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Science literature for a kid who does NOT like the Let's Read & Find Out series...


AimeeM
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This is for DS6. First grade this fall.

We're doing earth/physical science this upcoming year. He REALLY loves How To Dig a Hole To The Other Side Of The World... but it's an older book (1979, I believe) and I can't find anything with that style.

*I* can't stand the Magic School Bus books. In fact, I plan on hiding the many of that series that I purchased at a recent convention. 

 

Right now I have several of Gail Gibbons' books on the list (and I already own a few), and some scientist bios, but I'm not coming up with much otherwise on Amazon. Any good blogs or links for science literature for this age?

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The Seymour Simon series about earth science topics is better than any of the Let's Read and Find Out anyway. They are a bit of a level up in understanding, but they're not too much for most kids this age. I would use those as a spine and add in library books and just see what you find. I seem to remember there were some sweet younger kid ones for earth science like If You Find a Rock.

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other books by Faith McNulty (How to Dig a Hole… author)

Wells of Knowledge series (by Robert Wells)

books by David Adler (he writes on math topics, rather than science)

 

 

As far as ideas for Earth Science and Physical Science books, if you can make a list of topics you want to cover, you can more easily do a search of your library or ask here for ideas for books on those specific topics. For Earth Science, do you want to stick with just Geology, or also include Geography and Astronomy topics? Physical Science is an overview of Chemistry and Physics topics -- which topics are you most interested in covering?

 

Life Sciences
- anatomy (human body: senses; blood, heart, & circulatory system; brain & nervous system; bones, muscles, & skeletal system; respiratory system; digestive system….)
- zoology (animal kingdom: habitats and food; mammals; insects; birds; reptiles; amphibians...)
- botany (plant kingdom: plant parts; types of plants (tree, cactus, alga…); growth & photosynthesis; farming & gardening...)
- marine biology (plants: kelp, alga, etc.; animals: plankton, mammals, fish, birds, invertebrates; habitats: tide pool, coral reef...)
- ecology (conservation; recycling; food web; biomes ("climate zones"): desert, arctic, jungle, prairie, forest, mountain, pond, seashore, ocean...)

Earth Sciences
- geology (rocks & minerals, formations, earth layers, plate tectonics, volcanoes, earthquakes, glaciers, soil, erosion mining...)
- geography (physical aspects of Earth, landforms, measuring & mapping, latitude/longitude…)
- meteorology (weather: sun, wind, water; storms; clouds; water cycle; observing/predicting weather; atmosphere...)
- astronomy (sun and moon; planets; solar system; stars; galaxies; space exploration…)
- oceanography (tides, currents, waves, coasts and coastal formations, geology of sea floor, continents...)

Chemistry
- matter (states, mass, density, elements, atoms & molecules, periodic table, compounds......)
- reactions (thermodynamics, equilibrium, catalysts )
- solutions/mixtures (water, solubility, suspensions, acid & base, pH...)
- plant chemistry (photosynthesis, how people use plants, organic chemistry overview...)
- biochemistry (people chemistry) (food for energy, metabolism, cycles, DNA, proteins, enzymes...)
- kitchen chemistry (edible reactions, solutions, mixtures, thermodynamics, etc.)

Physics
- light/sound
- energy/forces/motion
- air (pressure) and water (adhesion & cohesion, floating & sinking, density, surface tension)
- electricity/magnetism
- electronics/computers
- nuclear energy/forces
- simple machines
- rocketry/flight
- building structures/engineering

Short Unit Ideas
- Science Fair project
- 4-H: join an animal, plant, or rocketry project
- First Aid & CPR class and certification
- the scientific method

- famous scientists or inventors
- paleontology and fossils
- nutrition and health
- safety and emergencies and how to respond
- use of microscope
- worm composting, hydroponics, horticulture

 

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The Seymour Simon series about earth science topics is better than any of the Let's Read and Find Out anyway. They are a bit of a level up in understanding, but they're not too much for most kids this age. I would use those as a spine and add in library books and just see what you find. I seem to remember there were some sweet younger kid ones for earth science like If You Find a Rock.

I just put all the earth science related Simon books in my Amazon cart - thanks, y'all!

 

I would prefer to buy all literature that I need. We don't care much for the library (read: I can't seem to return the book on time - EVER).

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Thanks, Lori!

 

We want to cover everything in Earth Sciences, and touch on some physics. DH will be doing some projects with him, that are related, since physics/engineering is his field, and Earth Sciences is something he (DH) very much enjoys.

 

I didn't notice that McNulty had any other books on Amazon. I'll head over to Abebooks and look, though.

 

DS' geography program for the year will cover most of the mapping/longitude/latitude/measuring components that I need covered (Legends and Leagues - the first book, which is all about mapping, measuring, longitude/latitude).

 

I did completely forget about Oceanography. Whoops!

other books by Faith McNulty (How to Dig a Hole… author)

Wells of Knowledge series (by Robert Wells)

books by David Adler (he writes on math topics, rather than science)

 

 

As far as ideas for Earth Science and Physical Science books, if you can make a list of topics you want to cover, you can more easily do a search of your library or ask here for ideas for books on those specific topics. For Earth Science, do you want to stick with just Geology, or also include Geography and Astronomy topics? Physical Science is an overview of Chemistry and Physics topics -- which topics are you most interested in covering?

 

Life Sciences
- anatomy (human body: senses; blood, heart, & circulatory system; brain & nervous system; bones, muscles, & skeletal system; respiratory system; digestive system….)
- zoology (animal kingdom: habitats and food; mammals; insects; birds; reptiles; amphibians...)
- botany (plant kingdom: plant parts; types of plants (tree, cactus, alga…); growth & photosynthesis; farming & gardening...)
- marine biology (plants: kelp, alga, etc.; animals: plankton, mammals, fish, birds, invertebrates; habitats: tide pool, coral reef...)
- ecology (conservation; recycling; food web; biomes ("climate zones"): desert, arctic, jungle, prairie, forest, mountain, pond, seashore, ocean...)

Earth Sciences
- geology (rocks & minerals, formations, earth layers, plate tectonics, volcanoes, earthquakes, glaciers, soil, erosion mining...)
- geography (physical aspects of Earth, landforms, measuring & mapping, latitude/longitude…)
- meteorology (weather: sun, wind, water; storms; clouds; water cycle; observing/predicting weather; atmosphere...)
- astronomy (sun and moon; planets; solar system; stars; galaxies; space exploration…)
- oceanography (tides, currents, waves, coasts and coastal formations, geology of sea floor, continents...)

Chemistry
- matter (states, mass, density, elements, atoms & molecules, periodic table, compounds......)
- reactions (thermodynamics, equilibrium, catalysts )
- solutions/mixtures (water, solubility, suspensions, acid & base, pH...)
- plant chemistry (photosynthesis, how people use plants, organic chemistry overview...)
- biochemistry (people chemistry) (food for energy, metabolism, cycles, DNA, proteins, enzymes...)
- kitchen chemistry (edible reactions, solutions, mixtures, thermodynamics, etc.)

Physics
- light/sound
- energy/forces/motion
- air (pressure) and water (adhesion & cohesion, floating & sinking, density, surface tension)
- electricity/magnetism
- electronics/computers
- nuclear energy/forces
- simple machines
- rocketry/flight
- building structures/engineering

Short Unit Ideas
- Science Fair project
- 4-H: join an animal, plant, or rocketry project
- First Aid & CPR class and certification
- the scientific method

- famous scientists or inventors
- paleontology and fossils
- nutrition and health
- safety and emergencies and how to respond
- use of microscope
- worm composting, hydroponics, horticulture

 

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