Teaching Geography with Children’s Literature: Geography From A to Z

Posted on January 24, 2010 by openwidearchive

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“Do you know the differance between plateau and a plain? Between a knoll and an atoll? Have you ever wondered what a badland is? Or an isthmus? Or a gulch? The answers are all here! From the highest mountain peak to the deepest ocean trench.”

Geography From A to Z written by Jack Knowlton, pictures by Harriett Barton, is a great picture glossary for young readers.  In this book, you will find a glossary of geographic terms, definitions, and bright colored pictures for each letter of the alphabet. This is a perfect book for introducing our geographic world to our young readers. This book not only gives definitions, but also examples that will help the children be able to relate the content information to their outside world.

“Archipelago- a group of islands clustered together in an open expanse of sea or ocean. The Philippine Islands are a large archipelago.”

Curriculum Connections:

This book would be suitable for any age, but I would use it for teaching in the second or third grade. Some of the terms might be a little advanced for first graders.  However, I would recommend having this book in any teacher’s classroom library.  When using it to teach a lesson, it is a great reference book.  It has many definitions and descriptions of the earth’s features.  Using this book would be an exciting way to introduce a lesson on bodies of water, (i.e. stream, river, swamp, and pond) or even the earth’s zones (i.e. tropical, temperate, and polar zones). Students will develop maps skills by locating the seven continents, the five oceans,  near by rivers (James River, Mississippi River, and Rio Grande), and lakes (Great Lakes) in the United States and other countries. (2.5)  It is a fantastic book with great pictures and definitions that will help students grasp an understanding of their surroundings and geographic world.

Additional Resources:

  • Geography for Kids Here is a USA map match game that allows children to apply their knowledge using online recourses. It is a fun and interactive game that will capture any student’s attention.
  • Remembering Continents and Oceans All children love to sing, especially in elementary school. So here is a website with two songs to sing which will help students remember their continents and oceans.
  • Geography A to Z lessons This website is a valuable resource to find worksheets and activities for students learning about geography. These activities will assist students with geography skills, while having fun at the same time!

Book: Geography from A to Z
Author: Jack Knowlton
Illustrator: Harriett Barton
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers
Publication Date: 1988
Pages: 47
Grade Range: First-Fifth Grade
ISBN: 978-0-06-446099-6

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Teaching Physical Science with Children’s Literature: Sound: Loud, Soft, High, and Low

Posted on January 24, 2010 by openwidearchive

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Sound: Loud, Soft, High, and Low, written by Natalie M. Rosinksy and illustrated by Matthew John, is a colorful book about all of the different ways that sound is made.  Written especially for young learners, the author gives elementary definitions of how different sounds are made and why they sound the way they do.  She gives examples of loud and soft sounds, such as the whack of a baseball against a wooden bat or the soft pitter patter of raindrops against a window.  Wonderful examples of echo, high and low sounds, and sound waves are given so that young children may understand this topic.  Science experiments pertaining to sound are listed in the back of the book.
Curriculum Connections

Sound:  Loud, Soft, High, and Low corresponds to Virginia SOL 1.2 B – Objects may vibrate and produce sound.  This book could be used when giving an interactive lesson on sound.  Musical instruments could be used to give examples of high and low sounds by plucking guitar strings, striking a triangle or using small drums.  The book could be read and then different sounds could be played to have the children understand the concepts in the book.

Additional Resources

  •  Sound and light activity – Teacher submissions on what activities they use during their sound units.  Also gives wonderful examples of activities for a light unit.
  • Sound and vibration lesson – A great lesson with multiple sound activities.  Uses tuning forks and music to illustrated how sounds are made.  Also a bit of a history lesson on Ben Franklin.

Book:  Sound:  Loud, Soft, High and Low
Author:  Natalie M. Rosinsky
Illustrator:  Matthew John
Publisher:  Picture Window Books
Publication Date: 2003
Pages: 24
Grade Range: K-2
ISBN:  978-1-4048-0335-0

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Teaching Geography with Children’s Literature: The River

Posted on January 24, 2010 by openwidearchive

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Have you ever wondered how a river forms? Once it forms, where does it go to? What types of environments will it pass through? The story The River which is written by Brigitte Sidjanski and illustrated by Bernadette Watts tells the story from the point of view of five pine cones who drop down from a pine tree into the river, curious about what adventures lie ahead of them:

“Five little pine cones peep down from their branches and wonder where the dancing brook will go. Then the cones pop off and-plop!-down they fall into the running water. An adventure begins.”

As the pine cones journey down the river, they each become attracted to the perks that different types of environments have to offer and, one by one, they decide to separate from the other pine cones in order to stay in their new homes. Only one of the five pine cones completes the journey down river and ends up on the beach, where it is soon buried in the sand but later flourishes into a gorgeous pine tree. This book teaches young children a great life lesson: the road to achieve something you really want is a long and winding road. But if you continue along the path, don’t give up and just keep moving forward, you will eventually see the end of the tunnel and all your dreams will come true.

Curriculum Connections

This book is a great tool for kids to recognize and understand the many different types of environment that are out in the world today. The River incorporates bits and pieces from the Virginia Standards of Learning: Geography 1.6. In the book, the student is taught a very important lesson about how climate, location, physical characteristics, etc. attract people to certain areas around the world. Every person has different tastes, likes/dislikes, etc. and as the book showed me, none of the pine cones chose to stay in the same area as another. Every pine cone chose a different environmental setting to call home and this is exactly how things are today.

Additional Resources

  • ABC Teach: With this website, children and teachers are able to experience the fun and joy of learning about the importance of the environment and how to protect it. One of the best activities this website provides for students is word search puzzles in the shapes of different environmental products like flowers and raindrops.
  • PineConeLady:  This fun and unique website enables children to build different animals and crafts while using pine cones. With creativity, students can create four different kinds of animals that live in different environments and then the teacher can ask them in which environmental setting from The River that each animal belongs in.
  • Kids’s Planet-Defenders of Wildlife: This website is a must for all elementary school teachers that are looking to show their students the different types of wildlife out in the world and the environments that they inhabit. Providing creative and fun lesson plans, this site also provides hours of nonstop activities for children of all ages.

General Information:

  • Book: The River
  • Author: Brigitte Sidjanski
  • Illustrator: Bernadette Watts
  • Publisher: Penguin Group USA
  • Publication Date: 2008
  • Pages: 26
  • Grade Range: Pre-school to 2nd Grade
  • ISBN: 0-698-40077-1
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Teaching Physical Science with Children’s Literature: Forces Make Things Move

Posted on January 24, 2010 by openwidearchive

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Forces Make Things Move by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and Illustrated by Paul Meisel takes a concept that can be difficult to understand and explains it on a child’s level.  The pushing and stopping of a toy car is used to explain force.  Bradley explains that it takes a lot of force to move heavy objects such as a real car or a couch and just a little bit of force to move objects such as a leaves or papers that don’t weigh very much.

She then explains friction and gravity, two types of forces.  She relates both of these forces again to the toy car.  There is a really cute page that shows us what Earth would be like without gravity.  The spilled milk fell to the ceiling rather than the floor.  The cat is on the ceiling licking the spilled milk.  Food, utensils and even the pet dog are floating around in the kitchen. There is even an experiment at the end of the book to find out more about friction.

Curriculum Connections
Although the book is suggested for 1st – 3rd grade, force seems to be a difficult concept to understand.  This book would be a great introduction to force at the 4th grade level by helping to explain the characteristics and interaction of moving objects including changes in motion relating to force and mass and that friction is a force that opposes motion (VA SOL 4.2 b,c).  The teacher could begin by reading to book to the class and then conducting the experiment at the back of the book to reinforce what they have learned about friction.  The book could then kept in the classroom library as a fun reference.

Additional Resources

  • Battleship online game: Sink your opponent’s ship by answering questions correctly.  A review of essential knowledge relating to the fourth grade science unit on “Force, Motion and Energy.”
  • A hands on lesson plan: May the Force be With You will help students understand that the greater the mass of an object, the greater the force needed to change its motion.
  • Try this friction experiment: it uses a shoe, a rubber band and a ruler as well as some different items to create friction, such as aluminum foil, sand paper and cooking oil.

Book:  Forces Make Things Move
Author: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Illustrator: Paul Meisel
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: 2005
Pages: 33 pages
Grade Range: 1-4
ISBN: 9780060289072

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Teaching Geography with Children’s Literature: Come and Ride With Us!

Posted on January 24, 2010 by openwidearchive

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Introduction and Summary

Come and Ride With Us shares a journey to different countries such as Haiti, Canada, Hong Kong, Peru, and a few others and shows children how people in different countries use different types of transportation to get around. This book was put together by Oxfam and illustrated by Annie Kubler and Caroline Formby. A child from each country takes the reader on a journey within their country. For example, we meet Aisha from Egypt. She explains that in Egypt she rides on a donkey who pulls a cart as her transportation around town. She carries clover and hay in the cart for their cattle. Abdul from Bangladesh tells us that they ride on rickshaws which can either be by auto or bicycle.  Pedaling can be very hard work! It is very interesting to see how some of the children get around in countries that do not have cars and automobiles that American children are used to seeing everyday.

Curriculum Connections
This book features flaps that show hidden items such as food or cargo that each mode of transportation carries. It can be used in Kindergarten or First Grade. I believe that it fits in more so with First Grade. It shows different modes of transportation, clothing of people in different countries, food, houses of shelter the people live in, and what the children do for fun such as playing sports, fishing, or sledding. In the back of the book there is also a map of the world and it asks you to locate all the different countries in the book. (VA SOL 1.6) This book would be an excellent introduction to showing students how people in other countries live.

Additional Resource

  • Map Game– This game is and interactive online game about labeling countries. You click and drag the countries to their appropriate spots on the map(globe). The site offers tips and suggestions for if this game is to hard or too easy for students (differentiation).
  • Geography Game, Children match countries onto a globe. It is timed and counts points so this can be very challenging. It goes over all different countries, some of which may not be studied within the SOL, but it is good practice.
  • Cardinal Directions Game– This is a cute game for the children to cut out and play. It helps the children learn their cardinal directions, but also they are using different modes of transportation for the game pieces, which also shows them about different cultures. This would be a great tie in with the book but also a great transition to learning about cardinal directions!

Book: Come and ride with us!
Author: Oxfam International
Illustrators: Annie Kubler and Caroline Formby
Publisher: Child’s Play International Ltd.
Publication Date: 1995
Pages: 16
Grade Range: K, 1st
ISBN: 0859537943

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Teaching Geography with Children’s Literature: I Lost My Tooth in Africa

Posted on January 23, 2010 by openwidearchive

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“My dad says if you lose a tooth in Africa and put it under a gourd, you will get a chicken from the African Tooth Fairy.”

So begins I Lost My Tooth in Africa, a delightful story written by 12-year-old Penda Diakité and illustrated by her father, Baba Wagué Diakité.  Penda grew up in Portland, Oregon,  but her father was born in Mali.  Every year, Penda and her family travel back to Africa to visit her father’s family in Mali.  Inspired by the true story of her younger sister, Amina, Penda masterfully crafts a suspenseful charming story about losing a loose tooth on a trip to Mali.  The story is full of rich cultural details and subtle information about how location and physical surroundings impact how families live.   Beautiful ceramic-tile illustrations support the story-line and add additional information about the climate, clothing, food, housing, recreation, and community relationships in Mali.  The book also includes a world map depicting the “two days, three planes, and three different continents” required to travel from Portland to Mali.  The book closes with a glossary of Bambara words (the national language of Mali), a recipe for African Onion Sauce, and the words to Grandma N’Na’s Good Night Song. Appropriate for pre-K through third grade, this book is a wonderful way to introduce the influences of location and place on culture.

Curriculum Connections

This lively children's book provides a fantastic opportunity to engage early elementary students in introductory geography and the different ways that location, climate, and physical surroundings affect the way people meet their basic needs: food, clothing, and shelter (1.6). By using a relatable experience like losing a tooth, teachers can guide students in a discussion of the differences and similarities between the cultures of this Mali community and the community in which they live as well as the geographical reasons for some of those differences. Specific questions for consideration include:

  • Where is Mali?
  • What is the climate like in Mali?
  • What are the physical surroundings like?
  • What types of clothing do the characters wear?
  • What kinds of foods do they eat?
  • What activities do the children participate in on their trip?
  • What animals do they see?
  • What types of shelters are in the story?
  • How do these details compare with how and where you live?

In addition, the inclusion of a world map at the beginning of the book, provides an opportunity for teachers to make a connection between places referenced in stories and where they take place in the world (K.4).

Additional Resources

  • Kameshi Ne Mpuku: An African Game – Children's games are typically reflective of the environment where they are created.  This lesson plan and accompanying activity helps children to understand the similarities and differences between an African game and those that they might play on the playground at their school as well as the impact that location has on recreation.
  • Political Map of Africa – This map can be used for coloring and identifying the location of Mali as well as the general biomes of the continent.
  • Africa Savanna – This lesson plan highlights key characteristics of the African savanna where Bamako, Mali is located.  Understanding more about the climate, vegetation, and animal life of this part of Africa is important for understanding why the foods, building materials, and clothing in the story might be different from one part of the world to another.

Book: I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Author: Penda Diakité
Illustrator: Baba Wagué Diakité
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 32
Grade Range: PreK-3
ISBN: 0439662265

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Teaching Physical Science with Children’s Literature: The Solid Truth about States of Matter

Posted on January 23, 2010 by openwidearchive

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The Solid Truth about States of Matter, written by Agnieszka Biskup, contains four distinct chapters.  In the first chapter, Max describes how everything is made of matter.  He describes that matter can be hard or soft, any color, and any texture.  He discusses the difference between mass and weight.  The book reviews that atoms and molecules are always moving; and how fast they move depends on their form.   The second chapter describes the differences between solids, liquids, and gases.   In the third chapter, Max discusses melting, boiling, and freezing.  The final section describes the difference between evaporation and condensation.    Max presents how the different states of matter are important in our everyday lives.  This book contains a glossary and index in the back and additional book resources.  This book is written in a cartoon format that kids may find enjoyable.

Curriculum Connections
This book can be used in the classroom to understand the properties of solid, liquids and gases.  It contains useful picture examples of how water can be a solid, liquid, or gas.  It also describes how molecules in a solid barely move at all, and when you heat a solid, the molecules move around more  (VA SOL 2.3a and b). Additionally, the processes of evaporation and condensation are described.  This book provides real life examples that children can use to understand the concepts more clearly.  It reviews why you would feel cold when you leave a swimming pool, as water evaporating on your skin draws heat from your body.  Additionally, it explains that when you sweat your body cools itself off through this evaporation (VA SOL 2.3c).   This book contains examples that will help young children understand these processes and how they can apply them in their day to day activities.

Additional Resources

Book: The Solid Truth about States of Matter
Author: Agnieszka Biskup
Illustrated: Cynthia Martin and Barbara Schulz
Publisher: Capstone Press
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 32 pages
Grade Range: 2
ISBN: 978-1-4296-2339-1

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Teaching Physical Science Skills with Children’s Literature: Squirts and Spurts Science Fun with Water

Posted on January 23, 2010 by openwidearchive

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Squirts and Spurts Science Fun with Water was written by Vicki Cobb and illustrated by Steve Haefele.  This author has written many books like this one focusing on all different areas of science.  In this particular book, Ms. Cobb, details different science experiments involving simple machines, water, air and oil to teach the reader about forces, pressure and motion.

A Balloon Water Shooter

Rubber is a material that is said to have a ‘memory.’  You can stretch a balloon and change its shape.  If you release it, the balloon snaps back to its original shape.  You stretch a balloon when you blow it up.  When you let go of the open end, the balloon shrinks, forcing out the air.  This same force can be used to shoot a jet of water.

Curriculum Connections
Due to the complexity of some of the experiments and the nature of the science learned, this book would be recommended for upper elementary students.  While a lot of the experiments are fun and the kids will love doing them, the actual learning about force, motion, and simple machines could be hindered if the audience is too young to understand these concepts as they relate to science.  This would result in a glorified playtime for them.  With regard to the Virginia SOLS the curriculum can be tied to 4.2 a, b, c, and d.

Additional Resources

  • Newton’s Third Law of Motion Students  Students will  experiment with balloons and send their balloons across the room by using various techniques.
  • Forces and Motion  Students will create different size parachutes and with an egg as its passenger.  The students will drop the egg from a distance of ten feet and hypothesize which eggs will land safely.
  • Daily Doings with Simple Machines  Students will make a hypothesis as to how many simple machines they use during a day.  Using the worksheet provided in this link, students will take the sheet home and record all activities they might do during the day using a simple machine.  Then the students will write about their results as compared to their hypothesis.

Book: Squirts and Spurts Science Fun with Water
Author: Vicki Cobb
Illustrator: Steve Haefele
Publisher: The Millbrook Press
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 48 pages
Grade Range: 3-6
ISBN: 0-7613-1572-1

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Teaching Geography with Children’s Literature: This Land is Your Land

Posted on January 22, 2010 by openwidearchive

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“This land is your land, this land is my land, from California to the New York island, from the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters, this land was made for you and me.”

Every child in the United States should know this time honored folk song by Woody Guthrie. Put to paintings by Kathy Jakobsen and with a forward by Pete Seeger, This Land is Your Land can be used to introduce all ages to topics in US History, Geography, and Economics. Jakobsen depicts the land and livelihoods of people all over the United States. Landscapes, cityscapes and landmarks are conveniently captioned and quotes from Guthrie and other famous poems and people about important US events and hardships are included on each page. This book also includes a 3 page fold-out picture map of the United States which depicts people all over the country and their cultures.

Appropriate at any age, this book is a wonderful addition to the classroom. Younger children will appreciate the sing-song fluidity of the words and will learn about the US and it’s people and places without even knowing it. In the last few pages, Pete Seeger pays tribute to Woody Guthrie and includes a short biography with pictures of Guthrie and his life and quotes from his songs. For this reason, this book can be used for older grades and ages as an author study. This book also touches on more complex world issues such as economy, class, and race which are important issues discussed in upper grades. This book is quick, easy to read, and versatile; it can be incorporated into any social science lesson!

“This world is your world and my world. Take it easy, but take it.”

Curriculum Connections

This classic picture book would be suitable for any age but relates specifically to the kindergarten and first grade students Standards of Learning as an introduction to geography. For kindergarten, this book provides a basic introduction to basic map skills and land masses as well as people in real life situations. For first grade, this book can be used to reinforce map skills and land masses and can be used as an introduction to diverse cultures and lifestyles and the location of landmarks and states.

Virginia Kindergarten Standards of Learning: Geography: K.3, K.4, K.5; Virginia First Grade Standards of Learning: Geography: 1.6.

Additional Resources

  • The Official Woody Guthrie website– features information about the author, lyrics to his songs, and original artwork. Site also includes information about events and exhibits as well as a “Teacher’s Curriculum” tab with graphic organizers and curriculum ideas for elementary and high school subjects.
  • National Institutes of Health, Department of Health & Human Services kids pages– feature the lyrics and a sound clip of the whole song “This Land is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie. Play the song while you read or let the children listen to the song afterwards to reinforce geography learned from the book.
  • USA Geography- Interactive Maps – provides links to interactive maps that include state names, state capitals, and US landscapes. Some of the vocabulary may be a little harder for younger children, without an adult to help, but this source would be essential in mapping out Guthrie’s song and some of the landmarks from the book.
  • A landform activity -would be a wonderful corresponding activity if the vocabulary is discussed before the book is read and examples of each are pointed out while reading.

General Information

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Teaching Physical Science with Children’s Literature: Switch On, Switch Off

Posted on January 21, 2010 by openwidearchive

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Light switches are everywhere!  They are in every house: in the kitchen, the bedroom, the office, the bathroom…but are they really magic?  When it’s time for bed and mom yells “lights out,” is it truly magic within that switch that allows the room to go dark?  Switch On, Switch Off, written by Melvin Berger and illustrated by Carolyn Croll, is an excellent resource for young children to begin exploring the magic within the light switch, or what is better known as electricity!  The story begins just this way, with a child heading to bed, curious as to how his light switch operates.  This commences the lesson where Berger youthfully explains circuits, generators, light bulbs, and plugs, thus demonstrating how electricity is produced and even used.  With the help of Croll’s easy to understand illustrations, children can not only read about electricity, but they can see pictures that enforce how the processes work.  The author even offers a live experiment that children can do to create their own electricity using just a magnet, compass, and piece of wire.

Curriculum Connections
Due to its text-book like specificity and instructional images, Switch On, Switch Off is perfect for use in young classrooms.  The text is extremely kid-friendly, leaving out any elaborate, overwhelming explanations.  For example, in explaining how circuits are split into many other circuits as they enter a house, Berger compares them to small roads coming off of a big highway.  In addition, the pictures are all labeled, allowing children to better understand the core elements necessary for the creation of electricity.  Berger’s book can be tied to Virginia Standards of Learning 4.3 a, b, c, d and e, which may effectively serve as an introduction to basic information about circuits, conductors and insulators, the transformation of electricity, as well as simple electromagnets.  This is a great starting point for children to begin discovering the concept so they can be more familiar in expected later grades.

Additional Resources

  • Electricity Circuits and Conductors  is a great interactive tool for children to experiment with electricity conductors.
  • Electricity and Magnetism is a help site for children to utilize if they have questions or need clarification about the concepts.  Within specific sections under various topics are games, activities, histories, and helpful hints.
  • Electricity Teaching Resources is a site to be used by teachers wishing to explore electricity with students.  The site contains activities, games, teaching strategies, physical science links, quizzes, tests, and more!

Book: Switch On, Switch Off
Author: Melvin Berger
Illustrator: Carolyn Croll
Publisher: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc.
Publication Date: 1989
Pages: 32 pages
Grade Range: Recommended K-3, Could be extended through upper elementary
ISBN:  0-690-04786-X

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