U-STARS~PLUS Science & Literature Connections

Science & Literature Connections provides an engaging way to explore scientific ideas within literacy instruction time using 32 popular children’s books. Most of the selected books are readily available and many of the books have been translated into Spanish. Science & Literature Connections is organized around Bloom’s Taxonomy to support a range of thinking levels and to scaffold learning. By using these materials, a teacher can create a higher-level thinking environment around literature connected with science which motivates reluctant readers. The science concepts are based on the National Science Education Standards and align with most states’ science standards. Science & Literature Connections was designed for Grades K-3, however many of the “connections” may be adapted for Grades 4-5.

About the Authors Mary Ruth Coleman is Senior Scientist Emeritus at the FPG Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Sneha Shah-Coltrane is Director of Gifted Education and Advanced Programs for the Public Schools of North Carolina.

Table of Contents:

• Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse
• Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain
• Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
• Come On, Rain!
• The Empty Lot
• The First Strawberries
• Fish is Fish
• Germs
• The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest
• Gregory, the Terrible Eater
• I Took a Walk
• The Listening Walk
• The Lorax
• The Magic Fan
• Make Way for Ducklings
• Milo and the Magical Stones
• Moonbear's Shadow
• Mother Earth
• Once I Knew a Spider
• The Reason for a Flower
• Rocks in My Pockets
• The Sky Tree: Seeing Science Through Art
• Snowballs
• The Snowy Day
• Someday a Tree
• Stellaluna
• The Sun is My Favorite Star
• A Symphony of Whales
• The Tiny Seed
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar
• What Will the Weather Be Like Today?
• When Winter Comes