Ideas for learning about biomes?

[mommy123]

We are going to use the One Small Square books.  Are there any other good resources you have used to learn about the world's biomes?

 

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

Yes, there is a good Janice Van Cleave book called Science Around the World

 

http://www.amazon.com/Janice-VanCleaves-Science-Around-World/dp/0471205478

 

 

I also like Bobbie Kalman's books, which are available at our library.

[HS Mom in NC]

Several authors have done a series on biomes. Check you local library. My 8 year old is my only student.

I'm combining the  A Walk in a deciduous forest/tundra/tropical rain forest/dry desert/marshes & swamps/etc. Johnson series with the Johansson series that has one book per biome.   One is a more about what you see when you're there and the other is more about inter-relationships.

 

I printed out small images of plants, animals and insects from each biome to make a food web similar to the one in the biome books by Johansson series. I googled free coloring pages of each type of plant, animal, or insect and printed them out on a small scale so we can include them in a lapbook along with narrations of each.

 

You can also google climate zone maps for printing out and blank Venn diagrams for printing out if you want to make comparisons.

 

Google "biome in a baggie"  for a simple science demonstration to be on going through the biome series.

We're doing some background first.

Week 1 (last week) was the earth in space as it relates to day and night.

Week 2 (this week) is about earth in space as it relates to seasons and climate zones. The Reason for Seasons by Gibbon, Desert Seasons by Jan M. Mike. I printed out a beautiful tree with only trunk and branches on watercolor paper 4 times.  She'll paint each one differently according to the 4 seasons in a temperate zone.  We'll do a Venn diagram comparing the 4 seasons in a temperate zone to our seasons here in AZ.

Week 3 (next week) is about the water cycle. I have a chart and a hands on activity making a watercycle in a bowl-I googled it.

 

Week 4 Lakes and Rivers by Johansson,  Rain & Earth by Bundey  Print outs of plants, animals and insects commonly found near rivers and lakes in North America for a food web. We'll take a field trip to a river on Saturday of that week.

Week 5 Tundra by Johansson,  A Walk in the Tundra by Johnson  print outs of plants and animals listed in the 2 books

Week 6 Forested Taiga by Johansson no Johnson book available

Week 7 Forest Food Chains by Kalman (no Johansson book available) A Walk in a Deciduous Forest by Johnson.  I googled then printed out templates of leaves from a decidous forest on watercolor paper.  I also printed out a simple field guide of each type of leaf and what tree it's from as a watercolor painting project.

 

 

You get the idea.  Then after we do each biome (that will have us at week 13) we'll do weather.

[warneral]

We bought this game at a national park and my kids love it. A nice supplement

http://www.amazon.com/Jax-9020-Hit-Habitat-Trail/dp/B004YUA1B0