Dear Parents and Teachers Future world-famous scientist Paisley Atoms and her best friend Ben Striker aren’t afraid to stir things up in their quests for discovery Using Paisley’s basement as a laboratory the two are constantly inventing exploring and well making messes Paisley has a few bruises to show for their work too She wears them like badges of honor These fast-paced adventures weave fascinating facts quotes from real scientists and explanations for various phenomena into witty dialogue stealthily boosting your reader’s understanding of multiple science topics From sound waves to dinosaurs from the sea floor to the moon Paisley Ben and the gang are perfect partner resources for a STEAM curriculum Each illustrated chapter book includes a science experiment or activity a biography of a woman in science jokes and websites to visit In addition each book also includes online teacher parent notes with ideas for incorporating the story into a lesson plan These notes include subject matter background information inspiration for maker space activities comprehension questions and additional online resources Notes are available at www RourkeEducationalMedia com We hope you enjoy Paisley and her pals as much as we do Happy reading Rourke Educational Media
Table of Contents Epic Arguments 6 Out of This World 16 It’s Not Rocket Science 22 Searching for Aliens 30 Photogenic Martians 38 A Disaster of Minor Proportions 46 Home Sweet Home 54 5
Chapter One Epic Arguments Paisley Atoms bounced in her seat She looked forward to science with Mrs Beaker every single day Paisley loved science more than almost anything Except her parents of course And her pet mongoose Newton And her best friend Ben Striker Good morning class said Mrs Beaker the fifth grade science teacher She stood in the front of the classroom and stretched out her hands It is time for our moment of science Mrs Beaker started every class with that pun The class had to be absolutely quiet for thirty seconds It was much harder than it sounded The class had learned not to groan or the moment of silence would be extended indefinitely Paisley put her hands on her desk and stared straight ahead If she looked at Ben on the right or her 6
friend Arjun on the left one of them would make a face and start them all giggling Mrs Beaker smiled broadly Fantastic Now everyone please turn to chapter seven in your textbooks We are starting our unit on outer space Thousands of years ago the world thought that Earth was the center of the universe Whitney-Raelynn thinks she’s the center of the universe Arjun said Several students snickered I heard that Whitney-Raelynn snapped She smoothed her perfectly straight and glossy blonde hair with her fingers Isn’t it true Even though she sounded like she was joking everyone knew she really wasn’t Whitney-Raelynn thought she was God’s gift to Roarington Elementary Unfortunately she was actually pretty smart and super talented at anything she tried It was extremely irritating Anyhoo Mrs Beaker said ignoring the class Now we know that our solar system revolves around the sun 7
