Working as an educator these days can be incredibly stressful and the need to think smarter, NOT harder is key to staying sane! Last year was our "pilot" year for implementing STEM & the Engineering Design Process to our PK-1 grade levels and we quickly found that the best way for us to build those meaningful connections across content areas was through the use of mentor texts. There were SOOO many other great tips & tools we utilized last year and I hope to share them with you!
With that said, let's jump right in!
I won't lie...I am ADDICTED to reading and books in general. It's definitely something give me enjoy laughing with me about is the size of my teacher and classroom library. I think that comes with being in education for so long, but it could be that I am an avid reader and constantly on the lookout for a new book I can use as a mentor text.
One of my ALL TIME FAVORITE books to introduce the Engineering Design Process to students is "Those Darn Squirrels" by Adam Rubin. This book LITERALLY jump-starts our class into the PBL mindset! If you don't already have this book in your library, I highly suggest you purchase it. I grabbed it when it first came out and have used it every year to introduce EDP to students and teachers alike.
The FIRST thing I do when I get a new book, is to gather a bunch of sticky notes and a pen. I read through the book one time and just enjoy the author's craft and story elements. THEN the fun begins! When I read the story for a second time, I stop and jot down any/all of the ideas (teachable moments) that I could potentially use this book to help me teach a standard. By the time I'm done, there my entire book is FILLED with ideas that I can when needed. Those Darn Squirrels is a book with endless possibilities!
If you don't already know, this book is about a little old man who enjoys painting the birds that come to his bird feeders to eat. Everything is copasetic until a naughty group of squirrels decide that the bird feeders are an all-day buffet. The old man begins to plan how he is going to stop the squirrels from eating all of the food because he doesn't want to birds to take off down south for the winter. Of course, the author does a wonderful job of making you laugh at the antics of the old man and these rambunctious squirrels throughout the story....which also happen to be perfect examples of how the Engineering Design Process works and the importance of a Growth Mindset when problem-solving.
One of the added benefits of this book (other than the great EDP connections) is the social-emotional lesson(s) that can be taught as well; basically, it is chalked full of cross-curricular teaching opportunities! What more could you want, right?!
By the time I finished jotting down all of my ideas for using this book in my classroom, I ended up with a long list of potential lessons. Take a look!
Now that I had a bunch of ideas, I started to generate ways in which I could integrate STEM & PBL.
IN ADDITION TO THOSE IDEAS, I gradually began to make even more cross-curricular connections as I taught this lesson and shared it with other educators! In an effort to make connections with fiction & non-fiction texts, I found that Scholastic News Magazine had some great non-fiction text about squirrels! Not only that, these magazines include comprehension questions, reading response activities, videos, vocabulary, games, and much more that go along with each text.
Mark Rober (one of my favorite people!) has made some HILARIOUSLY entertaining and educational videos about his squirrel maze adventures! These are BY FAR some of the best videos that HOOK both adults and students alike in getting excited about this unit of study! He has the following videos:
I should also mention that there are now MORE "Those Darn Squirrel" sequels available! I'll save those ideas for another post later on, but all-in-all, this book is an excellent text to use when introducing the Engineering Design Process and wanting to work smarter NOT harder with including those cross-curricular connections!
Hope you enjoy!
~Erin
