The Benefits of Teaching High School STEM through Storytelling

As a science educator, I’m all about teaching science through story. Even homeschooling high school STEM gives us amazing opportunities to seek out the stories and teach the science through the story. The Benefits of Teaching High School STEM through Storytelling will detail why we use story to teach science and I’ll introduce you to two fabulous books to help you get started.

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of the two book series, Discovering Life’s Story and compensated for my time in writing this review. All opinions are my own and I was not required to give a positive review. This post contains affiliate links. Thanks for your support!

In fact, our youngest has been taught STEM through story for just about all of his schooling. He graduates next week from our homeschool and is headed for more self-education in this realm. The stories of the people along the way inspired him and helped him to learn the mathematical and scientific knowledge he craves.

So, let’s talk about what the looks like and I can’t wait to share some amazing new books that are perfect for the job!

What Makes a Good Book for Teaching Science?

The first question you might be asking is how do I know what makes a good story book for teaching science?

Here are a few things I look for:

• Written by someone devoted to the topic- these are the best kind of book for obvious reasons
• Shares science through storytelling that focuses on the science you want to learn or teach
• Draws you into the topic- the story just keeps leading you along to the good stuff within
• Approaches the concept from a novel point of view- whether it’s about a person behind the science or something else fun concerning the topic
• Weaves historical context into the concept
• Highlights the people behind the science- this is a favorite if you have quirky/differently wired teens because they love to learn about people like them.

Benefits of Using Storytelling to Teach High School Science

So, how does using storytelling in STEM instruction, even in high school, benefit your teens?

• Appeals to teens who don’t think science is their jam- it’s like science in disguise
• Goes beyond the text book to the people and the time in which the scientific concept was emerging
• Inserts the humanity into the science- especially important when people often think that science is not human focused
• Allows quirky teens to see themselves in the people behind the science- which is so good for them considering neurodiverse young people are often betrayed negatively in stories.
• Gives another anchor point in teaching science- our oldest’s final assignment in biology was a paper written to compare the plague with Ebola. Think creatively about how your different teens can interact with the material in a way that uses their strengths.

Introducing Discovering Life’s Story

I just love it when a great author adds to their repertoire of good books!

Joyce Hakim has written several good non-fiction series for students. You might be familiar with The History of US which is all United States History from landing on North American soil to more modern times.

She also wrote The Story of Science in three volumes. I love this series too!

Discovering Life’s Story is a two book series that investigates life science from ancient to modern times.

The first volume, titled, Biology’s Beginnings, tells the story of ancient to modern people discovering the science of life.

• Details foundational life science- a history of the science through the people and their stories from ancient times through modern biological practices
• Hear stories about various biological crises like The Plague, tobacco disease, and smallpox outbreaks in the Americas
• Tells about the major advancements in biology like the invention of the microscope, pasteurization, and the beginning of categorizing all life on the planet
• Shares highlights throughout on people that may not be as well known who contributed to the evolution of the life sciences

The second volume is called, The Evolution of an Idea, and it begins with the Age of Enlightenment.

In natural science, the elements of truth ought to be confirmed by observation- Carl Linnaeus

This book focuses on how the collective mindset on scientific begins to change.

• Details the stories about how the established ideas were replaced by new discoveries and ways of thinking
• Weave the stories in and out of what’s happening in the world, all around the world
• Discusses how these milestones were received by the establishment
• Uses a historical format to share with readers the emerging sciences like paleontology and evolution

Confession: as a biologist, Linnaeus and his system of classification is one of my all time favorite topics to this day!

Why Teach High School Science with Good Books?

Shouldn’t we be using text books?

Of course, high school science textbooks are full of good information and they lay a sort of foundation for the content in any science course.

But, if you want to learn more about how all of this was discovered/learned then finding a good book on the topic is a great thing to do. It’s like going behind the scenes of the facts and getting a peek at what was happening at the time and the context in which the discoveries were made.

It’s worth the effort to add meaning with storytelling to your high school STEM courses.

More on Using Storytelling to Teach High School Science

We’ve been teaching and learning science with storytelling for a long time.

In fact, that’s how our youngest student learned best even all the way through high school.

Here’s a look at some ways we’ve done that and what we’ve used.

• The Big List of Awesome Living Books for Homeschooling Science– this list was so much fun to put together! I’ve made sure to add Discovering Life’s Story to the list.
• How to Teach Science through the Lives of Scientists– this is hands down my favorite way to teach science and I am a certified science educator! Our gifted kids love reading about quirky people like them and they are plenty in the science world.
• Art & Nature Study with Beatrix Potter– one of my most popular posts of all time, this is a comprehensive look at life of Beatrix Potter through her science and art.
• Microscopic Marvels: Explorations in Historical & Modern Microscopy– you will love this science course using your microscope and learning about the people behind the microscope. Perhaps there are people we talk about in the course who are mentioned in the books. Look for them and list them!