Q: My daughter, a high school freshman, does well in math and science. Her counselor suggested that we find her a female mentor to foster her interest in these subjects and help her set career goals. Is this a good idea? How would we find one?

A: The counselor is looking out for your daughter's future. The nation needs our brightest kids to pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields.

According to a 2009 study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, among wealthy nations, United States high school students rank 23rd in science and 31st in math. According to the National Academies ("Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine"), the U.S. ranks 27th in college graduates with degrees in science and math. And according to the Association for Women in Science, females represent only one-fourth of the STEM workforce. Many thousands of STEM jobs go unfilled for lack of qualified candidates.

Is mentoring effective? There is good evidence that a strong mentoring relationship can enhance a student's school performance, improve relationships with parents and peers and reduce initiation of drug and alcohol use. Folks at the Search Institute, a research organization devoted to understanding "what kids need to succeed," say young people have a better chance of reaching their full potential if they have at least three nonparent adult mentors in their lives.

To find a mentor, start with your own networks. "Many STEM professionals would love to coach a motivated young person. Often they just need to be asked," says Nancy Bourne, Florida Teacher of the Year for Engineering and a STEM Club leader.

If your search comes up short, look for national and local organizations such as fabfems.org, a directory of women in STEM jobs committed to putting girls on paths to STEM careers.

Don't rule out online mentoring. A recent study on e-mentoring found that it can be as effective as in-person interactions.

Meaningful mentoring relationships are often forged in labs and other workplaces, says Cathy Trivigno, a researcher at The Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Fla.

"A Google search will turn up summer internships and camps that introduce high school girls to STEM careers," she says. "Getting into one can give her a chance to work alongside highly skilled professionals, and, if she's motivated, she'll get plenty of encouragement."

A mentor-mentee relationship might take a while to get going, says Bourne, who adds, "the best mentors are 'real' people who will connect with a teen's multiple interests; who can talk about their everyday lives, families, pets, and hobbies, along with the satisfactions of their jobs."

Male or female, what counts is the mentor's ability to listen, coach, inspire and share stories of their failures as well as their successes. This helps teens develop less-stereotyped images of science and engineering fields.

Bourne says, "I always tell students that Newton's law of gravity didn't suddenly appear one day when he saw an apple fall from a tree. He had prepared his mind with his hard work and curious nature to be able to formulate a gravitational theory at that moment.

"Newton wrote: 'I keep the subject constantly before me ... 'till the first dawnings open slowly, by little and little, into the full and clear light.'"

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: I feel guilty when I see the note my son's third-grade teacher sent home in June: "Read lots of nonfiction this summer!" He likes Lemony Snicket books, but other stuff? Not so much. Why the push for nonfiction?

A: Third grade is often the year that kids -- especially boys -- figure out that reading independently can be fun. Trust me, if your son reads only Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" (lemonysnicket.com), his teachers will still be thrilled.

At least he is reading. Many studies indicate that students can lose up to three months of reading skills during summer vacation if they don't practice. (For more information, check out summerlearning.org.)

Why the emphasis on nonfiction? It introduces young readers to real people, places and things that get us talking, like the world's biggest airplane or a tightrope walk across the Grand Canyon.

Nonfiction boosts vocabulary and teaches students background knowledge to do well in math, science, social studies and the arts.

Many nonfiction genres appeal to kids: biographies and autobiographies, science and history books, magazines and newspapers, and information-packed almanacs.

Here's an easy way to integrate nonfiction reading into your summer. Pick a topic of interest to your son, like weather. It's always changing, often unpredictable and summer activities are shaped by it.

Study the microclimate in your area. Listen to local weather or download the free Weather Channel app to your smartphone to note forecasts. Then chart actual temperature, rainfall totals and observed weather in your backyard for a month. Do your observations match the forecasts?

Check out weather-related books from the library. "National Geographic Kids Everything Weather" (National Geographic Children's Books, 2012) and "Scholastic Discover More: Weather" (Scholastic Reference, 2013) will introduce your son to weather phenomena and vocabulary. Pair this reading with exciting action stories, such as "Storm Runners" (Scholastic Paperbacks, 2012) or "I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005" (Scholastic Paperbacks, 2011).

Bird-watching is another great summer activity enriched with reading. "Gather a bird guide, binoculars and a pencil and notebook for notes and sketching," says children's science author Sandra Markle. One popular guide is "Birds, Nests and Eggs" (Cooper Square Publishing LLC, 1998).

"Observe birds outdoors. Discuss their activity," says Markle. "Do you see only one kind or several? Can you mimic their voices so that they call back to you?"

For further reference, she suggests checking out the National Audubon Society's website at audubon.org.

Read Markle's concept book "The Long, Long Journey" (Millbrook/Lerner, 2013), an amazing bird migration story. It describes a young bar-tailed godwit, hatched in Alaska. The bird spends the summer learning to fly, find food and escape from scary predators. In October, the godwit flies to New Zealand on a 7,000-mile, nonstop bird migration, the longest ever recorded.

"Nonfiction books aren't ends in themselves. They're the beginnings of lifelong interests," says Markle. "Complement them with information from multiple media sources that you can return to often, and your son will develop a new habit: reading for information."

Find grade-level appropriate summer reading suggestions at commonsensemedia.org and pinterest.com/greatschools.

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: I'm an undergraduate in education, and I'm baby-sitting several 5-year-olds this summer. They are driving me crazy with questions: why, why, why! How can I use their curiosity to develop their brains, even if I don't know the answers?

A: You're thinking like a good teacher. You want kids' pestering questions (e.g., Why does the traffic officer wear a green vest? What makes a rainbow?) to become great learning opportunities.

Research suggests young students learn more when you turn the questions back on them. Respond with questions that get them to:

-- Clarify their thinking. ("Why do you ask that?")

-- Challenge assumptions. ("Do all police officers wear green vests?")

-- Identify evidence. ("What happens when we see a rainbow?")

-- Consider implications and consequences. ("What if she didn't wear a green vest?")

Robert Sternberg, a leading scholar on developing higher-order thinking (HOT) skills, has outlined seven levels of potential responses to kids' questions. Granted, no parent or teacher has the time (or patience) to treat every question with a detailed HOT response, but the higher the level your response, the more thinking you're asking a child to do.

-- Level 1: Reject the question. ("Because I said so.")

-- Level 2: Restate the question as a response. ("Why is it so hot?" "It's hot because it's 97 degrees outside and 90 percent humidity.")

-- Level 3: Admit you don't know. ("I'm not sure, but that's a good question.")

-- Level 4: Consult an authority. ("Who might know the answer?")

-- Level 5: Brainstorm explanations. ("You think that she wears a green vest because it's bullet-proof?" "Who else has an idea?")

-- Level 6: Consider ways to evaluate explanations. ("Where would we find out more about green traffic-safety vests?")

-- Level 7: Follow through on evaluations. ("Let's look for information about the vests. We can search the Internet, or call or visit the police department to learn more.")

Research by Cristine Legare at the University of Texas shows that it's important for parents and teachers to be aware of where they're focusing children's attention when they ask for explanations.

Legare and colleagues showed 96 children, ages 3 to 5, a complex toy. It had colorful, interlocking gears with a crank on one end and a propeller on the other. They asked half the kids, "Can you explain this to me?" The other half were told, "Look, isn't this interesting?"

Children who were asked to explain their toy focused on the chain of gears working together to eventually turn the propeller when they turned the crank. This group was better able to re-create the toy and transfer their learning about how gears work to new projects. The group that was merely told it was interesting noticed the toy's colors and could remember the colors better than the first group.

The results make the case for explicit, intentional questioning. "We can't assume what we want to teach is something kids are just going to pick up on," said Legare.

Try these techniques and by summer's end, you'll be an expert questioner -- even if you don't know the answers!

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)