Science Steps Up
By Sandy Meagher

Online Extra: Parent Book Recommendations February 2007

Make the school library your first stop for inspiration and book suggestions about all things science-related.

Recently, one of our third-grade teachers was incorporating science across the curriculum in her classroom. We worked together trying to find books and media that introduced seeds, plants and living things. Some of the brainstorming involved questions such as: How will we tie in writing? Where can we include poetry? Is there a possibility to involve some math? Are there any fictional stories that address these science topics?
An excellent title we found on plants is Photosynthesis by Bonnie Juettner (Kid Haven Press, 2005, ISBN: 0-737-72350-5) from "The KidHaven Science Library" series.

Since the students were sprouting and planting seeds, we were also interested in a fictional story, and a great one is Pumpkin Town! Or, Nothing Is Better and Worse Than Pumpkins by Katie McKy (Houghton Mifflin, 2006, ISBN: 0-618-60569-X). After a pumpkin harvest, four brothers dispose of the leftover seeds. The wind picks up the seeds and sends them flying all over town. What happens next is exactly what students learned about planting seeds.

Science projects
Can we ever forget science projects? A super resource is Great Science Project Ideas from Real Kids by Janice VanCleave (Jossey-Bass, 2006, ISBN: 0-471-47204-2). Clear examples that can be followed and accomplished by students and teachers are given in this helpful book.

A great book for older students that is full of scientific interests to explore is Exploratopia: More than 400 Kid-Friendly Experiments and Explorations for Curious Minds by The Exploratorium (Little, Brown Young Readers, 2006, ISBN: 0-316-61281-2).

Be sure to also check out www.smartlabtoys.com This site will introduce you to many great products like "Science and Nature Challenge!" by Nancy Waddell. These are terrific hands-on science activity games that will challenge students ages eight and up.

The science of animals
Animals in science are always a high-interest topic. Some great resources for classroom teachers that are also popular with students are one-volume animal encyclopedias. A real beauty is Encyclopedia of Animals by Karen McGhee (National Geographic Children's Books, 2006, ISBN: 0-792-25936-X). Another encyclopedia of similar caliber is the Kingfisher First Encyclopedia of Animals (Kingfisher, 2005, ISBN: 0-753-45922-1). My school's fourth-grade classes began research in the library using these two volumes. Our goal was to find an animal's habitat, diet and description and then list this information on an index card with a picture of the animal. The end result resembled trading cards that are so common in sports.

Some other student favorites include titles from Dawn Publishing, whose tagline (and the title of their classic guidebook on nature education by author Joseph Cornell) is "Sharing Nature with Children." Visit www.dawnpub.com for books that introduce animals and their habitats through beautiful illustrations and poetic text. So much of what is shown could be acted out by very young children and used as writing starters for older students. Animal-book circulation is very high in our library, so we constantly try to incorporate all types of works.

Science in the curriculum
Science curriculum is being looked at through different eyes in our school district. We are presently looking at textbook companies, checking with other school districts and planning to incorporate science throughout our curriculum. Currently grades K-2 incorporate science throughout their reading and language arts. Our grades 3-5 incorporate social studies throughout their reading and language arts; now we are considering grades 3-5 incorporating science as often as possible through math, reading and language arts. Exploring the "teacher resources" section of the National Science Teacher Association website at www.nsta.org is extremely beneficial when doing this type of curriculum work.

Working with teachers at each grade level and then allowing representatives from each grade level to work together and decide on how to implement curriculum works well with our professionals. The work is labor-intensive but very rewarding.

The lessons of Black History
February also brings Black History Month. Last year, our school district adopted a wonderful school-wide project. Every class discussed giving service to community as Martin Luther King, Jr. did. Students and teachers became very creative and thoughtful. Classes visited nursing homes to offer friendship to older adults. Students gave presentations using poetry and performed small skits to interpret Dr. King's work throughout our country. This school-wide outreach to various areas of our local community truly served as a beautiful tribute to Dr. King's great legacy in our world.

Books to help convey his messages of peace and unity for all are abundant. Older students were immersed in Tell All the Children Our Story: Memories and Mementos of Being Young and Black in America by Tonya Bolden (Abrams, 2001, ISBN: 0-810-94496-0), 5,000 Miles to Freedom: Ellen and William Craft's Flight from Slavery by Judith Fradin and Dennis Fradin (National Geographic Children's Books, 2006, ISBN: 0-792-27886-0) and Powerful Words: More Than 200 Years of Extraordinary Writing by African Americans by Wade Hudson (Scholastic, 2004, ISBN: 0-439-40969-1).

These thought-provoking works stimulated much discussion in my school and hopefully helped to allow for understanding of each person's cultural background.

In my August/September column I mentioned that some of our fourth-grade students were corresponding with students in South Africa. We are learning so many things and perhaps beginning our own unification and peace efforts with this simple but heartfelt sharing.

Online Extra: Parent Book Recommendations February 2007

Sandy Meagher is the Library Department Chairperson and School Librarian in the Wayne Highlands School District, Honesdale, PA.

February, 2007, Vol.37, No.5