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This blog post contains Amazon Affiliate Links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. One of my favorite Citizen Science activities with kids involves ants, so this picture book really appealed to me! Although you may need to take another look at this one in the spring, I wanted to share it now. It would also make a great hook for a study on where insects go in the winter!  Featured Picture Book:
Hey, Little Ant (1998) By Phillip and Hannah Hoose (@PhillipHoose) Illustrated by Debbie Tilley Summary A boy and an ant have a discussion about whether the boy should step on the ant. They compare aspects of their lives that are similar and different. The final decision is left up to the reader! Related Themes: SEL: Taking the perspective of others Caring about others Peer pressure Similarities and differences Science: Insect studies STEM Ideas: 1. There is a great lesson on Mystery Science that you could tie in after reading this book called Where do bugs go in winter? 2. Here are my lesson slides that incorporate the Mystery Science video and an engineering challenge with Hex Bugs! 3. Engineer a safe trap to bring with you on a picnic so no ants get harmed. Use recyclable materials during the design process! 4. Plan out, write a script, and record a video convincing the boy to save the ant. 5. Create a green screen project (either video or just still photos) where the kids are small like ants. DoInk is my favorite app for these types of projects, but you could use whatever green screen app you like! 6. Bring live ants/ant farm into your classroom for student observations! Here is a great site with ideas and support. Or take your kids out into nature to do some ant observations - make sure you bring the hand lenses and science notebooks! Do you have other ideas? I'd love to hear about them in the comments! #BetterTogether
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This blog post contains Amazon Affiliate Links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I LOVE this book! Although it’s an older picture book, the message and science in it are timeless. If your students are studying insects or animal adaptations, this would be a great foundational read for a fun STEM challenge!  Featured Picture Book:
The Very Ugly Bug (2004) By Liz Pichon (@LizPichon) Illustrated by Liz Pichon Summary: A bug who thinks she is ugly tries to disguise herself using some of the adaptations of her friends, but finds out she’s perfect just the way she is! Related Themes and Standards: SEL: Respecting differences Managing envy Being yourself Supporting friends Science: Animal Adaptations Insect Camouflage STEM Ideas: 1. Students could engineer their own insect using various inexpensive/recycled items and then
3. Have drones? Students could create flying insects that have to maneuver through a forest or other habitat to avoid a predator. This blog post contains Amazon Affiliate Links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This is an adorable rhyming picture book that is perfect during those times you are either introducing the Engineering Design Process or need to reassure your young engineers that plans don’t always bring success and failure often leads to big inventions!  Featured Picture Book:
The Fix-It Man (2016) By Susan Hood (@sHood125) Illustrated by Arree Chung (@arreechung) Summary: Joshua James is a boy who loves to fix problems around the house with his little sister playing the role of assistant/tester. The book includes detailed and fun illustrations of his plans and inventions, many of which resemble Rube Goldberg style devices. Some are successful, while some are not! The main problem is humorous and kids will love to see how JJ and his sister solve it! Related Themes: Engineering Design Process:
STEM Ideas: 1. Great book to include in a study of Rube Goldberg. Have students engineer that style machine to solve a simple real world problem (ie. getting a pencil to a friend). 2. This would be a super book if you are starting a take-apart or backward engineering activity where you give students old electronics/toys and they dismantle them and build something else with the parts. 3. Have students study the simple machines featured in this book. Create a chart of the ones they notice. Then have them engineer something small focusing on just one of those simple machines. For example, there are some great pulley systems in the book they could try to recreate with recyclable materials. 4. Studying forces and motion? This book is LOADED with illustrations of various forces. Have a discussion about them and then have students recreate them using simple materials. Feel free to add your ideas or leave a comment! We're better together! This blog post contains Amazon Affiliate Links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Today’s pick is a sweet story by Kate Banks called The Winter Bird. This is a perfect book for this time of year as the seasons change. There are many ELA and Science integrations that would create a powerful lesson! The beautiful illustrations by Suzie Mason make this a picture book that kids will love.  Featured Picture Book:
The Winter Bird (2022) By Kate Banks (@KateBanksBooks) Illustrated by Suzie Mason Summary: A nightingale with a broken wing is unable to leave for the winter. Many animals in the forest help care for the bird and teach it to survive the winter, sharing resources and company. The nightingale learns about winter and celebrates with the others when spring returns. Related Themes and Standards: SEL:
STEM Ideas: 1. Engineer a new nest for the nightingale designed to keep it safe and warm for the winter. Students could use natural materials from outside or recycled materials. 2. Engineer objects to keep the nightingale warm (in the story it is given extra feathers and nutshell “slippers” from other animals). 3. Make snow using one of these simple recipes and experiment with how it felt to the nightingale. Students could create a snow cave for the nightingale to live in. 4. Use Canva (or another program) to create a thank you note the nightingale could send to the other animals for all their help. 5. Spread white packing peanuts on the floor and have students program a robot to get through the snow to a nest or cave. 6. Engineer a bird feeder that will help birds in the area during the upcoming winter months. 7. Research the animals mentioned in the book and create a class book using Book Creator or other program. Would love for you to share your ideas! We're better together! This blog post contains Amazon Affiliate Links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Over the decades that I read picture books to students, I noticed that many of their favorites were stories that were just plain silly! This book is one of those, but it can still lead to some fun STEM challenges that integrate ELA, Science, and Computer Science!  Featured Picture Book:
Stuck By Oliver Jeffers (2011) Summary: This is a silly book about a boy, Floyd, who starts off getting his kite stuck in a tree. He begins to throw things up into the tree trying to knock it down. Each object he throws also gets stuck as the items continue to get bigger and more outlandish! Finally, in the end, he gets his kite back, with a little twist! Themes:
STEM Ideas: 1. Of course, loving drones in the classroom the way I do, I immediately thought of a drone challenge!
3. Have students create and code a program in Scratch/Scratch Jr. that recreates the story. 4. Have students create a path using pictures of the objects that were thrown into the tree in the correct order. Use Beebots, Dash, Sphero, Ozobot, or other robots to follow the path to retrace the story. 5. Have students engineer a tree that will hold the most weight without tipping over. 6. Have the students create a stop motion video that recreates the story objects getting stuck in the tree. Do you have other ideas or need some tips for the ones I suggested? Let me know in the comments!
I am EXCITED about this new blogging adventure! Every other day or so I plan to highlight a picture book and its STEM possibilities! As always, feel free to comment and bookmark!
If you have heard any of the presentations I’ve given over the past 20 years, you know I believe picture books are one of the best tools we have to integrate meaningful STEM, especially at the elementary level. One of my favorite parts about being an elementary educator has always been reading picture books and imagining engineering challenges that would engage our young students. So here we go! 
Featured Picture Book
I Knew You Could! - A Book for All the Stops in Your Life by Craig Dorfman and Illustrated by Cristina Ong (2003) Summary The narrator in the story continually gives life advice to the little train as it journeys through good times and bad times, as well as everyday life changes. Themes
STEM Ideas This would be a great book to read when introducing the engineering design process to kids. It has short tips for dealing with failure/hard times. If your class has been integrating STEM activities related to academic standards and needs to take a little break to do a challenging teamwork build, this book would be perfect! It will help refocus everyone on the big picture, especially as they work on developing SEL (social-emotional learning) skills. Because this story’s character is a train on tracks, I can see designing the following STEM lessons:
Feel free to leave your thoughts and ideas! If you have a favorite picture book you'd like to see featured, make sure you leave a comment as well! We're better together! |
Kim CollazoSTEM Advocate and Picture Book Author Archives
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