Just in case you have not yet read the column “Teaching Through Tradebooks” in Science and Children, the National Science Teachers Association’s elementary school journal, I’ll share why I like it with you. The column writes up two activities, one for K–3 and one for 4–6. The book choices are always excellent, the kind of books that you hold onto for 20 years because they are scientifically accurate and resonate so well with children. The content of featured books is appropriate for elementary school grade levels and aligns with the National Science Education Standards. The books are a pleasure to read with illustrations that add to our understanding of the text.
This month the titles are I See a Kookaburra! Discovering Animal Habitats Around the World by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2005) and The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer and Steve Johnson (Random House Children’s Books, 1994).
“Picture” books make great teaching tools for older elementary students too! Reading aloud develops students’ vocabulary and is a jumping off point for large group discussion.
Do you have a favorite book that ties into your science lessons? Bet you can’t choose just one!
Peggy
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You are right, Peggy, that I have many favorite books that tie into my science lessons. Now, at the start of school, my class is focusing on color. I love Mary Koski’s book Color, Color, Where Are you Color? Each double-page spread presents vibrant examples of color in nature and the rhyming text inspires children to look for more colors in the world. Learning about color naturally leads to exploring rainbows. The seeming magic of rainbows is so appealing to children. We love spraying fine mist from a garden hose into the air and making our own rainbows at school. Allan Fowler’s classic book, All the Colors of the Rainbow, does a great job of presenting the concepts of light, color and rainbows. It’s illustrated with color photos.
Thank you Marie, for introducing me to a new book. Children appreciate being “part of” the story so I love to read books that prompt me to ask the children to think about what might happen next, or to find something in the illustrations.
Literary Advocates Redefine Their World Without Books Read it at http://alanwking.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/literary-advocates-redefine-their-world-without-books/
What are some books that I can share with my 7th graders that talks about habitat and biomes? I love childrens books and would love to encorparte them into my classroom.
I agree that your 7th graders will appreciate and learn from children’s books. They will notice more details and make more connections than younger children. If you visit the NSTA website (www.nsta.org) and click on “Publications and Products” and then go to “NSTA Recommends” you can see the non-fiction books that are reviewed and recommended by NSTA reviewers.
Works of fiction are used in the lessons in the “Teaching Through Trade Books” column which is published every month in the journal, Science and Children.
Look at Teaching through Trade Books: A Habitat Is a Home, By: Christine Anne Royce in the September 2009 issue and Trade Books for Learning: An Author’s View, By: Lynne Cherry in the November 2006 issue.
Join NSTA and view all the journals!