Grades 3-5. End papers feature advertisements for homes and rentals. The bunny family circles a few and then checks them out. There are some features Grades 3-5. End papers feature advertisements for homes and rentals. The bunny family circles a few and then checks them out. There are some features that weren't mentioned in the ads.
This would be a FANTASTIC mentor text for 4th/5th grades studying animal habitats and biomes. Students could create an "ad" for a home their animal lives in by using research they've collected about an animal's habitat. They could also create a shopper based on their animal and describe what their animal would look for in a home. Then students could mix and match which homes would be better....more
Grades 2-5. Great example of narrative non-fiction. A family works together to build a raft while they wait for high tide and float over a mud flat toGrades 2-5. Great example of narrative non-fiction. A family works together to build a raft while they wait for high tide and float over a mud flat to a little island of rocks left behind by ships from long ago. Facts tell readers a little bit more about sea life (barnacles, how seagulls eat, etc) and descriptive language makes the reader feel like they are there-- listening to the clicking sounds, smelling the foamy water, feeling the mud. Using all the senses.
The writing could stand by itself-- but instead we get to enjoy stunning black and white illustrations with a sprinkle of color. The artist used paper cuts, but it looks like print-making. Beautiful!...more
Grades 3-7. Pair with Bugs and Bugcicles. Explains how mammals and birds are adapted for cold weather. Fold- out pages with full spreads are fun to exGrades 3-7. Pair with Bugs and Bugcicles. Explains how mammals and birds are adapted for cold weather. Fold- out pages with full spreads are fun to explore. Never knew river otters create fishing holes and rotate hunting to keep them open. Or that beaver dams appear to smoke as body heat rises to the surface. Cool!...more
Grades 1-5. Simple facts and poetry matched with Steve Jenkins highlights the habits of several woodpecker species including facts about adaptations aGrades 1-5. Simple facts and poetry matched with Steve Jenkins highlights the habits of several woodpecker species including facts about adaptations and impacts on their environment....more
Grades K-5. Rosario seems like a magician to his young nextdoor neighbor. He grows wonderful things in his garden. He knows just the right time to plaGrades K-5. Rosario seems like a magician to his young nextdoor neighbor. He grows wonderful things in his garden. He knows just the right time to plant fruits and vegetables and his plants are full and healthy. One day he plants a fig tree-- but knows the climate isn't quite right for it to survive. The tree gives figs, but when fall comes, Rosario buries the tree under a layer of soil. The yard looks barren under blankets of snow.
Spring comes. Rosario unearths the dead tree and props it up. The rest of his garden flourishes. But the fig tree... not so much.
Great book for talking about biomes and what plants need to survive. Good story about collaborating and learning from others....more
Grades K-5. This book can be read on different levels or used to explain different concepts for different grade levels. A backyard garden is the conteGrades K-5. This book can be read on different levels or used to explain different concepts for different grade levels. A backyard garden is the context for explaining how plants grow and what they need to live. Challenges are explained-- why my plant doesn't grow overnight, why critters eat the plants, poor soil, water content. Parts of plants we eat are discussed, too.
The last half of the book looks at food chains and food webs-- how different plants and animals depend on each other to survive.
Extra goodies: cover pages have maps of the garden....more
Grades 4-8. Three scientists travel to the Pacific Garbage Patch to see what effect plastics are having on the environment. Plastic bottle shaped textGrades 4-8. Three scientists travel to the Pacific Garbage Patch to see what effect plastics are having on the environment. Plastic bottle shaped text boxes demonstrate how they use the scientific method to make hypotheses.
It was interesting to see how many animals were making a new home out of the plastic.
What I imagined was a garbage island floating out in the ocean, but it isn't really like that. Much of the bigger plastic floats just below the surface. Sun and waves make the bulk of the plastic small pellets the size of rice.
The other interesting thing was that some plastics absorb toxins created by the degrading of other plastics-- meaning that animals ingesting those pellets got a double-dose of bad.
Tools used by the scientist are discussed, along with the challenges they face during their investigation....more
Grades K-2. Bear lives in the forest but decides he needs a new home. He visits friends who live in places unsuitable for a bear. A very basic book toGrades K-2. Bear lives in the forest but decides he needs a new home. He visits friends who live in places unsuitable for a bear. A very basic book to get kids thinking about how animals have adaptations to help them live in different biomes....more
Grades K-3. Great science read-aloud about how animals get ready for winter. Illustrations show hares change over time. Great to pair with book Bugs aGrades K-3. Great science read-aloud about how animals get ready for winter. Illustrations show hares change over time. Great to pair with book Bugs and Bugcicles.
More than just migration and hibernation. What animals that stay to to adjust and how life cycles end for others. A must-have....more
Grades 2-5. Good nonfiction read-aloud about the great white shark migration. Great ecological connections to food web and nutritional energy cycle. SGrades 2-5. Good nonfiction read-aloud about the great white shark migration. Great ecological connections to food web and nutritional energy cycle. Shows how shark bodies are adapted for hunting. Pair with Reynolds Carnivores. ...more
Grades 4-7. In this steampunk-art catalog of the future, Aviary Wonders, Inc. allows customers to construct birds using beaks, legs, wings, colors andGrades 4-7. In this steampunk-art catalog of the future, Aviary Wonders, Inc. allows customers to construct birds using beaks, legs, wings, colors and bodies from past and present specimens. Imbedded in the text are fact about extinct birds, types of beaks (carnivore, insectivore, herbivore), feet (perchers, waders, runners), flight patterns, etc. The humor of assembly instructions and shopping will be lost on younger students. Good for 5th grade animal adaptation science standards....more
Grades 2-5. Based on true story of a basketball player turned farmer. Will Allen buys an old city lot and dreams of a solution for urban food deserts.Grades 2-5. Based on true story of a basketball player turned farmer. Will Allen buys an old city lot and dreams of a solution for urban food deserts. Has to start from scratch-- making own compost with food scraps and worms. Would tie in with organic/ inorganic environment and how both work together to transform a landscape. Uses fish and sprouts for fertilizer and filtration, etc. especially great for schools with gardens....more
Grades 2-5. This book landed on my desk just as 5th grade was learning about food webs. Three carnivores (wolf, lion and shark) are feeling really badGrades 2-5. This book landed on my desk just as 5th grade was learning about food webs. Three carnivores (wolf, lion and shark) are feeling really bad because none of the other animals like them. They start a "carnivores anonymous" group in an attempt to change their image, with hilarious results. Great opportunity to discuss vocabulary and look at emotions (make inferences) and how the animals change from the beginning of the book to the end....more
Grades 4-6. Love the original layout of this series-- sort of a choose your own adventure food chain. Kids will get a kick out of it (and learn somethGrades 4-6. Love the original layout of this series-- sort of a choose your own adventure food chain. Kids will get a kick out of it (and learn something, too)....more
Kate Hastings
>
Books:
biomes
(28)
