This year seems to have whizzed by at a tremendous pace, probably due to all the exciting events that have been going on at Rode Heath. Last month we participated in this year’s Great Science Share for schools as a satellite, which was great fun – more of that later – but this blog follows on from June’s discussion of how we are linking STEM subjects with literacy.
This month it is the turn of science and we are delighted to announce that our school has been chosen to participate in the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2018. This is an annual event where children are invited to take part in a panel to judge a short list of six books that communicate science to young people. The prize aims to inspire young people to read about science and promotes the best science writing for the under-14s.
These are the books in this year’s shortlist: –
As the process rolls over into the next school year, we have chosen six year 5 children as panel members. It is quite a demanding process and requires each child to read all of the six books, recording their scores and thoughts along the way, before collectively choosing an overall winner.
Already the selected pupils have devoured their first books – the reviews of which can be seen below.
We have been impressed by the quality of their responses. Certainly, giving children a purpose for writing seems to have a very positive impact on quality; moreover, it is a great way to engage them with science.
Think Like An Engineer 