Showing posts with label Weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weather. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Exploring Fall with Children's Books

Explore fall with Cloverleaf Books new series, Fall's Here!

Rustad, Martha E.H.
Animals in Fall: Preparing for Winter.
September 2011.
Millbrook Press (a division of Lerner Publishing).
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.


Children are simply introduced to the ways in which animals prepare for winter in this book - migrating, hibernating and changing for their winter needs. The book is very basic and to the point, allowing the youngest of children to keep focused and understand the changes that animals go through in preparation of the winter months. Definitely a hit for exploring the fall season or to introduce the concept of "Animal in Winter" as a thematic unit!

Learning Activity:
  • The last few pages of the book contain a glossary, other books on the topic, websites to explore and an activity that allows children to "experience" how a gray whale's blubber works.
Rustad, Martha E.H.
Fall Apples: Crisp and Juicy.
September 2011.
Millbrook Press (a division of Lerner Publishing).
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.


Introducing children to the process of growing apples, this book is slightly more complex than Animals in Fall: Preparing for Winter and will likely be more harder to use with younger children. However, I would imagine that some parts of the story could be modified for use with the younger ones as well! The process shared will likely catch the attention of many children, as many have probably had some kind of experience with apple picking and likely enjoy apple cider. The book is definitely a good one to use as part of a thematic unit on the fall season!

Learning Activity:
  • The last few pages of the book contain a glossary, other books on the topic, websites to explore and a recipe that involves children in making "Upside-Down, Inside-Out Apple Crisp."

There are 4 other books in the series, also by Martha E.H. Rustad, that I am excited to check out at some point!



If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!

Monday, September 28, 2009

Teaching Weather during Calendar Time

Today, Lerner Publications is releasing a new series of non-fiction books for children - Lightning Bolt Books - What's the Weather Like? series. I was fortunate enough to receive 3 of the 5 books from the publisher a bit early to check them out and rave about them to all of you! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with this new series!

Sterling, Kristin.
It's Sunny Today.
September 28, 2009.
Lerner Publications Company.


Summary from Barnes & Noble:

The sun glows and glimmers. It casts warm light on the land and seas. Sunlight helps plants to grow. People enjoy being outside on sunny days. What happens when the weather is sunny? Read this book to find out!

Sterling, Kristin.
It's Cloudy Today.
September 28, 2009.
Lerner Publications Company.


Summary from Barnes & Noble:

Clouds drift and float. They move above Earth. Sometimes they are white and puffy. Sometimes they are dark and cover the sky. What happens when the weather is cloudy? Read this book to find out!

Sterling, Kristin.
It's Rainy Today.
September 28, 2009.
Lerner Publications Company.


Summary from Barnes & Noble:

Plip! Plop! Sometimes rain drips softly from the clouds. Sometimes rain comes down hard in a thunderstorm. What happens when the weather is rainy? Read this book to find out!

Teaching Ideas:

As you can see, these books would be resourceful in a number of ways, especially when coupled with the other two books in the series!
All 5 of these books would make a wonderful addition to any early-elementary classroom where calendar activities are completed on a daily basis. They are not the type of books where you need to sit and read in their entirety in one sitting. I would use them during calendar time, when children are noting and (presumably) charting the daily weather. Whoever is in charge of calendar could choose one page in the corresponding book to share with classmates about good things to remember/learn/do on that specific type of day. For example, on a sunny day, after marking the chart to record the sunny weather, a student might read the following page out of It's Sunny Today,
On sunny days, you can see your shadow. A shadow is an area where light cannot reach beacause something is blocking its path.
On a cloudy day, the child might choose to read from It's Cloudy Today,
These are called cirrus clouds. They tell us good weather is on the way. Cirrus clouds form high in the sky - about 30,000 feet (9,144 meters) above Earth.
If the children observe a rainy day, one might choose to read the following page from It's Rainy Today,
Dark, gray clouds form in the sky. Clouds are made of water droplets. Water droplets combine and become heavy. Soon water falls to the ground as rain.
If you're just getting started with teaching calendar and weather, here are some resources that might help you:
Resource Books to Teach Weather
If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Weatherman's Day

Today is Weatherman's Day! I have some weather-related books for review today!

Branley, Franklyn.
Down Comes the Rain.
1997.
Harper Collins Publishers: New York, NY.

Ages: 5-8
Genre/Subjects: Non-Fiction, Weather
Guided Reading Level: N

Review/Summary:
Young children tell the story of weather, most specifically, rain and how rain comes about. The text is simple and will likely easily be understood by even the youngest children. The dialogue bubbles showing the character's words in the illustrations connect these scientific concepts to children's everyday lives.
Lesson Plans/Book Activities:
Gibbons, Gail.
Weather Words and What They Mean.
1990.
Holiday House: New York, NY.
Ages: 5-8
Genre/Subects: Non-fiction, Weather
Guided Reading Level: R

Review/Summary:

As can be expected from any Gail Gibbons book, this is full of information that would be of interest to children. In this non-fiction text relating to the weather, children can gain a basic understanding of weather terminology and understand it based on the illustrations that match alongside the text. This would fit perfectly into a thematic unit on the weather.

Lesson Plans/Book Activities: