Integrative STEM & Literacy
When I was earning my master’s degree in literacy at the University of Northern Iowa, I discovered a treasure trove of beautiful picture books. We explored books that supported children at different stages of literacy development, from emergent to fluent readers. I collected my favorites and regularly used them to introduce a new theme or unit of study.
Over time, however, I began questioning that practice. Was it always best to begin with a book? Or might children gain more from reading the book after they had experienced what it was about?
For STEM, I found that waiting often made a remarkable difference. When children first had opportunities to investigate a phenomenon, they brought their own observations, questions, and ideas to the story. Rather than simply listening to what the author had to tell them, they could connect the text to what they already knew, consider new explanations, and sometimes even challenge the author's ideas.
And I'm not alone in this thinking.
Experience First. Read Later.
In the introduction to her Next Time You See series, science educator and author Emily Morgan encourages adults to read her books with children after they have had firsthand experiences with the featured objects or phenomena.
Her suggestions emphasize four important practices:
- Observe first. Give children opportunities to encounter and investigate the phenomenon before opening the book.
- Share experiences. Talk together about what you have noticed or experienced.
- Wonder together. Invite children to share their questions and offer some of your own.
- Read and reflect. Return to the phenomenon through the book, making connections and considering new questions.
Morgan reminds readers that the purpose of these books is not to memorize scientific facts, but to inspire wonder.
This is an important distinction. When we introduce scientific explanations before children have opportunities to investigate, we risk turning their explorations into activities designed to demonstrate what the book has already told them.
But when children investigate first, the book becomes another source of ideas to consider alongside their own experiences.
An Example from Engineering Ramps & Pathways
Oscar and the Cricket: A Book About Moving and Rolling by Geoff Waring is a delightful picture book for young children.
Oscar discovers a ball in the grass. With encouragement from Cricket, he begins investigating what happens when he pushes it. He notices that the ball rolls differently on grass than on a hard pathway. He also discovers that the ball changes direction when it encounters an obstacle.
At the end of the book, the author summarizes some of Oscar's discoveries about motion and offers simple challenges involving pushing, pulling, changing direction, and stopping objects.
These are worthwhile investigations. But consider what happens when we read this book after children have spent time engineering their own ramps and pathways.
What Changes When Children Investigate First?
1. Children bring their own expertise to the story.
They have already observed marbles rolling down ramps, traveling across different surfaces, changing direction, and colliding with objects.
When Oscar discovers that his ball moves differently on grass and a hard pathway, children have experiences to draw upon. They may recognize similar results, offer explanations, or describe situations in which they observed something different.
Their firsthand experiences become a foundation for comprehending and discussing the text.
2. Children's questions and challenges become more sophisticated.
The book invites children to explore what happens when they push or pull objects. But children who have spent time engineering ramps and pathways may already be investigating much more complex problems:
- How can I make my marble change direction without touching it?
- Why does my marble stop before reaching the end of the pathway?
- How can I make the marble travel farther?
- What happens if I change the height or angle of my ramp?
- Why does the marble move differently on carpet than on a hard floor?
These questions emerge from problems children encounter in their own investigations. They have a reason to seek answers because the questions matter to what they are trying to accomplish.
3. Our expectations of children's thinking expand.
When we begin with a book, we may unintentionally limit our expectations to the concepts and challenges the author presents.
But when we observe children investigating first, we often discover that their thinking is more complex than we anticipated.
Children aren't simply learning that a push makes something move. They are designing systems, anticipating what might happen, testing relationships between materials, and revising their designs based on the results.
Their investigations reveal what they are capable of figuring out.
When we wait to read the book, children become knowledgeable participants in the conversation, rather than simply recipients of the author's explanations.
Making the Most of an Interactive Read-Aloud
Waiting to introduce a book doesn't mean we miss an opportunity for intentional literacy instruction. Quite the opposite!
An interactive read-aloud after children have investigated a phenomenon creates rich opportunities for oral language development, comprehension, reasoning, and discussion.
Children can make connections between the text and their experiences, explain their thinking, consider another perspective, and ask new questions.
The teacher's role is to help children bring their own ideas into conversation with the book.
Preparing for the Read-Aloud
When I was learning to conduct effective interactive read-alouds, I developed a simple strategy that helped me prepare.
Before reading a book to my students, I identified a few places where I wanted to pause and invite discussion. I wrote my questions on sticky notes and placed them on the appropriate pages.
As I read, I removed each note before turning the page. Inevitably, a child would ask what was written on the sticky notes.
I would explain:
"When I was reading this book, I thought about some of the things you might have noticed or wondered about. I wrote down a few questions because I didn't want to forget to ask you what you think."
I wanted children to understand that I was genuinely interested in their ideas.
The sticky notes were reminders, not a script. If children raised an unexpected question or offered an interesting explanation, we followed their thinking.
Introducing Oscar and the Cricket
After children have spent time investigating ramps and pathways, you might introduce the book by saying:
"I came across this book, Oscar and the Cricket, and it made me think about the work you've been doing with ramps and pathways.
Oscar is investigating how things move and roll, just as you have been. As we read, I'm interested in what you notice about his discoveries and how they compare with yours.
I wonder if you'll agree with everything Oscar discovers, or if your experiences might lead you to think about something differently."
Possible Pause-and-Talk Invitations
Rather than asking children to recall facts from the story, invite them to connect Oscar's experiences with their own investigations.
When Oscar pushes the ball:
- "What does this remind you of from your work with ramps and pathways?"
- "How have you gotten your marbles to move without pushing them with your hands?"
When the ball moves differently on grass and a hard pathway:
- "Have you noticed anything like this?"
- "What do you think might explain the difference?"
- "How could we investigate that idea?"
When the ball hits a tree and changes direction:
- "What have you discovered about making marbles change direction?"
- "Can you think of a time when your marble changed direction in a way you didn't expect?"
After reading:
- "What did Oscar discover that connects with something you've figured out?"
- "Was there anything in the book that made you think differently about your work?"
- "Did this book give you any new ideas you'd like to investigate?"
These questions aren't intended to produce particular answers. They are invitations for children to explain, compare, reconsider, and extend their thinking.
The Book Is Not the End of the Investigation
One of the most valuable outcomes of reading a science picture book after firsthand investigations is that it can send children back to their materials with new questions.
Perhaps Oscar's experiences inspire children to compare surfaces. Perhaps they want to investigate what happens when a marble encounters an obstacle. Or perhaps something in the book doesn't match what they observed, and they want to find out why.
The book becomes part of an ongoing conversation between children's experiences, their ideas, and the ideas of others.
Experience → Investigate → Read → Reconsider → Investigate Again
This is where integrative STEM and literacy become especially powerful. Children aren't reading about science as something separate from their lives. They are using language and literacy to make sense of phenomena they have experienced firsthand.
A Final Thought
I'm certainly not suggesting that we should never begin with a book. A wonderful picture book can spark curiosity, introduce an intriguing problem, or inspire children to investigate something they might not otherwise have noticed.
But when our goal is to support children's scientific reasoning and engineering thinking, we should consider what might be gained by waiting.
What if, instead of using a book to tell children what they are about to learn, we used it to help them think more deeply about what they are already discovering?
That small change in sequence can make a significant difference in whose ideas drive the learning.
.jpg)
