We know two truths about fiction; it is an extremely powerful tool to help us understand the world around us, and all fiction has some basis in reality. For many of us, understanding the world we live in comes from our knowledge of popular culture and science. Bringing these two pieces together for students is possible through STEMRead. STEMRead is a place where English and Science meet in some of the most fantastical ways possible. They but the Science in Science Fiction

STEMRead works with professors from Northern Illinois University (NIU) and they use live and online programs to inspire readers to learn more about science, technology, engineering, and math concepts through popular fiction. I learned about this program a few years ago when I was at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference. I went to a panel discussion that was led by the founders of the project. I was blown away by their attention to detail and considerations when choosing materials. The founders of this project have worked tirelessly to build an extensive set of curriculum resources for every grade level.

During their presentation, one thing that stood out to me was their process of choosing literature. The founders and staff would make sure that their selections would break down the very real science in the books; allowing the science to become an entry point for students. Typically, whenever the hopes and dreams conversation come up, very often being a scientist is not something that the students say. Using these selected books and looking at these books with more of a STEM eye, can help open student’s eyes to other paths that they can become.

 In their presentation and even on their website, they mention a few different ways that they reach students. Whether it is attracting readers by choosing high-quality stories, using reading and art as a gateway into STEM fields for groups that traditional do not lean into these fields or using hands on teaching techniques and various read aloud features to attract those who struggle with reading. One of the books that is featured in the program is The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. When I was teaching at Mary Walsh, we had used this book as an entire school read aloud. This site would have been a great help in creating content for the classroom to help the students engage with the text.

The site works like this: there is a synopsis of the book and then a breakdown of the resources. For The One and Only Ivan, the site resources start with videos from museums and then moves to discussing facts about the animals from the story. Then, there is an educator section with different lessons and assignments for the students to complete. A quick estimate for this book is about 10 unique lesson plans. 10! That is a lot of content for teachers to work with for The One and Only Ivan.

A quick look at their site and you can see elementary books that range from Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site to The Wild Robot. Middle school aged books highlights include Ender’s Game and the Testing Series (Great set of three books btw). At for our high schoolers, we have books such as Artemis by Andy Weir and War of the Worlds. You’re bound to find something that you have always wanted to use; now you have access to great lesson plans too.

​​Check out this video from STEMRead from the Book: The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau 

To learn more, visit their website and listen to their podcast (which I think is great). What are your thoughts and opinions? Are there books you wished they would cover? Have you thought about focusing on STEM aspects of books you use in the classroom? Leave us a note in the comments below!