Posts Tagged “writing for children”

STEM Tuesday — STEM in Sports– Book List

By on July 6, 2021   /   STEM in Sports, STEM Tuesday  

If all goes well, the Summer Olympics will begin with an opening ceremony on July 23 in Tokyo, Japan. Just as vital as the athletes competing in Olympic sports are the scientists and engineers behind the equipment and technology used in those sports.

Sports Science & Technology in the Real World by Janet Slingerland

Discover how scientists, engineers, and mathematicians are using science to help athletes – and how this same technology is being used in everyday applications. This book provides a peek into the cutting-edge technology being developed and includes primary source sidebars and discussion questions. 

Super Gear: Nanotechnology and Sports Team Up by Jennifer Swanson

Nanotechnology and sports? Using a fun voice, easily understood analogies, and great graphics, this book explores the molecular properties of nanoparticles and the amazing developments that scientists have made in using harnessing them to improve the clothing, shoes, and equipment of athletes. Side bars and “Science in Action!” experiments help demonstrate and explain this cutting-edge science.

The 12 Biggest Breakthroughs in Sports Technology by Janet Slingerland

This book puts the “E” in Stem. Individual chapters focus on topics such as motion capture tech and engineered fibers to improvements in equipment. Some tech allows players the advantage of playing winter sports in non-traditional climates, while other tech brings the sports closer to spectators. And some – such as instant replay – have changed how the events unfold on the field.

STEM in Sports: Engineering by Tim Newcomb [Series – Science (by Jim Gigliotti), Technology & Math (by James Buckley, JR).

From increasing brain speed and reaction time to high-tech clothing and improved protection devices, engineering helps athletes in sports. This book also examines engineering’s role in designing stadiums, fields, arenas, and specialized equipment. It includes “Text-dependent questions” and research projects.

Learning STEM From Baseball: How Does A Curveball Curve? And Other Amazing Answers for Kids! by Marne Ventura

Numerous sciences play a role in baseball. From physics to virtual reality, engineering to woodworking this book does a great job of introducing many of the ways science, math, and technology have interacted throughout baseball’s history. The in-depth endnotes offer great resources for further exploration.

STEM In Sports: [Snowboarding/Hockey/Soccer/Football/Figure Skating/Baseball/Basketball/Auto Racing] (multiple authors)

This photo-illustrated series examines the unique STEM elements involved in 8 different sports, including – Auto Racing (drag, telemetry, speed, and engineered safety barriers and banking), Figure Skating (friction, momentum, motion, software, and math), and Snowboarding (gravity, friction, kinetic energy, and engineered equipment and courses).

Science Behind Sports: [Equestrian/Wrestling/Taekwondo/Gymnastics/Surfing/Skiing/Ice Hockey/ Cycling/Soccer/Football/ Basketball/Baseball/Snowboarding](multiple authors)

Using photos, graphs, charts & illustrations, each of the 13 books in the series explores in-depth the origins, rules, biomechanics, and equipment engineering of each sport. As well as how various sciences are used in the individual sports, such as Equestrian (physics [motion/ weight/gravity], environmental factors, genetics, and psychology), Gymnastics (physics [planes of motion/momentum/friction], mathematics, medical, and psychology), and Surfing (physics [motion/gravity/torque/buoyancy], atmospheric science, and medical). 

The Secret Science of Sports: The Math, Physics, and Mechanical Engineering Behind Every Grand Slam, Triple Axel, and Penalty Kick by Jennifer Swanson (releases July 21st)

Believe it or not, every sport involves science, from physics (laws of motion and balance) and biology (body and brain science) to technology (equipment and clothing) and math (statistics and vectors). With a conversational tone, graphics, fun experiments, and an examination of the strategic elements of each, this engaging book looks at a wide range of sports from baseball, swimming, wrestling, tennis, and lacrosse, as well as many others.

STEM Jobs in Sports by Rick Raymos

This book explains the roles which nutritionists, statisticians, sports engineers, athletic shoe designers, sports doctor/team physicians, dieticians, and athletic software engineers play in sports. It includes “STEM in Action” activities for each profession and culminates in “job fact sheets.”

Sports Medicine: Science, Technology, Engineering by Josh Gregory

Following a quick look at early medicine and technological breakthroughs, this photo-illustrated book delves into the medical professionals, technologies, diagnostics, and surgical procedures which prevent and repair sports injuries. It also offers medical “career stats.” 

The Book of Wildly Spectacular Sports Science: 54 All-Star Experiments by Sean Connolly

Seven fun chapters examine the science around 32 sports, the usual suspects as well as others like trampolines, pole vaulting, hang gliding, and sailing. Using a conversational vernacular and comic-like illustrations, each entry explains an aspect of the sport then sets up an experiment, using sports puns – The Lineup (ingredients), Play Ball! (experiment), Two-minute warning (special advice), and So-Mo Replay (explanation of the science).

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Author Sue Heavenrich

Sue Heavenrich writes about science for children and their families, from space to backyard ecology. Bees, flies, squirrel behavior—things she observes in her neighborhood and around her home—inspire her writing. Visit her at www.sueheavenrich.com.

Writer Maria Marshall

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. And a judge for the #50PreciousWords competition since its inception. 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.

 

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Writing Bingeable Books

By on June 28, 2021   /   Articles, For Writers, Writing  

What makes a TV show “bingeable”? What makes you click ‘next episode’ on your streaming service or faithfully plop on the couch when your favorite shSecrets of Sulphur Springs Splash Pageow comes? It’s something that I think about when I watch TV, and I watch a lot of TV. One show that I recently binged was The Secrets of Sulphur Springs on Disney+. In it, a 12 year old boy and his family move into a run-down and supposedly haunted hotel. As strange events occur, they boy and his best friend try to solve the mystery behind the disappearance of the young girl who they believe is haunting them. It’s the kind of spooky, mysterious, and slightly science-fiction story that is guaranteed to pique my interest.

But after binging all 11 episodes of the first season, I started to realize what kept pulling me in hour after hour. Each episode is a puzzle onto itself, and its resolution would provide small clues to the overarching mystery of the series. These clues were tiny, just enough to get me to continue watching until the next episode.

It made me start looking at my own stories, and how I plot them. How can we, as writers, create bingeable books? I think that it’s by giving our characters a goal and making sure that the resolution of that goal contributes to the larger story just enough to make the reader want to turn the page and see what happens next.

Our namesake, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is a great example of this, and more mysteries can be found on the following booklists:

From the Mixed Up Files Cover

Mysteries in Bookstores and Libraries, at Book Fairs and Festivals, in Literary Landmarks, and Other Literary Places

Middle-Grade Mysteries, Spy, & Sci-fi stories featuring South Asian Characters: Interview and Giveaway with Sheela Chari

Diversity in MG lit #19 August 2020 Mysteries

But a book doesn’t need to be a mystery to be “bingeable”. What are some MG books that you couldn’t put down?

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Motifs in Middle Grade

By on June 18, 2021   /   For Writers  

Motifs are the workhorses of the literary device world. Unlike a one-line simile or a bit of hyperbole that might briefly spark the reader’s imagination before they turn the page, a motif—by definition—is woven throughout a story. To recognize a motif, a reader must comprehend the book as a whole and be savvy enough to catch individual repeated details throughout chapters and scenes. When the reader connects those dots, motifs support the book’s deeper meaning. They complement and enrich plot and characterization. Motifs can also serve as story glue, giving the reader grab-loops to grasp (the way a preschooler takes hold of a rope line). They provide continuity and recognizability—especially if the text is on the longer side.

Well-constructed motifs are perfect for MG! While it’s true that motif as a device is traditionally explored via lit class classics (like the color red in The Scarlet Letter or instances of watchfulness in The Great Gatsby), motifs certainly play a role in many middle grade novels. Let’s take a look at motif by the (literary) dictionary definition; then, we’ll find examples in some modern-day MG stories.

Motif is easy to understand if you’ve ever decorated a room or planned a party around some thematic idea. Imagine you plan to redecorate a kitchen; inspired by some wall hooks in the shape of lighthouses, you also pick out lighthouse border, lighthouse wall prints, a lighthouse soap dispenser… Your lighthouse motif guides the overall project and ties the space together.

In storytelling, motifs are the same kind of repeated, same-yet-different idea. You can bring out a motif in imagery, events, actions, objects, and figurative language. Generally, motifs satisfy readers (whether consciously or unconsciously) who enjoy patterns, structure, sense, and logic in their stories.

Well-structured motifs carry significance and contribute to theme, as well. If a story has a lighthouse motif, what do all those lighthouses mean? Is a character trying to find his or her way, but struggling? Now the motif satisfies the reader who loves connections, deeper meanings, and rich symbolism.

In the very popular Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, the crime motif appears in both apparent and subtle ways. Once the kids learn about the crime that inspired Mr. Lemoncello’s construction of the library, they solve the final puzzles and escape. So the motif certainly supports the plot (the only way to escape follows the path of long-ago bank criminals). Along the way, scenes and subplots highlight writers of crime fiction, historical criminals, and the students’ own “crimes”: lying, theft, unkindness. Because those who commit the crimes lose the game, this crime motif supports the book’s overall messages about fair play, teamwork, and kindness.

In Inside Out and Back Again, Ha shares her experiences as a refugee to America over the course of a calendar year, so holidays are a natural motif. As she begins and ends the year with Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, and tries to learn about American holidays in between, the holiday motif supports a theme of growth, change, and accepting new traditions while maintaining those Ha knows and loves.

The more recent Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar includes a motif of cultural experiences that represent the different backgrounds of immigrants in the book. The food shared by Ramu, the altar in Chicho’s apartment, and Mami’s Cuban coffee all serve to provide  main character Ruthie with opportunities to consider how immigrants from many different places now live side by side in America, supporting a theme of acceptance.

If you are a writer, consider how these skillfully-executed motifs serve the overall story. Adding effective motifs can help to support or clarify a tricky theme. If you are a teacher or librarian, try having student readers work in small groups to brainstorm instances of a motif in their current novel. Provide the first motif, but encourage the discovery and exploration of other motifs along the way; many middle grade language arts students will love a search-and-find assignment looking for instances of a motif.

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