Article: "Using Children's Literature to Clarify Science Concepts in Early Childhood Programs"

For me, this is an especially interesting article. I've been told that one should always include one non-fiction title per storytime with children. However, sometimes it's hard for me to believe that children are ready to learn about non-fiction conceps. This article sort of bridges the gap for me by discussing how fiction stories can be used to identify and explain science concepts. Of course, I already knew one could do this (as I've been doing it in my own storytimes) but it's good to see how others have done it. It's important to see articles like this because most children love learning and especially love learning information regarding science and nature. I know when I was young, I loved to learn about nature and why things were the way they were. I also loved conducting experiments and this article advocates exploration and experimentation with regards to the concepts covered in the books. This article is helpful because it contains an annotated list of titles all grouped by science concept categories. However, it would be better if this were a more recent list. The titles listed are mostly from the 1960s and 1970s. I'm sure if one wanted to initiate these programs other lists could be located. It is always nice to find an annotated booklist, however.

Smardo, F. (1982). Using Children's Literature to Clarify Science Concepts in Early Childhood Programs. The Reading Teacher, 36(3), p. 267-273. Retrieved from JSTOR database.