1.
Mammoths on the Move-FK 5.6
Wheeler, L. (2006). Mammoths
on the move. New York, NY: Harcourt Books.
Summary: Describes many
important parts of the mammoth life cycle, including habitat, diet, and
migration to warmer weather. This would be very interesting to children
because, though woolly mammoths are now extinct, they still had many things in
common with current species.
Suggested activity: Students
will write a short (several sentence) account of what happens next to the
mammoths now that they have reached their migration destination. This will help show if they have understood
the cyclic pattern of migration, and constant mammoth habits (such as diet and
family patterns).
2.
It Could Still Be a Rock- FK 3.0
Fowler, A. (1993). It
could still be a rock. Chicago, IL: Children's Press.
Summary: This nonfiction
book has wonderful pictures and simple text giving examples of things that are
still rocks, though they may not appear to be rocks. There are many examples of
fossils in the book, explanations of how the fossils are formed, and what they
can teach us.
Suggested activity: Students
will write a letter to a friend or family member explaining that one particular
rock (the one that surprised them most) is in fact a rock and not something
else. They must include the reasons they
thought it was something else, and reasoning behind why it actually is a rock.
3.
Dinosaurs- FK 2.7
Zoehfeld, K. W. (2011). Dinosaurs.
Washington, DC: National Geographic Society.
Summary: This nonfiction
book has short, newspaper-like articles that describe dinosaur diets, habitats,
and life patterns. There are also several pages about fossil formation and the
information gained about dinosaurs by these fossils.
Suggested activity: As a reading group, students will work on a
mind-map during and after reading the book.
The topic is “dinosaurs.”
Branches of the mind-map may include foods dinosaurs ate, types of dinosaurs,
how dinosaurs may have become extinct, where dinosaurs lived, and how
dinosaurs’ bones become fossils.
4.
Digging Up Dinosaurs- FK 3.7
Brandenberg, A. (1981). Digging
up dinosaurs. New York, NY: Thomas Y. Crowell Junior Books.
Summary: This book describes
in detail the work of paleontologists, from finding fossilized bones to their
eventual placement in museums. It also has information about how dinosaurs
would have lived, and how paleontologists know this from studying their bones.
Suggested activity: Students will create a flow chart with
pictures and captions describing the different steps of finding, digging up,
cleaning, categorizing and assembling fossilized dinosaur bones. They could present this orally to the class
to work on presentation skills, too.
5.
Who
Lives in an Alligator Hole?- FK 4.7
Rockwell, A. (2006). Who
lives in an alligator hole? New York, NY: HarperCollins Inc.
Summary: This book contains
information about the habitats of alligators, as well as the ways they interact
with other species including human beings. It introduces the concept of a
keystone species, which is a species that impacts its environment in a way that
is favorable for other animals.
Suggested Activity: The students
will research in groups other keystone species and the impact they have on
various environments and will pay special attention to the students current
environment. Students will compile a ‘national geographic’ type magazine to
present their information. Each student will be responsible for a specific part
and the teacher will compile it and have each student printed a copy.
6.
A
Place for Birds-FK 6.4
Stewart, M. (2009). A
place for birds. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishers.
Summary: This book gives short
summaries of the habitats and human impacts on different species of
birds. It also describes diet, migration, and the concept of predation.
Suggested Activity: After reading
this book, the students will be broken into groups and each group will be
assigned one of the species of birds discussed in the book. Students will
have to make a presentation for the class. They can use various different
methods but one suggestion would be to create a ‘mind map’. Students will place
the species of bird they are researching in the center and then write their
diet, migration, habitats etc. surrounding the species of bird.
7.
My
Friends- FK 1.2
Gomi, T. (1990) My friends.
New York, NY: Chronicle Books.
Summary: In this very simple reader,
children are introduced to different animal "friends." They
will learn a bit about what these animals eat, where they live, and how they
move from the pictures and short accompanying text.
Suggested Activity: Students will
play a game of ‘who am I?’. The students will break into groups and each group
will have clues as to which ‘animal friend’ they are. The students will read
the clues aloud while other students attempt to guess what animal they are.
8.
Fossils Tell of Long Ago- FK 2.2
Brandenberg,
A. (1990). Fossils tell of long ago (2nd ed.). New York,
NY: Thomas Y. Crowell Junior Books.
Summary:
This book has excellent descriptions of fossil formation, along with the
beautiful colored pictures. It is
especially helpful for teaching that fossils are not only formed when bones
turn to stone due to mineralization (the focus of most of the other books), but
other less well-known ways fossils are formed, such as also when insects are
trapped in amber.
Suggested
activity: After reading this book, students will create individual guide
booklets about fossils. The booklets will be about 4 pages long and include the
student’s definition of a fossil, how fossils are formed (at least two
different ways), and what scientists can learn from fossils. All these topics
are covered in the book which students can refer to. In groups, students can
share their completed booklets.
9.
Old Bear- FK 2.6
Henkes,
K. (2008). Old bear. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.
Summary:
Old Bear tells the story of a bear hibernating throughout the winter. In the
story the bear is dreaming of springtime and when he wakes up it is
spring. It is beautifully illustrated,
and would appeal to young children.
Suggested
activity: Students will write and illustrate their own story about a bear
hibernating through winter, but from another animal’s perspective. For example:
A deer always walked by the bear and sees him dreaming and imagines what he is
dreaming. Or a chipmunk is friends with the bear but the bear is asleep and
can’t play, so in the springtime the chipmunk tells the bear about all the
winter fun he missed. The focus of the
stories would be on the bear being asleep (hibernating) through the winter.
10.
Across the Big Blue Sea- FK 3.5
Wood,
J. (1998). Across the big blue sea. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society.
Summary:
This book is an interesting voyage around the world, teaching children about
the different sea animals and plants that live in different habitats in the
oceans such as coral reefs, near beaches, and under the ice. Besides the normal text, there are many
labels for the living things on each page.
Suggested
activity: Students would work in groups to learn more about the animals in the
different marine areas explored in the book. They would then use a strategy
called ‘jigsaw’ to form new groups and share the information they learned with
other group members. For example: One student studying coral reefs, a student
studying rocky beaches, and a student studying the deep ocean would become a
group and each share their findings about the marine environment they
researched and animals that live there.
11.
Magic School Bus On the Ocean Floor- FK 4.7
Cole,
J. (1992). Magic school bus: On the
ocean floor. New York, NY: Scholastic
Inc.
Summary:
The kids from the Magic School Bus take a trip to the beach and into the
ocean. They learn about ocean wildlife,
food chains, and adaptations to living in deep water.
Suggested
activity: Students would create a flow chart of a marine food chain of their
choice and write a short description (a sentence or two) of every organism in
the food chain. They could then orally present their food chain to the class
and discuss the different organisms.
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