Why Link Steam and Literacy Funny
7 Benefits of Adding a Read Aloud to Your STEM Challenge
The following is a guest post from Dr. Jacie Maslyk.
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I remember reading Chris Van Dusen's If I Built a Car to my two young sons. They were mesmerized at the crazy and unique possibilities shared in the book… a snack bar, a swimming pool, a robot driver. I could see the wheels in my older son's head as he pondered all of the things that he would want in the car of his dreams. Before we even finished reading it, he asked, "Mom, can we make our own car?" It is this kind of excitement and curiosity about design and invention that I believe we need to amplify, both in our schools and our homes.
My sons are curious thinkers by nature. They wonder about what is possible and use their imaginations in different ways. Whether they are building with Legos or playing with action figures, they are doing it creatively. When they read a story, they imagine what they might be able to design or do.
When you can captivate students by the possibility of something new and imaginative, it can easily lead to opportunities for learning in STEM, design, and making. This can happen by adding read alouds to your STEM challenges (and vice versa, when you extend a read aloud and give learners the chance to design and create in response to stories). Here are some of the benefits of this approach:
1.) Connects Content
Stories are a way to connect content across disciplines. It's within books that students can see how math is within art and how technology can improve science. Through the books that you share with students, you can introduce new content, expand upon ideas, and extend learning in meaningful ways.
2.) Builds Literacy Skills
You can also build literacy skills within STEM subjects by adding reading and writing components to your existing challenges. As you read aloud to students, you are building listening comprehension and vocabulary skills. Tying in STEM challenges with children's literature selections offers additional opportunities to reinforce literacy skills. You can reinforce concepts like story elements, character traits, author's purpose, and compare/contrast, etc. Despite teaching math, science, technology, or some other subject area, you can bolster literacy skills across many subject areas, creating a love of reading and an interest in the ways that books can open our minds to new ideas.
3.) Provides Context
Read alouds can provide a context for the STEM work that students are engaging in. A few years back, I observed a classroom lesson where 3rd grade students were learning about some physics concepts--lift, force, etc. The teacher tied this learning to the science behind amusement park rides. She did a great job setting the stage with a video and some images from our local amusement park, which created a personal connection for many of the students. One piece of feedback that I shared with the teacher was a list of potential books (Mr. Ferris and His Wheel is a great one!) that could be used to support this learning. Whether through a teacher read aloud or a classroom resource, incorporating books along with your STEM challenges can provide context for new learning.
4.) Sparks Creativity
When you connect books to hands-on STEM challenges you offer students the opportunity to get creative. They can think outside the box and create imaginative solutions to challenges. Sometimes this is just the type of learning that students need, especially during a time of hybrid/remote learning. It may also be the opportunity that a student with social-emotional needs or those who struggle academically can embrace. Sharing an opportunity that leads to a creative outlet can help to refocus students and re-energize them in their learning.
Engineering different solutions is a way for students to tinker with materials and try new things. They can explore different designs and think creatively about what they already know in science, technology, engineering, and math. Sparking student creativity can happen naturally when we share a good book and provide the time and space to create.
5.) Builds Empathy
Connecting what students are reading with something they can physically create is a strategy that strengthens student learning, not only in literacy but also in problem-solving, creativity, and building empathy. Stories convey the relationships between connecting with others and designing with empathy in mind. They can also be the foundation for nurturing critical personal skills like perseverance and flexible thinking. By connecting engineering to read alouds students must think about the problems the characters in the story are facing and design with them in mind.
6.) Promotes More Reading
You may have reluctant readers in your classroom. When you select STEM read aloud books, you can choose stories that will pull students in and capture their interest. A student may enjoy a particular topic or connect with a specific author which may lead them to read more books on their own. Also, by making read alouds a priority, you are modeling for students the importance of reading daily. By incorporating hands-on challenges with the stories, students may be more apt to continue reading on their own when they discover engineering challenges and other maker education activities that can connect to quality children's literature.
7.) It's Fun!
Whether face-to-face or virtual, students enjoy STEM read alouds and the challenges that go with them. They have fun tinkering with materials and trying to solve problems in hands-on ways. You can provide opportunities for learners to get excited about what they are learning. By incorporating quality children's literature and pairing it with creative challenges, you can build on the knowledge and skills of your students in a way that is imaginative and fun.
As a former reading specialist, I adore children's books and seek out opportunities to connect them to creativity in different ways. Take a look at my book Remaking Literacy for more opportunities to connect literacy and hands-on learning.
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