Dive beneath the waves with us this week as we explore our world ocean. Did you know our planet is 70% ocean and only 30% land? Yet the ocean is less explored than outer space. Use these books to explore the wild, the weird, and the wonderful about our blue planet.
Planet Ocean: Why We All Need a Healthy Ocean by Patricia Newman; photographs by Annie Crawley
Readers will discover how closely THEY are connected to the ocean, regardless of where they live. Be sure to explore the dazzling QR code videos! Jeff Bridges, Academy Award winner and environmentalist, call this book a “must read.”
Astronaut-Aquanaut: How Space Science and Sea Science Interact by Jennifer Swanson
Discover how scientists prepare for exploring deep-space and deep-sea.
Plasticus Maritimus: An Invasive Species by Ana Pego; illustrated by Isabel Minhos Martins and Bernado P. Carvalho
Readers will explore plastic pollution in the ocean inspired by biologist Ana Pego’s life’s work.
Beneath the Waves: Celebrating the Ocean Through Pictures, Poems, and Stories by Stephanie Warren Drimmer
Enjoy amazing animal profiles, poetry, photography, and lots of great facts.
The Next Wave: The Quest to Harness the Power of the Oceansby Elizabeth Rusch
Readers will meet the scientists and engineers working to tarnish our oceans for renewable energy.
Into the Deep: An Exploration of Our Oceans by Wolfgang Dreyer; illustrated by Annika Siems
Discover the latest scientific research through a ride on a submarine.
Secrets of the Seaby Kate Baker
Explore rocky pools, shoreline, and the deepest depths of the ocean.
Oceanology: The Secrets of the Sea Revealedby DK/Smithsonian
An informative and beautiful introduction into the ocean ecosystem.
Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motionby Loree Griffen Burns
This Scientists in the Field title explores the exploration of ocean trash.
Explore the Salish Sea: A Nature Guide for Kidsby Joseph K. Gados and Audrey DeLella Benedict
This title explores the creatures that call the Salish Sea home, from the rhinoceros auklet to the giant Pacific octopus.
Nancy Castaldo has written books about our planet for over 20 years including, THE STORY OF SEEDS, which earned the Green Earth Book Award, Junior Library Guild Selection, and other honors. Nancy’s research has taken her all over the world from the Galapagos to Russia. She strives to inform, inspire, and empower her readers. Nancy also served as Regional Advisor Emeritus of the Eastern NY SCBWI region. Her 2020 international title about farm and food is THE FARM THAT FEEDS US: A Year In The Life Of An Organic Farm. Visit her at www.nancycastaldo.com.
Patricia Newman writes middle-grade nonfiction that empowers young readers to act on behalf of the environment and their communities. Academy Award winner and environmentalist Jeff Bridges calls Planet Ocean a “must read.” Newman, a Sibert Honor author of Sea Otter Heroes, has also received an NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book Award for Eavesdropping on Elephants, a Green Earth Book Award for Plastic, Ahoy!, and a Eureka! Gold Medal from the California Reading Association for Zoo Scientists to the Rescue. Her books have received starred reviews, been honored as Junior Library Guild Selections, and included on Bank Street College’s Best Books lists. During author visits, she demonstrates how young readers can use writing to be the voice of change. Visit her at www.patriciamnewman.com.
How is one supposed to write a Writing Tips & Resources post tied into natural disasters? Besides being an apt descriptor of 99.9999% of my writing drafts, the tragedy of a natural disaster has very little to do with writing, right?
Well, my work here is done. Stay safe everyone, take care, and I’ll see you for my next STEM Tuesday post in three months!
(STEM Tuesday Voice-Over Narrator: Hays went back to watching college basketball. Again, he’s taken the easy way out and shirked his duties as a STEM Tuesday “expert”. All in favor of banishing him from ever taking another step onto the STEM Tuesday stage, say—)
Wait! Don’t banish me yet. I’ve just had a revelation, albeit a revelation triggered by my favorite team’s upset loss in the tournament and a completely busted bracket. Nevertheless, it’s still officially classified as a revelation.
Natural disasters actually can tie into a Writing Tips & Resources post. How? Let’s pull back and have a look at the big picture.
This image is created from eight images shot in two sequences as a tornado formed north of Minneola, Kansas on May 24, 2016. Photo by Jason Weingart Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International
Natural disasters affect everyone. They can come without warning or they can come as forecast. They come by land, sea, and air. They come in all shapes and sizes, just like writers. There is one thing, however, common to natural disasters. They wreak havoc. Take another look at the excellent book list for Natural Disaster Month. Havoc. Havoc. And more havoc.
Three things a writer of any age can learn from natural disasters.
Modeling & Predicting
There was a news blip from the time period after the worst of Hurricane Katrina had passed and before the 2008 financial crisis. It was the usual politics vs science funding BS that is so frustrating for a basic research scientist. A politician went on a rant about the “wasteful” funding in an appropriations bill about a grant awarded to a scientist at a major Texas university to study using GPS to determine and map exact heights on the earth’s surface. As you can probably imagine, the politician ranted on and on about the sheer stupidity of such an endeavor. If the scientist wanted to know how far something was off the ground, why don’t they just go outside and look at it instead of bloating their budgets with tax dollars?
When the reporter tracked down the research scientist, he explained his research was focused on developing this aspect of GPS technology to better map elevation data. The ultimate goal was to be able to model geographical regions most susceptible to dangerous flooding with specific rainfall patterns. (I wish I could find the source reference but I can’t. I will continue to search for it, though, and post it here if I find it.)
Establishing models by establishing the science. That’s the goal. Better models help explain the world around us. Better models help us to predict the natural world, including natural disasters. The ability to model and predict allows us to stay safer and survive when Mother Nature strikes.
A writer does something similar. They experiment to find out what processes work for them and what doesn’t work. Their individual writing process becomes the model and the model allows them to tell whatever story they want to tell. That’s kind of like a prediction for creating stories that accomplish what the writer wants to accomplish. Janet Slingerland did an exceptional STEM Tuesday In the Classroom post last week that highlights mapping, which is a form of modeling, as a tool.
Planning & Preparation
Being a lifelong resident of tornado alley, we are brought up to plan and prepare for the tornado season. Tornado drills, safe havens indoors and out, supply boxes, and many other preparations are part of everyday life from March to November. We learn to pay attention to the weather report. We learn to know what to do in case of a tornado watch and a tornado warning so when these situations arise, we can be ready.
Planning helps a writer by providing a course of action and a direction. Preparation through practice and learning gives the writer the tools needed to successfully reach that destination. Through planning and preparation, a writer knows what to do when situations arise and is ready to tackle those hurdles.
React & Recover
The cost to humanity from natural disasters is beyond measure. There is no price tag to the emotional, physical, and mental toll a disaster leaves in its wake. However, there is often a sliver of hope that arises from the destruction and chaos. People help each other. Families, households, neighborhoods, communities, nations come together to help each other recover. Out of the rubble springs a new future. Rebuilt and, hopefully, rebuilt better.
Writing is similar. The first draft, and in some of our cases, the second, third, and fourth drafts are often chaos. Havoc on the page. We recover through revision. We revise through community. Writing groups, critique partners, beta readers, etc. all help our writing spring anew from the rubble of an early draft. Just as one would rely on the kindness of a community to recover from a natural disaster, rely on the kindness of the writing community to lift your words.
Tree ridge in flames during the 2018 Woolsey Fire, California, US. Photo courtesy of Peter Buschmann, United States Forest Service. https://www.flickr.com/photos/usforestservice/45923164272 We’re All In This Together
There you have it. A few ways to learn from natural disasters ways to improve your writing. Never forget, however, no matter how much havoc and chaos exist internally and externally, there’s a great community of writers there for support and encouragement.
Just write.
Start with one word and then follow with the next word. Repeat.
Just write.
This is perhaps the best of the whole list of STEM Tuesday Writing Tips & Resources.
Just write.
The world needs your story.
Typhoon Molave on October 27, 2020. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International
Mike Hays has worked hard from a young age to be a well-rounded individual. A well-rounded, equal opportunity sports enthusiasts, that is. If they keep a score, he’ll either watch it, play it, or coach it. A molecular microbiologist by day, middle-grade author, sports coach, and general good citizen by night, he blogs about sports/training-related topics at www.coachhays.comand writer stuff atwww.mikehaysbooks.com. Two of his science essays, The Science of Jurassic Park and Zombie Microbiology 101, are included in the Putting the Science in Fiction collection from Writer’s Digest Books. He can be found roaming around the Twitter-sphere under the guise of @coachhays64.
The O.O.L.F Files
Natural disasters are serious business to which a serious amount of STEM both contributes and is advanced. The drive to learn more about natural disasters continues with the ultimate goal of protecting life and limb. This month’s O.O.L.F. Files explores some of these entities and how they work to advance the knowledge base to keep us all as safe as possible.
“NOAA is an agency that enriches life through science. Our reach goes from the surface of the sun to the depths of the ocean floor as we work to keep the public informed of the changing environment around them.
From daily weather forecasts, severe storm warnings, and climate monitoring to fisheries management, coastal restoration and supporting marine commerce, NOAA’s products and services support economic vitality and affect more than one-third of America’s gross domestic product. NOAA’s dedicated scientists use cutting-edge research and high-tech instrumentation to provide citizens, planners, emergency managers and other decision makers with reliable information they need when they need it.”
That first line just about says it all! Enriching life through science!
Due to the increase in the sheer number and severity of disasters and emergencies, FEMA has catapulted to one of the most important federal agencies in coordinating disaster response.
This month brings the ten-year anniversary of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. The tragedy is an example of the multi-layered effects of a natural disaster at its worst.
March is Theatre in Our Schools Month, a designation celebrated and promoted jointly by the Educational Theatre Association, the American Alliance for Theatre & Education, and the International Thespian Society. Here are some ways we can help fulfill our middle graders’ theater needs this year!
In our Pennsylvania county, “spring musical season” was suddenly curtailed last year as many middle schools and high schools first postponed their shows, then canceled them out of Covid necessity (for many, after months of rehearsals). Throughout this year, while a few schools in our area planned socially-distanced plays and musicals with precautions like face shields, many other districts have not slated any productions.
The beauty of theatre, though, has always been its flexibility, its resourcefulness, and its creativity. As teachers, librarians, and parents, we can offer theatre opportunities in plenty of ways other than traditionally staged and performed productions. Let’s talk about a few ways we can allow the show to (safely) go on.
Many drama activities are perfect for flexible classroom situations, social distancing, or remote learning, with or without an in-person or remote audience:
Students can fill the role of director by choosing a scene, screen-sharing a script, casting roles, and leading fellow student-actors in a remote read-aloud.
Learners can study script format, then become playwrights of short scenes. Follow up with socially-distanced readers’ theatre performances of students’ original work.
Perform a favorite novel scene adapted as a radio show; this format is great for working vocal skills and facial expression, and those who would prefer a technical role can prepare and perform the recorded or live sound effects.
Explore the history of theatre from the Greeks to modern times in a mini-unit, or how theatre, historically, differs from culture to culture.
Have students complete and share mini-research projects on the technical side of theatre: stage composition, blocking, scene design, set construction, lighting, sound, effects.
Monologues! Actors can write their own or adapt a character speech from a favorite MG book for class performance.
Ever consider a class study of a dramatized version of a middle grade story? Dramatic Publishing Company, Dramatists Play Service, Theatrefolk, and others carry scripted, stageable adaptations of some middle grade modern favorites like Bud, Not Buddy, Walk Two Moons, and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, as well as classics like The Jungle Book and Anne of Green Gables.
And if your own kids or students are missing the school production they usually look forward to, consider staging a socially-distanced scene, one-act, or play in your classroom, library, or home school environment, or via remote means. You can keep it super simple with easy props and representative, homemade costume pieces. (Remember, Shakespeare did some pretty successful shows without any of that fancy stuff like lighting instruments, elaborate scenery, or microphones; you don’t need them either!)
Some drama licensing vendors have a convenient e-script format: just pay and print (sample pages are usually available online for free). Theatrefolk offers a list of short plays with flexible casting intended for classroom production, with livestream and Zoom options for performance; if a live audience is not your goal, classroom study of a play is only a few dollars per student for a downloadable, printable PDF. Some even have free study guides!
Finally, offer your thespians a middle grade read or two that might be new to them. Here are a few middle grade favorites featuring characters with a flair for drama:
The Marvels by Brian Selznick – Lose yourself in hundreds of amazing sketches that tell the story of the Marvel family, generations of brilliant actors whose drama-filled lives—on and off the stage—keep audiences spellbound for centuries. Theatre-lovers will especially enjoy the drawings of backstage, ropes, pulleys, drapes, flats, scenery, footlights, costumes, and a gorgeous proscenium arch.
Replay by Sharon Creech – Leo’s big, drama-filled family almost upstages his experience playing a great role in a class play. What Leo lacks in stage experience, he more than makes up for in passion, heart, empathy, and expression. And—bonus!—the play that Leo’s class performs is scripted at the end of the novel, in short, very stageable scenes for small groups or classes.
Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle – Eighth grader Nate knows he is Broadway-bound, even if he has to run away from western Pennsylvania the whole way to NYC to make it happen.
How to Stage a Catastrophe by Rebecca Donnelly – Sidney and best friend Folly try to save their beloved community theater, getting caught up in some bad drama along the way.
Thanks for reading and considering how to make theatre in our schools a reality, no matter the challenges!
In today’s Author Spotlight, Jo Hackl chats with award-winning author John Claude Bemis about his new graphic novel, Rodeo Hawkins & the Daughters of Mayhem. John Claude Bemis is the...
From the Mixed-Up Files is the group blog of middle-grade authors celebrating books for middle-grade readers. For anyone with a passion for children’s literature—teachers, librarians, parents, kids, writers, industry professionals— we offer regularly updated book lists organized by unique categories, author interviews, market news, and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a children's book from writing to publishing to promoting.
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March is Theatre in Our Schools Month, a designation celebrated and promoted jointly by the Educational Theatre Association, the American Alliance for Theatre & Education, and the International Thespian Society. Here are some ways we can help fulfill our middle graders’ theater needs this year!
The Marvels by Brian Selznick – Lose yourself in hundreds of amazing sketches that tell the story of the Marvel family, generations of brilliant actors whose drama-filled lives—on and off the stage—keep audiences spellbound for centuries. Theatre-lovers will especially enjoy the drawings of backstage, ropes, pulleys, drapes, flats, scenery, footlights, costumes, and a gorgeous proscenium arch.
