Literature Connections
- STEM fiction helps promote cross-curricular collaboration more emphasis on STEM studies has more language arts teachers working to integrate compatible nonfiction. But what about fiction? Novels with STEM themes let students make an emotional connection to characters, while also learning science, technology, engineering and math concepts.
- How to Teach STEM Through A Story
- 7 Ways to Inject Math in Reading Classrooms
- FREE STEM Publication for Elementary Students
SIGNAL Kids is a magazine for students aged 8 through 12, offering them career ideas, as well as age-appropriate stories, games, and fun facts with a focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). - Notable Notebooks: Scientists and Their Writings The book brings to life the many ways in which everyone from Galileo to Jane Goodall has used a science notebook, including to sketch their observations, imagine experiments, record data or just write down their thoughts. You also get four steps to starting your own notebook, plus mini-bios of the diverse featured scientists. Written in captivating rhyme, the text is sprinkled with lively illustrations.
- STEAM and FaIry Tales and other literary genres often present a problem in the plot that needs to be solved. Some STEAM Ideas include:
- Rapunzel – Create an elevator for the tower
- Goldilocks – Engineer a new chair for Baby Bear
- Jack and the Beanstalk – Develop a grabber for the golden egg
- Sleeping Beauty STEAM Challenges
- Fairy Tales or other Lit. Template for student engagement
STEM Read
Numerous K - 12 lessons to connect STEM to literature
Numerous K - 12 lessons to connect STEM to literature
Primary Books
Curriculum Connecting Science Concepts to Language Arts
The K–3 STEM Foundations project is developing NGSS-aligned curriculum units for K–3 students that connect science concepts and guided inquiry activities to reading/language arts, as well as health and wellness. The units are designed for use during class time or after school. Presently materials that relate to life science are available. They include units entitled “Living Things and Their Needs,” “Resources and the Environment,” and “The Senses,” along with related lesson plans, videos, and slide presentations. The materials are free to download and use in the classroom.
🧛🏻♀️STEAM Bookshelf Numerous books that are commonly found in schools. Click on each book cover to access simple challenges and lesson plans.
STEM Read Searchable list and overviews of books from K - 8
Instructional Units Integrating STEM and Literacy Across DisciplinesThe PictureSTEM Project offers three instructional units for K–2 classrooms that use an engineering challenge and picture books as supports for learning science, mathematics, engineering, computational thinking, and reading. These STEM units provide authentic, contextual activities that engage learners in specific content while integrating across traditional disciplinary boundaries. The units are “Designing Paper Baskets” (kindergarten), “Designing Hamster Habitats” (first grade), and “Designing Toy Box Organizers” (second grade). Each unit includes specific book titles and literacy strategies for each accompanying lesson, as well as science, mathematics, and computational thinking connections
Mecahnimals There is an old saying that sums up things pretty well, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." In the case of one particular old farmer, when life gave him a big, windy and horrible tornado that swept everything away, he made mechanimals. When a twister blows through a small farm community it leaves a humongous mess of scrap metal and dust. But, this little farmer is determined to make a master piece out of the left over mess. Youtube Read aloud
How to Catch a Witch A group of trick-or-treaters sets traps to catch a witch, but she outsmarts them each time.
Jack and the Parachute by More Than a Worksheet - fairy tales
A simple STEM engineering project where students make a parachute to help Jack escape the giant.
Book Teaching Science Through Trade Books Great trade books paired with lesson plans for the different ages. Most of the lessons are easy and intriguing and cheap to do with a classroom
Coding Capers: Luci and the Missing Robot is an empowering picture book from the National Center for Youth Issues that inspires children to dream big and harness the power of computer science in their own lives. Students are invited to join the protagonist, Luci, and her friends as they go on an adventure to find a missing robot. In the process, they learn the foundational concepts of coding, the increasing capabilities of technology, and the power of persistence.
Here's a list of over 40 books for children in grades K-5 with a focus on math. Use these as a lesson opener, bridge towards building conversation about concepts, and demonstrating math is and belongs in our every day lives.
Eight Children’s Books to Promote Girl Power in STEM
What to Do With an Idea (gr. K - 2 ) A maker space unit to compliment the book
The Most Magnificent Thing By Ashley SpiresThis is an inspiring story about a girl who has a wonderful idea – she’s going to make the most magnificent thing! She quickly finds out that this is very hard and repeatedly fails – which makes her very frustrated.
This book is a perfect vehicle to address the topics of perseverance and creativity with your students.
Fairy Science By Ashley Spires Esther is a fairy who believes in science rather than magic! Your students will love this book as they follow Esther as she solves the problem of why a forest tree stopped growing.
If I Built a School Chris Van DusenJack fantasizes about what his dream school would be like – and the sky is literally the limit. There is a series of If I built books If I Built a Car, If I Built a House
The Thing Lou Couldn’t Do By Ashley Spires This is a book for a class discussion on how to face a difficult situation or fear head oYour students will learn alongside of Lou, that once a fear is faced, they will be empowered, even if they fail.
Perfect Square by Michael Hall, an ordinary square of construction paper is transformed into beautiful objects such as a fountain, mountains, and a river. The square is changed by tearing, folding, cutting, and rearranging shapes and pieces in a variety of ways, and at the end transforms into a window that overlooks all of the creations. This book is an instant spark for divergent thinking as students apply extraordinary possibilities to ordinary shapes and objects. It is also a great way to discuss composing and rearranging 2D and 3D shapes and patterns in many different ways. After reading and discussing this book, I like to give out sets of tangram blocks to my students to see how many designs they can come up with.Have students create an original “Square Sculpture” out of one square of construction paper. Teach them a variety of paper sculpture techniques such as slots/tabs, 3D shapes, symmetry, and prop-ups to apply to their designs. The full components for this challenge are found in our September Storybook STEM
What to do with a Box by Jane Yolen and Chris Sheban, a child lets his imagination run wild with amazingly creative box creations that serve a variety of playful purposes.
STEM Teaching Through Literature Features ready-to-teach elementary science lessons designed to help K-5 teachers integrate science and reading in an engaging, kid-friendly way. They provide easy-to-grasp background in Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Sciences, and Engineering Practices. Step-by-step teaching notes, student pages, internet resources, assessments, suggestions for further inquiry, and more books to read are also included.
I Wanna New Room features a boy who desperately wants to be separated from his little brother and have a room of his own. His wild and crazy proposals to his parents about why he deserves his own space, paired with the outlandish features of the room of his dreams,
Beauty and the Beak, (gr. K - 5) possibly the first true wildlife rescue story in which engineering plays a prominent role. Deborah Lee Rose and coauthor Janie Veltkamp, a raptor biologist who led the rescue effort, trace the journey of Beauty, an eagle whose top beak has been shot off by a poacher, from her early life in the Alaskan wilds to her arrival at Veltkamp’s Birds of Prey Northwest center in Idaho to being outfitted with a 3-D printed prosthetic — with the help of a mechanical engineer, veterinarian, and dentist. Veltkamp reads the book aloud on this YouTube video.]To accompany the book, which won the national American Association for the Advancement of Science /Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books, there is a free, downloadable education guide
One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia Miranda Paul - Isatou Ceesay was that change. She found a way to recycle the bags and transform her community. This inspirational true story shows how one person's actions really can make a difference in our world.
Novel Engineering: is an innovative approach to integrate engineering and literacy in elementary and middle school. Students use existing classroom literature – stories, novels, and expository texts – as the basis for engineering design challenges that help them identify problems, design realistic solutions, and engage in the Engineering Design Process while reinforcing their literacy skills.
Picture Books and Books for young readers
The K–3 STEM Foundations project is developing NGSS-aligned curriculum units for K–3 students that connect science concepts and guided inquiry activities to reading/language arts, as well as health and wellness. The units are designed for use during class time or after school. Presently materials that relate to life science are available. They include units entitled “Living Things and Their Needs,” “Resources and the Environment,” and “The Senses,” along with related lesson plans, videos, and slide presentations. The materials are free to download and use in the classroom.
🧛🏻♀️STEAM Bookshelf Numerous books that are commonly found in schools. Click on each book cover to access simple challenges and lesson plans.
STEM Read Searchable list and overviews of books from K - 8
Instructional Units Integrating STEM and Literacy Across DisciplinesThe PictureSTEM Project offers three instructional units for K–2 classrooms that use an engineering challenge and picture books as supports for learning science, mathematics, engineering, computational thinking, and reading. These STEM units provide authentic, contextual activities that engage learners in specific content while integrating across traditional disciplinary boundaries. The units are “Designing Paper Baskets” (kindergarten), “Designing Hamster Habitats” (first grade), and “Designing Toy Box Organizers” (second grade). Each unit includes specific book titles and literacy strategies for each accompanying lesson, as well as science, mathematics, and computational thinking connections
Mecahnimals There is an old saying that sums up things pretty well, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." In the case of one particular old farmer, when life gave him a big, windy and horrible tornado that swept everything away, he made mechanimals. When a twister blows through a small farm community it leaves a humongous mess of scrap metal and dust. But, this little farmer is determined to make a master piece out of the left over mess. Youtube Read aloud
How to Catch a Witch A group of trick-or-treaters sets traps to catch a witch, but she outsmarts them each time.
Jack and the Parachute by More Than a Worksheet - fairy tales
A simple STEM engineering project where students make a parachute to help Jack escape the giant.
Book Teaching Science Through Trade Books Great trade books paired with lesson plans for the different ages. Most of the lessons are easy and intriguing and cheap to do with a classroom
Coding Capers: Luci and the Missing Robot is an empowering picture book from the National Center for Youth Issues that inspires children to dream big and harness the power of computer science in their own lives. Students are invited to join the protagonist, Luci, and her friends as they go on an adventure to find a missing robot. In the process, they learn the foundational concepts of coding, the increasing capabilities of technology, and the power of persistence.
Here's a list of over 40 books for children in grades K-5 with a focus on math. Use these as a lesson opener, bridge towards building conversation about concepts, and demonstrating math is and belongs in our every day lives.
Eight Children’s Books to Promote Girl Power in STEM
What to Do With an Idea (gr. K - 2 ) A maker space unit to compliment the book
The Most Magnificent Thing By Ashley SpiresThis is an inspiring story about a girl who has a wonderful idea – she’s going to make the most magnificent thing! She quickly finds out that this is very hard and repeatedly fails – which makes her very frustrated.
This book is a perfect vehicle to address the topics of perseverance and creativity with your students.
- Add a writing task about magnificent things.
- Robot Dog Challenge
Fairy Science By Ashley Spires Esther is a fairy who believes in science rather than magic! Your students will love this book as they follow Esther as she solves the problem of why a forest tree stopped growing.
If I Built a School Chris Van DusenJack fantasizes about what his dream school would be like – and the sky is literally the limit. There is a series of If I built books If I Built a Car, If I Built a House
The Thing Lou Couldn’t Do By Ashley Spires This is a book for a class discussion on how to face a difficult situation or fear head oYour students will learn alongside of Lou, that once a fear is faced, they will be empowered, even if they fail.
Perfect Square by Michael Hall, an ordinary square of construction paper is transformed into beautiful objects such as a fountain, mountains, and a river. The square is changed by tearing, folding, cutting, and rearranging shapes and pieces in a variety of ways, and at the end transforms into a window that overlooks all of the creations. This book is an instant spark for divergent thinking as students apply extraordinary possibilities to ordinary shapes and objects. It is also a great way to discuss composing and rearranging 2D and 3D shapes and patterns in many different ways. After reading and discussing this book, I like to give out sets of tangram blocks to my students to see how many designs they can come up with.Have students create an original “Square Sculpture” out of one square of construction paper. Teach them a variety of paper sculpture techniques such as slots/tabs, 3D shapes, symmetry, and prop-ups to apply to their designs. The full components for this challenge are found in our September Storybook STEM
What to do with a Box by Jane Yolen and Chris Sheban, a child lets his imagination run wild with amazingly creative box creations that serve a variety of playful purposes.
STEM Teaching Through Literature Features ready-to-teach elementary science lessons designed to help K-5 teachers integrate science and reading in an engaging, kid-friendly way. They provide easy-to-grasp background in Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Sciences, and Engineering Practices. Step-by-step teaching notes, student pages, internet resources, assessments, suggestions for further inquiry, and more books to read are also included.
I Wanna New Room features a boy who desperately wants to be separated from his little brother and have a room of his own. His wild and crazy proposals to his parents about why he deserves his own space, paired with the outlandish features of the room of his dreams,
Beauty and the Beak, (gr. K - 5) possibly the first true wildlife rescue story in which engineering plays a prominent role. Deborah Lee Rose and coauthor Janie Veltkamp, a raptor biologist who led the rescue effort, trace the journey of Beauty, an eagle whose top beak has been shot off by a poacher, from her early life in the Alaskan wilds to her arrival at Veltkamp’s Birds of Prey Northwest center in Idaho to being outfitted with a 3-D printed prosthetic — with the help of a mechanical engineer, veterinarian, and dentist. Veltkamp reads the book aloud on this YouTube video.]To accompany the book, which won the national American Association for the Advancement of Science /Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books, there is a free, downloadable education guide
One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia Miranda Paul - Isatou Ceesay was that change. She found a way to recycle the bags and transform her community. This inspirational true story shows how one person's actions really can make a difference in our world.
Novel Engineering: is an innovative approach to integrate engineering and literacy in elementary and middle school. Students use existing classroom literature – stories, novels, and expository texts – as the basis for engineering design challenges that help them identify problems, design realistic solutions, and engage in the Engineering Design Process while reinforcing their literacy skills.
Picture Books and Books for young readers
- More books and free teacher guides -
- Add more picture books
- Engineering Challenges Through Fairy Tales gr K-5 - fairy tales
- Beautiful Oops! ( K - 3 ) Barney Saltzberg shows young readers how every mistake is an opportunity to make something beautiful.
- Enchanted Engineering gr. K-5 fairy tales
- Literacy Rich STEM Activities K - 2
- Fairytale STEM Challenges gr. K - 2 - fairy tales
- Splat the Cat - Where the Wild Things Are - Music, Music for Everyone scroll down the page to see lessons CHECK LINK and picture book category and music
- Papa's Mechanical Fish l 2.1 l Engineering Design
- That Magnetic Dog l 2.2 l Forces and Interactions
- Zack's Alligator l 2.3 l Structure and Properties of Matter
- Lucas and His Loco Beans: A Bilingual Tale of the Mexican Jumping Bean l 2.8 l Structure, Function, and Information Processing
- Gregory, the Terrible Eater l 2.8 l Forces and Interactions
- The Three Little Pig's Sledding Adventure l 3.0 l Engineering Design
- How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? l 3.2 l Structure, Function, and Information Processing
- Rainbow Fish l 3.3 l Energy
- If I Built a Car l 3.6 l Engineering Design
- Groundhog Weather School l 3.7 l Weather and Climate
- Axle Annie l 3.6 l Structure and Properties of Matter
- Sydney & Simon Full STEAM Ahead l 4.3 l Weather and Climate
- Egg-Drop Blues l 5.3 l Engineering Design
- The Boy Who Drew Birds describes the findings of John James Audubon in his pursuit to understand the disappearance of birds in winter and their return in spring. In the book, John James reads about birds and conducts experiments, which he carefully documents to support his theory that the birds that leave their nests in the winter return in the spring.
- Color Changing Lemonade (inspired by Ada Twist, Scientist) || Left Brain Craft Brain - picture book
- Rainbow Science (inspired by Rainbow of my Own) || Rhythms of Play - picture book
- Izzy's Gizmo Isabelle (Izzy) is a little girl who is never without her tool kit. She loves mending objects or tweaking gadgets to improve them, and she also invents some of her own fabulous creations.
- Snowflake Bentley tells the story of Wilson Bentley, referred to as Willie in the text, whose interest in snowflakes led him to take thousands of photographs using special techniques that he developed over time.
- Rare Treasure describes young Mary Anning's discovery of a remarkable skeleton and other fossils. Because of her work, scientists were better able to understand extinct creatures from long ago.
- Activities featuring "oobleck" (also known as goop, gluep, flubber or slime). The name "oobleck" is borrowed from the Dr. Seuss Caldecott Honor book Oobleck is an inexpensive, easy-to-make, non-Newtonian substance that behaves like a solid and a liquid. In the Planet Oobleck activity, learners not only make and test oobleck with different tools, they also design a spacecraft that could land on an oobleck-covered planet, take a planetary sample, and return to Earth. Learners can compare their designs with others online, and engineer a model spacecraft to test on their oobleck concoction.
- Notable Notebooks: Scientists and Their Writings The book brings to life the many ways in which everyone from Galileo to Jane Goodall has used a science notebook, including to sketch their observations, imagine experiments, record data or just write down their thoughts. You also get four steps to starting your own notebook, plus mini-bios of the diverse featured scientists. Written in captivating rhyme, the text is sprinkled with lively illustrations.
- Mathical Book Prize recognizes outstanding fiction and literary nonfiction related to mathematics for youth aged 2–18. The intent of the prize is to engage youth in the power and beauty of mathematics—to give them confidence to consider and solve arithmetic, spatial, logical, structural, and algebraic problems; to see that math can be employed to better understand and appreciate the wonders of nature and human artistic expression
- Interstellar Cinderella This book is a modern re-telling of Cinderella with a healthy dose of gender neutrality and good messages about not rushing into relationships. Cinderella is a mechanic/engineer in this version and wants nothing more than to arroyo on big, fancy space ships. She's not waiting for her prince to come, she wants a better life of her own hands.
- Keyna’s Art Kenya’s class is on spring vacation and their teacher asked them to write a report about how they spent their time. But vacation is almost over and Kenya hasn't done anything worth noting. A late visit to a museum's recycling exhibit and a walk through her neighborhood with her daddy inspire Kenya to use her old, broken toys and other items to make art with her family. Now she's prepared to teach her whole class how to Recycle! Reuse! Make Art!
- Charlie and Lola: We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers After Charlie convinces Lola to recycle her old toys instead of throwing them away, Lola discovers a recycling competition. If she can recycle one hundred plastic, metal, and paper items, she can get her very own real live tree to plant. But she only has two weeks, so Lola decides to ask her classmates to help. They turn out to be extremely very good recyclers indeed.
- The Day the Crayons Quit ( ages 3 - 6 )a humorous creative way to look at colors
- After the Fall by Dan Santat, Humpty Dumpty learns to overcome his fear of heights and falling by climbing to the top of the wall that he once fell from. He creates a paper airplane bird to launch from the top, however, a surprise twist of events at the very end shows Humpty actually hatching from the egg, becoming a bird himself, and flying beautifully with outstretched wings from the top of the wall.Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is part of the probability lesson in the When Pigs Fly activity. Learners read the book and brainstorm possible and impossible activities—making predictions, recording data and graphing results.
- After the Fall by Dan Santat, Humpty Dumpty learns to overcome his fear of heights and falling by climbing to the top of the wall that he once fell from. He creates a paper airplane bird to launch from the top, however, a surprise twist of events at the very end shows Humpty actually hatching from the egg, becoming a bird himself, and flying beautifully with outstretched wings from the top of the wall.
- Rosie Revere, Engineer (Tinker Station compliments Book) and Iggy Peck, Architect and, Ada Twist, Scientist. It’s the story of little Ada. Like her classmates, builder Iggy and inventor Rosie, scientist Ada, has a boundless imagination and has always been hopelessly curious. Experiment to compliment Ada Twist
- Constellation Sun Prints (inspired by There’s No Place Like Space)|| Figment Creative Labs - non-fiction
- Papa's Mechanical Fish Gr 2-4-This picture book is a fictional account based on events in the life of eccentric inventor Lodner Phillips as told from the perspective of his daughter, Virena. Papa theorizes and tinkers but never succeeds. Finally, while the family is dropping lines from a pier into Lake Michigan, his daughter asks, "have you ever wondered what it's like to be a fish?" Immediately the man dashes back to his workshop and soon produces one of the world's earliest submarines, the Whitefish. Children will delight in the way Virena is the catalyst for her father's successive improvements to his primitive vessel as she continues to ask questions: about how fish move through water, stay dry, and know where they are going.
- STEAM / STEM Challenge (Inspired by Giraffes Can’t Dance) || Preschool Powol Packets - picture book
- The Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco a teacher of misfit kids who teaches her students to believe in themselves. They are called "Junkyard Wonders," and they go to a junkyard to find discarded items to create something new. After reading this book, divide up the class into "tribes," as Mrs. Peterson does in the book. Each tribe is given a baggie full of random items: paper clips, toilet paper rolls, scraps of paper, pipe cleaners, craft sticks, etc. Using only these items (plus scissors and glue), students are asked to create something new.
- Storytime LEGO Building Challenge || Left Brain Craft Brain - picture book
- Rainbow Science (inspired by Rainbow of my Own) merge with the one above gr K - 3
- Not Just Another Princes Story gr. 1 - 4 This swashbuckling tale is brimming with romance, algebra problems and at least one very large pickle. picture book
- Architectural STEM with the 3 Little Pigs (Inspired by The Three Little Pigs : An Architectural Tale || Little Bins for Little Hands - fairy tales
- The Paper Bag Princess (Munsch for Kids) Robert Munsch gr K - 3 creative uses for a paper bag
- Log Pile House Building Challenge (inspired by The Gruffalo) || Inspiration Laboratories - picture book
- Wiggle Pig (Inspired by Robot Army Rampage) || STEAM Powered Family - chapter books and change main title to Robot Army...
- 100 Invitations to Build (Inspired by Iggy Peck, Architect) || Left Brain Craft Brain - link to book above
- Tinkering Station for Young Engineers || Left Brain Craft Brain - take out...move to makerspace?
- Fantasy Structures (Inspired by Iggy Peck, Architect) || Flash Bugs Studio - merge with Iggy Peck
- 10 Math Books and Tools to learn Measurement || Edventures with Kids - math
- Multiplication by 8 Spider Craft (inspired by Charlotte’s Web) || Thriving STEM - math
- Horton Hears a Who is the introduction to nanotechnology in the Horton Senses Something Small activity, where learners look at and smell very small things. - picture book
- Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building, Christy Hale draws beautiful parallels between everyday constructive play and real-world, extraordinary examples of architecture.
- The Giving Tree is the prep for a sensory field trip in the Give or Take activity, where learners examine individual trees for each one's bark, smell, roots, leaves, fruit and animals that live inside or nearby. - picture book
- Kumak's River: A Tale from the Far North by Michael Bania (Gr K-2)
- Minn of the Mississippi by Holling C. Holling (Gr 3-5)
- 11 Experiments That Failed by Jenny Offill and Nancy Carpenter
- 100 Steps for Science: Why it Works and How it Happened by Lisa Jane Gillespie
- Mistakes that Worked by Charlotte Foltz Jones
- Hello Ruby – Adventures in Coding by Linda Liukas
- Crazy Concoctions- A mad Scientist’s Guide to Messy Mixtures by Jordan D. Brown and Dr. Viskus Von Fichleschmutz
- Fantastic Elastic Brain by JoAnn Deak Ph.D.
- How To Code a Sandcastle (Girls Who Code Book) by Josh Funk
- Kristi Grisby’s STEM Girls Books – Sophie and the Airplane, Chelsea Discovers Chemistry, and Zelda the Curious
- Andrea Beaty books – Rosie Revere Engineer*, Ada Twist Scientist, Iggy Peck Architect*
- Goldie Blox books
- Asia Citro’s Zoey and Sassafras series
- Shine-a-light books by Carron Brown
- If I built A Car and If I built a House by Chris Van Dusen
- Bedtime Math Series by Laura Overdeck
- Ada Lace Series by Emily Calandrelli
- Here's a list of over 40 books for children in grades K-5 with a focus on math. Use these as a lesson opener, bridge towards building conversation about concepts, and demonstrating math is and belongs in our every day lives.
- Amazing Animal Engineers By Leon Gray Animals build an amazing array of different types of places to live. Some are in the soil, underwater, or fixed to trees to name just a few.Reading about the vast variety of animal structures and trying to imitate them, can be inspiring for students whether they are using sticks, dirt, cardboard, Legos®
- Anthills By Christopher Forest Anthills is one of an eight book series called Animal Engineers. This series introduces young readers to some of the nature’s most amazing structures. Each book is devoted to one particular animal and the structure they build as well as its effect on the surrounding environment.
- Sticks and Stones A Kid's Guide to Building and Exploring in the Great Outdoors By Melissa Lennig
- You Do The Math series by Hilary Koll and Steve Mills – complete the math exercises to solve a crime, build a skyscraper, or fly a fighter jet.
- Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling (Gr 3-5)
- Rain Drop Splash by Alvin Tresselt (Gr K-2)
- The River: An Epic Journey to the Sea by Patricia Hegarty (Gr K-2)
- Where the River Begins by Thomas Locker (Gr K-2)
- The Best of Bugs: Designing Hand Pollinators, students are faced with a pollination problem: when the right insects aren’t around to pollinate a plant, who does the work? Through the storybook Mariana Becomes a Butterfly, students learn about insects, insect life cycles, pollination, and natural systems. Then, they put their agricultural engineering skills to the test when they are challenged to design and test their own hand pollinators - non-fiction
- Fun with Color Mixing (Inspired by Mix It Up) || Gift of Curiosity - art
- DIY Upcycled Guitar (inspired by Pete the Cat – Rocking in my School Shoes) || Preschool STEAM - picture book and music
- Simple Braille Slate and Stylus (inspired by Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille) || Pink Stripey Socks - non-fiction
- Tops and Bottoms, about a lazy bear and a smart-thinking hare, is the perfect warmup for the Roots and Shoots activity, where learners dig up "mystery" plants to investigate their root structures, and learn about animals found near plant roots and human use of roots. - picture books
- Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty - merge
- What to do with a Problem? video version - picture book
- What do you do with an Idea? video version - picture book
- Sleeping Beauty and Enchanted Engineering lesson plan - fairy tale
- Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building by Christy Hale. Kids at play mirror great feats of engineering around the world. A fantastic book for preschoolers. - non-fiction
- Collection of elementary stem design challenges based children’s Literature - non-fiction? Move up to section above
- The Water Princess K - 4 brings us to a different continent where water is a precious resource that is not easily gotten. - non-fiction
Chapter Books
- Chasing Vermeer (series) by Blue Balliet, illustrated by Brett Helquist. This book is a tour de force! When a painting is stolen, friends Petra and Calder team up to find the thief. The thief leaves a series of clues in the newspaper and challenges the community to become art detectives. If they solve the mystery, he will return the painting. Illustrator Brett Helquist incorporates clues for the reader throughout the book’s illustrations. These clues revolve around pentominoes (a math puzzle).1
- The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure youngster Robert is struggling with dreams of inadequacy, leaving him discouraged and tired each morning. One night the self-proclaimed and eponymous Number Devil invades his dream and begins taking the reluctant student on deeper and deeper adventures through the world of mathematics. While Robert initially despises math and does not see its relevance to real life, in no time he is meeting the Number Devil's challenges and learning both to use logical argumentation and to apply the Number Devil's math tricks and shortcuts to master that most intimidating of school subjects. The lessons include palindromic numbers, prime numbers, fractions, exponents, matricies, algebra and geometry--all without calling them as such (keeping the intimidation factor out.)
- The Man Who Counted: A Collection of Mathematical Adventures This is a book that was written to teach children the concepts of mathematics and logic. It takes the form of a series of short stories about the adventures of Beremiz Samir (the eponymous Man Who COunted) and Hanak Tade Maia in Baghdad. Beremiz solves riddles and problems based upon his skills at counting, mathematics, and logic. The stories are short, told in a wryly amusing style and are interesting enough to keep an adult reading to the end.
- Art & Resistance 2: Black Women Subjects Free from the Gaze by Sher Anderson Petty, IB Literature teacher at Seneca Valley High School (MD), ties a reading of Toni Morrison’s Beloved to artwork of and by black women to explore how the concept of “the gaze” in art and literature can be a system, or part of a system, of oppression.
- STEM Read Searchable list and overviews of books from K - 8
- Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling (Gr 3-5)
- The Maze Runner (6 - 12) STEAM related activities for the book
- Girls Garage is a book geared towards teenage girls with tons of small and large projects they will learn to build. I like that the book covers basics for girls that have never carried lumber to building projects step-by-step. The author writes about empowering young females to make things that are traditionally thought of as “boys only.” A question the author received when writing this was why not write a “boy garage” book as well? She said, “with access to certain spaces has been historically limited for women and, in my opinion, “Boys Garage” has been synonymous with “every garage in America.” We, girls and women, need to create these spaces for ourselves.
- The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, illustrated by Jules Feiffer. Oh, you thought The Phantom Tollbooth was just about grammar and word play? Don’t forget Milo and Tock visit Digitopolis, chat up a Dodecahedron and explore curious mathematical concepts like infinity with a mathematician.
- Egg-Drop Blues l 5.3 l Engineering Design
- The Wild Robot Heartwarming and action-packed novel about a robot named Roz and what happens when nature and technology collide.
- Book Teaching Science Through Trade Books Great trade books paired with lesson plans for the different ages. Most of the lessons are easy and intriguing and cheap to do with a classroom
- Mathical Book Prize recognizes outstanding fiction and literary nonfiction related to mathematics for youth aged 2–18. The intent of the prize is to engage youth in the power and beauty of mathematics—to give them confidence to consider and solve arithmetic, spatial, logical, structural, and algebraic problems; to see that math can be employed to better understand and appreciate the wonders of nature and human artistic expression
- Ender's Game (7 - 12) Related STEAM Activities
- Inga's Amazing Ideas Inga Standing with the orphan children she stares ahead with a grim expression, waiting to be chosen for a mother's helper. In 1888, girls are expected to cook, sew, clean and scrub the laundry but Inga has other ideas. She'd rather solve problems than clean; improve machines than cook.
- The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kam This is a story about a clever young engineer in Africa. In this book that’s best for older kids, William Kamkwamba overcomes struggles to become a successful inventor. ( Also a Netflix movie)
- Novel Engineering: is an innovative approach to integrate engineering and literacy in elementary and middle school. Students use existing classroom literature – stories, novels, and expository texts – as the basis for engineering design challenges that help them identify problems, design realistic solutions, and engage in the Engineering Design Process while reinforcing their literacy skills.
- Charlotte's Web about a very special spider, can weave its words around the Web Weavers activity, where learners "spin" their own web models, and use a water mist sprayer to make real webs more visible for observing in their natural setting.
- Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone (and the entire Harry Potter series) can work its magic on the Homework, Hogwarts Style activity, where learners create "magical" school supplies like ink, "ancient" paper and quills.
- Wild Robot It is a survival-themed book with endearing characters, tons of action, and contains a wonderful marriage of nature and technology. STEAM Activities
- Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) ( Gr. 6 - 12 )a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She's reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen - and a dangerous temptation
- Minn of the Mississippi by Holling C. Holling (Gr 3-5)
- 28 STEM Chapter Books K -5
- The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (series) by Jacqueline Kelly. In 1899, Calpurnia loathes the expectations set for 12 year old girls; she’d much rather read Darwin’s The Origin of Species and catch and study wildlife with her naturalist Granddaddy. I loved this tale of a girl coming of age at a time when natural science and engineering discoveries were changing the world.
- Class Activity: Make an Alarm - chapter book
After reading the story Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary, students will build an alarm system for something in the classroom, as the main character Leigh does to protect his lunchbox from thieves. Students will learn about alarms and use their creativity to create an alarm system to protect their lockers, desk, or classroom door. - STEM Read (3 - 12) Novels with activities
- Holes A family curse. Incompetent adults. Troubled and falsely accused kids thrown together in a manual labor camp. Activities
- Secret Coders (series) by Gene Luen Yang, illustrated by Mike Holmes. Hopper is the new kid at school and she starts things off on the wrong foot. She gets her hackles up when she gets into a tussle on her first day at the strange and creepy Stately Academy but soon Hopper and another student, Eni, team up to solve the mystery of the school. There are binary numbers to figure out, coding puzzles to solve and computer programs to unravel. If your kids can spend hours on coding websites, convince them to enjoy some off-screen time while working on the same type of problems—but with a book.
- STEM Challenge with the Novel, Hatchet - link with Hatchet in chapter books
- The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Hugo lives in the walls of a Paris train station when his secretive life is interrupted by the connections he makes with an unusual girl and an elderly toy vendor. A magical, marvelous, intricate, mysterious and stunning book that will inspire kids to tinker and build.
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone with their classroom teacher. In honor of the book's 20th anniversary, the specialists decided to have a Harry Potter week where all of us did an activity relating to the book series. I decided to try out a STEAM activity for the occasion. From the second book in the series, the reader meets Aragog the spider. Divided each class into groups of two or three and give each group a pack of dental floss, two paper clips, scotch tape and a sheet of directions. The assignment is to create Aragog's spider web using just the materials provided.
- Girls Who Code series by Reshma Saujani
- The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau – A post-apocalyptic tale that follows a teen girl whose life hinges on a test. Covers botany, engineering, green technology, orienteering, and more.
- Dark Life by Kat Falls – Explores engineering, climatology, echolocation, marine bilogy, and oceanography while following a gripping story of undersea pioneers. Also see Kat Falls’ Rip Tide, and Inhuman
- One Minute Mysteries series by Eric and Natalie Yoder – one minute mysteries you solve using STEM concepts.
- The Friendship Experiment gr 6-8 by Erin Teagan. Madeline is starting middle school. She misses her scientist grandfather and decides to apply her research formula, what she calls her “Standard Operating Formula,” to her social life. This is a great book for kids who might not naturally be drawn to science.
- Nick and Tesla’s High-Voltage Danger Lab: A Mystery with Electromagnets, Burglar Alarms, and Other Gadgets You Can Build Yourself (series) by Bob Pflugfelder, illustrated by Steve Hockensmith. 12 year old twins, Nick and Tesla live with their mad scientist uncle. They spend their days building crazy inventions, conducting science experiments and trying to solve mysteries. Instructions for the projects are included in the books along withe the necessary safety precautions.
- The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages. In 1943, 10 year old Dewey works on her own inventive and scientific projects while her father lives and works in the secret scientific community working on the development of the atom bomb. After her father’s death and the testing of the bomb, Dewey and her friend struggle with the moral implications.
- Hatchet, is a classic survival story that resonates with tweens and teens alike. It lends itself well as a middle school read aloud or book club choice, and offers ample project-based learning activities so that your students can experience Brian's adventures right alongside him. Book related STEAM activities
- The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (Youth Edition) by William Kamkwamba, and Bryan Mealer, illustrated by Anna Hymas. Your children will be inspired by the true story of how William Kamkwamba brought wind power to his African village.
- Calpurnia Tate, Girl Vet (series) by Jacqueline Kelly. This is a spin off of the excellent middle grade novel about a budding young naturalist, Calpurnia (see below). In this series, Calpurnia and her younger brother learn to take care of the local wildlife.
- Zoey and Sassafras (series) by Asia Citro. This 3 book series about a can-do girl scientist who hones her skills by taking care of magical creatures will charm you. I especially love the winsome illustrations.
- 7 x 9 = Trouble! and Fractions = Trouble! by Claudia Mills Third grader, Wilson is embarrassed that he struggles with math in school. He dreads timed tests and fears his friends will find out he has a tutor.
- Trouble Next Door (Carver Chronicle series) by Karen English. This book thoughtfully presents a moral dilemma that Calvin must work through as he learns how to make the right decisions when his science fair data doesn’t connect the dots in the way he wants.
- The Toothpaste Millionaire by Jean Merrill. The practical side of math is highlighted when sixth-graders Rufus and Kate decide to invent a superior toothpaste, sell it and make their fortunes. First published 40 years ago, Jean Merrill’s book (she also wrote The Pushcart War) is still a highly entertaining celebration of the imaginative spirit.
- Phineas L. MacGuire . . . Erupts!: The First Experiment (series) by Frances O’Roark Dowell. Phineas (aka “Mac”) is a fourth grader who goes through life looking at everything from a scientific angle. He observes, collects and applies data and when he is paired with the new kid at school for a science experiment they have to figure out how to work together. The end of the book even includes several experiments for readers to try at home.
- Sophie Simon Solves Them All by Lisa Graff. A “humorously brusque” heroine who is a genius in spite of her parents who aren’t quite sure why she would want to learn about calculus at the tender age of eight. Sophie, on the other hand, is still learning all about what it means to have friends.
- Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor (series) by Jon Scieska, is a very funny series that is great for so-called “reluctant readers.” Frank is a boy genius bent on winning a science competition with his robot inventions but his rival, T. Edison, is determined to thwart him.
- Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist by Jim Benton. Franny is a young mad scientist. but I Her problems are that of a normal kid. She just wants to fit in with the other kids at school. Since she is a scientist she makes observations about what the other kids are doing (playing with dolls, dressing “cute”) and eating (squishy white bread sandwiches instead of pumpkin ravioli) and then conducts experiments to see how best she can adapt.
Non-fiction
Science and History Around the World. - add to non-fiction
- The Kite that Bridged Two Nations: Homan Walsh and the First Niagara Suspension Bridge and SMILE's Sled Kite activity;
- LIVES OF THE SCIENTISTS: EXPERIMENTS, EXPLOSIONS (AND WHAT THE NEIGHBORS THOUGHT and SMILE's Building With Wonderful Junk;
- Tutankhamun: The Mystery of the Boy King and SMILE's Tomb Mapping;
- Maria's Comet and SMILE's Make a Model Comet and Eat It!;
- Everything Robotics Robotics isn’t science fiction anymore: they are already embedded in our everyday lives. With stunning visuals and energetic, impactful design, students will learn all kinds of details about robotics.
- What Color Is My World?: The Lost History of African-American Inventors and SMILE's Seeing is Believing;
- George Washington, Spymaster: How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War and SMILE's George Washington's Secret Code;
- Stowaway and SMILE's Maritime Munchies;
- The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkinsand SMILE's Waterhouse Hawkins and the Nano Dinosphere Museum;
- Castle and SMILE's Construction and Destruction;
- The Emperor's Silent Army: Terracotta Warriors of Ancient China and SMILE's Building an Army.
11 Experiments that Failed by Jenny Offill, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. A fun take on the scientific process that teaches kids that failure is a crucial part of learning. - non-fiction
CommonLit’s website full of fiction and non-fiction leveled passages for students in fifth through twelfth grade. It organizes texts into collections to make it easy for teachers to find a passage to share with their students. - Additional resources
Papa’s Mechanical Fish by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Boris Kulikov. This book was inspired by inventor Lodner Phillips, the creator of one of the first modern submarines. Lodner’s children observe their father inventing one “mechanical fish” after another. Determined to make a workable submarine, he tests each new invention out, adding improvements and starting over again. - picture book
Galimoto by Karen Lynn Williams, illustrated by Catherine Stock. A galimoto is simply a push toy crafted out of found material. Kondi wants to make a galimoto out of wire, he’s been saving up in his shoebox. Undeterred by his short supply he wanders around his village in search of more wire. His determination to make a galimoto is also admired by the others he meets during his search and that despite a few obstacles he remains persistent. Picture book
The Dot, Ish and Sky Color by Peter Reynolds. Turn STEM into STEAM with the “Creatrilogy” books. This best selling trio of books about the ability of small moments to transform into big creative endeavors. Each one encourages kids to look around them to find art in their own world. - picture and art
STEAM Science Books (K - 3) Includes STEAM Coonection activities - additional resources
Nonfiction eBooks Focusing on STEAM Unite for Literacy - nonfiction
Provides free access to more than 185 books available in approximately 35 language narrations. The ebooks, which are organized by topic, are mostly nonfiction with an emphasis on STEAM They include high-interest themes, such as animals and plants, and migrants
Wow in the World, NPR’s first podcasts aimed at K–6 students, guides curious children away from their screens and on a journey to connect and discover the wonders of the world around them. Through a combination of careful scientific research and fun, students go inside their brains, out into space, and deep into the coolest new stories in science and technology. For example, in the “Dinosaurs’ Puzzling Backbones” podcast, students discover how 170,000-pound dinosaurs walked around without collapsing under their own weight. In “It’s A Bird, It’s A Plane, It’s A … FLYING TAXI?!” students ponder where in the world we will see the first flying taxis, what the taxis will look like, and who will operate them. - additional resources
Current Events
NEWSELA gr K-12 emphasis on nonfiction reading,provides daily current events articles written specifically for K–12 students. Each day the site adds three new articles to the collection. Categories include, Science, Health and Arts. For every article, there are versions written at different levels. Also an app
Breaking News - Are you looking for a site filled with great news articles? Discover this wonderful resource that allows you to assign a reading that provides same content at different reading levels.
Readworks.org should definitely be on your list. This website offers a wide range of lesson plans, comprehension units, and reading passages organized by skill and Lexile level.
DOGOnews a next-generation online network empowering kids to engage with digital media in a fun, safe and social environment. News section has current events and news from all around the world. Written for and in some cases by children. The Maps section is an interactive way for younger readers to read news headlines geotagged on a world map. Learn about the world and see where it’s happening. Also, teachers can set up their own DOGONews page and create a very personalized learning experience for their kids.
TeachUNICEF is an outreach project from UNICEF. The goal of the site is to provide lesson plans and other resources to help teachers teach about wide variety of global issues. The "explore" section of TeachUNICEF showcases materials for teaching about global issues with connections to social studies, science, math, English/language arts, foreign/world languages. Teachers can filter the results according to topic and grade level.
Breaking News - Are you looking for a site filled with great news articles? Discover this wonderful resource that allows you to assign a reading that provides same content at different reading levels.
Readworks.org should definitely be on your list. This website offers a wide range of lesson plans, comprehension units, and reading passages organized by skill and Lexile level.
DOGOnews a next-generation online network empowering kids to engage with digital media in a fun, safe and social environment. News section has current events and news from all around the world. Written for and in some cases by children. The Maps section is an interactive way for younger readers to read news headlines geotagged on a world map. Learn about the world and see where it’s happening. Also, teachers can set up their own DOGONews page and create a very personalized learning experience for their kids.
TeachUNICEF is an outreach project from UNICEF. The goal of the site is to provide lesson plans and other resources to help teachers teach about wide variety of global issues. The "explore" section of TeachUNICEF showcases materials for teaching about global issues with connections to social studies, science, math, English/language arts, foreign/world languages. Teachers can filter the results according to topic and grade level.