Fictional Stories in Science
Using Fictional Stories as a Pathway to Science Content
Featured Book: “Mad Scientist Academy: The Dinosaur Disaster”
Book Summary: “Dr. Cosmic’s class of clever monsters at the Mad Scientist Academy solve the greatest challenges in science, in this perfect blend of adventure and exploration.”
This is a clever and fun book for anyone who loves dinosaurs or anyone who is looking for a great addition to a dinosaur unit. It’s heavy text features, which include numerous dinosaur facts, connect it well to the upper elementary grades, especially as an individual read. In addition, the upper elementary students would enjoy the graphic novel layout that takes this book out of the “traditional” picture book genre. The story also has easy-to-use information that a teacher could use to support a whole class lesson (if not wanting to read the entire story aloud). I learned a great deal from this story. 🙂
Science Topics
- Dinosaurs
- Using clues or found information to solve a puzzle/mystery
- Solving a problem when there are problems along the way
- Collaborative problem solving
- Scientific method
Literacy Connections
- Graphic novels: layout and potential text production connections
- Storyboards
- Character development, especially supporting characters
- Using text to support opinions
Sociocultural Connections
- Diversity of characters
- Female paleontologist
- Collaboration to solve a mystery/problem
Fictional Stories in Science 