Too often science takes a back seat to language arts and/or reading in the elementary curriculum. To alleviate this problem and to make teaching more enjoyable for both the teacher and the children, science and reading can be integrated through the use of children’s literature books and associated science activities. Children will begin to see that science is not an isolated subject but can be found all around us. Promote your students’ enthusiasm and understanding of scientific concepts by integrating children’s literature into hands-on, inquiry based experiments and activities. This workshop will demonstrate the seamless blend of “story time” and science. Participants will leave with a bibliography of suggested titles and will be able to participate in many activities.

1. STORY STARTS TO SCIENCE:
USING CHILDREN’S LITERATURE TO ENHANCE
YOUR SCIENCE CURRICULUM
Jennifer C. Williams
Lower School Science Coordinator – Isidore Newman School
JenniferWilliams@Newmanschool.org
NSTA Conference 2015
If You Decide to Go to the Moon
By Faith McNulty
 Experiment / Activity:
 Can you build a rocket to make it to the moon? No, really just 15 feet!
 Creating your rocket and launch pad
 For the rocket pattern go to Jet Propulsion Lab’s website -
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/images/pdf/sodastrawrocket.pdf
 Carefully cut out the rectangle. This will be the body tube of the rocket.
 Tape the edge of the rectangle to the skinny straw. Leave ½ inch of the rectangle hanging off the top of the straw
to create a nose cone.
 Wrap the rectangle around a wide straw length-wise and tape the rectangle so that it forms a tube.
 Twist the top of the body tube into a nose cone.
 Measure your nose cone from its base to its tip and record the length on your Data Log and on the rocket itself.
 Carefully cut out the two fin units.
 Line up the rectangle on one unit with the bottom of the rocket body. Tape it on. Nothing should stick out past the
body tube!
 Line up the second fin pattern and tape it to the opposite side of the tube.
 Bend the one fin on each of the fin patterns 90 degrees so that each fin is at a right angle to its neighbor. When
you look along the back of the rocket, the fins should form a “+” mark.
 Put rocket aside as you construct the launch pad of the rocket using the plastic bottle.
 Create a ball of clay and flatten the ball into the pancake.

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 Place the “pancake” of clay over the mouth of the plastic water or soda bottle. Make sure to form a clay seal over
the bottle’s mouth.
 Using a sharpened pencil, create a small hole in the center of the clay seal .
 Slide a wide straw through the hole in the clay. Make sure the straw is not plugged with clay.
 Put half the straw into the bottle and half sticking above the clay. Wrap clay around the straw just above the clay
to create an air-tight seal.
 Slide the skinny straw rocket onto the wide straw launch pad.
 Squeeze the bottle to launch the rocket as a test flight to make sure the system works.
 Measure the distance flown on three flights and write the measurements on your lab sheet.
 Once students have recorded and analyze their data, ask students to “improve” their rocket design by making one
change to the rocket.
Soda Straw Rocket Data Report
Rocket
Number
Nose Cone
Length
Distance
in Trial 1
Distance
in Trial 2
Distance
in Trial 3
Test #1:
Control
Test #2
Test #3
 Literacy Connection:
 Creative Journal Writing: Make list of what you would pack to take with you to the moon?
 Keep a journal of your three day journey to the moon? What will you see and how will you feel as you travel far
from Earth?

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Bartholomew and the Oobleck
By Dr. Seuss
 Experiment / Activity:
Will all forms of oobleck fall the same way?
 Literacy Connections:
 Creative Journal Writing: If you were king, what would you ask the royal
magicians to create?
 Formulate and write a new recipe for Oobleck with varied proportions of ingredients. This is a great way
to teach dependent variables.
 Oobleck recipes-
1. 15mL glue, no water, 2 drops food coloring, 10mL sodium borate solution
2. 15mL glue, 7.5mL water, 2 drops food coloring, 10mL sodium borate solution
3. 15mL glue, 15 mL water, 2 drops of coloring,10mL sodium borate solution
 Test your oobleck’s ability to ….
 Bounce
 Keep shape as a ball
 Stretch slowly
 Stretch quickly
 Pick up news print
 Keep an impression
 Stick to a surface
What’s Smaller Than a Pygmy Shrew
By Robert E. Wells
 Experiment / Activity:
 Lets create and eat the “edible atom!”
 Literacy Connection:
 Creative Journal Writing: “What Is An Atom?”
 Describe and compare atoms to molecules in the form of a comic
book or comic strip
 Creating the carbon atom’s nucleus

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 Tear off a piece of plastic wrap that is 10” x 10” and lay flat on a
table.
 Place six green grapes or gumdrops (neutrons) and six red grapes or
gumdrops (protons) on the plastic.
 Gather together the ends of the plastic wrap into a pouch shape and
twist until snug.
 Cut off the plastic wrap tail and tape down.
 Adding the electrons to the carbon atom
 Stick six toothpicks into the “nucleus” of the model so it makes a circular pattern
 Add one mini marshmallow to each toothpick to represent an electron.
 Extra Activity: Create other atoms from the Periodic Table to help students visualize the atomic structure for
different elements.
Wizzil
By William Steig
 Experiment / Activity:
 What causes Wizzil’s mysterious glove to grow?
 Which of Wizzil’s canisters pops its lid the fastest?
 Literacy Connection:
 Journal Entry - Wizzil decides to turn herself into a glove. If you could
turn into anything, what you turn into and why?
 Create R - A - F – T
R = Role = Alka-Seltzer Tablet
A = Audience = Film canister
F = Format = Comic strip or letter
T = Topic = What happens when we meet.
 What causes Wizzil’s canister to pop its top?
 Use Fuji film canisters for this experiment.

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 Pour 15mL of water into the canister.
 Drop a whole Alka-Seltzer tablet into the canister and cap it.
 Move back 3 steps.
 Using a stopwatch compare the reaction times.
 Repeat experiment changing the temperature of the liquids – ice
water/tap water/hot water
 Extension – Allow students to change one variable; such as, the amount of Alka-Sletzer (half tablet, two tablets, or crushed
tablets) or try other liquids (vinegar, soda, sparkling water). Compare results.
Strega Nona
By Tomie dePaola
 Experiment / Activity:
How to make your pasta dance?
 Literacy Connections:
 Creative writing: Developing a potion to say over your magical pasta pot.
 Sequencing of events in the pasta making.
 How to make your pasta dance?
 Fill cup ¾ full of warm water.
 Add three tablespoons of vinegar to the cup.
 Add 1 tablespoon of baking soda.
 Break pasta into 1 to 3 cm pieces
 Add a few pieces to the cup and watch them dance!
 Add additional baking soda 1 teaspoon at a time if pasta does not dance
Extension – Change pasta to raisins or dried cranberries. Allow students to select items and weigh them before adding them to the
“magic pot.” Allow students to look for patterns in the weight of objects that “dance” versus objects that do not “dance.”

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A Mealworm’s Life
By John Himmelman
 Experiment / Activity:
 Oh My Baby Beetle! or How does a mealworm change as it
grows?
 Literacy Connections:
 Keep a mealworm baby book that documents each stage of the mealworm’s life cycle from pupa to adult. See
examples on right
 Setting Up Your Mealworm Nursery:
 Explain to students that they will be adopting a baby mealworm that they must care for and watch.
 Pass out materials students…
 Mealworms
 Oatmeal and or a grain base cereal
 Disposable plastic storage containers with lids
 Carrots and or pieces of fresh fruit
 Ruler and digital scale
 Pushpins
 Have students fill plastic cup with oats and push holes in lid to create a “nursery.” Add a small piece of carrot.
 Have students select “twin” mealworms.
 Have students name, measure the length and weigh each worm. Mark this data in the mealworm baby book.
 Observe mealworms every 2 days. Each week document changes.
 Extension – Continue to keep your mealworm “baby book” through metamorphosis allowing students to document each
change. Send the “baby books” home upon completion of the unit. Keep all mealworms in the classroom so students can
continue to monitor the life cycle of darkling beetles. Check with your local cooperative extension office to see if the
beetles can be released in your area.

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The Very Hungry Caterpillar
By Eric Carle
 Experiment / Activity:
 How does the very hungry caterpillar protect
himself?
 Literacy Connections:
 Diagram the life cycle of a butterfly, from egg to
butterfly.
 Write an A-B-C poem titled “If I were a caterpillar, I would eat.…”
 Activity - How Does The Very Hungry Caterpillar Protect Himself?
 Explain camouflage and its purpose to animal survival.
 Pass out materials students will need to create their own butterfly paper.
 Have students trace 2 to 5 colored butterflies on construction paper.
 Cut out the colored butterflies and glue them onto a page from the classified section of the newspaper.
 Using another sheet of the classified section, trace and cut out 5 to 8 newspaper butterflies.
 Glue them onto the same sheet of newspaper as the colored butterflies. Make sure they are located in areas with
similar print style.
Diary of a Worm
By Doreen Cronin
 Experiment / Activity:
 Is this a wormy environment?
 Literacy Connections:
 Keep a class diary of a worm.
 Write an entry for each day that you experiment with your worm.
Tell how the worms look, feel, and react to different environment.
 Write a “worm CINQUAIN poem” that demonstrates your knowledge of worms and their behaviors.
 Worm Environment Activities:
 Wiggly Workers in the Light - Create a happy home for worms and observe their behavior in the comfort of your
own home. Divide a shoe box in half. Make one side light full and other dark. See which environment they prefer.
 Worm Condo -Watch worms living together and find out how they interact when you build a worm condo. Learn
how to create a happy home for worms. Try wet versus dry environments.

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 Worm Food - How much does a worm eat? Find out when you participate in this fascinating worm activity. Leave
food out for worms and watch what happens. Try foods like apples, dried leaves, pieces of grass, grapes. Leave in a
environment for 24 hours and observe which food is eaten the most.
My Many Colored Days
By Dr. Seuss
 Experiment / Activity:
Are there colors inside my colors?
 Literacy Connections:
Write a diamante poem for each primary or secondary color. In the poem
express the moods created by that color. Draw a colorful illustration for
each poem. Example:
Green
fresh clean
growing blooming dreaming
surprisingly happily
Green
Experimenting With Color (Chromatography):
Activity 1: Coffee filter chromatography
 1. Cut a coffee filter into 2 inch strips.
 2. Using “washable markers”, draw a thin line across the top of the strip.
 Using a pipette begin to drop water onto the strip.
 Observe how the color begins to “bleeds” down the filter showing which pigments were used to create it.
 Allow to dry and laminate it.
 Have students compare different brands of markers to observe if companies have the recipe for black, brown,
purple, etc.
Activity 2: T-shirt chromatography
 Give each child a clean cotton T-shirt.
 Give each child a plastic cup and rubber band.
 Stretch a section of the shirt over the mouth of the cup.
 Secure the section by placing the rubber band around the cup.
 Using Sharpie markers, have students create dots of color on the cotton. Leave about 3cm of space between
each dot.
 Give each table a spray bottle filled with rubbing alcohol.
 Squeeze the bottle over the area 15 to 25 times and have students observe how the colors begin to bleed.
 Allow the area to air dry before moving the cup. This prevents the ink from spreading further.

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Steals & Deals for Your Classroom Library
 Shop at your local dollar store – it’s CHEAP and you’d be amazed at the things you’ll
find!
 Amazon.com and bn.com (Barnes and Noble) sell used books at amazingly discounted
rates – much lower than the publisher’s price. Another perk is that the books are
available in “new” condition from most sellers.
 Barnes and Noble provide teachers with a 20% in-store discount on all school-related
purchases. Be sure to sign up for your card at the beginning of each school year.
 When students are finished with the experiment, have them “restock” the “bargain
bags” with necessary supplies. Organize your “bargain bag” experiments in plastic or
cardboard shoe boxes labeled with the name of the experiment. Pull it off of the shelf
when it’s needed.
 Bribery can be a great thing!! At the end of each year, I purchase special “big” treats for a supply exchange. In exchange for
the treat the children donate their “gently used” to the class supply box. “Big” treat can be anything from full-sized candy
bars from COSTCO / SAM’s warehouse to glittery pencils from the dollar store.
 If you don’t receive the Oriental Trading catalog, do yourself a favor and have it mailed to you. They sell anything from
classroom prizes and candy to costumes and school supplies, all of which are sold at amazing prices that fit a teacher’s
limited budget.
Story Starts to Science Additional Resources:
CHEMISTRY
 Gibbons, Gail. Puff, Flash, Bang. Morrow. 1993.
 Spier, Peter. Crash Bang Boom. Doubleday. 1972.
 Hulme, Joy. Bubble Trouble. Children’s Press. 1999
WEATHER
 Zolotow, Charlotte. The Storm Book. Margaret Bloy Graham, illus. Harper Collins. 1988.
 Van Allsburg, Chris. The Stranger. Houghton Mifflin. 1986
 Polacco, Patricia. Thunder Cake. Putnam and Grosset. 1997.
 Carle, Eric. Little Cloud. Putnam. 1998.
 DeWitt, Lynda. What Will the Weather Be?
 Branley, Franklyn. Flash, Crash, Rumble, and Roll. True Kelley, illus. Harper Collins. 1999.
 Stolz, Mary. Storm in the Night. Pat Cummings, illus. Harper Collins. 1988.
PLANTS and GARDENING
 Stevenson, James. Grandpa’s Too-Good Garden. Greenwillow. 1995.
 Ehlert, Lois. Planting a Rainbow. Harcourt Brace. 1988.
 Pattou, Edith. Mrs. Spritzer’s Garden. Tricia Tusa, illus. Harcourt. 2001
 Heller, Ruth. Reason for a Flower. Penguin. 1983
 Ehlert, Lois. Growing Vegetable Soup. Harcourt Brace. 1987.
 Lobel, Anita. Allison’s Zinnia. Greenwillow. 1990.
COLOR and LIGHT
 Carle, Eric. Mixed Up Chameleon. Philomel. 1988.
 Frost, Helen. Butterfly Colors. Capstone. 2000
 Kirkpatrick, Rena. Look at Rainbow Colors. Anne Barnard, illus. Raintree Steck-Vaughn. 1978.
 Boynton, Sandra. Blue Hat, Green Hat. Simon and Schuster. 1984
 Ehlert, Lois. Planting a Rainbow. Harcourt Brace. 1988.

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 DePaola. Tomie. The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush. Putnam. 1988.
 Crews, Donald. Light. Greenwillow. 1981
 Boone, Debby. Nightlights. Joan Bransfield Graham, Illus. Houghton Mifflin. 1997.
 Branley, Franklyn. Day Light, Night Light. Stacey Schuette, illus. Harper Collins. 1988.
 Bulla, Clyde Robert. What Makes a Shadow? June Otani, illus. Harper Collins. 1999.
INSECTS
 McDonald, Megan. Insects are My Life. Paul Brett Johnson, illus. Orchard. 1995
 Carle, Eric. The Very Grouchy Ladybug. Philomel, 1986.
 Frost, Helen. Butterfly Eggs. Children’s Press. 1999.
 Sandved, Kjell. The Butterfly Alphabet. Scholastic. 1999.
 Herberman, Ethan. The Great Butterfly Hunt. Simon and Schuster.
 Carle, Eric. The Very Lonely Firefly. Penguin. 1999.
SPACE and SPACE EXPLORATION
 O’Brien, Patrick. You Are the First Kid on Mars . G.P. Putnam's Sons. 2009
 McCarthy, Meaghan. Astronaut Handbook. Knopf Books for Young Readers. 2008.
 Floca, Brain. Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11. Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books. 2009
 Rusch, Elizabeth. The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity. HMH Books. 2012.
Thank You For Attending
 For more information about these activities and more, visit my website at:
http://storystartstoscience.googlepages.com
 Have questions or comments? E-mail me at
JenniferWilliams@Newmanschool.org
 Many of today’s activities and more can be found in my book:
Oobleck, Slime, and Dancing Spaghetti
By Jennifer Williams
Published by Bright Sky Press
Found at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble