Fictional Stories in Science
Using Fictional Stories as a Pathway to Science Content
Featured Book: “Charlie and Kiwi: An Evolutionary Adventure”
I am so happy that a Pinterest search brought this title to my attention! Peter H. Reynolds (amazing author and illustrator) and the New York Hall of Science collaborated on this evolutionary adventure. I have never come across an evolution-based picture book, so I am so grateful for this. I wish I would have had it when I taught middle school science. It would have been a great compliment to our learning, particularly for the narrative types (like myself).
I also love how the team of authors framed it around a school science report–very relatable to its audience. In addition, I appreciated the changes over time pictures it provided with environmental explanations. As a side note: This is one of the longer picture books, with a great deal of text per page, so not necessarily a read aloud–unless you support the read by placing it under the doc-cam/Elmo to support viewing and engagement. Another way to increase reading engagement is to pre-select discussion points, making the story the full lesson.
Broad Science Topics
- Evolution
- Changes Over Time
- Environmental Interactions
- Geological Timeline
Broad Literacy Connections
- Dialogue
- Research and Presentation
- Supporting Visuals
Sociocultural Connections
- Definitions…narrow and not so narrow
Fictional Stories in Science 