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STEM Read-Aloud Videos

Video read-alouds of excellent English Language picture books to  support STEM concepts while building vocabulary, fluency and comprehension.

NOT A BOX BY ANTOINETTE PORTIS : The story of a rabbit who is able to visually transform a simple box into a wealth of other things. Fun example of literally “thinking outside the box.”

SKY COLOR BY PETER REYNOLDS : The story of a young artist who is challenged to paint the sky in a class collage, but discovers there is no blue paint. That leads to the discovery of what color(s) the sky truly is.

THE DOT BY PETER REYNOLDS :  The story of a student challenged to develop an idea for a painting who discovers that any attempt can become something special. Inspiration for those that struggle to come up with an idea to start a project.

THE GIRL WHO NEVER MAKES MISTAKES BY MARK PETT : The story of a girl who never makes mistakes, until it’s time for her annual talent show juggling performance. A wonderful lesson on the cost of perfectionism with a great ending.

IF I BUILT A CAR BY CHRIS VAN DUSEN :  this is the story of a boy who is bored with his family car and imagines a truly fantastic car that can do everything he can dream up. Great story for following up with a create draw or design activity.  

HOW TALL, HOW SHORT, HOW FARAWAY BY DAVID ADLER: explore the history of measurement, with some great hands-on activities exploring the ancient Egyptian measurement systems then moving up to the metric system.  

AN AMBUSH OF TIGERS BY BETSY ROSENTHAL:  This is a wonderful tour of the collective nouns we use to talk about groups of animals such as a rumba of rattlesnakes or a mischief of rats.  Build some great new vocabulary and ideas.  

NEXT TIME YOU SEE A SUNSET BY EMILY MORGAN:  one of the “Next Time” books designed to help readers see a daily phenomenon with fresh eyes. This explores the earth's rotation, the progress of day to night, and the reason for the sunset colors.

SOMEWHERE IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW BY STACEY SCHUETT:  a beautifully illustrated book exploring the amazing concept that at the same moment we are getting ready to sleep, other people are starting a new day. Lots of geography too. 

THE PERFECT PET BY MARGIE PALATINI:  a young girl really wants a pet and sets about convincing her parents that she is ready and able to have one.  In the end she does succeed but the perfect pet is a bit surprising.  Great conversation starter book.

ROBOTS BY MELISSA STEWART (NAT'L GEO): great introduction to any study about robots as it shares great pictures and simple content about various kinds of robots, a little robot history while exploring the interesting roles they are playing in our lives.

MY FIRST BOOK OF PLANETS BY DR. BRUCE BETTS: a well organized resource for learning something about our solar system from the sun to the dwarf planets.  Great pictures, vocabulary and facts to explore.

THE INCREDIBLE WORK OF ENGINEERS BY AGNIESZKA BISKUP: a graphic novel whose main character MaxAxiom, is looking to build a moon colony.  It explores the various engineering fields that will make that happen and the challenges to be solved. 

HOW TO CODE A SANDCASTLE BY JOSH FUNK:  this is the story how a young girl learns how to code her robot so that it can build her a sandcastle.  Basically a step by step lesson on the basics of coding and a great way to introduce robotics.  

IF I BUILT A HOUSE BY CHRIS VAN DUSEN:  ​this is the story of a boy who is bored with his family's house and imagines a truly fantastic house that can do everything he can dream up. Great story for following up with a creative draw or design activities.  

WHEN THINGS AREN'T GOING RIGHT, GO LEFT BY PETER REYNOLDS: a powerful message of what do when life just doesn’t seem to be going “right” -  often just a turn in their thinking or heading in a new direction

NEXT TIME YOU SEE A . . . . STEM SERIES BY EMILY MORGAN: 9 fantastic picture books all built around a phenomena of nature that can be explored and explained.  There is also a link to a project based learning idea of having students create their own version through a Mentor Text Study process.

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