Posts Tagged writing tips

STEM Tuesday — Reptiles — In the Classroom

By STEM Tuesday on September 14, 2021 / Reptiles, STEM Tuesday

I learned quite a bit about reptiles this month by reading the following books from the book list.

World’s Biggest Reptiles by Tom Jackson, illustrated by Vladimir Jevtic
Many different reptiles are represented in this book, representing the biggest of the species. It includes lots of information and fun facts, represented in fun, accessible ways. Each reptile featured has a graphic novel style page and a page with a large photograph and general information. Each also includes an infographic showing the animal’s size relative to an adult human. (One nitpick on the infographic is it’s not clear what size the human is.)

Sneed B Collard III’s Most Fun Book Ever About Lizards by Sneed B. Collard III
This book focuses on (surprise!) lizards. It highlights a few specific species, but is written to give more general information about lizards. It has chapters with titles like “Eating Like a Lizard” and “Lizard Troubles.” The tone is very conversational and fun to read, although some of the references may be a little dated.

Sea Turtles are Awesome by Mirella S. Miller
Since turtles are my favorite reptile, I had to read this book! Like all 12-Story Library books, this one has 12 chapters that can be read in any order. There are lots of great photos and fun facts about sea turtles throughout the book.

So what can you do with these books? Here are a few ideas I had…

Check Out the Locals

Research what reptiles you might see in your backyard or local park. Most states have websites with information about the reptiles (and other animals) that can be found there.

This can be a great exercise for entering search parameters into an internet search and evaluating the sources it recommends.

When I enter “New Jersey reptiles” into my search engine, the first four recommended sites are provided by the state of New Jersey, which includes the Division of Fish & Wildlife. Of these, one of my favorite sites is the “Online Field Guide for Reptiles and Amphibians.” Each NJ herp (reptile or amphibian) has a printable fact sheet.

To take this a step further, visit a local park where you might be able to view some of the local reptiles.

Bigger Than…

Each of the books I read talked about the size and speed of different reptiles. This could become a fun and informative activity.

Pick a reptile to do some comparisons on. How long is it? How heavy? How fast does it move? This could come from the books on this month’s list or from research done on local (or other) reptiles.

Once you have the information on your reptile, you need to find things for comparison. Here are some to try:

Bigger than a _____________________.

Smaller than a ____________________.

Faster than a _____________________.

Slower than a _____________________.

These will be based on a number that came from somewhere. That means it should include a source citation. Explore what makes a source credible and see if you can find multiple sources for each fact. You can also practice how to create a bibliography and/or source notes.

Lots of zoos and aquariums have great resources for researching the animals they have there. Another great resource for animal information is the Animal Diversity Web, produced by the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.

To explore representing information, create infographics that show the relative size and speed of the all the things used in the comparisons.

Participate in the Tour de Turtles

Since 2008, the Sea Turtle Conservancy has been running the Tour de Turtles. Through it, they hope to educate people about sea turtles, how they migrate, and what dangers they face. There is a page dedicated to Teacher Resources, and another for Activities. I love exploring the different turtles and where their travels have been taking them.

In addition to exploring the resources on this web site, you could hold your own Tour de Turtles or Tour de Reptiles. Organize a charity walk/run to raise money for a sea turtle organization like the Sea Turtle Conservancy or other organization that supports turtles and/or reptiles. (This could include organizations that protect lots of different wildlife, like the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ.) To add more education into this exercise, have each participant pick a type of turtle or reptile to research and represent.

Explore Turtle Symbolism

Years ago, we met Native American artist Eli Thomas and bought a print about Turtle Island. It still hangs on our wall, and I still think about the symbolism embedded in it. (You can see the print and read about the symbolism here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/483429848/turtle-art-native-american-art-wolf-art)

Explore how indigenous people view turtles. Here are a few interesting resources.

The Native American Box Turtle Connection – https://www.stlzoo.org/about/blog/2016/10/13/native-american-box-turtle-connection

From Voices of Indian Country: https://blog.nativehope.org/native-american-animals-turtle-keya

Read and explore Thirteen Moons on Turtle’s Back by Joseph Buchac and Jonathan London, illustrated by Thomas Locker

Then check out these additional resources:
https://teachingsofourelders.org/thirteen-moons-on-turtles-back
https://www.earthhaven.ca/blog/13-moons-on-turtles-back/208

I hope these ideas have inspired you to incorporate these books (and the subject of reptiles) into your plans.

Janet Slingerland has written more than 20 nonfiction books for children. She even got to write about sea turtles in 12 Epic Animal Adventures. When she’s not writing, Janet can often be found exploring the world in her own backyard (which sometimes includes turtles!). For more information about Janet, check out her website at http://janetsbooks.com.

STEM Tuesday — Fun with Physics — Writing Tips & Resources

By STEM Tuesday on August 17, 2021 / Physics, STEM Tuesday

The Sounds of Science

Tweet! Crash! Sizzle. Flip through a physics textbook, and you’ll find sound among the subjects. Since we’re having fun with physics this month, it’s the perfect time to delve into sound, especially the musicality of language and how we can apply it to science writing. Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano’s A BLACK HOLE IS NOT A HOLE, from this month’s book list, will serve as our mentor text.

Sound Devices

Poet and children’s book author Renee LaTulippe discusses sound devices in this video on her Lyrical Language Lab YouTube channel, which I highly recommend. She identifies:

onomatopoeia
alliteration
assonance
consonance
repetition
rhyme

Let’s look at each device in turn with examples from DeCristofano’s book for tips on how to add these to our own work.

Onomatopoeia is sound effects. Like those I started this post with. In Chapter 3, DiCristofano uses several instances of onomatopoeia to add drama to the end of a star’s life, including WHOOOOOSH! CRASH! And BOOM!

Alliteration is when words that are close together start with the same letter or sound. DiCristofano has some wonderful examples of this, including this phrase from the subhead to chapter 1: “A black hole is a place in space with powerful pull.” Notice that place, powerful, and pull all start with p, an example of alliteration.

This phrase above also has an example of assonance, which is words that are close together with the same vowel sound. In this case “place” and “space.”

Consonance is when words close to each other have the same consonant sound anywhere in the words. Chapter 5 has this line: “Others, like a black cat on a dark night, aren’t lit brightly enough.” Notice all those ending k sounds. The t sounds also show consonance.

Repetition is just that — repeating words or phrases. Here is an example from Chapter 1: “Nothing can out-tug a black hole. No army of tow trucks, no convoy of supersized earth haulers, no fleet of giant rocket engines.” That repetition of the word no for emphasis, is just perfect.

In prose, we don’t usually use end rhyme, but we might use internal rhyme. That’s when words in the middle of a line rhyme, as they do with “place in space” above.

Easy does it

Adding musicality isn’t difficult. I usually focus on this part of writing after I’ve got my structure in place.

When I want to pepper my prose with alliteration, I look to an online thesaurus. I brainstorm synonyms and pick some with the same starting sound.

When trying to find rhyming words or words with assonance, I turn to Rhymezone. If I look up the word “space,” I find lots of words with the same vowel sound, including trace, base, case, and race. I normally write down lists of rhyming words in my notebook and see if any make sense for what I’m trying to say.

The key with sound devices is not to overdo them. Too much alliteration, for example, can cause the reader to trip over the words. Always read your work out loud to make sure it’s both clear and musical.

Putting it all together

Let’s end by dissecting DeCristofano’s fabulous first line from Chapter 1. Which of the sound devices above can you find? How do you feel about her use of all the elements? Are they too much? Not enough? Just right?

“Way out beyond where you are right now, beyond the clouds, beyond the Moon, beyond Pluto, beyond our solar system, space goes on and on.”
–Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano, Chapter 1, A BLACK HOLE IS NOT A HOLE

Kirsten W. Larson

Website: kirsten-w-larson.com

Biography

Kirsten used to work with rocket scientists at NASA. Now she writes books for curious kids. She is the author of WOOD, WIRE, WINGS: EMMA LILIAN TODD INVENTS AN AIRPLANE, illustrated by Tracy Subisak (Calkins Creek), an NSTA Best STEM BOOK, A TRUE WONDER: The Comic Book Hero Who Changed Everything, illustrated by Katy Wu (Clarion, Sept. 28, 2021), and THE FIRE OF STARS: The Life and Brilliance of the Woman Who Discovered What Stars Are Made Of, illustrated by Katherine Roy (Chronicle, Spring 2022), as well as 25 nonfiction books for the school and library market. Find her at kirsten-w-larson.com or on Twitter and Instagram @KirstenWLarson.

STEM Tuesday — STEM in Sports — Writing Tips & Resources

By STEM Tuesday on July 20, 2021 / STEM in Sports, STEM Tuesday

Title Talk

A good title can do a lot of work for both the reader and the writer. Of course the title conveys the subject of the book but it has many more jobs to do. It conveys the tone of the book. It gives clues to the scope of the book. Most importantly, it must hook a reader. All of that in just 1-5 words (and sometimes a subtitle).

Our STEM Tuesday book lists are a great place to study what titles can do. Take a look at just the titles of this month’s STEM in sports books:

Sports Science & Technology in the Real World

Super Gear: Nanotechnology and Sports Team Up

The 12 Biggest Breakthroughs in Sports Technology

STEM in Sports: Engineering

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

STEM In Sports

Science Behind Sports

The Secret Science of Sports: The Math, Physics, and Mechanical Engineering Behind Every Grand Slam, Triple Axel, and Penalty Kick

STEM Jobs in Sports

Sports Medicine: Science, Technology, Engineering

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

Start asking questions: Why were those specific words chosen? The word “sport” is used frequently but in different positions. How does word placement matter? Who chooses the titles? Surprisingly, in many cases the title/subtitle are developed by the marketing team, not the author. Why might that be?

Here are a few ways you can look at what titles can do. In the nonfiction area of the library, sit down in front of one shelf. Find a section of 5-10 books that are all on a closely related topic. (For this exercise it is best to not use a series of books). Write down all of the titles and subtitles in a list.

A Reader’s Reaction

Which titles draw you in? Why? Is it the subject or some other element?
Looking at your title list, are there any particular words that hook you?
Skim the books. For each book ask: Did the title/subtitle give you an accurate idea of what was inside the cover?

More than The Subject

Search for how the titles subtly or not-so-subtly convey more than the basic subject. Consider these elements (and add your own):

Subtopic: Does the book focus on one specific topic within the subject?
Angle: Has the author selected a unique angle from which to approach the topic? Can you determine that from the title?
Tone: Is this book humorous? Academic? Lyrical? Does the title convey that?

Make it Visual

Upload your title list into a word cloud generator and see what other discoveries you can make.

Do one or more words dominate the titles?
If so, are there any titles that do not rely on those words? How are those titles unique? How are those books unique?

Compare and Contrast

Do the titles on your list vary drastically or are they all fairly similar? Some things to analyze: content, length, specific words, presence of a subtitle, etc.
In a new section of the library, pick a subject area which is very different (for example if your first list is about space, maybe go to the art section).
- Create a new title list. Repeat one or more of the above exercises.
- In what way is your new list similar to/different from your previous list? How much do you think the book’s subject affects that?
- Separate your books into two piles based on main purpose: to entertain or to inform. In what ways might that impact the choice of title?

Titles can do a lot of work for the reader and the writer. Enjoy taking a closer look at all the titles in your future!

Heather L. Montgomery writes for kids who are wild about animals. Studying titles and subtitles in the library helped her create a few fun ones of her own: BUGS DON’T HUG, SURPRISING SCIENCE FROM ONE END TO THE OTHER, and SOMETHING ROTTEN. You can learn more about here wacky titles at www.HeatherLMontgomery.com

O.O.L.F

Here are some ways to add some STEAM into your work with titles:

Pick one book from your list and create at least 3 alternate titles.
Using your stack of books, create a spine poem. Feel free to add other books to your pile as needed.
Using your title list(s), create a blackout poem. Is it easier to do with one list than the other? Why might that be?

New to spine or blackout poems? Kristen W. Larson explains how in this post: https://fromthemixedupfiles.com/stem-tuesday-stem-activity-books-writing-tips-resources/