VELI-STEM Grant Abstract
VELI-STEM Curriculum
To effectively build science understanding, young children need opportunities for sustained engagement with materials and conversations that focus on the same set of ideas over weeks, months and years. (Early Childhood Science Education, NSTA Position Statement, 2014)
VELI-STEM will focus on Physical Science Through Inquiry. Each librarian will receive a copy of Worms, Shadows and Whirlpools: Science in the Early Childhood Classroom by Karen Worth and Sharon Grollman of Education Development Center, Inc. (Heinemann, 2003) and Spotlight on Young Children: Exploring Science by Amy Shillady, editor (National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2013). Both primary resources contain foundational information about STEM learning for young children, including principles and practices essential to quality science programs, science content, concrete strategies for supporting scientific thinking and inquiry for preschoolers, and family engagement, among other topics.
The primary goal of Physical Science experiences for children is to allow them to explore objects, materials, and events in new and different ways. The more experiences they have, the more they can ask new questions and construct new theories about what is happening and how things work. Children will also raise many questions about how and why. Some questions such as “What will happen to the ball when it rolls down this ramp?” lead to new investigations. Other questions may lead to simple experiments, such as “Which ball rolls the farthest after going down a ramp?” Librarians can encourage this investigation through the use of fiction and non-fiction picture books and rich discussion.
All of the suggested Physical Science phenomena:
• Are part of children’s daily lives
• Can be explored/investigated/reasoned about in breadth and depth
• Form a foundation for later learning
• Invite experiential investigation with simple materials and the natural environment
• Allow for cross science domains of physical/life/earth-space
• Provide opportunities for children to use basic science inquiry practices including those used in simple experimentation, identifying patterns and relationships.
The selected content areas will allow children to expand on their experiences in areas of science that are key to the understanding of basic scientific ideas. Equally important, they encourage children to develop and use a range of science practices as described in the Next Generation Science Standards. These practices describe what scientists do, what adults and older children do and also what very young children do. While there are specific attributes of these skills related to science, they are basic cognitive skills, useful across disciplines:
• Ask questions
• Solve problems
• Plan and carry out investigations
• Make meaning from experience and data
• Use mathematics and computational thinking
• Construct explanations and design solutions to problems
• Develop and use models to explore and document ideas
• Engage in discussion/argue from evidence
• Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information.
As well as content and practices, these experiences build a foundation for attitudes and approaches to learning that are important for learning and daily life. They include social/collaborative skills, perseverance, creative thinking, and with their connections to the life and earth sciences, a respect for the environment.
In order for librarians to develop their own skills and knowledge, they need time and collaboration. The three-year project sequence allows for three years of development of an understanding of what it means to engage children in inquiry-based experiences, the nature of the facilitation and guidance adults can offer that challenges and engages children, and specific content knowledge.
By mixing face-to-face and online work, VELI-STEM will allow for the development of a learning community which values both the specialized knowledge of different players and the communal knowledge that is built through collaboration and interaction. The innovation lies in the transformation of librarian practice to include STEM offerings wherever possible.
Year 1: Force and Motion
Physical Science concepts:
• Things move when they are pushed or pulled.
• Push or pull may be an invisible force like gravity or moving air or a visible force such as a living thing, motor, or engine.
• The steeper an incline, the faster a rolling object will reach the bottom.
• Balls of different weight and diameter will reach the end of an inclined plane at the same time.
• Heavy rolling objects will roll further once they leave a ramp than lighter objects.
• The nature of the object and the surface on which it moves affects the motion.
Life Science concepts:
• Different plants and animals move in different ways.
• The movement of plants and animals serves important purposes (e.g. protection, getting food, getting light…).
Force and Motion
• Animals and plants have body parts that help them move in certain ways.
In Year 1 we will hold a two-day training (April 2016) for the 25 project librarians. The project team will have reviewed and evaluated available STEM resources; activities from those vetted resources will be provided to librarians, along with the primary sources noted above, picture books and hands-on learning materials. Librarians will experience the explorations and books first-hand and time will be given to them to plan for incorporating the STEM resources and concepts into their practice. Hands-on materials for Year 1 will include ramps and balls.
During the trainings librarians will learn how to encourage inquiry, model science-related vocabulary and how to offer prompts and open-ended questions to encourage curiosity and exploration. Librarians will have ample opportunities to experience active explorations and data collection and they will be encouraged to ask questions, make observations and reflect on their experiences.
A one-day follow-up meeting will be held in October 2016. Librarians will report on what they did with the books and materials, how they were able to incorporate the STEM content throughout all their programming and interactions, etc. Programming will continue through the rest of 2016 and into early 2017.
STEM Clearinghouse of Resources
Project staff and consultants will assess book and activity suggestions before they are included on the STEM Clearinghouse of Resources. In order to achieve a consistency of approach, activity and exploration templates will be based on Physical Science Teacher’s Guide (University of Florida, 2009). Information for each STEM concept will include:
• Science concept
• Learning goal
• Materials needed
• Books
• Vocabulary
• Approach: How to do it, what to say
• Extensions
• Science Discovery Center recommendations
• Integrated Experiences: Literacy, Math, Creative Arts, Movement, Social-Emotional activities
The following is a preliminary overview of resources available for VELI-STEM Force and Motion:
On the web: Activities and science information
Next Generation Science Standards, a collaborative state-led process managed by Achieve, 2015.
Center for Informal Science. Physical Science Teacher’s Guide. University of Florida, 2010.
“Peep and the Big World,” produced by WGBH and 9 Story Entertainment in association with TVOntario.
“Big Science for Little Hands”: website with science explorations for young children, produced by Science World British Columbia.
“Let it Roll: Exploring Motion with Young Children” by Kathy Cabe Trundle and Mandy McCormick Smith. Science and Children, October 2011.
“How Does Force Affect Motion?” by Gerald Darling. Science and Children, October 2012.
“Ramps and Pathways: Developmentally Appropriate, Intellectually Rigorous and Fun Physical Science” by Betty Zan and Rosemary Geiken. Young Children, January 2010.
“Science in Early Childhood Classrooms: Content and Process” by Karen Worth. ECRP (Early Childhood and Parenting Collaborative), Fall 2010.
“Initiating STEM Learning in Libraries” by Jennifer Hopwood. Children and Libraries, Summer/Fall 2012.
“Promoting the Development of Scientific Thinking” by Ruth Wilson. Early Childhood News, 2013.
“Early Childhood Science Education” NSTA Position Statement, 2014.
“Parent Involvement in Science Learning” NSTA Position Statement, 2009.
“The Show Me Librarian, All Things Steam” website, Amy Koester (author), 2012.
Picture Books: Force and Motion Conversation Starters
Carle, Eric. From Head to Toe
Cowen-Fletcher, Jane. Mama Zooms
Cronin, Doreen. Wiggle
Ehlert, Lois. Waiting for Wings
Frazee, Marla. Roller Coaster
Heiligman, Deborah. On the Move
Henkes, Kevin. Birds
Jarrett, Clare. Arabella Miller’s Tiny Caterpillar
Llewellyn, Claire. Everyone Shouted “Pull”
Macken, JoAnn. Flip, Float, Fly
Mayer, Lynne. Newton and Me
Mayo, Margaret. Choo Choo, Clickey Clack
Milton, Tony. Amazing Airplanes
Raschka, Chris. A Ball for Daisy
Raffi. Shake My Sillies Out
Rosen, Michael. We’re Going On a Bear Hunt
Shaw, Nancy. Sheep in a Jeep
Swinburne, Stephen Go, Go, Go! Kids On the Move
Tolstoy, Aleksei. The Gigantic Turnip
Willems, Moe. Watch Me Throw a Ball
Force and Motion: Non-fiction
Branley, Franklyn. Gravity is a Mystery
Chin, Jason. Gravity
Boothroyd, Jennifer. Give It a Push! Give It a Pull
Cobb, Vicki. I Fall Down!
Dahl, Michael. Roll, Slope and Slide
Jenkins, Steve. Move!
Jenkins, Steve. What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
Jones, Melanie. Balls
Lawrence, Ellen. Motion
Lenn, Barbara. What is a Scientist?
Mason, Adrienne. Move It!
Brubaker, Kimberley. Forces Make Things Move
Murphy, Patricia. Push and Pull
Royston, Angela. Forces and Motion
Samworth, Kate. Aviary of Wonder
Schaefer, Lois. Push and Pull
Sill, Cathryn. About Birds
Books: Physical Science Activities for Young Children
Anderson, Sally. Math and Science Investigation, Gryphon House, 2012.
Ansverry, Karen. More Picture-Perfect Science Lessons, NSTA Press, 2007.
Ashbrook, Peggy. Science is Simple, Gryphon House, 2002.
Butzow, Carol M. Science Through Children’s Literature, Libraries Unlimited, 1989.
Center for Informal Science. Physical Science Teacher’s Guide, University of Florida, 2010.
Kohl, MaryAnn. Science Arts, Bright Ring, 1993.
Moomaw and Hieronymus. More Than Magnets, Redleaf Press, 1997.
Vermont Center for the Book. What’s the BIG Idea? Mother Goose Programs, 2008.
Williams, Robert A. Mudpies to Magnets, Gryphon House, 1987.
Zubrowski, Bernie. Raceways: Having Fun With Balls and Tracks, Beach Tree, 1995.
Draft curriculum developed by:
Sally Anderson, Vermont Center for the Book
Karen Worth, Wheelock College
Greg DeFrancis, Montshire Museum of Science
April 2015
VELI-STEM Curriculum
To effectively build science understanding, young children need opportunities for sustained engagement with materials and conversations that focus on the same set of ideas over weeks, months and years. (Early Childhood Science Education, NSTA Position Statement, 2014)
VELI-STEM will focus on Physical Science Through Inquiry. Each librarian will receive a copy of Worms, Shadows and Whirlpools: Science in the Early Childhood Classroom by Karen Worth and Sharon Grollman of Education Development Center, Inc. (Heinemann, 2003) and Spotlight on Young Children: Exploring Science by Amy Shillady, editor (National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2013). Both primary resources contain foundational information about STEM learning for young children, including principles and practices essential to quality science programs, science content, concrete strategies for supporting scientific thinking and inquiry for preschoolers, and family engagement, among other topics.
The primary goal of Physical Science experiences for children is to allow them to explore objects, materials, and events in new and different ways. The more experiences they have, the more they can ask new questions and construct new theories about what is happening and how things work. Children will also raise many questions about how and why. Some questions such as “What will happen to the ball when it rolls down this ramp?” lead to new investigations. Other questions may lead to simple experiments, such as “Which ball rolls the farthest after going down a ramp?” Librarians can encourage this investigation through the use of fiction and non-fiction picture books and rich discussion.
All of the suggested Physical Science phenomena:
• Are part of children’s daily lives
• Can be explored/investigated/reasoned about in breadth and depth
• Form a foundation for later learning
• Invite experiential investigation with simple materials and the natural environment
• Allow for cross science domains of physical/life/earth-space
• Provide opportunities for children to use basic science inquiry practices including those used in simple experimentation, identifying patterns and relationships.
The selected content areas will allow children to expand on their experiences in areas of science that are key to the understanding of basic scientific ideas. Equally important, they encourage children to develop and use a range of science practices as described in the Next Generation Science Standards. These practices describe what scientists do, what adults and older children do and also what very young children do. While there are specific attributes of these skills related to science, they are basic cognitive skills, useful across disciplines:
• Ask questions
• Solve problems
• Plan and carry out investigations
• Make meaning from experience and data
• Use mathematics and computational thinking
• Construct explanations and design solutions to problems
• Develop and use models to explore and document ideas
• Engage in discussion/argue from evidence
• Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information.
As well as content and practices, these experiences build a foundation for attitudes and approaches to learning that are important for learning and daily life. They include social/collaborative skills, perseverance, creative thinking, and with their connections to the life and earth sciences, a respect for the environment.
In order for librarians to develop their own skills and knowledge, they need time and collaboration. The three-year project sequence allows for three years of development of an understanding of what it means to engage children in inquiry-based experiences, the nature of the facilitation and guidance adults can offer that challenges and engages children, and specific content knowledge.
By mixing face-to-face and online work, VELI-STEM will allow for the development of a learning community which values both the specialized knowledge of different players and the communal knowledge that is built through collaboration and interaction. The innovation lies in the transformation of librarian practice to include STEM offerings wherever possible.
Year 1: Force and Motion
Physical Science concepts:
• Things move when they are pushed or pulled.
• Push or pull may be an invisible force like gravity or moving air or a visible force such as a living thing, motor, or engine.
• The steeper an incline, the faster a rolling object will reach the bottom.
• Balls of different weight and diameter will reach the end of an inclined plane at the same time.
• Heavy rolling objects will roll further once they leave a ramp than lighter objects.
• The nature of the object and the surface on which it moves affects the motion.
Life Science concepts:
• Different plants and animals move in different ways.
• The movement of plants and animals serves important purposes (e.g. protection, getting food, getting light…).
Force and Motion
• Animals and plants have body parts that help them move in certain ways.
In Year 1 we will hold a two-day training (April 2016) for the 25 project librarians. The project team will have reviewed and evaluated available STEM resources; activities from those vetted resources will be provided to librarians, along with the primary sources noted above, picture books and hands-on learning materials. Librarians will experience the explorations and books first-hand and time will be given to them to plan for incorporating the STEM resources and concepts into their practice. Hands-on materials for Year 1 will include ramps and balls.
During the trainings librarians will learn how to encourage inquiry, model science-related vocabulary and how to offer prompts and open-ended questions to encourage curiosity and exploration. Librarians will have ample opportunities to experience active explorations and data collection and they will be encouraged to ask questions, make observations and reflect on their experiences.
A one-day follow-up meeting will be held in October 2016. Librarians will report on what they did with the books and materials, how they were able to incorporate the STEM content throughout all their programming and interactions, etc. Programming will continue through the rest of 2016 and into early 2017.
STEM Clearinghouse of Resources
Project staff and consultants will assess book and activity suggestions before they are included on the STEM Clearinghouse of Resources. In order to achieve a consistency of approach, activity and exploration templates will be based on Physical Science Teacher’s Guide (University of Florida, 2009). Information for each STEM concept will include:
• Science concept
• Learning goal
• Materials needed
• Books
• Vocabulary
• Approach: How to do it, what to say
• Extensions
• Science Discovery Center recommendations
• Integrated Experiences: Literacy, Math, Creative Arts, Movement, Social-Emotional activities
The following is a preliminary overview of resources available for VELI-STEM Force and Motion:
On the web: Activities and science information
Next Generation Science Standards, a collaborative state-led process managed by Achieve, 2015.
Center for Informal Science. Physical Science Teacher’s Guide. University of Florida, 2010.
“Peep and the Big World,” produced by WGBH and 9 Story Entertainment in association with TVOntario.
“Big Science for Little Hands”: website with science explorations for young children, produced by Science World British Columbia.
“Let it Roll: Exploring Motion with Young Children” by Kathy Cabe Trundle and Mandy McCormick Smith. Science and Children, October 2011.
“How Does Force Affect Motion?” by Gerald Darling. Science and Children, October 2012.
“Ramps and Pathways: Developmentally Appropriate, Intellectually Rigorous and Fun Physical Science” by Betty Zan and Rosemary Geiken. Young Children, January 2010.
“Science in Early Childhood Classrooms: Content and Process” by Karen Worth. ECRP (Early Childhood and Parenting Collaborative), Fall 2010.
“Initiating STEM Learning in Libraries” by Jennifer Hopwood. Children and Libraries, Summer/Fall 2012.
“Promoting the Development of Scientific Thinking” by Ruth Wilson. Early Childhood News, 2013.
“Early Childhood Science Education” NSTA Position Statement, 2014.
“Parent Involvement in Science Learning” NSTA Position Statement, 2009.
“The Show Me Librarian, All Things Steam” website, Amy Koester (author), 2012.
Picture Books: Force and Motion Conversation Starters
Carle, Eric. From Head to Toe
Cowen-Fletcher, Jane. Mama Zooms
Cronin, Doreen. Wiggle
Ehlert, Lois. Waiting for Wings
Frazee, Marla. Roller Coaster
Heiligman, Deborah. On the Move
Henkes, Kevin. Birds
Jarrett, Clare. Arabella Miller’s Tiny Caterpillar
Llewellyn, Claire. Everyone Shouted “Pull”
Macken, JoAnn. Flip, Float, Fly
Mayer, Lynne. Newton and Me
Mayo, Margaret. Choo Choo, Clickey Clack
Milton, Tony. Amazing Airplanes
Raschka, Chris. A Ball for Daisy
Raffi. Shake My Sillies Out
Rosen, Michael. We’re Going On a Bear Hunt
Shaw, Nancy. Sheep in a Jeep
Swinburne, Stephen Go, Go, Go! Kids On the Move
Tolstoy, Aleksei. The Gigantic Turnip
Willems, Moe. Watch Me Throw a Ball
Force and Motion: Non-fiction
Branley, Franklyn. Gravity is a Mystery
Chin, Jason. Gravity
Boothroyd, Jennifer. Give It a Push! Give It a Pull
Cobb, Vicki. I Fall Down!
Dahl, Michael. Roll, Slope and Slide
Jenkins, Steve. Move!
Jenkins, Steve. What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
Jones, Melanie. Balls
Lawrence, Ellen. Motion
Lenn, Barbara. What is a Scientist?
Mason, Adrienne. Move It!
Brubaker, Kimberley. Forces Make Things Move
Murphy, Patricia. Push and Pull
Royston, Angela. Forces and Motion
Samworth, Kate. Aviary of Wonder
Schaefer, Lois. Push and Pull
Sill, Cathryn. About Birds
Books: Physical Science Activities for Young Children
Anderson, Sally. Math and Science Investigation, Gryphon House, 2012.
Ansverry, Karen. More Picture-Perfect Science Lessons, NSTA Press, 2007.
Ashbrook, Peggy. Science is Simple, Gryphon House, 2002.
Butzow, Carol M. Science Through Children’s Literature, Libraries Unlimited, 1989.
Center for Informal Science. Physical Science Teacher’s Guide, University of Florida, 2010.
Kohl, MaryAnn. Science Arts, Bright Ring, 1993.
Moomaw and Hieronymus. More Than Magnets, Redleaf Press, 1997.
Vermont Center for the Book. What’s the BIG Idea? Mother Goose Programs, 2008.
Williams, Robert A. Mudpies to Magnets, Gryphon House, 1987.
Zubrowski, Bernie. Raceways: Having Fun With Balls and Tracks, Beach Tree, 1995.
Draft curriculum developed by:
Sally Anderson, Vermont Center for the Book
Karen Worth, Wheelock College
Greg DeFrancis, Montshire Museum of Science
April 2015