Rosie Revere, Engineer

Title:  Rosie Revere Engineer

Author:  Andrea Beaty @andreabeaty
Illustrator:  David Roberts
Publisher:  Abrams Books for Young Readers
© 2013
ISBN:  978-1-4197-0845-9
Grade Level:  K-3
Book Review: Rosie the Riveter was the iconic symbol for the role of women in the war effort during World War II. Rosie Revere, Engineer captures the power of that symbol in a modern tale for young readers on the power of pursuing your dreams.  In this fictional story, Rosie has a dream of being an engineer, but when well-meaning relatives laugh at her creations, she seeks to hide her dreams. Written in clever couplets with intriguing illustrations, the book delivers a powerful message about following your dreams no matter what and learning that failure is an essential part of success.
Systems Thinking Connections:
Habits:  Rosie learns lessons in this story that mirror several habits of a systems thinker.  Rosie realizes the power of Successive Approximation.  Great-great-aunt Rose helps Rosie understand that when something doesn't work, it is not a failure, but rather an opportunity to by pay attention to what did work.  Recognizing how much she can learn from her mistakes, Rosie is well on her way to knowing how to make the next iteration even better than the first. In order to apply Successive Approximation Rosie must also practice considers an issue fully and resists the urge to come to a quick conclusion.  Whether your unit of study is focused on engineering, women in engineering or innovation, Rosie Revere, Engineer makes it easy to deepen student understanding of the habits of a systems thinker in service to the curriculum specific outcomes being learned.
Tools:  Rosie Revere, Engineer is a book about accumulations.  You could choose to label the "stock" of her lessons learned in a number of ways:  ingenuity, innovation, persistence, power of a dream, to name a few.  Whichever stock you choose the factors that increase and decrease that stock are clearly articulated in the story.  What a great conversation to have with your students to discover what truly fuels innovation.

Innovation

Library Lily

Title:  Library Lily

Author:  Gillian Shields
Illustrator:  Francesca Chessa
Publisher:  Eerdmans Books for Young Readers ©2011
ISBN:  978-0-8028-5401-8
Grade Level:  PreK-2

Book Review:  Lily loves to read.  She reads all the time. She reads so much that she is sometimes unaware of the world around her.  Milly hates to read. That is until Lily introduces her to the joy and adventures that she can have when she reads. Library Lily is a heartwarming story about both the joys and influences of reading.  As this book is available in Turkish, I dedicate this entry to the enthusiastic teachers with whom I had the privilege of working this summer.
Systems Thinking Connections:  
Habits:  Changes perspectives to increase understanding. The story is a classic example of this habit for both Lily and Milly.  It clearly illustrates that both characters are better off when they incorporate the perspective of the other into their own lives.
Tools:  Given the straightforward presentation of Lily's experiences reading books and Milly's constant need for adventure, the book provides a great means of introducing the concept of accumulation to young children.  The number of books that Lily reads is increasing at a steady and constant rate.  Likewise, it can be inferred that Milly's experiences accumulate at a similar rate.  Once the characters meet they both experience an accelerated accumulation of books read and adventures experienced. The concept of accumulation is at the heart of this story and re-readings could support children in acquiring a deeper understanding of the concept of accumulation.
The book would also be an excellent basis for a primary lesson the ladder of inference.  Students could compare Lily's ladder about her attitudes toward reading with Milly's ladder.  Milly changes her mind about reading based on the influence of her new friend, Lily. Students could offer lots of evidence about what Lily and Milly believe, what they are paying attention to and ultimately what they choose to do based on their beliefs.

How Full is Your Bucket? For Kids

Title:  How Full is Your Bucket?  For Kids

Author:  Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer
Illustrator:  Mauri J. Manning
Publisher:  Gallup Press, ©2009
ISBN:  978-1-59562-027-9
Grade Level:  PreK-3

Book Review:  When Felix asks Grandpa to intervene in a conflict with his baby sister, Grandpa introduces the idea of an invisible bucket that contributes to Felix's overall feelings of self worth and esteem.  Sure enough, the next morning when Felix wakes up, he sees the bucket over his head and the heads everyone else as well.  From then on every interaction throughout the day acts as a deposit or a withdrawal into someone's bucket.  Felix begins to understand that not only should he be aware of the level in his own bucket, but he can also contribute to the buckets of others.  A systems thinker might call that bucket a stock.  This book does a great job of helping young people and adults see the importance of keeping their buckets full, as well as serving as a bucket-filler for others.  A great presentation of a very important topic, this book could be an excellent catalyst for a class meeting, an SEL lesson or any time when a reminder to be a bit kinder to others is in order. 

Systems Thinking Connections
Habits:  Pays attention to accumulations and their rates of change.  This habit requires thinking about how the amount, or level, of something is changing over time.  This book is an exact match to the type of thinking described in this habit.

Tools:  How Full is Your Bucket?  is a concrete example of the systems thinking tool known as a stock flow diagram.  It identifies an accumulation with inflows and outflows. In a classroom learning to use this tool, the book is an ideal way to reinforce the technicalities of creating a stock flow diagram.  Students could begin by using ideas in the book to build a stock flow, and then add to the diagram from their own feelings and life experiences.