The following was written by Carla “Shelly” Waller, an instructional technology coach and DoD STEM Ambassador. DoD STEM Ambassadors work with the Defense STEM Education Consortium (DSEC) to advance STEM outreach for students who are underrepresented in STEM and/or military connected. Waller was selected by Learning Undefeated, a DSEC partner, as their DoD STEM ambassador for the 2021-2022 school year.

I have always loved books. With a book, I have the opportunity to learn new things, go on an adventure, solve a mystery or reflect and set goals. Early in my career as an elementary teacher, I had two goals. First, I wanted to build a classroom library that would engage my students and encourage them to love reading. Second, I wanted to create a classroom environment focused on STEM and inquiry. I quickly discovered I could accomplish both goals while developing my students' literacy skills. By weaving literacy into STEM, elementary students have the opportunity to build their literacy skills and develop a deeper understanding of concepts related to STEM. Let's explore how you can weave literacy concepts into STEM content using children's or YA literature.

Providing Context and Support

Children's or YA literature can supplement science and math textbooks by providing context for more abstract concepts, such as the tide cycle. For example, nonfiction children's or YA books, such as Seasons, Tides, and Lunar Phases by Tara Haelle, explain the relationship between the moon and the tide cycles. In addition to providing context, this book allows students to engage with more academic language. The strategic use of nonfiction text can let you review literary concepts such as text features and headings and enrich vocabulary development.

Additionally, the use of children's or YA literature allows you to model many components of reading and writing for students. For example, Seasons, Tides, and Lunar Phases also can be used to model how to write informational text. Students can engage with this text to observe how sentences are structured and vary throughout the book. This same book can be used to model how to read fluently with expression. Students can learn to conduct research and take notes without plagiarizing the text.

Making Connections to the World Around Us

Interactive read-alouds can help students make connections to the world around them. As students make sense of the book with you, their questions, thoughts and reflections can generate robust classroom discussions. For example, The Mess That We Made by Michelle Lord, which explores how pollution impacts marine life and the ocean, can be used to facilitate conversations about nature conservation. Another example of a book that can generate discussions about nature conservation is We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom. This book engages students with the Ojibwe and Lakota cultures and the fight to conserve the Earth's water.

Reading various STEM-related children's or YA literature aloud can also inspire students to learn more about careers in STEM fields. For example, Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions by Chris Barton celebrates Lonnie Johnson, a former NASA engineer and inventor of the Super Soaker. This book can promote conversations about perseverance, problem-solving, NASA and engineering.

Supporting Inquiry-Based STEM

Children's or YA literature can also support inquiry-based STEM by helping students solve problems using their critical-thinking skills. I recommend incorporating children's or YA books into engineering design challenges because it provides an opportunity to model good reading habits, encourages students to make predictions, ask questions and engage in writing and reflecting. Engineering design challenges also give students an opportunity to address a real-world problem while developing their communication and collaboration skills. The challenge can be large or small but should follow the engineering design process and allow students to write.

For example, The Water Princess by Susan Verde is based on Georgie Badiel's childhood in Burkina Faso and details the work it takes to collect water for her village. This book can be used to spark conversations about the water crisis and water pollution. You can also use these books to create an engineering design challenge that gives students an opportunity to explore solutions to the water crisis and water filtration. The engineering design challenge could consist of students designing an invention that can filter or bring water from one place to another. Persuasive writing could be woven into this activity by requiring students to convince a panel of judges to support the creation of their invention.

Selecting High-Quality Children's or YA Literature

When weaving literacy into STEM, it is essential that you use high-quality children's or YA literature. I recommend that you begin by checking out the current list of Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 recommended each year by the National Science Teaching Association in conjunction with the Children's or YA Book Council. The list is a good starting point because it gives you an idea of what to look for when selecting a book to use to teach about a concept. Resources such as the Picture-Perfect Science Lessons series by Emily Morgan and Karen Ansberry expertly weave children's or YA literature and science concepts into ready-to-use lesson plans and student materials to help you implement STEM in your elementary classroom.

Other considerations when selecting a book:

• Ensure that the book is based on current, accurate and clear information. Selecting the wrong book can mislead the student's understanding of a concept.
• The book should be free of any biases (i.e., gender, ethnicity and socioeconomics).
• Choose books that highlight people of color. It is essential that students of color in your classroom have an opportunity to learn about successful people who look like them. Books that include diverse characters and people give you a chance to introduce different cultures to your students or celebrate the cultures of the students in your classroom.
• After reading the book, think about how you can use the book to reinforce specific reading or writing skills.

Resources

Ansberry, K., & Morgan, E. (2007). More picture-perfect science lessons: Using children's or YA books to guide inquiry, K-4. National Science Teaching Association Press.

Barton, C., & Tate, D. (2016). Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson's super-soaking stream of inventions. Charlesbridge.

Haelle, T. (2016). Seasons, tides, and lunar phases. Rourke Educational Media.

Lindstrom, C., & Goade, M. (2020). We are water protectors. Roaring Brook Press.

Lord, M., & Blattman, J. (2020). The mess that we made. Flashlight Press.

Morgan, E., & Ansberry, K. (2013). Even more picture-perfect science lessons: Using children's or YA books to guide inquiry, K-5. National Science Teaching Association Press.

Morgan, E., & Ansberry, K. (2017). Picture-perfect STEM lessons, K-2: Using children's or YA books to inspire STEM learning. National Science Teaching Association Press.

Morgan, E., & Ansberry, K. (2017). Picture-perfect STEM lessons, 3-5: Using children's or YA books to inspire STEM learning. National Science Teaching Association Press.

Verde, S., Badiel, G., & Reynolds, P. (n.d.). The water princess. G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers.