What Makes a Science Teacher?

What Makes a Magnet? 

Published by: HarperCollins

Written by: Dr. Franklyn M. Branley

Illustrated by: True Kelley

This text is a combination of story-like experiments.  It follows a young girl who is curious about magnets, how they work, how they are made, and what they attract.  She starts out by going “fishing” with a magnet on a string for a couple common household objects.  The illustrations are simple, but very kid friendly and engaging.  Readers are exposed to a sampling of results and demonstrations through True Kelley’s illustrations.  This text even demonstrates higher-level science ideas like creating a magnet, polarization, natural magnets, and magnetism in relation to the universe. It also briefly discusses the history of compasses and many of their practical uses in today’s world.

What Makes a Magnet? directly addresses Virginia SOLs for Kindergarten through fourth grade and can be used for inspiration when creating hands-on science activities.  The books whimsical illustrations show the unnamed protagonist gathering materials, preparing, and executing a variety of experiments.  She fishes with magnets, creates her own magnet using a needle, and uses her magnetic needle to create a homemade compass!  This book is a great teaching tool that could be used as both a read aloud and as an instructional text. 

You can browse the contents of this text at the HarperCollins site to see if it's ideas apply to your instructional strategy or, you can look through the other titles that are part of the Let's Read and Find Out Science series.

Salty Shoes

Salt in his Shoes; Michael Jordan, In Pursuit of a Dream

Published by: Scholastic

Written by: Deloris Jordan with Roslyn M. Jordan

Illustrated by: Kadir Nelson

This book might be more historical fiction than non-fiction, but that's not keeping me from blogging about it!  As a lifelong basketball player, I felt inspired just by reading the name "Michael Jordan," but readers with all types of hobbies and interests can relate to this heartfelt story told by a mother about her remarkable child.  That's right, Deloris Jordan is Michael's mom, and she starts this retelling with a heartfelt dedication to "the many children who are inclined to say 'I can't,' or 'I wish I had talent,' or 'I wish I were gifted.'"  Though her son grew up to be one of the most talented athletes of all time, he was not always a star; he was awkward, he was short, and often, he lost.  Michael's mom did not always know that he was going to be a star, but she had a few tricks up her sleeve to help him believe in his limitless potential.

Like all moms, Deloris Jordan had the answer to most of Michael's questions and, when he came home from a basketball game in the park attributing his team's loss to his short stature, his mama knew just what to do.  She put salt in his shoes, like she put salt in the roses in her garden, to help him grow and flourish.  Michael did not physically grow much from his mother's remedy, but he was inspired to practice harder than ever before to make up for his height. 

This book would make for a great read aloud to a group of older elementary students in need of a little inspiration.  While searching the internet, I was able to find a few people who were especially moved by Deloris Jordan's story.  One of these leads led me to a website that I had never heard of before called SchoolTube which seems to be a more secure version of YouTube specifically designed to be used in an academic setting.  Schools can create their own private channels on the sight or utilize resources posted in other channels. The link above takes you to one students commercial for Salt in His Shoes and is a great idea for a technology-integrated lesson.

Another great resource found to accompany this book is a recorded read aloud by Stuart Naismith, the grandson of James Naismith.  James Naismith is credited with inventing the game of basketball as we know it today in 1890 and this book is a great example of how his legacy lives on.  Naismith's read aloud reminds us that Michael Jordan eventually grew to 6 feet 6 inches tall, so maybe we should all start sprinkling a little salt in our shoes.

The Glorious Instruction

The Glorious Flight; Across the Channel with Louis Blériot

Published by: Puffin Books

Written by: Alice and Martin Provensen

Ever heard of Louis Blériot?  Well, he's not part of the Virginia SOLs but that does not mean he isn't worth reading about.  Blériot was the first person to fly across the English Channel back on July 25, 1909 in his innovative flying machine, Bléroit XI.  This text would be an excellent addition to any lesson covering the history of flight or general scientific exploration.  I was drawn to the unique illustrations on both the front and back covers (and, of course, the Caldecott Medal that confirmed my admiration).  This book has a vintage feel that seems to evoke a time much earlier than when its 1983 publishing date.  In fact, the Provensens recently won the Society of Illustrators Lifetime Achievement Award.

Louis Blériot and his large family are portrayed as a loving, curious, and quirky crew in the Provensens' somber illustrations and whimsical, almost poetic, text.  This is not your average non-fiction book because "Fact is turned into magic" throughout the text (The New York Times Book Review).  Though Alice and Martin Provensen did not win any awards for their writing, their approach to Blériot's historic journey is wonderful for older readers.  I particularly enjoyed how the Provensens portrayed Blériot's inspiration, exploration, failures, and eventual success.  We see brilliant sketches of the Blériot I, II, IV, V, VI, VII, and some of their crash landings.  By the time Blériot builds and tests the Blériot XI, we have experienced his frustration and cross our fingers for his success.  He is portrayed as much more compassionate than the typical scientists that are often studied in school as his family and family pets are frequently referenced for their support and inspiration. You can watch a short clip of Louis Blériot piloting one of his airplanes at CriticalPast.com.

Eli Whitney and the Historic Graphic Novel

Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin

Published by: Capstone Press

Written by: Jessica Gunderson

Illustrated by: Gerry Acerno, Rodney Ramos, and Charles Bartnett, III

This four chapter graphic novel about Eli Whitney and his turbulent journey towards inventing the Cotton Gin.  This thirty-two page picture book includes wonderfully expressive illustrations of Eli Whitney and eighteenth century America and cleverly relates historic invention and discovery to the needs of the times.  Instead of vaguely stating that Eli Whitney sought to invent a cotton gin that would help cotton farmers separate cotton seeds from cotton fibers, he did, and it changed the way Americans processed cotton forever, this text draws readers in with  its vivid depiction of human emotion.  The first image in the text shows a very disgruntled plantation owner addressing what readers can assume are slaves working on his cotton farm.  Gunderson builds towards Eli's moment of genius by highlighting some of the main frustrations with farming cotton during this period: cotton was grown in the southern United States but milled in Europe, this made cotton expensive, mills were eventually built in the US, but cotton was still expensive because it took so long to separate the seeds from the fibers.  Eli Whitney, being a true intellectual and natural scientist is inspired by his friends Catherine Greene and Phineas Miller to create a new and improved cotton gin (who knew the "roller gin" pre-dated Whitney's cotton gin but it was only useful when separating black-seed cotton, not the more widespread green-seed cotton).

You can preview the first two chapters of Eli Whitney through Google books to see if you're interested in this story, but know that it is a limited preview.  Unfortunately, you cannot see the inspired extension on the final pages of the fourth chapter that discuss the lasting impact of the cotton gin. Though the bulk of the text does not focus on how cotton farming affected the slaves working in the fields, Gunderson recognizes Whitney's invention as both a stimulus to the Southern American economy and as an unfortunate catalyst to the American slave culture.  

The quick facts page, glossary, or related resources listed at the end of the text are useful but not completely effective.  The glossary has a short list of useful terms, but these terms are not highlighted throughout the text.  I would have preferred these vocabulary words to be addressed during the introduction of the text or in context.  The related resources listed at the end of the text, however, are extremely useful.  There are four more age-appropriate texts on the cotton gin listed as well as a full bibliography.  There are also instructions for students to visit FactHound.com, enter the book's ID, and browse prescreened, age-appropriate sites (http://www.facthound.com/CategorySearch.aspx?ISBN=0736868437).  This option is available for all Capstone texts, which can also be searched by state standard at http://www.capstonepub.com/aspx/stdIndex.aspx. 

Big Students!

Big Sharks!

published by Scholastic

written by  Torri Kosara

Ever wonder how sharks are different than regular fish? How many teeth they have? Or what senses sharks use the most?  Well, this book is a great introduction to the particularities of the shark physique.  It is full of detailed photographs and graphic text and would be great for any individual with a special interest in sharks.  Conversely, the large photographs could easily scare a student who is uncomfortable with unfamiliar animals, especially those who are known predators (imagine a 12x12 photo of a shark with its jaws wide open, seemingly swimming in your direction...). The text is arranged in "pop-up video" style with bold text boxes floating on top of large photographs and shark-shaped graphics containing leading questions such as, "Why do you think sharks need to be able to move quickly?"  In order to read this book independently, students need to be familiar with words like "skeletons," "flexibility," and "rough."  Basic knowledge of the physical make up of fish would also be useful but not necessary.

This text would be very useful to a teacher planning a unit on sharks or ocean life for both graphic inspiration and factual content. Kosara cleverly delivers specific topics and facts in one to two sentences per page, cutting out unnecessary "fluff" and potentially overwhelming information.  She draws attention to the main text with thick borders and bright colors while the supporting text (like the extension questions) blends into the background a little more.  She bolds important vocabulary within the text and provides cut-aways when zooming in on a picture would benefit student understanding and observation.  Teachers could easily project select pages from this text using a document camera or by scanning them into a computer to help illustrate certain points to a class.  While the text is relatively simple in its layout, the content might be a little advanced for most lower elementary level science standards;however, it would be a great inquiry prompt while studying living systems or earth patterns in third or fourth grade.  The questions provided on each page could be useful for organizing small group inquiry activities in which students conduct their own research and present it to the class.  It might also be interesting to hear our BrainPop friends, Moby and Tim, talk about their experience with sharks if the subject is of particular interest to the class, http://www.brainpop.com/science/earthsystem/sharkattacks/preview.wemlhttp://www.brainpop.com/science/earthsystem/sharkattacks/preview.weml.


Although this book does not have a table of contents, there  there is a one page glossary with simple definitions of the bolded words at the end of the text. As mentioned earlier, this text is very subject-specific and might not be that useful for instruction at every level; but, it would definitely be considered a strong addition to any classroom library.

Awful Teacher's Awful Poetry

Awful Ogre’s Awful Day

published by HarperCollins

written by Jack Prelutsky

illustrations by Paul O. Zelinsky

It is not every day you see a giant ogre running through a field, ripping the cover of a book to pieces, but would it surprise you to hear that Jack Prelutsky was behind it?  I didn’t think so.  Even the title of this book has a poetic ring to it, drawing even the most fearful readers in a little bit closer.  This book does not scream, “POETRY!!!” instead, it breaks through barriers (literally—take a closer look at the cover art) and fully consumes even the most wary poets with an unusual kind of whimsy.  Worried about poetry being too frilly or old fashioned?  Then this is the book for you.  There are eighteen poems spread out over forty pages of captivating snapshots of a day in the life of the one and only, Awful Ogre.

While Prelutsky first introduces Awful Ogre to his audience in the poem, “Awful Ogre Rises,” readers start learning all about his destructive frolics through the mountains on the front cover and the townspeople’s feeble attempts to repair the damage on the title page. I was a little surprised, however, to learn that Prelutsky’s sometimes friend, Lane Smith, was not behind Awful Ogre’s dark and whimsical illustrations.  That being said, I had to look into Paul O. Zelinsky’s illustrated past to see for myself what other crazy images he created for the world of children’s literature.  Interestingly enough, it seems that Zelinsky has a number of styles and has illustrated everything from Beverly Cleary chapter books (Strider) to a popular mechanical book version of The Wheels on the Bus.  His style is constantly evolving in order to best suit the text it is bringing to life, and Awful Ogre is no exception.  I would be very interested in finding out how Prelutsky and Zelinsky came to be partners.

While this book has not yet been honored with any awards for its poetry, Awful Ogre’s Awful Day was voted New York Times Best Illustrated Book in 2001.  While that in it self is a great honor, I do not feel like that award alone does this poetry collection justice.  This book actually makes you laugh out loud.  Then, after you catch your breath, you take a better look at the pictures and you lose your breath laughing again.  The only person that I have seen keep a straight face while reading these poems is Paul O. Zelinsky himself reading “Awful Ogre’s Hot Dog Lunch” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToXyZd5s1vw).   This particular poem was not my favorite, but you can see a piece of my favorite poem, “Awful Ogre Dances,” on the HarperCollins website: http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/books/Awful-Ogres-Day/?isbn13=9780060774592&tctid=100 (click the “Brose Inside” button).  I don’t want to give away too much, but see the first four and a half poems illustrations for yourself!

 

P.S. There is a sequel to this poetry collection!  Awful Ogre Running Wild is another whimsical collaboration between Prelutsky and Zelinsky about the same Awful Ogre.  It does not have quite as strong a voice or a visual presence as Awful Ogre’s Awful Day but it is another great way to get even the wariest of readers interested in poetry.

I Found A Golden Story

A Story, A Story

Published by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

An African Tale Retold and Illustrated by Gail E. Haley

*Recipient of the 1971 Caldecott Medal*

 This book would be a great teaching tool in a kindergarten or first grade classroom to stimulate class discussion, inferences, and reflections, and there are a number of activity based resources available on the internet.  Some of the best that I found focus on group and individual prediction formation (http://www.teachervision.fen.com/skill-builder/lesson-plan/48712.html) and, shockingly, fractions (http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/lessonplan.jsp?id=1019).  I found the Scholastic lesson on basic fractions (wholes, halves, maybe fourths) to be especially useful because many teachers have trouble incorporating them in interdisciplinary lessons.   This story presents the perfect opportunity to discuss some practical uses of fractions and expose younger students to the idea of dividing a whole (you’ll see why!) 

A Story A Story is actually an African fable about how stories came to the people of the earth.  It is timeless myth of a remarkable human, Ananse (pronounced A-Nancy) who wants to make the world a better place by bringing the stories of Nyame, the Sky God, to earth.  Ananse, who is also known as “the Spider man” because of his ability to spin webs like a spider, spins a web of a ladder to up into the sky to ask Nyame face-to-face if he could buy his golden box filled with stories from him and bring them back to earth.  I found it particularly interesting that in this legend, the human and the god get along relatively peacefully.  I am definitely more familiar with Greek and Roman myths than I am with African tales; however, I can gather from Ananse’s quest that ancient Africans had much more civil relationships with their gods than the ancient Greek. 

This tale teaches a number of important lessons, starting with Ananse’s desire to purchase the Sky God’s stories, not steal them.  Ananse and Nyame diplomatically discuss Ananse’s proposition and negotiate a deal.  Both sides agree to the proposed plan, and Ananse doesn’t rest until he fulfills his end of the bargain.  Maybe I like this book so much because I have always been fascinated by legal terminology, but its messages of morality and community made a real impact.  I love that Ananse—who is depicted as an older man—is the one to take charge in the village in the hopes of bringing the eternal happiness that comes along with story-telling to his community.  After some browsing on Gail Haley’s website (http://www.gailehaley.com/), I found a link to a short film produced by Weston Woods Studios—a division of Scholastic—in 1971, the same year Haley received the Caldecott Medal.   The film can be found on Scholastic.com (even though it says that it can be on Haley’s website), but it is available on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFnOCCq0y-w&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_715401).  The quality of the animated version of A Story A Story isn’t great, but the narrator’s voice and accompanying instrumentals really add to the cultural significance of Hayley’s text.  I was interested to learn that Haley is also an international master puppeteer!  Although she did not do puppetry in the A Story A Story film, it might be something fun to try with students as part of an author study. 

Her website also has a link to an interview with the author video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNkGIYdP03s&feature=player_embedded), in which she discusses her interest in children’s literature and illustrations.  I am amazed by her artistic variety—she paints, she writes, she draws, she carves linoleum stamps—and truly appreciate how she tailors her illustrations to the tone and context of the story she is trying to tell.  Unfortunately, the biographical film cuts off after a little more than two minutes, but that’s more than enough to see why she was a Caldecott Award Winner.   I am very interested in reading more of her books and seeing more of her beautiful interpretations of ancient tales from around the world.

Tengo gusto de las fresas maduras y rojas

El Ratoncito, La Fresa Roja y Madura y El Gran Oso Hambriento 

(The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear)

Publicado por Scholastic

(Published by Scholastic)

Por Don y Audrey Wood

(Written by Don & Audrey Wood)

Illustrado por Don Wood

(Illustrated by Don Wood)

Traducuido por Teresa Mlawer

(Translated by Teresa Mlawer)

Who wouldn’t love an inquisitive little mouse on a tiny little ladder?  Especially when your first reactions to the said mouse are, “Wow he’s small compared to that giant strawberry,” and “is he making eye contact with me?”  As you might be able to tell from the cover image below, the red ripe strawberry (or la fresa roja y madura) is actually HUGE or GRANDE.  Also, the little mouse is making eye contact with you.  This book is a wonderful learning tool for beginning readers of both English and Spanish because it pulls the reader into the story and engages him or her in a one-way dialogue with el ratoncito.  

Because this text is readily available in both English and Spanish, it is a good tool to help English language learners who are familiar with Spanish experience conversational English in written form (if they’re reading the English version of the text) and students who are fluent in English could have an opportunity to learn a little Spanish.   The dialogue is simple and Teresa Mlawer did a beautiful job of consolidating the translations into very basic Spanish.  It is obvious that special care was taken to present both versions of the written text in the same format—for example, Mlawer uses the slang term “el ratoncito” instead of the more formal “el raton pequeno” because the former is much easier for a young reader to process.   If you have ever had a conversation with your dog, cat, fish, etc., you know that all animals have the ability to be great listeners and that, sometimes, great conversationalists.   This text has one-to-one  dialogue and illustration, making it even easier for beginning readers to get engaged. In fact, after reading this book three or four times (in two languages), I nearly have it memorized.

 This book would be a great teaching tool in a kindergarten or first grade classroom to stimulate class discussion, inferences, and reflections, and there are a number of activity based resources available on the internet.  Some of the best that I found focus on group and individual prediction formation (http://www.teachervision.fen.com/skill-builder/lesson-plan/48712.html) and, shockingly, fractions (http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/lessonplan.jsp?id=1019).  I found the Scholastic lesson on basic fractions (wholes, halves, maybe fourths) to be especially useful because many teachers have trouble incorporating them in interdisciplinary lessons.   This story presents the perfect opportunity to discuss some practical uses of fractions and expose younger students to the idea of dividing a whole (you’ll see why!) 

I Got a Pocket, Got a Pocket Full of Soap Suds

A Pocket For Corduroy

Published by Puffin Books

Written and Illustrated by Don Freeman

This is a classic story of how a girl and her teddy bear are tragically separated and joyfully reconnected—with many subtle twists.  First of all, it isn’t the girl who accidentally abandons her comfort object in this story; the bear, Corduroy, gets caught up in his own curiosity while at the laundry mat (spelled Laundromat in this story).  I could not help but look into the unusual spelling.  Over the course of the story, observant readers can deduce that Pandro is the name of the Latino owner of the laundry mat because of his Spanish name and his use of the word “senorita” when talking to Lisa, Corduroy’s owner.  I knew that “Laundromat” was not Spanish for laundry mat (it’s “lavandería”), but I still couldn’t place it.  I happened to glance at the dedication/publisher’s page of the book and noticed that it was published in 1978, so, I did what any student of the twenty-first century would do and Googled it.

 

According to Wikipedia—yes, I realize that Wikipedia isn’t the most credible source, but it is suited for this task—“Laundromat” is a trademark name of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-service_laundry).  Interestingly, if you click on the link to the Wiki page about the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, it tells you that the Corporation was founded in 1886, making it amongst the first major electric companies! 

Another great thing about this book is the diversity of the characters in its illustrations.  Because this book was authored and illustrated in the late 1970s, there is definitely a dated quality to it; however, the cultural representations within the laundry mat are very similar to what we readily see in the world today: there are apparently single mothers and fathers, Asian women, black families, white families, artists, and little old ladies. This was one of my favorite books as child, and I was surprised and thrilled to see that two of my present hobbies—painting and sewing—are both featured in this book.  It is really quite remarkable because it is almost guaranteed that every child will relate to someone in the book, and if they don’t, there’s always Corduroy!  

Teachers Can't Dance

Giraffes Can’t Dance

Published by Orchard Books (Scholastic, Inc.)

Written by Giles Andreae

Illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees

Gerald the giraffe, like me, the teacher, is not confident with his dance moves.  Gerald's "knees were awfully crooked and his legs were rather thin,” he was clumsy, and, sometimes, awkward.  Those of you who have seen the VoiceThread I published at the beginning of the school year know that Gerald and I could swap a few stories about running into a tree or not posing properly for a group picture.  Those of you who haven’t have probably felt awkward or uncomfortable at some point in your lives, so you can relate.  Plus, it is hard not to be excited about a book with a brilliant yellow giraffe doing a back flip on the cover.  Parker-Ree’s illustrations transport readers into a beautiful, warm and bright African landscape which is sometimes remind me of what a dream sequence might look like in Disney’s The Lion King—a stereotypical African jungle only with blurred edges and unusual hues.

The story picks up at the annual Jungle Dance—the event of the season, according to sociable wild animals in Africa.  Gerald watches in awe from the sidelines as “warthogs waltzed” and “lions tangoed,” but when it’s finally his turn to perform, he freezes up in the center of the circle.  Whether or not we have personally experienced being exposed in the center of a circle of peers, most people in contemporary America have seen a movie or a TV show where a central character has that unfortunate experience.  Like many of those fictional characters, Gerald runs away from his taunting peers only to find himself face-to-face with a true friend who helps him find his inner dancing fool.  I almost cried (seriously), when I read the following passage, sung by Gerald’s friend the cricket:

Listen to the swaying grass

and listen to the trees.

To me the sweetest music

is those branches in the breeze.

So imagine that the lovely moon

is playing just for you—

everything makes music

if you really want it to.

If that doesn’t get you to read this book, I don’t know what else can… except, maybe, the John Travolta-esque pose that Gerald strikes towards the end…

Let us stay up late until Mom and Dad come home...

Tell Me Something Happy Before I Go To Sleep

Published by Harcourt Brace & Company

Written by Joyce Dunbar

Illustrated by Debi Glori

...is what the three boys I babysit for were really thinking when I asked them about one of the picture books on the top of their bookshelf. After a few hours of me helping them complete their homework, I was not so sure that they’d be willing to help me finish mine; however, they jumped at the opportunity to help someone old (I guess at 22, I’m old now) do homework. They got even more excited when I told them about how my homework was “teacher homework” and that I had to find some really great books and write about them to help make me a better teacher. Well, if I learned anything from this assignment, it’s that students of all ages feel a little bit better about their homework situation after realizing that someone, usually the teacher, worked to create that assignment.

Since it was supposed to be bedtime, I asked the boys to pick out one of their favorite bedtime picture books from when they were younger (they’re too mature for picture books now). The first thing that came to their minds was Tell Me Something Happy Before I Go to Sleep, by Joyce Dunbar. Although I did not read the book until after the boys were asleep they told me all about how it was “sorta babyish” because it was about rabbits, not people and that they were always “really jealous of the bunk beds.” Judging the book by it’s cover, I assumed that the book was about a mother helping her daughter get to sleep. Turns out, it’s about an older brother, Willoughby, helping his younger sister, Willa, fall asleep (I guess the “sorta babyish” rabbits are a little cutesy). I could not help but be charmed by little Willa in her carrot-and-lettuce-print footsie pajamas, clutching her polka dot teddy bear.

It was not until page four that I was officially introduced to Willoughby, the kindest, coolest, big brother who, of course, gets the top bunk. When Willa is having trouble falling asleep because she is scared of having a bad dream, Willoughby is there to show her some of the many reasons why she has no reason to be afraid. The first thing Willoughby does is tell his scared little sister to look under her bed and, thankfully, what’s hiding under the bed isn’t scary at all—it’s Willa’s chicken slippers! I have to comment for a moment on Debi Glori’s amazing ability to express human emotion through animals. Her rabbits cover their eyes with their big floppy ears when they’re sad, trip over their too-big-in-the-toes pajamas when they’re nervous, and hold their breath as they tip toe down the hallway. Glori is so attentive to detail that her version of nighttime in the forest includes bluish-grayish bumble bees sleeping in daisies and birds cozied up in their nests. I loved her pictures so much that I am determined to read the Mr. Bear series which Debi Glori wrote and illustrated (http://www.jacketflap.com/persondetail.asp?person=36493). It was nice to read a story in which the older sibling takes charge while the parents are either asleep (or tip-toeing through the hallway) or otherwise occupied, and it has the potential to be anyone’s bedtime favorite!