A Coral Reef Food Chain

 

A Coral Reef Food Chain : A Who-Eats-What Adventure in the Caribbean Sea

Follow That Food Chain series

by Rebecca Hogue Wojahn & Donald Wojahn 

Lerner, 2010

ISBN # 0-8225-7611-2

Nonfiction, grades 3-6

“This coral reef lies hidden in the warm, shallow water just off the shore of a Caribbean island. From the beach, waves gently roll over calm water. But duck your head under the waves, and you’ll see an underwater jungle full of life.”

This new food chain book from the series Follow That Food Chain allows the reader to create a food chain by choosing the next link in the food chain and then following that organism to the page listed. This particular book is especially good because it includes so many invertebrates and other varied species that are not well-known to children within the complex ecosystem of a coral reef. Animals such as fan worms, corals, sawfish, parrotfish, moray eels, nudibranchs, and sea urchins are among the consumers, with the producers and well-explained phytoplankton included in the chain information. Decomposers and their job in the chain are also included.

The sidebars add additional sections of information and the value or relationship of some of the organisms are explained. The main text highlights the unfamiliar words that are in the glossary. Bright photos and diagrams of specific connections forming a food web from the chains allow the reader to picture the connections of the organisms they’ve just read about. The book also contains a further reading section, a bibliography, and an index.

I’ve blogged on the temperate forest food chain book in this series, but this one has so many invertebrates I wanted to highlight  it. Food chains are important parts of the science curriculum, and these books provide an excellent way of teaching both organisms and the complex ideas within a food web.

Activity 1

Create your own food chain by following one of your choosing from the book. Make a diagram to show the energy flow.

Activity 2

Look through the book and find the invertebrates. Choose one invertebrate and look it up. Find out in which group it is classified according to the phylum, class, or order. Then find other animals in each group.

For more information about food chains and definitions, see this site.

This site has good information about the energy flow within a food chain.

Lovely coral reef and organism pictures

My previous blog on temperate forests is here. Go to my website and click on links in the toolbar to see my TLA presentation that includes a lesson on food chains.

Other books:

Ecosystems – Life in a Coral Reef by Hayley Haugen

Jump Into Science: Coral Reefs by Sylvia Earle

National Science Standard: organisms and environments

 Book provided by Lerner

What Darwin Saw

*What Darwin Saw: The Journey That Changed the World

by Rosalyn Schanzer

National Geographic Children’s Books, 2009

ISBN #978-1426303968

Grades 3-6 and up

48 pages

Nonfiction PB

*Nominated for the Cybils award in the NF PB cagegory.

“Even though Darwin has never been much of a student, he is destined to become one of the greatest scientists in history. And why is that? It is because Darwin’s astonishing discoveries will forever change the way people think about our planet and every single thing that lives here.”

“Darwin’s great adventure will last four years, ten months, and two days. It will affect everything he does for the rest of his life.”

A twenty-two year old Charles Darwin jumped at the chance to travel around the world as a naturalist-companion to the captain of the ship The Beagle, and the voyage that ensued opened his eyes to questions that would change the face of science for years to come. Written from the perspective of Darwin’s early years and his journey on The Beagle, Schanzer details his notes and explorations in short snippets of text and graphic-style illustrations in vibrant acrylics that show the path and documents the discoveries he found as the Beagle sailed from Europe to South America and on around past Australia and Africa.

The art is gorgeous and fits the youthful air of Darwin as well as documenting his finds. The text, found in sections, divisions, and bubbles, is reader friendly and chock full of fascinating information. As a former science teacher, I enjoyed learning things I never knew about this intrepid explorer and gentleman. Back matter includes a wealth of information that asks hard questions and provides a tree of life diagram, along with more fascinating details.

In the 200^th year anniversary of Darwin’s birth and the 150^th year anniversary of the publication of his On the Origin of the Species, controversy over his conclusions is still very much alive, but there is no disputing the wealth of information he uncovered. No matter what your beliefs are, this book is one that should be read.

Activity 1

Choose one of the animals from the book that Darwin saw and create a graphic organizer to illustrate the variety of species that are in that animal group.

Activity 2 This activity is based on Darwin’s information about the volcanoes he saw on the trip.

Look up shield volcanoes and stratovolcanoes. Compare the two in their formation and eruptions. Find the meaning of these volcanoe related terms.

pyroclastic flows, lahars, subduction zone, ring of fire, tephra, pahoehoe, low viscosity, fissure eruptions, calderas

Information about stratovolcanoes can be found here. 

Information about shield volcanoes can be found here.

 

Visit Rosalyn Schanzer’s site to find out more about this author/illustrator.

For more details about the book, visit this site.

This page has links for all sorts of information about volcanoes.

National Science Standard: Science as a human endeavor; Nature of science, History of science

 

Although I preferred What Darwin Saw over this book, it also contains good information.

One Beetle Too Many by Kathryn Laskey and illustrated by Matthew Trueman

Way Down Deep In the Deep Blue Sea

By Jan Peck

Illustrated by Valeria Petrone

Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, 2004

Picture book

Ages 3-6

 

Way down deep
in the deep blue sea,
there’s a lot to find.
I guarantee!

Come on! Be brave!
Just follow me!
And let’s explore
the deep blue sea!

 

Snappy rhyme takes the reader on a deep sea adventure where all sorts of sea creatures await the arrival of the young explorer in the book. The delightful pictures done in bright colors add to the excitement of each underwater encounter. The story’s ending provides a nice surprise as the young boy’s day comes to a close.

Activity 1

Look up seahorse, hermit crab, starfish, sea turtle, octopus, dolphin, swordfish, whale, or sharkand learn more about these animals in the book.

Activity 2

Look up other animals that live in the ocean. Get some ideas here.

Try some of these activities.

Or color some ocean animals.

Other books in the series by Jan Peck also have science related subjects.

Way Up High in a Tall Green Tree

Way Far Away on a Wild Safari

National science standard: characteristics of animals

Count Down to Fall

 

Count Down to Fall

By Fran Hawk

Illustrated by Sherry Neidigh

Sylvan Dell Publishing, 2009

ISBN #978-1-934359-94-5

Ten sweet gum leaves, orange, purple, and red,

look like bright colored stars as they fall on earth’s bed.

Told in simple rhyme, this reminder of fall beautifully illustrates the colors and changes that take place during this brilliant season. The reader sees the variety of leaves falling from trees in autumn as they land around the flora and fauna of each area with its specific tree. The simple, backwards-from-ten countdown provides the structure of the book for showing the wide variety of trees and their changes alongside the animals.

The art is lovely, with a definite child appeal, and Neidigh uses a gorgeous fall palette to show the leaves and the animals. The layout frames the art with details relating to the story and corner insets show the trees, green leaves, and an addition to the story, making it a book to pore over for the picture details.

The book has activities in the back titled For Creative Minds that is a Sylvan Dell signature. I especially liked the additional leaf information and plant details. This book provides more than a simple read and is a welcome addition to the start of the school year.

Activity 1

List the four seasons. Discuss the changes that happen to trees during each season. Write sentences to explain the changes and illustrate them.

Activity 2

Research why we have seasons.

Demonstrate how they occur by the activity in this lesson.

See another review at a patchwork of books.

Another book about the seasons.

Our Seasons by Ranida T. Mckneally and Grace Lin

National Science Standards: changes in the Earth and sky

Moose and Magpie

Moose and Magpie

By Bettina Restrepo

Illustrated by Sherry Rogers

Sylvan Dell Publishing, 2009

ISBN # 978-1-934359-97-6

PB with sidebar facts

 

Moose lived where the willow trees touched the ground and the lily pads floated on the water.

 

Moose’s head itches and Magpie provides answers and puns galore about moose in this life cycle story of two friends and the changes Moose experiences through a year. Filled with jokes and puns, the story entertains while sidebars provide accurate scientific facts about moose, magpies, and the moose life cycle. Two spreads at the back provide additional facts and explain the real and made up parts of the story. A “For Creative Minds” section, a feature of Sylvan Dell books, allows the reader to put their newly gained knowledge to use.

Activity 1

Look up deer, moose, and elk antlers. Describe how they are alike and how they are different.

Activity 2

Look up the word mutualism as a symbiotic relationship. Explain how moose and magpie show mutualism.

Other moose and magpie books:

Looking for a Moose by Phyllis Root and Randy Cecil

The Useful Moose: A Truthful, Moose-Full Tale by Fiona Robinson

The Magpies’ Nest by Joanna Foster, Jane Feder, and Julie Downing

A New World Adventure

Animals Christopher Columbus Saw

By Sandra Markle

Illustrated by Jamel Akib

Chronicle Books, 2008

ISBN # 078-0-8118-4916-6

Nonfiction, 46 pages

Would you believe that, once, worms inspired people to explore the world? In fifteenth-century Europe, silk made from the thread of silkworms was more valuable than gold?

After arriving on what he named San Salvador in his search for a route to the Indies and the silk and spices of Cathay, Christopher Columbus found neither the silks and spices he expected, nor the route to Cathay, but he did encounter animals along the way. This book relates the story of Columbus’ search for a water route and ties in the animals he encountered along the way. The background for the lure of silk and the caterpillars which spin the coveted cocoons begins this narrative account of Columbus’ journey and his unexpected findings. The history of spices from afar, the idea for the trip and money from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, and the securing of the three ships continues the story of his journey to the New World. From silkworms to camels to parrots, the book details the sorts of animals he met along the way. It doesn’t include information about the domestic animals taken along with them.

Sidebars fill in additional details about the animals and provide interesting aspects of each in context of Columbus’ voyage. Subdued washes of color in chalk pastels portray the natives and animals in an appealing, realistic manner. A map, glossary, further information sources, and an index complete the book.

Activity 1

Identify the animals Columbus encountered and make a list of them. Look up each animal and categorize it as vertebrate or invertebrate. Then group the vertebrates as mammals, fish, amphibian, reptile, or bird.

Activity 2

Using the spread on pages 20-21, illustrate a food chain from the Sargasso Sea.

 Identify the producers and consumers. Draw out the example and label each organism. Use arrows to show the energy flow from producer to consumer. See my post “A Wolf Story” for definitions and more food chain facts. See further information here.

For more about Christopher Columbus, check out these books.

Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus by Peter Sis

A Picture Book of Christopher Columbus  by David A. Adler

There are more recent books about Columbus as well. These two I happen to like. This particular book seems to be the only one about the animals Columbus met on the voyage. 

Markle has written other books about explorers and animals. See the Chronicle site to view her other titles.

National Science Standards: systems, order, and organization; characteristics of organisms