World Book Day is almost upon us again. And whilst dressing up as a character from a book might be fun, there are lots of other things you could be doing. There are plenty of ways to use class reading books as inspiration for science explorations and investigations.

Here are a few ideas to get you started.

How to Find a Rainbow (Alom Shaha):

Two sisters go outside to find a rainbow. But where has it gone? This is a book that will let you explore all sorts of themes with your students – backyard science, the natural world, sibling relationships, accepting differences and holistic learning.

Download the teacher’s notes and teaching resources here.

Meerkat Mail (Emily Gravett)

• This book explores different animal habitats.
• The children can look at the different habitats Sunny the meerkat visits, and think about why they’re not suitable for him.
• Pick a different animal, find out what habitat they like and then send them on a trip to the wrong habitats. Write postcards home to explain why they are wrong for them.

The Gingerbread Man

You could use this story as a starter for investigations into how long a gingerbread man would survive in water if he tried to swim across and escape. What would happen if the water was warmer, or colder? What if it wasn’t water, but milk? Maybe he was trying to escape from Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory!

As an extension: Could you design a suit to help him survive longer? Wrap him in different materials, like cling film, newspaper, and aluminium foil. Which material makes the best suit to keep him the dryest the longest?

Could you build a raft to help him float across the river? Which materials work best for a raft?

Monkey Puzzle (Julia Donaldson)

• Look at life cycles. In the book, none of the caterpillar’s babies look like him. Why is this? How is the life cycle of an insect like the caterpillar different to a mammal like the monkey?
• Make a branching classification key for the animals in the book, to help the monkey identify his mum.

The Gruffalo’s Child (Julia Donaldson)

• Investigate how the size of shadows can change. How could a small mouse make a big shadow?
• Make a puppet of the mouse out of card, and use a torch to cast a shadow. See what happens to the size of the shadow as you move the puppet nearer and further away from the torch.
• Investigate the footprints of different animals and try to draw some. Identify the animal from the footprint.
• Make a classification key for the animals in the wood, including the big bad mouse.
• Full details here

The Gruffalo (Julia Donaldson)

• Create a classification key for the animals in the wood, including the Gruffalo.
• Make a food chain that includes the woodland animals in the story.
• How is the Gruffalo adapted to live in the woods?
• Invent your own monster and write about where it lives, what it eats and how it’s adapted. Create a crazy creature using AI.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle): This can be used to look at life cycles. You could find out what kinds of plants butterflies like and grow them in pots outside the classroom.

Aliens Love Underpants (Claire Freedman & Ben Cort): Make a washing line of mini-underpants and explore how quickly they can dry. Link this to evaporation and the water cycle.

The Black Rabbit (Phillipa Leathers): Like the Gruffalo’s Child there’s lots of scope for using this to explore shadows. Make cardboard rabbits and use them as shadow puppets. How can you change the size of the shadow?

More Fairy Stories and Other Rhymes

• Make umbrellas for Incy Wincy Spider. What materials make the best umbrellas?
• Build bridges for the Billy Goats Gruff to walk over. Try different shapes for the bridge. Which is the strongest.
• Make houses from materials like The Three Little Pigs. Use a hair dryer to try and blow them down.
• Test how strong Rapunzel’s hair would be. Use cotton (or a cheap wig!). Test how strong a single strand would be and see what happens if you add more strands.
• Grow some beans from Jack and the Beanstalk. What do your seeds need to grow? Experiment with different conditions. Write a set of instructions (or make a short film) for a packet of magic seeds to explain how to grow them.

For more good ideas, visit the STEM Learning site for other ways to link story books with science.

In addition, the Teaching Ideas website has a wealth of cross-curricular ideas for using books, such as these resources for the Gruffalo’s Child.

And remember, you don’t have to wait for World Book Day to use storybooks in science. Always look for ways of linking science and literacy!

Got any more ideas? Share them in the comments below!