Storytime Goes Stem
Public Library Association
Conference Friday, March 15, 2014 Converstation session Faciliators: Lynn Cole,
Children’s Discovery Center, Queens Library Saroj Ghoting, Early Literacy
Consultant Rachel Payne, Brooklyn Public Library
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All handouts will be available at http://storytimegoesstem.pbworks.com
. This site also has many other
pertinent links.
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Brooklyn Public Library has STEM kits to use in
the library.
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Math and science are two areas that overlap
especially with the ECRR skill areas of vocabulary and background knowledge,
although they fit will all the skills. Oral language development is important
for later language development. Background knowledge—content—is what children know
about the world. It is conceptual and abstract thinking. The process areas of
math and science thinking have to do with conceptual thinking. Background and
story knowledge includes print motivation. Children who experience activities
in science and math will be more eager to learn about their world—and read
about it. When we share factual books with children it helps teach print
awareness along with vocabulary and background knowledge. The set up in a
factual book is different than in fiction and the use of the book is different.
There is a definite connection between science and math and early literacy. We
don’t need one to validate the other, but seeing the interaction is good. We
see the whole child and the whole learning. Children are natural scientists.
Science is noticing what is going on around you and wondering how the world
works. Books help introduce little bits of science and math into the program. Connect
math with play and connect science with talk. Make observations, notice things,
and talk about them.
o Freight
Train helps teach the color spectrum—the colors are in order of the color
spectrum in a rainbow. It also teaches about mountains, cities, bridges, day
and night, and more.
o The Three
Little Pigs helps teach predictions and estimations, along with air and air
pressure.
o Knuffle Bunny can be
used to teach sorting, patterns, colors and sizes. For example, children can
sort socks at home into various categories—by size, patterns, and colors. They
can also make a design for socks. They can play a game of What’s My Rule? by
sorting them in a certain way and guessing what the rule is.
o With Mouse
Paint children can make paint with chalk, mortar and pestle. Scarves can be
added, along with this activity—tie a know in a scarf and ask, Which falls
faster—the knotted or unknotted scarf?
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The librarian should address the parents to help
them make the connection. But you don’t need to interrupt the book. You can
read it through once and then go back.
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Asking open ended questions helps the child think.
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Communicating and recording is related to
writing. One idea is to make dry erase boards by slipping cardboard and white
paper. The child can use a dry erase marker to ‘record’ observations and data.
One librarian ends each storytime with this activity. She has one board for
each child.
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The craft can be more a process than a product.
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Repeat patterns—movements, clapping, etc. at
least two times. The children copy your pattern. 1. What is the pattern? 2.
Imitate the pattern. 3. Continue the pattern.
Ready, Set, Play at the Brooklyn Public Library is offered evenings
and weekends. Check out the website: http://www.bklynpubliclibrary.org/first-5-years/ready-set-kindergarten-english .
Many links are available from http://storytimegoesstem.pbworks.com/w/page/76408124/STEM%20Storytime%20Resources
The handout (available at
http://storytimegoesstem.pbworks.com):
Science and math is everywhere! There are science and math concepts
evident in many of the story time books you already share with kids. Lynn Cole
shared some examples to get us started.
Lynn Cole’s examples:
Freight Train by Donald Crews - The color spectrum: The trains
are in ROY G BIV order. - Engineering: The trestle is a great example of a
bridge and could encourage bridge building activities.
The Three Little Pigs by Paul Galdone (or other versions would also
work) - Problem solving: Which house is going to be the sturdiest? - Predator
vs. prey: Look at the wolf’s teeth! Why do you think they are so long? -
Huffing and puffing!: Air resistance! Fill up your lungs as much as you can.
Can you inhale anymore? What are things you can blow?
Owl Babies by Martin Wadell, illustrared by Patrick Benson -
Animals learning from their mother. - Nocturnal animals. - There are patterns
on the owls’ feathers.
Group Brainstorm: These ideas came from the sharing session after
our small group brainstorm.
Head to Toe by Eric Carle - Human behavior vs. animal
behaviors. - Labeling body parts. - How the human body moves. - Compare human
and animal body parts and actions.
Bee Bim Bop by Linda Sue Park, illustrated by Ho Baek Lee -
At the grocery store, sort and match various kinds of vegetables. What shapes
are the vegetables? - Following a recipe. Cooking is science! - Chopping
vegetables. What shapes to we end up with when cut vegetables? - Get someone
from a Korean restaurant to talk about the ingredients they use. - Use
non-standard measurement (pinch, a hand full, etc.) and standard measurements
(cups, teaspoons, etc.) - Try sensory food activites! How do these foods look,
feel, smell, taste and even sound (do they crunch when you chew them?)
My Crayons Talk by Patricia Howard, illustrated by G. Brian Karas
- Look at the endpapers. Can you guess what season it is? - Look and some of
the illustrations in the book. What is alive and what is not alive? Which things
grow and which do not grow? - Count the legs of the animals.
Flower Garden by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt -
Talk about the various parts of a flower. - Compare and contrast the animals
and humans in the pictured in the book. Animals walk on four legs and humans
walk on two. - Talk about the shapes of the leaves and petals. - The people
carry objects on one page. Which objects do you think are heavy? Which are
light? - Look at the clouds in the sky. What kind of day is it? - The characters
use money in the story. - The book shows people planting and recycling.
Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef by Marianne
Berkes, illustrated by Jeanette
Canyon - Discuss the body
shapes and sizes of various fish. Which fish would go faster? Why do think that?
Who is the Beast? by Keith Baker - Who is a predator and who is
prey in the story? - What do the various animals eat?
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie… by Laura Joffe Numeroff and
Felicia Bond - Talk about the “shape” of the story. It is circular! - Talk
about how the mouse has human characteristics. Would a real mouse wear
overalls? - How do you make cookies? - How crayons are made? (Mr. Rogers video
about how crayons were made).
Swimmy by Leo Lionni - Animal instincts - Different
properties of water. - Scientific process: What do you do when you have a
problem? Problem solving!
Hop Jump by Ellen Stoll Walsh - Air resistance - Floating
and sinking
Zomo the Rabbit by Gerald McDermott - Sequencing - Cause and
effect
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats - Drawing and writing in the
snow - The physics of sledding - Up vs. down. How does snow fall?
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don Wood
and Audrey Wood - - Sound vibrations and sound traveling the ground or through the air.
Brainstorm: Science Activities & Tips What tips can
you come up for parents to encourage them to try science and math activities
with their children at home? What activities could you try to encourage science
and math exploration?
The Emperor's Egg: Read and Wonder by Martin
Jenkins and Jane Chapman
One participant made a life-size emperor penguin and she compared
various penguins and their sizes.
“Life Size” series books Show children these books and bring a sewing
measuring tape. Let children measure things and compare it the actual size of
the animals in the book. Make paint by crushing chalk, mixed it with water. Use
a medicine dropper to “paint” with. Pair this activity by Mouse Paint by
Ellen Stoll Walsh.
My Garden by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Kathryn Hewlitt -
Talk to the parents about gardening and recycling and that is science and math
(sorting!). - Make your own chia pet out of recycled plastic bottles (http://www.repiny.com/pin-2996.html)
My Crayons Talk - Show the kids two dimensional shapes vs. three
dimensional shapes. Spheres, circles, cyclinders, squares, and cubes. Which
shape will roll? Experiment!
Recommended resources Steve
Spangler Science: https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/
“Math Start” series by Stuart J. Murphy
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