Summary:
Ms. Frizzle is at it again. The Magic School Bus at the Water Works, which was written by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degen, takes a look at crazy Ms. Frizzle’s class as they venture on a field trip to the water works. What happens next shouldn’t surprise anyone who has read these books, as Ms. Frizzle actually takes her students into the water cycle so the class can get a first-hand look at how water forms, falls, goes through the purification process and then ends up coming out of the faucet at the very end. At the very end of this book, the students in Ms. Frizzle’s class draw up a chart showing the steps of the water cycle from beginning to end, a perfect visual example for students who pick up this book and also a great visual for teachers to show their students when reading this book out loud.
Curriculum Connections:
With this book, children will get a first-hand look into the water cycle and how it functions. But this book does it in a fun way that is enjoyable for both teachers and students. This book shows the students how water flows through the purification system and how it flows down streams and rivers after falling from the sky. Also incorporated in this book are “10 Interesting Facts about Water” written by Ms. Frizzle’s students that provide such facts like materials that interact with water (solids, liquids and gases) and basic properties of solids, liquids and gases. Several of the facts are humorous as well as factual, which makes this book a great learning tool when teaching or learning about the water cycle (Virginia SOLs K.5, 1.3, 2.3 and 3.9).
Additional Resources:
The Magic School Bus Wet All Over: This unique website provides numerous lesson plans for teachers. It actually makes teachers and students feel that they are actually inside the book itself, because of not only the content of the lesson plans but the objectives as well.
The Magic School Bus: The Magic School Bus’s own, personal website. Filled with fun, games and facts, this website will provide hours of nonstop entertainment for children to use for their own personal entertainment and for teachers to use in the classroom.
Water Works: Have you ever wondered just how many things you can do with water? With this website, children are provided with all kinds of activities and experiments that involve water! A must for both children and teachers alike.
General Information:
Book: The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks
Author: Joanna Cole
Illustrator: Bruce Degen
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: 1988
Pages: 40
Grade Range: K-2
ISBN: 0590403605