, Ellen Oh, R. J. Palacio, Linda Sue Park and Anna Dobbin, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Ronald L. Smith, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Suma Subramaniam

Stories to Solve: Folktales from Around the World by George Shannon

This collection of fourteen illustrated mysteries from world folklore give readers a chance to figure out the solution to a problem by thinking critically, before the solution is given. Backmatter includes origins of the tales and more information for further research.

Tip 2: Be present. Put away cell phones and turn off the TV as much as you can. Listen with empathy and understanding to kid’s concerns and ideas without being dismissive. Use what is happening in the world as material for your home learning.

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Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Framers, Their Fights and the Flaws that Affect us Today by Cynthia and Sanford Levinson.

For a nonfiction possibility, this book offers a fearless glimpse into the Constitution including its failures and flaws. The text can be used to inspire kids to think critically.

The Kid Who Ran for President by Dan Gutman

A humorous and fast-paced account of a kid’s run for president as a third party candidate. A great book to inspire dialogue with kids about this election season. Kids learn how government works. and fails, while thinking critically and creatively about what makes a good president.

Tip 3: Answer questions while being honest with what you don’t know. Investigate unknowns together, encouraging kids to question and problem pose, exercising their critical thinking skills.

Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly

Iris is a creative and critical thinking tech wiz. She can fix computers and repair old radios. But she’s the only deaf person at her school. Sometimes treat her like she’s not very bright and she often feels unheard, even by her mom. Then she learns about Blue 55, a real whale who is unable to speak to other whales. Iris immediately feels a connection. She has an idea to invent a way to “sing” to him! But he’s three thousand miles away. What can she do?

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kennedy

Calpurnia Virginia Tate is a critical thinker. She wonders about what she sees in nature. Calpurnia’s grumpy grandfather, a naturalist, helps her figure out why green grasshoppers get eaten more often than yellow ones. But Callie’s curiosity is not always rewarded by society. She struggles with society’s expectations of girls at a time when a girl interested in science is not well viewed.

Tip 4: Be flexible thinkers. Every family is different and diverse, you do not have to follow what any other family is doing. Kids learn in different ways. Families work together in different ways. Do what works for YOUR family.

Millicent Min Girl Genius by Lisa Yee

Millicent Min’s family is different from most of the families in her community. And so is the way she learns. Her classmates hate her for going to high school at such a young age. But Emily doesn’t know her IQ and actually thinks she’s cool. Millie decides to hide who she is and how her family works to finally make a real friend.

Music for Tigers by Michelle Kadarusman

Violinist Louisa ships off to Tasmania to spend the summer with her mother’s eccentric Australian relatives. And she’s not too happy about it. Life at the family’s remote camp in the Tasmanian rainforest is very different. There’s a quirky boy, a strange uncle, old journals and a Tasmanian tiger problem. Louisa has her work cut out for her! Can her music save the day?

Books that make kids think are one of the hallmarks of great learning at home, and at school. Check the books you already have at home and can use in a new way, or try a few of these great books to add to your home learning library.

STEM Tuesday — Planets and Stars — Book List

By STEM Tuesday on September 8, 2020 / Planets and Stars, STEM Tuesday / Leave a comment

This has been a busy year for space exploration. In February, NASA launched a solar orbiter. Late May saw SpaceX launch their Dragon, followed by three different missions to Mars. And China is planning to send a rover to the moon. We hope these books will inspire our next generation of Space Explorers!

Our Solar System and Beyond

Absolute Expert: Space, All the Latest Facts from the Field by Joan Marie Galat

This book starts with the question, “where does space begin?” and takes off to explore our solar system, stars, the big bang, and even communicating with aliens. Every chapter includes Space Watch (things you can see without needing a telescope) and Space Labs (hands-on experiments).

Dr. Maggie’s Grand Tour Of The Solar System by Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock

Dr. Maggie is a space scientist and in this book she takes you on a journey around our solar system. There’s a stop at every planet: a hike up Olympus Mons on Mars, a visit to the red spot on Jupiter, and some quick tours to a few moons. What’s fun is that she includes a “ship’s database” at the back filled with facts and statistics.

The Daredevil’s Guide To Outer Space by Anna Brett, illustrated by Mike Jacobsen

A Lonely Planet guide of a different sort! Cartoon characters blast off to explore our solar system and beyond. Text is presented in panels and text boxes as well as through dialog. Readers visit the International Space Station and meet other spacecraft throughout the journey.

Dr. E’s Super Stellar Solar System by Bethany Ehlmann and Jennifer Swanson

Dr. Ehlmann has an out-of-this-world job: she’s a planetary geologist AND she helped drive the rover, Curiosity on Mars. But she wonders what it would be like to zoom around the solar system. The comics are fun, the science is real, and there are some “try this” activities. There’s even a handy guide for likely places to find alien life.

Mars Missions

Mission to Mars by Mary Kay Carson

Humans will go to Mars someday. What will it take to get them there? Will there be water on the planet? Martians to greet us? This book looks at what we’ve discovered in previous Mars missions, and the technology and training for future exploration.

The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity (Scientists in the Field Series) by Elizabeth Rusch

At 13 years old, Steven Squyers watched astronauts land on the moon. Two decades later, with a degree in geology, he started thinking what a mission to Mars might look like. He proposed sending rovers – and in these pages readers follow along as he and his team design, build, and launch the rovers Spirit and Opportunity.

Welcome to Mars: Making a Home on the Red Planet by Buzz Aldrin & Marianne Dyson

Treating the reader as a Mars Mission crew member, the book examines the preparation, travel, and early residency involved in settling Mars. Each chapter includes both early and ground-breaking science, political and scientific history, facts, and numerous hands-on activities.

Looking into Deep Space

The Hubble Space Telescope: Our Eye on the Universe by Terence Dickinson, with Tracy C. Read

After discussing Edwin Hubble, the intricacies of the Hubble telescope, and providing a glossary on the universe, this book looks at the remarkable images Hubble has revealed and the advances in scientific knowledge and understanding of star clusters, gorgeous nebulas, the milky way, and distant galaxies that it has provided.

Beyond the Solar System: Exploring Galaxies, Black Holes, Alien Planets, and More (A History with 21 Activities) by Mary Kay Carson

Examining the scientists and their contributions to our increasing knowledge of stars, planets, and other galaxies (from prehistory to 2010), this book invites readers to recreate their discoveries and the tools that the scientists developed to explore our solar system and the universe. It includes a glossary and great additional resources.

Visual Galaxy: The Ultimate Guide to the Milky Way and Beyond by National Geographic, with a foreword by Chris Hadfield (Astronaut and Former Commander of the International Space Station)

Combining stunning photographs with illustrations and graphics, this book explores our galaxy and planets. Then it expands into deep space to look at the creation of stars and galaxies, how the universe fits together, and possible exoplanets. It includes information from space missions and a glossary.

Wormholes Explained by Richard Gaughan

If we haven’t seen them, can they exist? Using engaging, accessible text and beautiful images, this book distills a wormholes’ description, scientific theories of gravity & relativity, and the mathematics involved as it offers the data and evidence scientists currently have about wormholes and space.

STEM Tuesday book list prepared by:

Sue Heavenrich writes about science for children and their families, from space to backyard ecology. A long line of ants marching across the kitchen counter inspired her first article for kids. When not writing, she’s committing acts of citizen science in the garden. She blogs about science for kids and families at archimedesnotebook.blogspot.com.

Maria Marshall is a children’s author, blogger, and poet passionate about making nature and reading fun for children. She’s been a judge for the Cybils Awards from 2017 to present. Her poems are published in The Best Of Today’s Little Ditty 2017-2018, 2016, and 2014-2015 anthologies. When not writing, critiquing, or reading, she bird watches, travels the world, bakes, and hikes. Visit her at www.mariacmarshall.com/blog.