Wonder Essay Curriculum

I was honored to present the wonder essay curriculum at the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA)  Conference in New Orleans on November 8th. A huge thank you to the Nueva School for supporting my participation.​

• Slidedeck for my NSTA session: "Integrating ELA Through Wonder Essays".
• The full wonder essay curriculum (lesson plans and all supporting documents).

Greetings from NOLA!

The NEW expanded paperback!

The NYT-bestselling World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil (illustrated by Fumi Nakamura) was the inspiration for the curriculum because of its poignant blend of natural history writing and memoir. The expanded paperback edition was released by Milkweed Editions last spring. I’m overjoyed that my collaborator Cliff Burke and I are credited in its Teaching Guide for our accompanying discussion prompts and our wonder essay curriculum. To access the curriculum and other World of Wonders resources, please visit Milkweed Editions' website:
​ milkweed.org/world-of-wonders-educator-resources

The 2024 edition of Bay Area Wonders

I have implemented the wonder essay curriculum at the Nueva School as Bay Area Wonders— a collaboration among 5th grade science, writing, and art classes. For the project, students research native species and explore their personal connections with them in illustrated natural history essays. Lyrical science writing!

​All the student essays are anthologized in a beautifully bound book. You can read volume three of Bay Area Wonders to celebrate central California biodiversity! ​

Illustrated Climate Graphs

​For this project, 5th grade students analyzed climate data sets. Then, they incorporated an actual graph line into an original watercolor depicting a specific impact of climate change they researched. The technique was inspired by the data art of science communicator/artist Jill Pelto. Enjoy the beautiful examples below— can you spot the line graphs?

I recently wrote a blog for NOAA called "Sci-Art Lesson Share: Illustrated Graphs" if you want to read some thoughts on the intersection of science and art and check out some more lovely student work.

MiddleWeb Article on Women in STEM 

Read some of my thoughts on a resource to help educators promote diversity in STEM fields and shift cultural perceptions of what science is and who can do it. The blog was inspired by Erin Twamley and Josh Sneiderman's latest book Everyday Superheroes: Women in STEM Careers. The book features 26 prominent women of color in STEM careers from A-Z (Astronomy to Zoology). Young readers will be amazed by the profiles of the superheroes and they will be challenged to develop their own STEM superpowers through embedded activities. Click here to read the blog, and click here to order a copy of Everyday Superheroes.

National Geographic Headquarters, Washington D.C.

Science Scope Article on Plankton

I have a featured article in Science Scope (January 2019, Oceans Issue) called "The Microscopic World of Plankton." Science Scope is the middle school journal of the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA). The article describes a series of activities for students to investigate plankton and better understand plankton's role in aquatic ecosystems. Students can engineer a plankton net out of household materials, observe plankton specimens with a microscope, and construct a visual model of an aquatic food web!
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Click here to read the article.
Click here for a Plankton Primer info sheet.
​Click here for the Plankton Activity Cards.