Since retiring, I've been spending a lot more time working to improve my craft as a picture book writer. This includes connecting with a lot of the children's writing community online.

Having been in education my entire life, this new world of traditional publishing: querying agents, learning from editors, lurking as new online connections converse about the overwhelming process, has been very interesting!

Last night when I saw others tweeting (yes, I will always call it that!) about Susanna Leonard Hill's 2023 Holiday Writing Contest, I knew I had to give it a shot (my first writing contest ever)! The theme this year is Holiday Countdown so the piece had to include counting something down.

The hardest part was reducing my first draft to the 250 word limit, especially while trying to keep the rhyme and meter as tight as possible. Some of that smoothness was sacrificed, but lesson learned!

Those of you who know me, know I am passionate about integrating relevant STEM at the elementary level! So you KNOW I had to include a drone in my entry!

As I wrote Devoted Drone Deliveries, I thought back to missions our GLIDE girls had done over the years and how it is so important for girls to see themselves represented in drone education and the drone industry.

I knew the main character had to be one of the most caring and amazing young drone pilots I'd had the pleasure to teach, Jordan.

As a side note, the importance of growing this representation and elementary drone integration is exactly why I am so honored to be part of the curriculum team at Drone Legends! They share that passion!

So anyway! Here is my debut writing contest entry! Enjoy!

​Devoted Drone Deliveries

Jordan loves the people who
live in her neighborhood!
Holidays are here again
and so to do some good…

She wants to use her trusty drone
to give each house a gift,
that way she’ll stay anonymous
and spirits she will lift!

House number 10, Mr. Frost
works down at the deli.
To him, she gives some homemade bread
and jar of apple jelly.

Number 9, Mrs. Green,
a mom with seven kids,
her gift is cookies, sweetly baked
in tins with matching lids.

Number 8, on down the street,
John and Jerry Knox,
they work out in the cold all day
their gifts, knitted socks.

Number 7 is the place
the Lopez family lives.
They always wave and shout hello,
a smiley flag she gives.

Number 6, Grandpa Frank,
although he’s not related,
he’s loved by everyone around
his gift, art she created.

Number 5, with fading paint
belongs to Captain Smoots,
he works hard daily catching fish;
her drone delivers boots.

Number 4, Mrs. Nell
who has a bunch of cats,
Jordan gives her treats and toys
that look like little rats!

Number 3 belongs to Ann
who sleeps during the day,
she works the night shift at the mill,
for her, a big bouquet.

Number 2, a tiny home
owned by Officer Mark,
a flashlight is his gift this year
to help him in the dark.

Number 1, the final stop
is Jordan’s own home place.
She views the pictures from the drone,
smiles on EVERY face!

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

• create a green screen project with them (using green file folders makes this manageable for small items like an insect!).
• create their own picture book starring their insect using Canva, Book Creator, Seesaw, or another program.
• upload a picture of their insect into Scratch/Scratch Jr. and code some movements or “a day in the life”-type project.
• include some circuit work with copper tape, coin cell batteries, and small LED lights to make parts of their insect light up.
• take their insect outside to see where it would be safest from predators (in the leaves, stuck to the bark, in the grass, etc.).

2. Students could create an insect using any available robotics kits (WEDO 2.0, Spike, etc.) or modify an existing robot to which they have access to look like their planned insect. Then they could be challenged to have their insect move through a course, make it to safety before a predator is able to catch them, or other similar challenges.

3. Have drones? Students could create flying insects that have to maneuver through a forest or other habitat to avoid a predator.

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:

• Importance of planning
• Persevering through failure
• Thinking outside the box to re-engineer
• Solving real world problems

SEL:

• Kindness
• Importance of apologizing
• Helping others

Science:

• Simple machines
• Forces and Motion

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!

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:

• Perseverance
• Developing a new plan

STEM Ideas:
1. Of course, loving drones in the classroom the way I do, I immediately thought of a drone challenge!

• Create a tree (this fort kit we use with our drone lessons works great for lots of builds!) and suspend kid-made mini-kites in it. Students have to engineer an attachment and fly their drone to retrieve the kites.

2. Have students engineer and test a “grabber tool” the boy could use to get the items back down.

• Use robotics kits like LEGO WeDo 2.0 or Prime if you have them to create the grabber
• Create the grabber with recycled materials

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

• Perseverance
• Independence
• Trying New Things
• Maintaining Hope
• Dealing with Jealousy/Envy
• Staying true to self/being unique
• Friendship
• Asking for help when needed
• Self Confidence
• Maintaining positive mental health

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:

• Students have to build a track and program/code a robot to move along it.
• Students build a train using recyclables and have to create a way for it to move. Will it be a propulsion system maybe involving a balloon or other air power? Will it be a pushing system using more of a catapult-type force?
  • Over a bridge they’ve engineered (constraints - bridge has to span a determined gap)
  • Through a tunnel they’ve engineered (constraints - tunnel has to measure a determined distance)
  • Across a certain distance within a given amount of time
  • Carrying a determined amount of weight or the most weight possible
• The book talks about the train changing paths so students have to engineer a simple track-switching mechanism.
• Design a train station and engineer a device that safely puts passengers on the train.​

If you have any funds, I found several great little sets of train cars that could be used for many of these STEM ideas and other future lessons! (Affiliate Links)

​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!

I don’t know about you, but I love when a new Edutopia newsletter pops up in my inbox. The one I just received includes an article about six evidence-backed tips for scaffolding student learning. 

As I was reading the advice, I couldn’t help but think about the perfect tie-in to how we scaffold learning through STEM activities. So here are my STEM takes on the six they discuss in their article.

#1 Clarity

The article describes how you should make sure your instructions and materials are designed to optimize student understanding and learning. 
​
When we introduce an engineering activity to students this is so important. 

Whether we are starting with a foundational picture book, relevant current event, or other hooks, we need to make sure we are walking the students through the process and actions we are expecting, and clearing up any questions they may have prior to beginning. 

This allows them to see the big picture, sets the tone, and decreases negative behaviors that often come when students are confused or anxious. 

I always use my guiding slide deck with the same engineering design process (EDP) image to provide clarity and better student understanding. Here’s an example:

​#2 Build Background Knowledge

For me, this is where the IMAGINE step in the EDP is crucial.

In addition to children imagining how they will solve a problem, I use this step to show pictures or an effective video related to the challenge to promote discussions and provide that crucial background knowledge that many students may not have. 

For example, when engineering “boats” for the Who Sank the Boat lesson, many students may not have first-hand experience with what different boats look like. So I share the images below and we talk about the materials, shapes, designs, and purposes of the various boats.

This provides at least a small bit of background knowledge prior to the actual challenge. Background knowledge can also be triggered through discussions the class has while reading a foundational picture book!

#3 Be Multi-Modal

Ah, yes! STEM integration’s superpower! 

By nature, engineering and hands-on science, math, and technology learning are multi-modal.  

Children are asked to listen to a story, watch a video, or view a demonstration of a phenomenon.

They are then tasked with drawing out their plans to solve a problem. 

Then comes the crucial building, manipulating, experimenting, and/or crafting. 

And throughout that amazing process, they are continually communicating with their partner or team, sharing results at the end, and in many other ways stating what they have learned. 

STEM is naturally multi-modal!

#4 Use Graphic Organizers and Anchor Charts

Whether in the regular classroom, the STEM lab, or the media center maker space, graphic organizers and anchor charts provide students with just that…an anchor for all the learning taking place.

The Edutopia article states that “In the early stages of learning—as students are grappling with unfamiliar information—it’s helpful to supply prompts, hints, or even partially completed anchor charts and graphic organizers to make learning more effective”

In my opinion, when conducting STEM activities, these anchor charts should first be filled with student discoveries, ideas, and conclusions. Then, through class discussion, if misconceptions related to content need to be clarified, additional information can be added.

We need to be careful to allow the students to work through failure without the crutch of constant hints or prompts about what WE think they should do. 

As teachers this is hard; to step back even when we know they are making a mistake or their build won’t work. But this is where the best learning occurs, and building an anchor chart throughout the activity can support that.

#5 Use Pre-Lesson Activities

Although the article focuses on the more traditional content application of providing high-level quiz questions prior to the learning activity, my favorite pre-lesson activity when integrating STEM is  reading a relevant well-written picture book, no matter what age the students are (high school students still love picture books!). 
​
For great collections of picture books that are fantastic for STEM integration check out my constantly growing Pinterest Board HERE.

#6 Ask Meta-Cognitive Questions

One way I’ve found to keep myself from “helping” students too much during the engineering design process is to ask questions that help them develop their metacognition. 

Questions/prompts like:

• Tell me about why you chose those materials for your plan.
• What do you think will happen now?
• Why do you think that didn’t work?
• Wow, I haven’t seen one like that! Tell me about your design.
• Can you explain how you think this will work?
• What do you think you could do differently?
• If you could do it again, would you switch any of the materials? Why?​
  
  

The Edutopia article has several other good content-related ideas as well.

What other ways do you help scaffold STEM activities for your students? I’d love to hear about them! #BetterTogether