Posts Tagged homeschool

STEM Tuesday– Invasive Species — Writing Tips & Resources

By on January 18, 2022   /   Invasive Species, STEM Tuesday  

Looking at Language

When it comes to studying the use of language, this month’s topic “invasive species” is a prefect. Just take a look at the word “invasive.” What emotions does it conjure? In what other contexts have you heard that word used? Would you consider the term to be objective or subjective?

In the STEM disciplines, educators work hard to help students understand the value of objectivity. We all want engineers designing bridges to take an objective approach to measurement! When studying the natural world, objectivity helps us uncover truths unhampered by personal biases, emotions, and beliefs.

But no human is perfectly objective. To promote better practitioners of STEM, we must help students develop the intellectual tools to think critically about their own and other’s biases. An inquiry into the language used in STEM books is a great way to introduce that. It’s also a great way to learn more about writing STEM texts.

Reading STEM books we gain more than facts; we have opportunities to understand communication strategies as well.  Through studying these texts, we can learn to parse out bias in statements. When we extend our personal study with discussion, we can explore more complex topics such as perceptions of others, understanding nuance, and author’s purpose.

Titles Talk

Take a look at just the titles:

  • Science Warriors: The Battle Against Invasive Species, by Sneed B. Collard III
  • Tracking Pythons: The Quest to Catch an Invasive Predator and Save an Ecosystem, by Kate Messner
  • Invasive Species In Infographics By Renae Gilles

Read each title and jot down a few words about the feelings it evokes in you.

Do different titles evoke different emotions? If so, try to identify the words that led you to those reactions?

Take a look at their table of contents. If you don’t have access to the physical books, you can view table of contents here for Science Warriors, here for Tracking Pythons, and here for Invasive Species In Infographics. List the emotion that comes to mind as you read each chapter title. Do you notice any patterns?

Digging Deeper

Now, select one book to dig into. Feel free to select one from this month’s list or a nonfiction title of your choice.

“What” questions to ask:

  • What words in the text evoke emotions?
  • Create a list of emotional words from the text and rank them on a spectrum from strongest to weakest. Compare your list to that of someone else also studying the same text. Discuss your differences.
  • Does the emotive language always support the same point of view?

“When” questions to ask:

  • In which parts of the sentence/paragraph/chapter/book is emotive language used most frequently?
  • Can you spot any patterns in the use of emotive language (location, sequencing, etc.?

“Why” questions to ask:

  • Why might an author use emotive language in this passage?
  • Pick a few words that strike a chord in you. Why does that word cause that reaction?

“How?” questions to ask:

  • How obvious is the emotive language?
  • How did the author use language to support a premise?
  • How could you re-write a sentence to be more objective?

 

Balancing it Out

Now that we understand how authors are intentional in their use of specific words, let’s think about other techniques. Opinion, bias, and subjectivity are expressed or balanced using techniques that reach far beyond word choice. What other techniques did you notice in this book? Were specific techniques are used to balance bias or convey objectivity?

 

Your Turn

  • What is your opinion about this use of emotive language?
  • Is it warranted?
  • Was the author “fair” in their use of language?
  • Is your response based on your opinions about the topic?

Thanks for getting curious about the use of objective language in STEM books!

Heather L. Montgomery writes for kids who are wild about animals. An award-winning author and educator, Heather uses yuck appeal to engage young minds. Her books include: Something Rotten: A Fresh Look at Roadkill, Who Gives a Poop? Surprising Science from One End to the Other, and What’s in Your Pocket? Collecting Nature’s Treasures. Learn more at www.HeatherLMontgomery.com

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Don’t Forget to Have FUN!

By on January 14, 2022   /   For Writers, Writing  

Happy 2022!! I hope this year is off to an amazingly good start for you all. Mine is so much better than last year (mostly because I’m not recovering from emergency gallbladder surgery). 😊

But seriously, I wanted to take this time to talk about Goal Setting. I mean, it’s the new year. We are all supposed to set a goal for the new year. Yes?

Goal-setting is a THING for the New Year. Whether you call them goals, resolutions, or intentions or  pick a word for the year, or just make a list of things you want to accomplish, it all boils down to one thing…  some action that you are supposed to be doing that makes you feel better.

That sounds wonderful. Okay. I’m in! In past new years’, I have had many different resolutions.

One year it was, to work less (If you know me, you know how ridiculous that resolution was. It didn’t last a week).

Then I moved onto choosing a saying for my year.  I chose “be less stressed”.  (also ridiculous).

The next year, I moved to a single word that was more positive, like “balance”.  (That was a good thing. It didn’t last, but it was a good idea.)

And let’s face it, the last two years have simply been taking a deep breath and racing to the finish  the year before you dropped. Am I right?

So, this year, I decided to try something completely different. Instead of picking something that I knew I could never live up to, thereby actually increasing my own stress (ironic, right?).

I’m not doing a resolution.

I’m not using a saying,

I’m DOING something.

Every Friday I am now calling “FUN Friday”.

(That’s just my name. You can choose your own.)

 

On FUN Friday, I am giving myself permission to do whatever I want– work on a new idea, write a new proposal, have an entire brainstorming day, write fiction (!), or just sit around and watch Star Trek the Next Generation all day. (Yes, I’m a Trekkie, but you can pick your own binge show).

Mostly, I’m making it a day to relax my brain and put deadlines aside. I’m hoping that will reduce the stress and frustration I feel at not being able to do all of the different things I want to explore. (Yes! That fiction book will be finished this year!)

How’s it going so far?

Well for one thing, it’s the second Friday of the year, and I’m STILL doing this! That right there tells me that the FUN Friday thing is a much better idea than any resolution or word for the year I ever picked.

And secondly, on the first FUN Friday that I ever did, I managed to relax enough and clear my brain so that a book idea that I had been trying to figure out for almost two years FINALLY broke through. (It was at 11 o’clock at night, right after I laid down to go to sleep, but hey, whenever it happens, is fine with us writers, right?)

SO, today is another FUN Friday!

What will I be doing today?

I don’t know.

The best part about a FUN Friday  is that I don’t plan for them. I wake up in the morning, and well, just do whatever I feel like. It’s very free-ing, especially for a person who normally goes through life at Mach 10 with her hair on fire!

 

What I say to all of you writers and really, anyone who reads this blog is: Don’t forget to HAVE FUN in your life!

I know it might make you roll your eyes with the amount of work, stress, and everything else you have to do. But if you take a day, an hour, a few minutes to just have fun, you won’t regret it. In fact, doing that, may even help you reduce your stress.

TGIF Everyone!

What will you do with your FUN Friday?

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STEM Tuesday — Invasive Species– In the Classroom

By on January 11, 2022   /   Invasive Species, STEM Tuesday  

Nature can fall out of balance when invasive species enter a new ecosystem. What happens to that ecosystem and its native species when that happens? This month’s STEM Tuesday theme focuses on this important issue and how scientists are studying the effects of invasive species. Here are a few books from our STEM Tuesday list and ways to explore more in the classroom.

Tracking Pythons : The Quest to Catch an Invasive Predator and Save An Ecosystem by Kate Messner

This book takes readers out on a python patrol where we meet a team of scientist studying the invasive snake. Readers also meet other invaders of the Florida Everglades. There’s technology (radiotracking), python CSI, snake autopsies (called necropsies) and a wonderful series of sidebars highlighting “How to Catch a Python.” Great photos and a Most Wanted invasive species list add interest.

Classroom activity: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is trying to save the Everglade ecosystem by removing invasive species and encouraging people to report sightings of invasive species. Have students visit the website page about making a report: https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnatives/report/. Ask students to research the invasive species of Florida and then create a report using the elements necessary to make it a credible one. Students can share their reports, adding some information about why that species is causing harm to the Everglades ecosystem.

 

Science Warriors: The Battle Against Invasive Species by Sneed B. Collard

Each of the four chapters focus on scientists studying invasive species. We meet brown tree snakes and zebra mussels, red fire ants taking over Texas, and the Melaleuca (paperbark) tree that was brought to the US and planted to stabilize soil. We see scientists doing field research and working on biological controls for invasive species. Includes a “Guide to Stopping Invasive Species.”

Classroom activity: Have students choose an invasive species from the book to study more. Then ask them to create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the species’ native habitat to its invaded habitat. How are the two habitats different? How are the two habitats similar? Ask students to consider why that invasive species found the invaded habitat so hospitable and discuss with the class.

 

Alien Invaders: Species That Threaten Our World by Jane Drake & Ann Love

Each examination and image of an invader and their devastating effects worldwide is accompanied by a sidebar listing their alias, size, homeland, method of invasion, and line of attack. Besides the commonly known invaders, such as the starling, rat, and Kudzu, the book examines humans, walking catfish, yellow crazy ants, water hyacinth, mosquitos, and avian flu. Detailed sections on “Who Cares?,” “Volunteers,” and “Lessons Learned” expand the information into actions everyone can take to prevent, control, or help eliminate invaders.

Classroom activity: Ask students to research an invasive species not found in the book. Then have them create a profile of the species, just like what is in the book. The profile should include an image, alias, size, homeland, method of invasion, and line of attack.

 

Plants Out of Place (Let’s Explore Science) by Courtney Farrell

First, we learn what native plants are and their role in the food chain. Following chapters discuss introduced plants and how invasive species threaten the balance of ecosystems. Sidebar “mini field guides” include descriptions and range maps for some species of interest. In addition to discussing control methods, the author shows alternative uses, such as using kudzu vines to weave baskets.

Classroom activity: See if students can find an invasive plant species right in their own backyard or neighborhood. They should research invasive species of their area and then go on an invasive plant species hunt. Students can take a photo of the plant or sketch it in a journal. Then they can document the place where it was found and the number of plants found at the location. After a few finds, students can share their invasive species journal with the class.

 

 

Here are a few more general invasive species activities to try:

Hope these activities and resources get your students excited to learn more about invasive species!

 

Karen Latchana Kenney loves to write books about animals, and looks for them wherever she goes—from leafcutter ants trailing through the Amazon rain forest in Guyana, where she was born, to puffins in cliff-side burrows on the Irish island of Skellig Michael. She especially enjoys creating books about nature, biodiversity, conservation, and groundbreaking scientific discoveries—but also writes about civil rights, astronomy, historical moments, and many other topics. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and son, and bikes, hikes, and gazes at the night sky in northern Minnesota any moment she can. Visit her at https://latchanakenney.wordpress.com.

 

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