Pumpkins

 

Pumpkins

Life Cycles Series

By Robin Nelson

Lerner Publications, 2009

Nonfiction easy reader, 24 pages

 

The life cycle of a pumpkin is followed from seed to fruit using single sentences under a bright, bold photograph of each step in the life cycle of a pumpkin. A diagram on page 18 reviews the steps of the life cycle and additional pumpkin facts round out the text. The book has a simple glossary and an index. For another life cycle book, see my post about Dandelions.

 

This is a pumpkin. How do pumpkins grow?

 Activity 1

Observe a set of seeds and compare how each seed germinates. Get a radish seed, a bean seed, a corn seed, and a pumpkin seed. Wet at paper towel and fold it to fit a ziplock bag. Lay the seeds on the damp paper towel and seal the bag. Place the bag holding the four seeds in a warm place out of direct sunlight. Observe the seeds and record the changes noticed each day. Make a bar graph to show the number of days each seeds needed to germinate.

This site has good background information.

For more simple pumpkin activities and ideas, see Enchanted Learning’s site.

More books about pumpkins:

Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden by George Levenson and Shmuel Thaler

How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara and G. Brian Karas

Take a look at my friend Kathryn Lay’s pumpkin book, which is an excellent book for the fall, and not just Halloween.

Josh’s Halloween Pumpkin by Kathryn Lay and Katy Bratun

 

 

 

 

National Science Standard: life cycles, characteristics of organisms

ALL FROGS FRONT AND CENTER

Frogs

By Nic Bishop

Scholastic, 2008

ISBN# 0-439-87755-5

Nonfiction

Froggy facts fill the pages of this beautifully photographed frog book. Nic Bishop gets up close and personal with a wide variety of frogs, even training one frog with crickets on tweezers to stay nearby until he could photograph it. Large, close-in photographs show the colors, sizes, and habits of the chosen frogs. From travel to rainforests to a nearby pond, Bishop catches frogs being themselves. The text begins with a topic sentence in large font and provides details in the body in a different size. Captions add more information that related to the text. A centerfold shows a frog jumping from start to finish in a timed sequence shot. From the definition of amphibian to the frog life cycle, this book covers frogs in a way that will appeal to readers and photograph viewers of all ages.

Frogs are found on every continent except Antarctica. They live in ponds, rivers, forests, and fields. Some even live in sand dunes.

 Activity 1

Label the life cycle of a frog.

Activity 2

Research the frog’s life cycle. Create a timeline and show the stages of a frog as it hatches from an egg to a fully grown frog.

 For an interactive frog life cycle activity, see this Harcourt School activity.

This Scholastic page has activities at many levels for froggy learning.

National Science Standards: characteristics of organisms, life cycle of organisms, and organisms and environments

 Another book about frogs:

 All About Frogs by Jim Arnosky

Tooth Talk

 

The Tooth Book

A Guide to Healthy Teeth and Gums

By Edward Miller

Holiday House, 2008

ISBN #0-8234-2092-2

Nonfiction picture book

 

 

 

Just when you think you’ve read all there is to learn about teeth, this book adds more facts. Ranging in scope from the value of teeth and what they do, growing teeth, first aid and safety, animal teeth, and the don’ts for teeth, this book has it all. Filled with big, bright illustrations and large headings, the book is appealing and accessible for students who want to read it all or simply parts of the book. The information is extensive yet kid-friendly and I found myself wondering what would be next in all things teeth. Backmatter lists good reference websites.

How would it be to have no teeth? It wouldn’t be much fun. Without teeth it’s hard to eat, talk, smile, whistle, and sing.

Activity 1

Research the four kinds of permanent teeth and identify what each one is used for in humans. Using a mirror, locate each of the four types of teeth in the student’s mouth and name them.

Label them using this site.

You’ll look for incisors, canines, bicuspids (I had to hunt for this one!), and molars.

Activity 2

Look up information about the teeth of dogs, cats, rats, snakes, walruses, or pigs. Find out the number of teeth they have and how their teeth are specialized to their particular diets.

General information can start here.

This site has more detailed information.

National Science Standards: structure and function in living systems  

 Another tooth book:

Open Wide: Tooth School Inside by Laurie Keller

Tooth on the Loose by Susan Middleton Elya
illustrated by Jenny Mattheson, the same person who illustrated my book, No Bows!

A Raft of Information: PUFFINS

Puffins

By Susan E. Quinlan

Lerner Publications, 2009

ISBN# 978-1-58013-944-1

Nonfiction

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Puffins, with strong, brightly colored bills, and stubby wings are ocean birds, coming to land only to nest. A member of the auks, puffins ride on the waves offshore for weeks at a time with other puffins in great groups called rafts. They live in the frigid Arctic waters.

 

Adaptations from bill to foot enable this hardy bird to thrive in the harsh Arctic environment. From a special gland that lets them excrete salt from the ocean water they drink to the ridged tongue and mouth allowing them to carry many fish at once to their young, puffins are uniquely developed to occupy this Arctic niche. Each specific adaptation is thoroughly explored by the author, who spent two summers on a remote Alaskan island studying puffins with the University of  Alaska-Fairbanks.

 

Numerous, clear photos of puffins in their daily habits document the information in the text and close-up shots show many of the adaptations. This book will appeal to the older elementary and middle school aged students.

 

Activity 1

Read the book. Locate five specific adaptations that allow puffins to survive and thrive in the Arctic.  

 

Activity 2

Look up polar bears, arctic hares, walrus, or arctic terns. Find the adaptations each group has that allows them to survive in their cold environment. Compare them with the puffin’s adaptations for similar characteristics.

This book is one of Lerner’s Nature Watch series.

More about puffins:

Puffins by Kenny Taylor

Puffin’s Homecoming: The Story of an Atlantic Puffin by Darice Bailer