Nature’s Footprints

Wild Tracks

By Jim Arnosky

Sterling, 2008

ISBN# 1-4027-3985-0

Nonfiction picture book

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using life-sized paintings of animal tracks, this book reveals not only the sort of animal that makes the tracks, but ways to identify what the animal might have been doing when the tracks were made. A page of information describes the track characteristics and explains details about the family of animals on the spreads. Four fold-out pages open to show the actual size of the tracks in a side by side comparison. The art is realistic and lovely and the narrative text provides fascinating details about the tracks of a wide variety of animals found in the wild.

 

 

Feline Tracks
Of all the larger predators, wildcats are the most likely to use the same trails again and again.

 

 

Activity 1

Look up the animals listed on this page that are found in the book and examine their tracks. Then use the page to rank the tracks of the animals in order from smallest to largest. 

 

Activity 2

Closely examine the feline tracks from the book. Make quantitative and qualitative observations about some of the feline tracks. Write a descriptive paragraph using the observations.

 

 

Qualitative observations-observations made by using your senses. Has the letter L in it so remind the students it is how it Looks.

 

Quantitative observations—observations made using measurements. Has an N in it so it has to do with Numbers.

 

 

More about animal tracks:

Animal Tracks and Signs: Track Over 400 Animals From Big Cats to Backyard Birds by Jinny Johnson and John A Burton

 

Who’s Been Here?: A Tale in Tracks by Fran Hodgkins

National Science Standard: Evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement

 

 

Cover It With Green

Wangari’s Trees of Peace

By Jeanette Winter

Harcourt, 2008

ISBN #978-0-15-206545-4

Nonfiction picture book

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Based on the true story of Wangari Maathai, environmentalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, this simply worded picture book tells of the power of one woman who made a difference in the environment of her native Kenya. After returning home from studying in the United States, she sees now barren land where trees were cut to make room for new buildings. Starting with nine seedlings, she encourages the women throughout the villages and they in turn plant more trees, until the land is barren no more.

 

Wangari thinks about the barren land. I can begin to replace some of the lost trees here in my own backyard—one tree at a time. She starts by planting nine seedlings.

 

 Activity 1

Ask the students if they’ve heard about global warming. Discuss greenhouse gases and why and how they warm the earth.  

Explain that these greenhouse gases trap energy in the atmosphere and make the Earth warmer.  

Discuss climate changes that are taking place and the impact it can have on habitats. Examples might include rising sea levels, loss of ice in Antarctica and the Arctic, or climate change might have effects on crops that can grow.

 Use the book to define reforestation and discuss how replenishing trees can reduce global warming.  how we can help.

 

Take this global warming quiz.

 

Activity 2

Define reforestation. Review photosynthesis and remind the students about the use of carbon dioxide by plants to make energy in the form of food. Then define the greenhouse effect and discuss how reforestation like that shown in the book can help restore balance to the natural system.

Reforestation is the restocking of existing forests and woodlands which have been depleted, with native tree stock.

Greenhouse effect is the rise in temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere due to certain gases trapping the sun’s energy. These atmospheric gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane. We need them to keep all the Earth’s heat from escaping, because we need some heat. They are called greenhouse gases because of how they keep the world warm. 

 

Global warming is the average increase of the Earth’s temperature due to the addition of more green house gases. These additional gases can cause a change in the climate

 

Photosynthesis is the process where green plants make carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water using light as the source of energy, and release oxygen as a waste by-product.

 

For more, see the carbon cycle and the carbon cycle game.

 

Another book about saving a tree is The Tree, by Dana Lyons.

 

 

 

 

 

Flip, Float, Fly

Flip, Float, Fly

Seeds on the Move

By JoAnn Early Macken

Illustrated by Pam Paparone

Holiday House, 2008

ISBN# 0-8234-2043-4

Nonfiction picture book

 

Vivid illustrations add depth to this book that traces the wide variety of ways seeds move about. In simple, sparkling language, the movements by seeds as they spread are shown and explained as they complete their life cycle. Back matter includes more seed and plant facts and a final page adds notes about why seeds must move.

 

Tumbleweed plants grow as round as globes. In autumn their stems snap off. On the flat, open prairie, they ROLL, ROLL, ROLL, sprinking their seeds as they tumble.

 

Activity 1

Use this book to start a seed experiment. Choose one variable to test (amount of water, light and dark, planting depth, or seed type). Give each student two small paper cups and fill with soil. One is the control and the other is the variable. Use 2-3 seeds for each cup. I recommend bean seeds, because the plant grows well and relatively fast.

 

Set up the experiment and plant the control seeds normally. Then set up the second cup according to your choice of variable. From now on, keep everything other than the variable equal. Fill out the scientific method form as you plan and perform the experiment and watch the seeds grow.

 

 

Activity 2

Use a metric ruler and measure the growth of the two sets of bean plants in millimeters. Record the results each day. Use the results to make a line graph of both and make your conclusions.

  

National Science Standard: understanding about scientific inquiry, life cycles of organisms

 

See a review of Flip, Float, Fly.

 

Other books:

A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long

From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons

 

 

 

 

 

Tweet! Tweet!

United Tweets of America

50 State Birds Their Stories Their Glories

By Hudson Talbott

G.P. Putnam’s Sons

ISBN #978-0-399-24520-6

Nonfiction

 

A factual and funny book, this collection of state birds includes interesting tidbits of information along with hilarious art, state mottoes and capitals, and asides from the birds themselves. One of my favorite spreads features the mockingbirds of Tennessee and Texas bickering about mocking one another. The light storyline of competition is answered when the birds get together and sing America the Beautiful.

 

Activity 1

Assign state birds to individual students or groups and ask them to use the book to make and write observations about the characteristics of their bird. Guide them toward beak shapes and sizes, feet, toe directions, color and pattern (distinguishing markings), and tail shapes and sizes. See this site for more information.

 

Have them make a detailed list. Then have them write predictions about where the bird might live (based on its feet) and what it eats (based on the bill).

 

Use a bird book, field guide, or this link to look up their birds and analyze their predictions.

 

Activity 2

Use this handout to talk about bird skeletons. Identify and discuss the bone names.

Then fill in this page with the correct names.

  

For a simple activity, use this page to identify the different birds.

 

 

 

For more reading, see Bird, by David Burnie

 

or

 

The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess

 

National Science standards: Structure and function in living systems, diversity and adaptations of organisms.

 

This book was recently reviewed by some other bloggers, but I can’t find them. If you’ll send a comment if you reviewed it, I’ll add a link to your blog.