Cao Chong Weighs an Elephant

Book Synopsis: Best STEM Books of 2018 for K-12 Selection by NSTA, ITEEA & CBC Purdue University's 2018 Engineering Gift Guide Winner of the 2018 CALA Best Book Award, Best Juvenile Literature Outstanding Science Trade Books Selection of 2018 by NSTA & CBC Notable-Social-Studies books of 2018 selection by NCSS & CBC A Mathical Honor Book of 2018 by MSRI, NCTM & CBC Children's Book Council "Book Power" Showcase selection How much does an elephant weigh? How do you know? How would you know if you didn't have a modern scale? Six-year-old Cao Chong, the most famous child prodigy in Chinese history, faced just this problem! Chong watches as the prime minister's most trusted and learned advisors debate different methods. The principal of buoyancy and a little bit of creative thinking help this boy come up with a solution. This fictional story includes a 4-page For Creative Minds section in the back of the book and a 30-page cross-curricular Teaching Activity Guide online. Cao Chong Weighs an Elephant is vetted by experts and designed to encourage parental engagement. Its extensive back matter helps teachers with time-saving lesson ideas, provides extensions for science, math, and social studies units, and uses inquiry-based learning to help build critical thinking skills in young readers. The Spanish translation supports ELL and dual-language programs. The interactive ebook reads aloud in both English and Spanish with word highlighting and audio speed control to promote oral language skills, fluency, pronunciation, text engagement, and reading comprehension. Tap animals and other things that make noise to hear their sounds. Keywords: buoyancy, problem solving, critical thinking, sink or float, scale, lever, volume, density, units of measurement, fulcrum, force, Chinese history, geography, maps, coordinate grid, Han Dynasty