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Sci-Lit Connector
Add a Little Spice to Science
By Ken Mechling
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Browsing children's books is one of my favorite things to do in a bookstore. Several years ago in Maine I came across one I hadn't seen. It was titled, Invisible Bugs and Other Creepy Creatures That Live Within You. I liked it because it graphically described dust mites, those critters that share our beds with us and eat our dead skin, Demodex-the small mites that inhabit the hair follicles of our eyelashes, and other Rogue's gallery characters including bedbugs, ticks, and mosquitoes which occasionally visit humans. The book was too good to pass up and I brought it home and laid it temporarily on the dining room table. It didn't stay there long. My grandchildren, who were all elementary school age at the time, picked it up, read parts of it aloud in attempts to gross out anyone within earshot. They fought over who could read it next. Obviously, they liked the book. So did I.
Children love science-related books. In fact, research has shown them to be among their favorites. Libraries have found that more than 60% of books that children check out are science related. Books about animals are at the top of their list of favorites. Books about stars, planets, and space are also popular choices. With titles like Two Bad Ants, The Very Lonely Firefly, and Zoo in the Sky, how could they resist?
Children's love for science books is good news for elementary teachers who want to spice up their science classes. Trade books or children's books are being used more and more frequently to introduce a topic to students, to help illustrate a concept within a science lesson, or to reinforce learning after the lesson has ended. Science texts frequently include recommended book choices in both the student editions and certainly in bibliographies in the teachers' editions. Just cruising your school library may lead you to a mother lode of interesting, useful books to be used in conjunction with science lessons. And, then, there is always your own classroom literature series which often includes literature related to the grade level science that you teach.
In the following chart I have identified, randomly, several science topics or activities from Harcourt Science. Under "Books" is but one book or piece of literature that relates to the science lesson. The books marked with an C or an S denote stories from literature series, in this case Harcourt Collections or Harcourt Signatures, both language arts programs popular in the MAIS region schools.
Grade
Level | Science Topic/Activity | Books | | 1 | Our Senses
Animals and their Young - Penguins
A Doctor Observes People | Body Detectives
Antarctic Antics
Parts |
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| | 2 | Star Pictures/Constellations
How to Classify Leaves
Animals Grow and Change | How Many Stars in the Sky! (S)
Knowing the Trees
Stellaluna (S) |
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| | 3 | Make a Food Chain/Web
How Do Rocks Form?
The Solar System | The Wide-Mouthed Frog
Everybody Needs a Rock
Earth: Our Planet in Space (C) |
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| | 4 | Animal Adaptations
The Human Skeleton/Muscular System
Humans and Ecosystems | Swimmy
Dem Bones
The Lorax |
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| | 5 | Flower Parts
The Stages of a Mealworm's Life
Electrical Circuits and Energy | Flowers, Fruits, and Seeds (S)
Beetles, Lightly Toasted (S)
What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin? (S) |
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| | 6 | What are the Characteristics of the Ocean Floor?
Invertebrates/Vertebrates
What are the Characteristics of Light? | Life in the Oceans (S)
The Most Amazing Animals
All About Light |
| | (S) =Harcourt Signatures
| (C) =Harcourt Collections |
The foregoing connections are merely examples to demonstrate the potential for linking literature with science: using a story to introduce a science topic, to reinforce a science concept you are teaching, or to extend learning and interest beyond the science lesson. Look for similar opportunities in your science program. What kid could resist reading Beetles, Lightly Toasted after investigating mealworms in the classroom? |
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