Lisa Hansel

From ancient civilizations to far-away galaxies, from tyrants to heroines, from terrible wars to magnificent works of art, the world of knowledge contains wonders that young people eagerly explore when given the opportunity. Such knowledge is the essence of what it means to be educated; fifty years of solid research demonstrates that broad knowledge is vital to language comprehension and deep knowledge is vital to critical analysis.

Galileo Galilei’s birthday is not usually a cause for elementary school celebrations – but that could change if publisher Great Minds has anything to say about it. At Saville Elementary School in Dayton, Ohio, third graders are learning quite a lot about the Italian astronomer and father of modern science as they kick off a module on Outer Space in Wit & Wisdom’s new ELA curriculum by reading Peter Sis’s Caldecott Medal winning book Starry Messenger.