RAR #177: Teach Your Kids to Think Like a Scientist (with Books You Already Have)

Science is everywhere. It's in everything we do, everything we see. And yes, everything we read. Books offer a delightful opportunity to talk about science, both through their illustrations and their text. We just need to know a few things to look for and a few questions to ask. Today we'll find out how to think like a scientist, and how to teach our kids to do the same. I invited two professors from St. Michael's College to teach us all about cross-cutting scientific concepts within picture books. Dr. Valerie Bang-Jensen is the Department Chair and Professor of Education at St. Michael's College in Vermont. She's an expert in children's literature and literacy. Dr. Mark Lubkowitz is a molecular biologist and the Chair and Professor of Biology at St. Michael's. In this episode, you'll hear: What it means to "think like a scientist"How to find scientific concepts in every book you readHow to use cross-cutting concepts to teach young scientists of all ages CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO START LISTENING: TIME STAMPS: "They can't get all of science from a book, but they can launch these ideas into every part of their life. Books are a perfect place to do that, because books are a microcosm of life."Dr. Valerie Bang-Jensen "The secret is: scientists aren't smarter than everybody else. Scientists just have a way to classify and sort human thinking and behavior."Dr. Mark Lubkowitz 3:01What's a cross-cutting concept?4:55Introducing Mark and Valerie6:59The secret about science 7:48How it all began 12:34The delight of patterns 14:27Finding cross-cutting concepts in Owl Moon 20:21Scale and time in story 24:02Applying scientific concepts to books off your shelf27:19Structure and function 29:30Learning through questions31:43Let the Kids Speak LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE: Dr Bang-Jensen and Dr Lubkowitz's Website A 33-min video of Mark and Valerie explaining crosscutting conceptsBooks in Bloom Nothing Found More free resources and booklists Get the best episodes and reources from the Read-Aloud Revival Keep an eye on your inbox! We'll keep you posted whenever we have a new podcast episode or a great free booklist or resource for you. There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again. Email Address I'd like to receive the free email course. Yes! Powered by ConvertKit /* Layout */ .ck_form.ck_minimal { /* divider image */ background: #f9f9f9; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5em; overflow: hidden; color: #666; font-size: 16px; border: solid 1px #d1d1d1; -webkit-box-shadow: none; -moz-box-shadow: none; box-shadow: none; clear: both; margin: 20px 0px; text-align: center; } .ck_form.ck_minimal h3.ck_form_title { text-align: center; margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-size: 28px; } .ck_form.ck_minimal h4 { text-align: center; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 18px; font-weight: normal; padding-top: 0px; margin-top: 0px; } .ck_form.ck_minimal p { padding: 0px; } .ck_form, .ck_form * { -webkit-box-sizing: border-box; -moz-box-sizing: border-box; box-sizing: border-box; } .ck_form.ck_minimal .ck_form_fields { width: 100%; float: left; padding: 5%; } /* Form fields */ .ck_errorArea { display: none; /* temporary */ } #ck_success_msg { padding: 10px 10px 0px; border: solid 1px #ddd; background: #eee; } .ck_form.ck_minimal input[type="text"], .ck_form.ck_minimal input[type="email"] { font-size: 18px; padding: 10px 8px; width: 68%; border: 1px solid #d6d6d6; /* stroke */ -moz-border-radius: 3px; -webkit-border-radius: 3px...