Let’s Get Dirty!

 

The Dirt on Dirt

By Paulette Bourgeois

With Kathy Vanderlinden

Illustrated by Martha Newbigging

Kids Can Press, 2008

ISBN # 978-1-55453-101-1

Nonfiction

 

 Dirt is everywhere. Anything and almost everything to do with dirt, from mud pies to dirt homes to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, is covered in this fun to read book that discusses all things dirt. Filled with a mix of short facts and lengthy, detailed passages about dirt, the book provides some dirt activities sprinkled in between the information.

 

 

Large section headings provide guides to the information and photographs and illustrations complement the facts. The book will appeal to 8-12 year olds.

 

Activity

Since the book contains activities, I’ll refer to the page numbers in the book for some fun things to do with dirt.

 

See page 7 for mixing oil and water to find out how to clean dirt, page 11 for a recipe for mud cake (you can really eat it!), page 14 for what’s in dirt, or page 33 for making tracks of your own.

 

For more information, see this dirty site.

 

 

More books about dirt:

 

Dirt: Jump Into Science by Steve Tomecek and Nancy Woodman

 

 

A Handful of Dirt by Raymond Bial

 

Dirt: The Scoop on Soil by Natalie M. Rosinsky and Sheree Boyd

 

 

 

 

 

Not Weird Science

When I Grow Up

A young person’s guide to interesting and unusual occupations

By Jessica Loy

Henry Holt and Company, 2008

ISBN #978-0-8050-7717-9

Nonfiction

Grades 3-6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Entomologist, alpaca farmer, kite designer, or chocolatier: what do you want to be when you grow up? Fourteen occupations that grew from a passion make up this book of real people, their jobs, and images illustrating a variety of aspects of each one. Readers can use the jobs as a jumping off point to explore their own passions as they begin to examine career choices for their futures. The breadth and scope of these choices lets the readers see there are jobs that will take them in an off-the-beaten path direction and encourage them to look beyond more familiar jobs.

 

 

Activity 1

After reading the book, examine some of the careers in more detail. Look up further information and identify how science might play a part in each of these careers.

 

Activity 2

Look up these science careers and see what you’d be doing in animal behavior, astrobiology, or pyrotechnics, and what a virus hunter and volcanologist might do. Would these careers interest anyone you know?

 

National Science Standards: understanding about science and technology; science as a human endeavor; nature of scientific knowledge

 

Look for more about unusual science careers with this set of books:

Weird Careers In Science by Kay Frydenborg, Mary Firestone, and Richard Emmer

 

A Who-Eats-What Adventure

A Temperate Forest Food Chain

 

By Rebecca Hogue Wojahn and Donald Wojahn

Lerner Publications, 2009

ISBN #978-0-8225-7496-5

 

 

 

 

 

Following an introduction to the woodland habitat and a review of related terms, this book asks the reader to choose a tertiary consumer from a list on page 7. According to which animal is chosen, the reader is directed to turn to a specific page for more details. From that page, facts are detailed in the text and further choices are provided for the next link in the food chain. Interactive and entertaining, A Temperate Food Chain provides a fun-filled trek though the forest habitat as it shows specific examples of energy flow.

 

Filled with photos and game board-appearing pages, this book will educate as it entertains, keeping the reader moving back and forth to find the next piece of the food chain puzzle.

 

This book is one in a series that covers various habitats in a who-eats-what adventure set. It could be used in conjunction with biomes.

 

 

In food chains, the strongest predators are called tertiary consumers. They hunt other animals for food and have few natural enemies.

 

 

Activity

Trace one food chain from the book and write down the path of the energy flow. Then choose another animal whose food chain links with the first one. Create a diagram to show the overlapping aspects of food chains into food webs. Draw arrows to show the direction of energy flow.

 

 

For more food chain activities, visit me and see the lessons I presented at TLA April 1. The lessons will be up for about a week longer.

 

Trout Are Made of Trees by April Pulley Sayre

The Wolves Are Back by Jean Craighead George

When the Wolves Returned by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent

 

 

 

 

Ocean’s Child

Ocean’s Child

Christine Ford and Trish Holland

Illustrated by David Diaz

Golden Books, 2009

ISBN # 978-0-375-84752-3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This ocean lullaby in lyrical language is told by a mother on a kayak with her child as they bid goodnight to the animals sleeping beneath and beyond them on their ocean journey. Otter, walrus, whale, and polar bear are among the many animals and their babies told good night, and each animal spread ends with a good night refrain. The final spread contains glowing northern lights.

 

Luminous art gives an Arctic feel to the pages and the muted colors soothe along with the narrative. This would be a calming book for bedtime and children could join in on the refrain.

 

When Sun slips over the edge of the world

And Moon sails up to the stars,

The children of Ocean grow sleepy-eyed.

It’s time to say good night.

 

Activity 1

Look up the names of what the baby form of each animal is called. The book includes: a person, otter, walrus, whale, dolphin, polar bear, puffin, sea lion, orca, albatross, and seal. For example, a baby seal is called a pup. See this list for a start.

Describe each animal and talk about how it has adapted to live in the cold Arctic environment.

 

For older children, play a Name Game here.

 

For more information

 

 

National Science Standards: Organisms and environment; life cycle

 

 

More about baby animals:

 

Baby Animal Families by Gyo Fujikawa

 

Animal Babies in Polar Lands by the editors of Kingfisher