This is my final Celebrate Science post for the 2015-2016 school year, so I've decided to end with some recent fan mail that really made my day.
Happy Summer, Everyone! Celebrate Science will be back in September.
Friday, June 19, 2015
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Behind the Books: Using Social Media for Research
From the moment I received the assignment my
new book Hurricane Watch, I knew I
wanted to take readers on a journey through the stages of hurricane formation
and give them a front row seat to what happens when the super storm hits land.
Because I’ve never experienced a hurricane, I needed to interview people
who had.
How did I find those people? Twitter.
Within minutes of posting a tweet, I had a
half dozen responses from people who’d lived through hurricanes in Florida,
Texas, and Hawaii. We exchanged email addresses and over the next week, I
collected their stories, looking for sensory details
and other
tidbits that could help me bring these powerful storms to life for young
readers.
Here are a few excerpts from those
interviews:
“Everything that wasn't nailed down blew away, including beach
sand, gravel, tree limbs. Lawn furniture became projectiles.”
“Even inside the house, [the blowing wind] was so loud we could hardly
hear each other talk. It really roared.”
“The palm trees bent way over in the wind.
The fronds dragged on the ground."
“The winds blew so hard that we could see all the coral reefs that were
usually underwater.”
“Projectiles kept hitting the house--whatever was loose. The sky
was gray and cloudy and the wind's sound was incredible. The whole house
shook.”
Pretty cool, right?
Ultimately, I didn’t have room for all these great details, but they definitely informed my writing. Thanks to these comments, the drama of the storm seems palpable in the final text.
Monday, June 15, 2015
Nonfiction for New Folks
If you're interested in writing nonfiction for kids, but aren't sure how to get started, you may want to attend Nonfiction for New Folks, a writing retreat organized by Pat Miller.
When: September 17–20, 2015
Where: Rosenberg, Texas
Faculty: Candace Fleming, Karen Blumenthal, Peggy Thomas, Nancy I. Sanders, and me
For more information, check out this fun video.
I hope to see you there.
When: September 17–20, 2015
Where: Rosenberg, Texas
Faculty: Candace Fleming, Karen Blumenthal, Peggy Thomas, Nancy I. Sanders, and me
For more information, check out this fun video.
I hope to see you there.
Sunday, June 14, 2015
21st Century Nonfiction Conference: Breaking the Boundaries
From outrageous illustrations
to engaging voices, the confining walls of humdrum nonfiction are being chipped
away by one boundary-pushing book after another. In this session, Heather L Montgomery and Melissa Stewart examine where
children’s nonfiction can go in the future. You will practice
outside-of-the-box thinking, try an exercise to see where voice can take you,
and experiment with visual thinking tools.
Some Exciting Trends
Memoirs
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
The Scraps Book by Lois Ehlert
Dynamic Design
Move! by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
Unusual Format
The Extraordinary Mark Twain by Barbara Kerley
Attention-grabbing Hook
Bugged: How Insects Changed the World by Sarah Albee
Some Exciting Trends
Memoirs
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
The Scraps Book by Lois Ehlert
Graphic
El Deafo by Cece Bell
El Deafo by Cece Bell
Look
Up! Birdwatching in Your Own Backyard by Annette LeBlanc Cate
Visual Storytelling
Redwoods by Jason Chin
Redwoods by Jason Chin
The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris Barton
Creative Art Styles
Separate Is Never Equal by Duncan Tonatiuh
Separate Is Never Equal by Duncan Tonatiuh
Witches! by Rosalyn Schanzer
Viva Frida by
Yuyi Morales
Stunning Photos
Raindrops Roll by April Pulley Sayre
Raindrops Roll by April Pulley Sayre
Wolfsnail
by
Sarah C. Campbell
Spiders by Nic Bishop
Dynamic Design
Move! by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
Unusual Format
The Extraordinary Mark Twain by Barbara Kerley
Clever Structure
Those Rebels, John & Tom by Barbara Kerley
Those Rebels, John & Tom by Barbara Kerley
Swirl
by Swirl
by Joyce Sidman
Innovative
Narrative Approach
Bomb by Steve Sheinkin
Bomb by Steve Sheinkin
The
Family Romanov
by Candace Fleming
Attention-grabbing Hook
Bugged: How Insects Changed the World by Sarah Albee
Why’d
They Wear That?
by Sarah Albee
Zombie
Makers
by Rebecca L. Johnson
When
Lunch Fights Back
by Rebecca L. Johnson
Unique
Perspective
Handle with Care by Loree Griffin Burns
A Leaf Can Be… by Laura Purdie Salas
Handle with Care by Loree Griffin Burns
A Leaf Can Be… by Laura Purdie Salas
No
Monkeys, No Chocolate
by Melissa Stewart
Weeds
Find a Way by Cynthia Jenson-Elliot
Visual Thinking Tools
Visual Thinking Tools
Concept Maps
Sticky Notes
Build a Structure Sculpture
More Approaches
--http://hotandthinkertools.wikispaces.com
--Compare subject to something very similar or different
--Write a sentence for each of a variety of photos with different moods/tones.
Playing with Voice
An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Hutts Aston
Feathers: Not Just for Flying by Melissa Stewart
How Rude! 10 Real Bugs Who Won’t Mind Their Manners by Heather Montgomery
--http://hotandthinkertools.wikispaces.com
--Compare subject to something very similar or different
--Write a sentence for each of a variety of photos with different moods/tones.
Playing with Voice
An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Hutts Aston
Feathers: Not Just for Flying by Melissa Stewart
How Rude! 10 Real Bugs Who Won’t Mind Their Manners by Heather Montgomery
How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Twenty-first Century Nonfiction Conference: Nonfiction that Flies Off Shelves
An
Author’s Point of View: Elements of NF with Commercial Appeal
If YES Ã How did it sell?
POOR Ã Why?
·
High-interest
topic
·
Entertaining
voice
·
Fun
stuff—jokes, factoids, interactive
·
Eye-catching,
modern-looking design
Voice in Nonfiction
Writing
Design in Nonfiction
Books
Is
There a Market for My Book Idea?
1. Has a similar book been done before?
If YES Ã How did it sell?
POOR Ã Why?
STRONG
à How will
mine be different?
If NO Ã Is there a marketing limitation?
2. Who will buy my book?
3. Where will my book be sold?
Friday, June 12, 2015
21st Century Nonfiction Conference: The Nonfiction Triumvirate Handout
Nonfiction Categories
Braided narrative
Amelia Lost by Candace Fleming
Life
Story
The Boy Who
Loved Math
by Deborah Heiligman
Brave Girl by Michelle Markle
Brown Girl
Dreaming by
Jacqueline Woodson
El Deafo by Cece Bell
The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming
Lives of the Presidents (and What the Neighbors Thought) by Kathleen Krull
Separate Is Never Equal by Duncan Tonatium
The Right Word by Jen Bryant
Survey
Book
Eyewitness Books
The Horrible, Miserable Middle Ages by Kathy Allen
Lightning by Seymour Simon
National Geographic Readers
Spiders by Nic Bishop
Why’d They
Wear That? by
Sarah Albee
Specialized
Nonfiction
Chasing Cheetahs by Sy Montgomery
Handle with Care by Loree Griffin Burns
Feathers: Not Just for Flying by Melissa Stewart
Meadowlands: A Wetlands
Survival Story by
Tom Yezerski
Sniffer Dogs by Nancy Castaldo
Sugar Changed the World by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos
The Port Chicago 50 by Steve Sheinkin
Concept
Book
Actual Size by Steve Jenkins
Just a Second by Steve Jenkins
Lifetime by Lola Schaefer
Mysterious Patterns: Finding Fractals in Nature by Sarah C. Campbell
No Monkeys, No
Chocolate
by Melissa Stewart
A Place for Butterflies by Melissa Stewart
Seeing Symmetry by Loreen Leedy
A Star in My Orange by Dana Meachen Rau
Trout Are Made of Trees by April Pulley Sayre
-------------------------------------------------------------
Writing Styles
Writing Styles
Expository
Facts Plus
A Black Hole
Is Not a Hole by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano
Born to Be Giants: How Baby Dinosaurs
Grew to Rule the World by Lita Judge
Bugged: How Insects Changed History by Sarah Albee
Eye to Eye by Steve Jenkins
Feathers: Not Just for
Flying by Melissa
Stewart
Tiny
Creatures: The World of Microbes by Nicola Davies
Fast Facts
Animal Grossapedia
by Melissa
Stewart
Eyewitness Books
Guinness Book
of World Records
Time for Kids Big
Book of Why
Narrative
Plot
Ballet for Martha by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan
Bomb by Steve Sheinkin
Buried Alive by Elaine Scott
The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris Barton
The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming
When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan
Cycle
Beneath the Sun by Melissa Stewart
A Drop of Water by Gordon Morrison
Frog in a Bog by John Himmelman
Red-Eyed Tree Frog by Joy Cowley
Redwoods by Jason Chin (due to the art)
Vulture View by April Pulley Sayre
-------------------------------------------------------------
Common Text Structures
Common Text Structures
Description/Explanation
A Black Hole
Is Not a Hole by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano
The Beetle Book by Steve Jenkins
Creep and
Flutter by
Jim Arnosky
Dolphins! by Melissa Stewart
Frogs
by Nic Bishop
Lightship by Brian Floca
Tiny
Creatures: The World of Microbes by Nicola Davies
What
to Expect When You’re Expecting Larvae: A Guide for Insect Parents (and Curious
Kids) by
Bridget Heos
Sequence
Chronological narrative
Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet
The
Boy Who Loved Math by Deborah
Heiligman
Buried Alive by
Elaine Scott
The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris Barton
Noah Webster & His
Words by Jeri Chase
Ferris
Planting the Trees of Kenya: The
Story of Wangari Maathai by
Claire A. Nivola
Pop: The Invention of Bubble Gum by Megan McCarthy
The Secret World of Walter Anderson by Hester
Bass
What to Do About Alice? by Barbara Kerley
Episodic narrative
Ballet for Martha by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan
Brave Girl by Michelle Markel
When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan
Braided narrative
Amelia Lost by Candace Fleming
Bomb by Steve Sheinkin
The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming
Titanic: Voices from the Disaster by Deborah
Hopkinson
We’ve Got a Job by Cynthia Levinson
Journey narrative
If Stones Could Speak by Marc Aronson
Lost Treasure of the
Inca by Peter Lourie
Quest for the Tree
Kangaroo by Sy
Montgomery
Saving the Ghost of the
Mountain by Sy
Montgomery
Cycle narrative
A Drop of Water by Gordon Morrison
Frog in a Bog by John Himmelman
Red-Eyed Tree Frog by Joy Cowley
Redwoods by Jason Chin (due to the art)
Beneath the Sun by Melissa Stewart
Vulture View by April Pulley Sayre
Chronological expository
Bugged: How Insects Changed History by Sarah Albee
Poop Happened!: A History of the World
from the Bottom Up by Sarah Albee
Why'd They Wear That?: Fashion as the
Mirror of History by Sarah Albee
Cumulative expository
Here Is the Tropical
Rain Forest by
Madeleine Dunphy
No Monkeys, No
Chocolate by Melissa
Stewart
Older Than the Stars by Karen C. Fox
How-to expository
Dessert Designers: Creations You Can
Make and Eat by Dana
Meachen Rau
How to Swallow a Pig by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
The Klutz Book of Paper Airplanes by Doug Stillinger
Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes by Josie Fison and Felicity Dahl
Try This! 50 Fun Experiments for the
Mad Scientist in You
by Karen Romano Young
Compare & Contrast
Dueling spreads
Frog or
Toad? How Do You Know? by Melissa Stewart
Mosquito Bite by Alexandra Siy
Neo Leo by Gene Barretta
Those Rebels, Tom &
John by Barbara
Kerley
List book
Born in the Wild by Lita Judge
Born to Be Giants: How Baby Dinosaurs
Grew to Rule the World by Lita Judge
Eye to Eye by Steve Jenkins
Feathers: Not Just for
Flying by Melissa
Stewart
Move by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
My First Day by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
Just One Bite by Lola Schaefer
Q & A Books
Bone
by Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons by Sarah Levine
Good Question series
(Sterling)
Creature Features by Steve Jenkins
& Robin Page
Hatch! by Roxie Munro
Hello Bumblebee Bat by Darrin Lunde
Scholastic Question & Answer series
What Do You Do with a
Tail Like This? by
Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
Cause & Effect
Earth: Feeling
the Heat by Brenda Z. Guiberson
Frog in a Bog by John Himmelman
A Place for
Butterflies by Melissa Stewart
When Rain Falls by Melissa Stewart
-------------------------------------------------------------
Mixing & Matching
Mixing & Matching
If you’re writing a Life
Story . . .
- Probably sequence (chronological) structure
- Narrative writing style
If you’re writing a Survey
Book . . .
- Description/explanation, sequence, Q & A
- Expository writing style
If you’re writing Specialized
Nonfiction . . .
- Probably sequence, compare & contrast
- Narrative or expository writing style
If you’re writing a Concept Book . . .
- Sequence, compare & contrast, Q & A, cause
& effect, problem—solution, or invent your own
- Probably expository writing style
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Behind the Books: Hurricane Watch
I’ve been a big fan of HarperCollins’s
Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out series for years. Launched in 1960 by author Franklyn
Branley and educator Roma Gans, the series changed the way people thought about
merging the worlds of science and literature.
Today, fifty-five years later, LRFO books are
still going strong. And I’m delighted to become an author for the venerable
series.
Hurricane
Watch,
published yesterday, is a survey book with a sequence text structure and an expository writing style. It takes young explorers on a journey through the
stages of the super storm’s formation and gives them a front row seat to what
happens when the hurricane hits land. The book also explains how people can
prepare for and stay safe during the storms.
Many researchers think that climate change
will lead to more severe storms, including hurricanes, so this book would be a
great addition to your collection.
Monday, June 8, 2015
Teaching Science with Kidlit: Best Books
Looking for some great science books to add to your collection?
The American Association for the Advancement of Science has an excellent review journal called Science Books & Films, and each year they create a list of what they consider to be the best titles for children, teens, and adults.
Here are there picks for 2014. Adult titles are listed first, so scroll down to find recommended books for children.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science has an excellent review journal called Science Books & Films, and each year they create a list of what they consider to be the best titles for children, teens, and adults.
Here are there picks for 2014. Adult titles are listed first, so scroll down to find recommended books for children.
Friday, June 5, 2015
Fan-mail Friday
Over the summer, I decided it would be fun to look back through all the mail kids sent me during the 2014-2015 school year. I've picked out some of my favorites and will be posting one every Friday. They truly are inspiring.
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Behind the Books: Editing vs. Proofreading
When I visit
schools, I often encounter a disconnect between the way professional writers
use the word “editing” and how students have been taught to use it. In many
schools, editing = checking one’s own manuscript for proper use of conventions
such as spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
In a school setting, the teacher is the primary editor. The teacher-editor guides the writer by asking questions and making specific, gentle suggestions that will help the writer improve the manuscript . Then the writer uses those comments as he/she revises.
That’s
not how professional writers or people who work at publishing companies use the
term. For us, editing involves reading a manuscript written by someone else and
providing feedback. The person who does this job is called an editor.
Many
schools include “buddy editing” or “peer editing” as a step in the writing
process. This is the proper way to use the word “editing” as long as the
student reader is providing substantial feedback (not just checking conventions).
In a school setting, the teacher is the primary editor. The teacher-editor guides the writer by asking questions and making specific, gentle suggestions that will help the writer improve the manuscript . Then the writer uses those comments as he/she revises.
Professional
writers rely on proofreaders employed by their publishing company to check conventions.
This is a tiny little step at the very end of the process, just before the
manuscript goes to the printer.
As educators
work to emulate the professional writing process with their students, I hope
that they will modify the way they use the term “editing” and introduce the
term “proofreading” to describe the final step of the writing process.
Monday, June 1, 2015
The Science-Literacy Connection
Writing Perfect Pairs: Using Fiction & Nonfiction Picture Books to Teach Life Sciences, K-2 made me see more strongly than ever that there is a deep and critical connection between science and language arts instruction, so I was delighted to see this quotation from Bill Badders, Past President of the National Science Teachers Association, citing a recent study:
"Scientists spend 60-70 percent of their time reading, writing, and communicating. Literacy is an authentic part of science."
"Scientists spend 60-70 percent of their time reading, writing, and communicating. Literacy is an authentic part of science."
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