Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science: The First Computer Programmer

Book: Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science: The First Computer Programmer

Author: Diane Stanley

Illustrator: Jessie Hartland
Genre: Non-Fiction (Biography/Autobiography)
Major Awards: ALA Notable Children's Books

Age Group: 2nd - 4th

Summary:

Ada Byron lived in a country house during the winter and was looking for something to do. She started from studying about how birds could fly, making wings for herself to fly, and actually flying in the sky delivering mail. She enjoyed it so much that she decided to write a book about it. Ada loved science and inventing things, especially machines. Throughout her life, she became friends with people who were inventors, which helped her with her own inventions coming up. Not long after, she started writing notes about creating the first machine that would be called the computer. Note after note, they soon helped her create a machine that is still used today. 

Evaluation & Comments: I actually didn't know that Ada Lovelace was the first computer programmer until I read this book! As I read, I definitely would say I learned quite a lot of new things about her. That being said, I would definitely use this book in my classroom. Other than teaching about what she did, I would do an activity where the students tell me the sequence of events and have them put it in order. I would have flashcards with the most important events, there would be many, and give each student pair a card to put on the board. Once they finish, we would go over and talk about what happened in the book all together.