A STEM Unit Centered Around Andrea Davis Pinkney’s The Red Pencil

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Last year I began exploring the possibility of a literature-connected STEM unit for my 4th-grade students around refugees with my school’s Engineering chair, Dr. Michael Sloan Warren. Early on I suggested we center it around Andrea Davis Pinkney’s beautiful verse-novel, The Red Pencil (which I had reviewed for the New York Times). We also used a number of refugee-centered picture-books, among them some I also reviewed for the Times.  Having recently finished running the unit, we are thrilled...