Posts Tagged writing tips

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– Award-Winning MG STEM Titles– Writing Tips & Resources

By on December 21, 2021   /   Award-winning MG STEM Books, STEM Tuesday  

It’s “Award-Winning STEM Titles” month on STEM Tuesday!

Check out our book list for a great place to start diving into the award winners and this post for classroom ideas. But when approaching this month’s theme from a Writing Tips & Resources angle, I came up with one thing. One thing common to all award-winning books is they’re well written. I hear you screaming, “Captain Obvious.” I understand. “Write good books” is not the most helpful thing from a writing craft advice viewpoint but that’s all I got. 

It’s also the end of the year. Another pretty tough year for many. I hope you all are well and creating the things only you can create and taking things one day at a time.

In order to fulfill my STEM Tuesday duty and not find myself sent to the doghouse, here’s an “Award-Winning STEM Titles”-themed post (I used the term “themed” lightly).

As they used to say on Monty Python, “Now for something completely different.” A comic version of how I imagine a STEM Tuesday Award Show would go.

Thanks for supporting STEM Tuesday!

Enjoy all the award-winning middle-grade book lists. Use these lists as portals to find new authors and subject matter to explore. Remember one thing about book award lists, the books on award lists are almost always well-written but not all well-written books are fortunate enough to land on an award list. 

All we are saying…is give books a chance.

Doesn’t that sound like it should be a holiday song?

 

Mike Hays has worked hard from a young age to be a well-rounded individual. A well-rounded, equal opportunity sports enthusiast, 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.com and writer stuff at  www.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 and Instagram at @mikehays64.

 

The O.O.L.F Files

This month’s Out Of Left Field (O.O.L.F.) Files highlight the award winners in STEM. 

  •  The Best of STEM Awards

      • There’s so much awesome to check out on this site. I’ve barely scratched the surface.
    • EDUCATORS CELEBRATE TOOLS THAT ENGAGE CRITICAL THINKING
      • “An award to finally put the spotlight on the innovative products, technologies, and services that are changing the world of STEM education. The Best of STEM Awards is the only award program created for and by teachers, and the winners will be determined by specially selected STEM educator judges and by email from fellow educators.”

    • The Best of STEM Awards 2021

  • SMART Scholarship Program

      • The Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship-for-Service Program, funded by the Department of Defense (DoD), is a combined educational and workforce development opportunity for STEM students.
      • Mission: The SMART Scholarship-for-Service Program enhances the DoD civilian workforce with innovative scientists, engineers and researchers across the United States.
      • Vision: SMART creates a highly skilled DoD STEM workforce that competes with the dynamic trends in technology and innovation to protect national security.

  • Finding the right book to read.

 

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