"It was like herding cats!" That was my answer to my husband the other day when he asked how my day had gone. Seriously, the days I have first and second graders are just hard - fun, but exhausting. That is until I found the SECRET to STEM and the littles! Are you ready for

Girls in STEM is a hot topic and these books bring that important topic into your reading nook. These books about girls in stem are rad!

Here are all my favorite read alouds for STEM, Makerspace, and Coding!

Binary Coding without computers. 5 activities to introduce students to Binary Code. Save over 25% by buying this product as part of a bundle CODING BUNDLE Unplugged This resource introduces students to the coding methods of Binary. Students will learn the 'on' and 'off' method of Binary while exploring the activities. Perfect for problem solving or STEM time in the classroom. INCLUDED - Binary Coding Explained - Binary Alphabet Conversion - Code your name in Binary - Code a Picture - Secret Code - decoding Binary #1 - Secret Code - decoding Binary #2 - Code Your Own Worksheet - How to Use this resource ideas Blackline also included After completing these activities students should be able to: - apply the Binary method to other coding problems - gain an understanding of computer language - problem solve errors and correct them - eventually move onto more advanced languages of coding Please MODEL and clearly discuss directions for this activity to allow students the greatest chance of success Please Note: When using letters, all binary coding letters start with a zero first, therefore it is often omitted when writing coding. For this reason, I have chosen to include 7 digits. Teacher Notes: Printing out the 'Code Your Name in Binary' onto colored card makes for a great name tag, bag tag or name label. ========================================================================== You may also like: Pirate Binary Coding Unplugged Halloween Binary Coding Unplugged Christmas Binary Coding Unplugged Valentine's Day Binary Coding Unplugged ⇒Feedback and Followers ★ FOLLOW MY STORE ★ CURIOSITY and the HUNGRY MIND and get notifications of new product.

STEM picture books with reviews! Great STEM books for kids to inspire.

Learn about ordinary and extraordinary inventions and their amazing inventors.

An Introduction to Network Transient Analysis for Television and Radar Engineers Publisher: Chapan & Hall Ltd, 1949 Condition: Very good  Former library book

Gooseberry Park Author: Cynthia Rylant Illustrator: Arthur Howard Published in 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt *Middle Grade Gooseberry Park is a heartwarming story of friendship, courage, and lo…

A round-up of books with LGBTQ characters for middle grade readers.

Science, technology, engineering, and math are more important than ever, so we’ve put together a list of books to encourage girls to persevere in these subjects.

Games are very important for learning and James Paul Gee has empirically proved this in his wonderful book " What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy". Gee argues that games,particularly video games, require the players to learn and think in ways at which they are not adept. He further states that games provide a life enhancing experience for learners and they also revolutionize the routinized ways of learning through fusing learning and play. You can learn more about Gee's book in this post I have published a few months ago.

An Introduction to Coding Lesson for Kindergarten

Pair a classic fairy tale with architecture and you get a fun Three Little Pigs STEM activity. Includes free printable house design pages.

So, I posted recently that my sixth graders were writing a mystery that was going to take place in the library. I took two of the best mysteries that were submitted and combined them! Here's how our mystery looked: The Problem: Mrs. Svarda got to school on Monday morning and saw the mess. At first she was just mad that all of the books were out, then she saw that all the books were missing their endings. She picked up a book and noticed that the barcode was missing, too. She looked around and found that several books were missing their endings and barcodes. The scanners were also missing so no one could check out books! Then Mrs. Svarda was scared and mad. Who could've done such a thing? What happened here? How could this happen? She needed help. Starbelly Sneetch Alibi: It was 5:00 and I heard a knock on my door. It was Fox in Socks. He came in and I turned off my music and put away my IPod. We played at my house until we got bored. We decided it would be fun to go to the movies. We texted Hop On Pop and Yertle the Turtle to see if they wanted to come, too. Everyone came to the movie except Hop on Pop. After the movie we couldn't think of what to do so we walked around. We thought we might stop by the library to visit Hop On Pop. It started to rain as we walked so we stopped at Fox in Sock's house to pick up some blankets to keep dry on our walk. Hop On Pop Alibi: It was 5:00 and I was looking at my clock when the doorbell rang. It was Yertle the Turtle. He had brought me some homemade bread. He asked if I wanted to go to the mall. My mom said, "No. I had to work on my homework at the library." Yertle the Turtle got a text right after that asking if we wanted to go and see the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie. Bummer. I really wanted to see a movie and hated that I had to go to the library instead. Yertle the Turtle left to meet everyone for the movie. I headed to the library with my homework. My animal report was due on Monday and mom said I couldn't do anything fun until I was finished with the report. The fun thing was that everyone came by the library after the movie and told me all about it. They had a great time. At 8:00, everyone had to head home. I had about thirty minutes left of homework, so I told them I'd have to stay around just a bit longer... Yertle the Turtle Alibi: It was 4:00 and I was cooking some homemade bread. When it was done I wanted to have some fun so I took some bread over to my friend Hop On Pop. I asked if he wanted to go to the mall, but then I got a text from Fox in Socks and Starbelly Sneetch asking if I wanted to go to the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie. My mom said I could go to the movie, but his mom said he had to do homework. He tried not to show it, but boy, was he mad. I had to leave Hop On Pop to make it to the movie on time. I told him if we had time, we'd stop by the library after the movie to hang out with him. Fox in Socks' Alibi: I was sitting in my room when my mom came in and said when I finished my chores I could play. I decided to go over to Starbelly Sneetch's house to play. We thought it would be fun to go to see a movie and texted our friends to see if they could come, too. When the movie was over we went by my house to get some blankets because it was raining and we didn't want to get wet. Then, we headed to the library to visit Hop On Pop because he was doing homework there. At the library, I looked for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book. I really liked the movie so I thought I would like the book. What the students do: When the students entered the library, they each grabbed a clipboard with a pencil, ingredients of a mystery checklist, alibis, map of the crime scene, and suspect list attached to it. They also grabbed a highlighter. I had the problem and alibis typed up on my SMART board including pictures of the characters. I read the problem and each alibi to the students. We walked through the ingredients of a mystery and checked off all of the mystery elements that our mystery had on the list. Then, I separated the students into two groups. One team surveyed the crime scene and drew the map of the evidence in the crime scene first. The second team worked in teams to read through the alibis and highlight evidence they found in the text that made them believe a character or characters might be guilty. After ten minutes, the teams swapped stations. We returned together as a group to discuss all of the evidence the students had found in the crime scene as well as the alibis that led them to believe that specific characters could be guilty of the crime. We completed the suspect list together. Students work in teams to highlight evidence in the alibis. Students sketched the crime scene. We taped off the crime scene with caution tape. The crime scene included Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, barcodes with fur on them (from characters), endings ripped out of the end of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books (these were really just copies I ripped), a blanket, movie ticketes (3), and a book about bumblebees (this was the book Hop On Pop was using to do his research for homework). I found the copies for the ingredients of a mystery checklist and suspect list from Beth Newingham's Scholastic post about the mystery unit she teaches in her classroom. The Solution The students really thought like detectives in this lesson! I did catch a few of them off guard with my red herrings, though. The fuzz on the barcodes made some of them immediately suspect Fox in Socks and the Starbelly Sneetch. One of the kids said, "This is the best lesson we've had in the library all year!" So, you can make whoever you want responsible for the crime. I decided that Hop On Pop was guilty. He was mad that he did not get to go to the movie with his friends. He was working on his report about bumblebees (since bears love honey) and had to stay later than his friends in the library to finish up. All of the other characters visited the library to visit Hop On Pop and they did not say anything about something being wrong in the library. Hop On Pop tore the endings out of the books when his friends left. To excite the kids about checking out mysteries in our library, we created a mystery display. All of the books were sealed in brown paper bags with the barcodes on the outside so we could check the books out without opening the bags. Each bag had a different mystery inside. This was a fun way for our students to try reading something new in the library and practice their detective skills we learned in our lesson together! Mystery books in mystery bags!

One of the biggest barriers keeping teachers from engaging in STEM challenges is the large amount of materials some activities require. This is further complicated this year by the fact that students can’t share materials so teachers need to have enough materials on hand for each individual student.

***This post contain affiliate links for Walmart, Target, Creative QT, and hand2mind. By purchasing an item on these sites using these links, I will receive a small commission on your purchase.*** Are you interested in starting a classroom or school Makerspace OR maybe want to learn more about how Makerspaces work? You’ve come to the...

Since the end of term, I have been catching up on the stacks and stacks of magazines that had been piling up. I read old celebrity news, old science news, and a plethora of fitness articles. The most entertaining part of the catch-up was seeing how the celebrity news was reported when I knew the outcome because it was so old. Jennifer Aniston pregnant! No way Jose, if you saw her recent bikini pictures in Mexico. Because I was reading so many magazines, I wasn't really reading books. I am still working on Laughter of Dead Kings on the Kindle, and I have been reading some kids' books in print format. My nephew will be turning six in a few weeks, and I have been trying to improve my literacy in the type of books that might appeal to him. One of the book series that had caught his attention is the Franny K. Stein books. Franny is mad scientist kid, modeled on the concept of Frankenstein. Remember, Frankenstein was the name of the scientist, NOT the monster! The Franny K. Stein books, of which there are seven so far, revolve around Franny's misadventures with science. Franny loves science, and she thinks that all the kids in her grade school should love science. However, they are interested in other things, like making cookies or collecting stamps. Franny creates a lunchmeat monster to save her teacher from the garbage can creature concocted from Franny's fermenting lunch (Lunch Walks Among Us). Franny creates a Dooms Day device, but then her lab assistant, a mixed breed mutt called Igor, accidentally eats the device, and in the process, activates it. Franny has to shrink herself to journey into Igor's stomach to deactivate and retrieve the device. (Frantastic Voyage) The books are first chapter books, and my nephew loves the books so much that he keeps on looking for new Franny books. I think the books are fun and perfect for a boy, or girl, who loves mad science. The other kids series character that I have been reading is Neil Flambe. He is a creation of Canadian author, Kevin Sylvester. Neil Flambe is a 14-year-old master chef. Neil Flambe can cook anything, and he also has a powerful nose for odors. Because of his powerful nose that can pick out the slightest smell and identify it, Neil gets involved with the local police, namely Sean Nakamura, Police Inspector. Neil helps Nakamura solve mysteries, and in the first book, Neil Flambe and the Marco Polo Murders, Neil helps Nakamura find the person who is murdering the best chefs in the area. Of course, the clues all point to Neil being the culprit, so he has to clear his name. The back story revolves around the journeys of Marco Polo, and a deadly poison that Polo discovered on his journeys. Neil gets help from his older cousin, Larry Flambe, and Neil's girl friend, Isabella. There are only four books in this series, and the books are geared toward the older reader, maybe fifth to sixth grade. My nephew will have a bit of time to grow into the Neil Flambe series, but I hope that he does give them a try. I've also been reading graphic novels, and the Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi has been entertaining. The story revolves around Emily Hayes, who becomes a stonekeeper. She, her mother, and Emily's brother, Navin, go to live in Emily's great-grandfather's house after Emily's father's death in a car accident. Of course, Emily has to save her mother, who is captured by an arachnopod. Emily and Navin have to journey to another world to save their mom, and then they have to stay there to save the world. This is another short series. There are five books out, with a sixth expected in September 2014. The world of kids' literature is booming, so my nephew should have plenty of books to catch his attention. Let's hope that he gives the books a chance. You know how it is with kids. Right now, he is in a "I don't want to read because books are dumb." We'll have to hope that he sees the joy in reading before too much time passes.

Teaching STEM Literacy: A Constructivist Approach for Ages 3 to 8

Explore LibraryGirlCC's 567 photos on Flickr!

Incorporate fairy tale elements with technology in the classroom with these before, during and after reading activities that you can use with the children's book, Once Upon a Time Online. An important message about digital citizenship is shared. Technology in the classroom

Your new favorite teaching strategy: This pared-down version of learning stations keeps the movement, interactivity and variety while minimizing the prep work.

One of the crafts listed in the CSLP manual for the Fizz Boom Read! season was all about binary code. This one caught my eye as my husband loves computers and coding, and... well... I'm a nerd too... In short, binary code is a way of writing letters and numbers and symbols using an 8-digit string of 0's and 1's. For example, the uppercase letter "A" is written 01000001. Using black beads for 0 and white beads for 1, with colors in between for spacing, we were able to create bracelets, necklaces, and keychains with coded messages. I offered this program for my teens, but it could easily be something for elementary kids to do too. Most kids wrote their names or initials, a few middle school girls wouldn't share whose name they were writing. :) The keychain spells "Carrie", and I made the blue necklace for my daughter "Abby".

“I just need something that gives me a quick sense of a coach’s skills,” wrote a coach from Florida.

Teaching digital citizenship in a meaningful way can be daunting. These picture books illustrate important concepts beautifully. This post is written by

View the comic strip for Wrong Hands by cartoonist John Atkinson created September 01, 2017 available on GoComics.com

Teaching math with children's literature can make it come alive! This list includes all the best books to teach multiplication and division in a fun way.

The math and literature connection is powerful during the elementary years. This post shares why and how to add literature into homeschooling math lessons.