Science with Storytelling

Jane Stenson is a pre-service and classroom educator, a storyteller and author. She lives in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. Sherry Norfolk, an award-winning storyteller and teaching artist, is an adjunct professor at Lesley University. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri. Lynette J. Ford is a fourth-generation Affrilachian storyteller, author and teaching artist with the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education and the Kennedy Center Ohio State-Based Collaborative Initiative in Columbus.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPrefaceIntroduction (Jane Stenson)Science Is a Story (Vito M. Dipinto)Thinking Like a Scientist: How Do Scientists Figure Things Out? (Mary Hamilton and Charles Wright)Part One. Early Childhood: ­Pre-Kindergarten through Second GradeIntroduction: “Eensy Weensy” First Steps into Scientific Inquiry (Lynette J. Ford)Physical Science“Sody Sallyratus”: States of Matter (Sherry Norfolk and Jane Stenson)“Anansi and Turtle Go to Dinner”: Sink and Float (Jane Stenson with Sherry Norfolk and Bobby Norfolk)“How the Rainbow Was Made”: Liquid Rainbow and the Density of Liquids (Dana Allande ­O’Brien)“The Lady Who Put Salt in Her Coffee” (Vito M. Dipinto)“Prairie Dogs in the Rain”: Solving Problems with Simple Machines (Sherry Norfolk)Life ScienceCreating a Pourquoi (“How and Why”) Story (Katie Knutson)Caterpillar to Butterfly: The Process of Metamorphosis (Lynette J. Ford)Caterpillar to Butterfly: Thoughts on Science and Storytelling(Judith Black)Hatching Chicks in the Kindergarten Classroom (Tracy Drummer Aiden and Elizabeth Barlock)“Tops and Bottoms”: What Goes Up? What Goes Down? (Jane Stenson)“Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears”: Pourquoi Stories and Mosquitoes (Joyce H. Geary)Stellaluna: Comparing and Contrasting Animal Needs (Lindsey Cohn)Earth and Space Science“Rabbit’s Tale”: A Paiute Indian Nature Myth (Lynn Rubright)The Big Dipper: Patterns, Inspiration and Multicultural Stories (Lynette J. Ford)“Un Lazo a la Luna” and Other Tales: Observing the Moon (Jane Stenson)“Old Man Coyote and the Rock”: The Rock Cycle (Jane Stenson)Part Two. Upper Elementary: Grades Three through SixIntroduction (Sherry Norfolk)Physical Science“Turtle Wants to Fly”: Gravity, Force, Thrust and Failure (Lynette J. Ford)“Paddy the Bricklayer”: Working and Playing with Pulleys (Jane Stenson)“The Lady Who Put Salt in Her Coffee”: Life Science, Chemistry and Problem Solving Strategies (Vito M. Dipinto)A Folktale Puppet Opportunity: Lights and Shadows (Jane Stenson with Julie Tubbs)Life Science“All Things Are Connected”: Interdependence (Sherry Norfolk)Insects and Plants: Finding the Food Connection (Mary Hamilton and Charles Wright)“The ­Knee-High Man”: Adding Science to Your Animal Stories (Kevin Strauss)Developing Effective Animal Characters (Kevin Strauss)An Adventure Through a Cell: Using Plant and Animal Cells to Create an Adventure Story (Jenny McCrery)George Washington Carver: The Argument for Crop Rotation (Bobby Norfolk with Sherry Norfolk)“Monkey and Buzzard”: Animal Adaptations (Fran Stallings with Sherry Norfolk)“Sausage Nose”: Food Spoilage and Preservation (Geordan Stenson with Cy Ashley Webb)Nimrod and His Animal Teeth: Exploring Physical Structures, Functions, Life Cycles and Connections (Ingrid Nixon)Earth and Space“The Wave”: Tsunamis (Anne Shimojima and Sheri Lucterhand)“The Making of Whirlwind”: The Cyclone Applied to a Dyson Vacuum Cleaner (Jane Stenson)Embodied Storytelling: Using Voice, Body, Visual Images and Writing to Clarify a Pattern or Process (Arianna Ross)“How Dragon Lost His Tail”: Shaping Landforms (Sherry Norfolk)Pele, or a Volcanic Trip: Tectonic Plates, Sulfur Gases, the Rock Cycle and Art (Jeff Gere)To See Below the Surface: A Story of Folklore and Fossils (Darlene J. Neumann and Larry C. Neumann)“Skunny Wundy and the Stone Giant”: Crystallization (Marilyn A. Kinsella and Larry Kinsella)Part Three. Conclusions and Possibilities: Storytelling and the National Aeronautic and Space AdministrationAn Interview with Beth HornerAn Interview with Jay ­O’CallahanScience and Storytelling Online ResourcesCompiled by Karen ChaceBibliographyCompiled by Lynette J. Ford, Sherry Norfolk and Jane StensonAbout the ContributorsIndex