The Curious Case of Ants That Live in Galls : Telling Stories to Connect Literature with Science Classes (Journal Article)

***______{For Hard Copy, Please visit Library.}________***

Abstract: The worldwide scientific community has been promoting science communication from colleges and universities to schools, and different tools for communicating scientific discoveries have been created. Among this variety of tools, our choice fell on a storybook. The book, entitled The Curious Case of Ants That Live in Galls, is directed at 8-to-12-year-old children, and its use is suggested for literature and science classes. We propose either reading the text with the students or individual reading, followed by a debate and retextualization exercise. Also, the teacher can use the story as a motivation to address the science content and to discuss the scientific method. We observed the emergence of new questions, teaching methodologies, and didactic resources capable of amplifying the scientific context and, consequently, the student’s motivation.