Chalk + Ink; Season 2, Episode 26

Interview with STEAM Teacher and Author,
​Kristen Nordstrom

The responsive and inventive, Kristen Nordstrom, talks about learning from “lean-in” moments in teaching, how writing a sentence on a page is an act of bravery, and how the secret to getting started on the writing journey is to let yourself be imperfect.

Throughout her twenty-five year career, STEAM educator, Kristen Nordstrom, has taken the time to talk with her students to find out what kindles their passion for nonfiction. Her students have shared that they love animals and they love learning about the world they live in. Kristen's students know that the nonfiction section in the library is not boring but the part of the library where they can find answers to their questions and quench their curiosity.

During this episode, we talk about how educators who are interested in getting to know their students better as readers should check out Pernille Ripp's book, Passionate Readers, and how educators who are interested in learning more about why it's so important to have a wide variety of nonfiction texts in their classroom should grab a copy of Melissa Stewart and Marlene Correia's 5 Kinds of Nonfiction.

In addition to sharing a myriad of ways to engage students in the classroom, Kristen talks about how her breakthrough moment in writing came while she was crafting her incredible book, Mimic Makers: Biomimcry Inventors Inspired by Nature. She had done loads of research but her book was missing that special spark. It turns out, she needed to reach out to each and every one of the scientists who she was studying in order to raise her work to the next level. Digging deep, she found the inner bravery she needed to contact them and the result is a work of art that inspires readers to take a closer look at the world around them.

Kristen thinks every elementary classroom should have the book Crossings by Katy Duffield and I couldn't agree more. I've had this book in my classroom for two years and each year it has engaged a student who has been unengaged in reading until they find this poetic, inspiring book in their hands. 

At Kristen's school, they've built a project based learning curriculum around Crossings. They're proposing a design for an animal crossing in their own community and bringing in people who build and design animal crossings as well. 

There  is so much to unpack in this episode and Kristen is offering a free thirty-minute Skype classroom visit to a lucky listener. Details on how to enter are embedded in the episode.

​Happy listening!