Where can I find this book? Captain Invincible and the Space Shapes  Book level? Level 2 (6+)

Summary:
Captain Invincible is playing pretend late at night that he is on a space mission and is running into a variety of obstacles in the process. He and his dog Comet battle the obstacles by using shapes, both 2D and 3D.

STEM Challenges:
- sphere and cone game (sphere on a string and catch it in the cone)
- build a rocket using 3D shapes
- build a rocket prototype to clear one of the obstacles
- devise a way for Captain Invincible to escape the obstacle other than what he does

What materials could be used?
- paper, tape, aluminum foil, string
- solid figures
- recyclable materials

Other books/resources to supplement lesson:
 - Sir Cumference and the Sword and the Cone - higher level (radius, diameter, height, circumference)

Standards/Skills:

Grade levels appropriate for this lesson:

The Mitten

Where can I find this book? Wegivebooks.com (account needed, but free)  Book level? AR 3.9, 800L

Summary:
Nicki's grandmother knits her a beautiful pair of snow white mittens. When walking through the woods, she loses one in the snow. This mitten is discovered by countless woodland animals as they attempt to squeeze into the warm mitten. Until an animal sneezes, and they are all thrown out in the snow.

STEM Challenges:
- engineer a way to keep Nicki from losing her mitten
- build a mitten that can hold plastic animals without ripping
- build a mitten that is "snow proof"
- math challenge: give graph paper in the shape of a mitten, animals have to take up a certain area, how many animals could fit,  assign a value to each animal, etc.
- give them a certain amount of string and they need to figure out how to make it so it will cover a hand

What materials could be used?
 - recyclables, craft, clay
- string or yarn
- various fabrics/papers
- graph paper

Other books/resources to supplement lesson:
- Snowy Day
- bring in a variety of mittens
- animal books or videos for size comparison

Standards/Skills:
- area
- properties of materials
- weather/water cycle

Grade levels appropriate for this lesson: K-5

Turkey Trouble

Where can I find this book?  (Ms. Czerney has it) Book level? Kindergarten

Summary:
It is almost Thanksgiving and turkey is getting worried. Instead of waiting to become dinner, the turkey decides to disguise himself as the other animals because surely Farmer Jake won't eat any of them for Thanksgiving. Then by the end of the book, he is hiding in the garden and gets an idea. He disguises himself as a pizza delivery man!

STEM Challenges:
- disguise the turkey as another animal
- disguise the turkey as another animal, need to have at least one part of their disguise pop off the page
- hide the turkey through camouflage
- dress the turkey up in a costume
- have them engineer how to create a turkey and hide it around the school. writing: give directions as to how to find it or clues where it is for students to follow

What materials could be used?
- 2D on paper color and disguise the turkey
- craft materials to make a turkey and hide it
- 3D recycling/building materials to make a turkey and disguise

Other books/resources to supplement lesson:
- animal nonfiction texts on grade level to help students improve

Standards/Skills:
- 2D and 3D objects
- animal knowledge/adaptations
- counting: give requirements or make math problems

Grade levels appropriate for this lesson: K-2

Perfect Square

Where can I find this book? STEM Lab  Book level? ATOS 2.2, Lexile AD470L

Summary:
Narrated from the perspective of a square, this square is perfect. Each day a different thing happens to the square and it changes itself into something new. This shows creativity and imagination as to what a square can become.

STEM Challenges:
- have students take a square and cut it into pieces, then arrange them into a new picture
Variations/Additions; have them trade pieces so that they have all different colors. Allow them to only cut X amount of times. They need to make it into certain pieces. Could use tangrams. Have them crumble or hole punch, or only rip. Give them additional constraints, they must make a building, or animal, or plant, or pieces have to show a verb, then have them write about it. Use technology to take pictures of their creations and allow them to make multiple masterpieces. Bring all the pieces together to make a mosaic.
Have them measure the square and find its area, perimeter, discuss squared numbers. Look at arrays. View squares in real life and discuss the shape itself.

What materials could be used?
- paper
- ipod
- scissors/markers/glue/tape
- rulers

Other books/resources to supplement lesson:

Standards/Skills:
- area/perimeter
- square numbers
- arrays
- directions
- imagination

Grade levels appropriate for this lesson: K-5

Fish is Fish

Where can I find this book? Fish is Fish  Book level? ATOS 3.7

Summary:
A young fish and young tadpole are friends, but then the frog grows up and is able to leave the pond. The frog sees all these things, that the fish has never seen. The fish imagines these to have fish bodies and adds the information from frog. He uses his schema to come up with a picture of these items. One day fish tries to leave the pond and is gasping for breath on the shore. Frog saves him by pushing him into the water, and fish decides that he lives in the most beautiful place.

STEM Challenges:
- students can design a way for fish to be able to experience being on land
- students can create their own animal with adaptations that can live on land, in water, in the desert, in the cold, etc.
- students can imagine certain objects that are described by a partner
- blind build and the importance of details

What materials could be used?


Other books/resources to supplement lesson:


Standards/Skills:
- adaptations
- compare/contrast
- details
- ecosystems
- animals
- directions
- wants/needs

Grade levels appropriate for this lesson: K-2

the dot

Where can I find this book? TumbleBooks  Book level? ATOS 1.9

Summary:
Vashti is a little girl who claims she cannot draw. Her teacher empowers her to just try! She of course does not show any effort, and puts a dot on her page, the teacher asks her to sign it. The next day it is framed in the classroom, and Vashti is determined to make a better dot than her first. She continuously improves and creates a whole collection of dots. Then another students comes to her and complements her work, he claims he cannot draw. Vashti has him draw a line, and then... sign it.

STEM Challenges:
- taking something small or a mistake and making it into something new
- have students draw a doodle or design on a page, then switch with a classmate to add to it, then maybe switch again
- have a student start drawing a picture, then have them trade with someone else to finish it
- student 1 can only draw line segments, student 2 can only draw using 2D shapes, student 3 can only add color
- partner a lower grade with an upper grade. Have younger students do marble painting, or using only straight lines, then the upper grade students must create it into a picture
- do small challenges where 1 student draws a design and the other must make it into a picture
NO ERASING!

What materials could be used?
- paper
- pens/markers/crayons
- water colors/paint
- iPod whiteboard apps

Other books/resources to supplement lesson:
- Beautiful Oops (STEM Lab)

Standards/Skills:
- color theory (water colors)
- perseverance
- improving
- finding strengths
- lines and shapes

Grade levels appropriate for this lesson: K-5

Not a Box

Where can I find this book? STEM Lab  Book level? ____________

Summary:
In this story, the narrator, a bunny, is adamant that the box he has is so much more than just a box. He is continuously asked what he is doing in/with/on a box, but it is NOT a box. He uses his imagination to make it into something more!

STEM Challenges:
- change a box into something else
- use an index card/square/rectangle to make it into something different
- create a cardboard arcade

What materials could be used?
- boxes
- paper/cardboard/notecard

Other books/resources to supplement lesson:
- Roxaboxen
- Caine's Arcade

Standards/Skills:
- discuss squares and rectangles
- discuss 3D and 2D shapes
- could have them create the box into something with a science or social studies concept
- arrays
- area and perimeter

Grade levels appropriate for this lesson: K-5