Blended STEM Fiction Book Set

by Mark P. Friedlander, Jr., Worachet Boon Sakprayoonpong (Illustrator), Bob Al-Greene (Illustrator)

Overview

This book set includes: Innovators in Action: Leonardo da Vinci Gets A Do-Over! Treat yourself to an intriguing story of great discoveries. In Leonardo da Vinci Gets a Do-Over, the Renaissance Master returns to test his genius in the modern world. Too bad he isn't really the celebrated Master of the Renaissance—or is he? Three American middle school students on a school trip to Florence, become his ambassadors to the present. An engaging and inventive way to learn history, math, art, and science! The League of Scientists: Ghost in the Water Is a ghost haunting the school pool? Sixth-grader John Hawkins feels all alone at school until his interest in robotics lands him an invitation to join four of his classmates in a secret group called The League of Scientists. John and his new friends Malena, Hector, Natsumi and Kimmey, pool their knowledge of biology, technology, logic, and chemistry to unravel mysteries that haunt the quiet town of East Rapids. The League is in  a race against time to uncover the secret of the ghost who is terrorizing the middle school swimming pool. Can they expel the ghost in time for their star swimmer to compete against their cross-town rivals? A mystery novel with a side order of the supernatural... or is it science?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781938492211
Publisher:	Science, Naturally!
Publication date:	02/07/2015
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 10.90(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Innovators in Action: Leonardo da Vinci Gets A Do-Over! Mark P. Friedlander, Jr. was born in Washington, D.C. and raised on the farms of Fairfax County, Virginia. He attended and graduated from the University of Virginia with a major in procrastination; then served in the Air Force as an aviator during the Korean War. After the war, he received a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and launched a career as a trial lawyer and book writer. He has authored and coauthored books on subjects ranging from aviation to the immune system to deadly diseases to forensic science to Shakespeare and now Leonardo da Vinci. He proclaims that during all the years, while he moved from bachelorhood to parenthood and on to grandparent-hood, he has been able to retain a healthy and juvenile mentality. Mark can be reached at [e-mail].

Table of Contents

The Blended STEM Fiction book set contains Innovators in Action: Leonardo Gets A Do-Over and The League of Scientists: Ghost in the Water and these are their Table of Contents: Innovators in Action: Leonardo da Vinci Gets a Do-Over ISBN 13: 978-0-9678020-6-0   Table of Contents   Why I Wrote This Book                                              15        Prologue                                                                      17 Chapter 1: The Meeting                                              21 Chapter 2: The Adventure Begins                              35 Chapter 3: The Awakening                                         43 Chapter 4: The Bicycle                                               49 Chapter 5: The Department Store                               61 Chapter 6: The Afternoon                                           69 Chapter 7: The Plan                                                    83 Chapter 8: The Airplane                                              87 Chapter 9: The New Challenge                                  101 Chapter 10: The Entertainer                                       111 Chapter 11: A Lesson Learned                                   127 Chapter 12: The University                                        137 Chapter 13: Back Home                                             155 Chapter 14: The Final Adventure                               169 Who was the Real Leonardo da Vinci?                      187 Continue Reading about Leonardo da Vinci              189 Glossary                                                                      193 Index                                                                           201

Editorial Reviews

This book is a delight! We used it to meet our science requirements without a significant realignment of sequence or reduction of teaching time. What makes it truly special is the range of cross-curricular opportunities found in every chapter. It is a rare book that offers so much opportunity for cooperation across disciplines.

Sue Garcia

This is exactly what science is about: curious kids using their knowledge to solve challenges. These kids tackle the problem of a haunted swimming pool that is disrupting the whole town. Watching the youngsters unravel the mystery is a great reminder that science is not just something done by old guys in white lab coats. This book is a wonderful kid-sized science adventure!

Alexander Pancic

Review: STEM Stories Transform into Hands-On Lessons These STEM books don’t just end when a chapter is finished - they create unique experiences of reading, researching, discussing, developing theories, conducting experiments, and creating hands-on scenarios of educational concepts. Middle Schoolers will learn STEM concepts with these books, without even realizing it! Looking for a way to prevent brain drain and keep your middle schooler entertained throughout winter break? These Blended STEM Fiction Books are the perfect gifts for kids who love reading, or even reluctant readers as the stories are fun, engaging and hard to put down! These fictional adventures about other teens solving mysteries and saving mankind teach your kid science, math, technology, engineering, language arts, history, and art lessons along the way. Plus, the books come with free teacher's’ guides with instructions for exciting science experiments you and your child can spend quality time doing together over winter break. The Stories & Educational Concepts In the first book of the set, “Leonardo da Vinci Gets a Do-Over,” a group of middle school students’ field trip takes an exciting turn. While on a tour of an art museum in Florence, Italy Leonardo da Vinci, brought back to life to make the world a better place, joins their tour. The kids go on a fun & hilarious adventure with him to complete his task while he teaches both the children in the story and your child STEM concepts as well as Renaissance-era world history and art lessons along the way. STEM concepts covered include prisms, light, proportions, the metric system, speed, sound waves, the Fibonacci Sequence, human body science, Bernoulli’s principle, and so much more. In the second book, students read a story that is blended with history, math, science, and computer programming concepts. A group of kids form a secret league of scientists and use their knowledge of biology, technology, logic, and chemistry to unravel mysteries that haunt their quiet town. This ghost mystery book has a science-fiction feel to it, making this a great book for kids who already love reading books about aliens, spooky monsters, time travel, or technical innovations. Besides some creepy moments, there are unexpected lessons from this book that touch on cyber bullying, military time, evidence, cryptology, Houdini, and goosebumps. The concepts are brought up and explained by the characters, so if your student learns best through stories, or needs to learn concepts outside of a textbook format, these Blended STEM Books are a fantastic supplement to your curricula. Teacher Guides Transform Stories into Hands-On Lessons The teacher guides are jam-packed with teachable moments, lessons, activities and more for every subject (including vocabulary and language arts!) broken down by chapter. For example, in the “Leonardo da Vinci Gets a Do-Over” teacher’s guide, you have ready-to-go activities for visualizing the Fibonacci sequence with a Mona Lisa Puzzle, building a pinhole camera, and experiments for understanding Bernoulli’s Principle. In the “Ghost in the Water” teacher’s guide, you will have instructions for guiding your students through creating their own ghost in the water via a fluorescein science experiment, a binary code breaking activity, and activities to understand the effects of vibrations on structures. The instructions for the experiments and activities are easily adapted to doing with your child one-on-one or in a classroom setting. Why These Books are Awesome This fantastic set of STEM Fiction Books combines multiple subjects to challenge your reader while following an exciting plot. These books don’t just end when the chapter is finished - they create unique experiences of reading, researching, discussing, developing theories, conducting experiments, and creating hands-on scenarios of the concepts from the plot.

Educents Blog

Friedlander has devised a carefully woven, well-crafted story. Readers will surely wish they could join the American middle-schoolers who befriend a hapless and ever inquisitive Leonardo da Vinci when he inexplicably shows up in modern Italy on a mysterious search for a grand invention. Learning opportunities abound throughout this clever and imaginative journey.

Robert Prezant

An easy read with a very powerful message! The League of Scientists creatively blends humor and gripping suspense with chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics and technology. The kids exhibit fear, anxiety, cooperation, communication and compassion, all while utilizing the scientific method. Science saves the day in this exemplary book. Parents and grandparents will enjoy sharing it with their kids. I will recommend the book to the administration to be a required reading for all faculty and students!

Kamaal Khazen

Ghost in the Water is a perfect book for mystery lovers and science enthusiasts of all ages! It reminds us that knowing science and math can make a difference, even in middle school. I especially love that girls are key members of the League. They will inspire and spark interest in girls beginning to explore STEM careers. I wish I had a book like this when I was growing up!

Naiyma Houston