Deadliest Animals: Research

I wrote about my general research process just a few weeks ago, here and here, so I’d encourage you to look at those posts and share them with your students.

Although I’ve observed many of the creatures in Deadliest Animals while on safari in Africa or exploring the tropical rain forests of Costa Rica, I didn’t do any traveling specifically for this book. Most of the information came from notes I took during past trips or from magazine and journal articles. I did use the Internet a bit, and, as always, checked my facts with a variety of scientists.

All in all, the research process for this book was pretty uneventful, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t surprised by some of the information I uncovered. And as you’ll discover over the next few weeks, my sense of surprise became the core of the book.

Friday Fun: A Great Week

This has been a great week for me.

On Monday, Franki Sibberson, fabulous third grade teacher and co-host of the A Year of Reading blog, declared it "Melissa Stewart week" in this wonderful http://readingyear.blogspot.com/2014/03/a-melissa-stewart-week.html post. (I'm blushing.)

On Wednesday, which just happened to be the 10th anniversary getting engaged to my amazing husband, I spent the day with uber-talented children's book author Loree Griffin Burns at the Massachusetts Environmental Education Society at Holy Cross College in Worcester, MA. I met a lot of passionate educators and had some great discussions.

And today, I'm presenting at a Massachusetts School Library Association pre-conference event sponsored by the New England School Library Association in Hyannis, MA. I'm looking forward to spending the day with dedicated teacher-librarians and talking about books and nonfiction writing and Common Core. I love these conferences because they help me get a sense of the specific struggles educators are facing and what I might be able to do to help.

The conference continues all weekend, and I'm looking forward to attending some great sessions and to presenting again on Sunday. The best part is that my parents live about 15 minutes away from the conference center, so I'll get to see them, too. Like I said, it's a great week.

Behind the Books: Another Gift for Educators

When No Monkeys, No Chocolate came out last fall, I wanted to provide educators with a really useful teaching tool to accompany the book. I created this Revision Timeline so that kids (and teachers) could get a sense of how much time and energy goes into a book, even when it’s just 32 pages long.

The timeline was a big success. To say educators love it would be an understatement.

Flash forward six months and it’s time to launch another picture book into the world—Feathers: Not Just for Flying has. Once again, I wanted to create a great book-related resource for teachers.

Thanks to a suggestion from my friend and uber-talented teacher Kate Narita, I made a list of the most important features of nonfiction. A carefully chosen structure was first on my list, but I focused on that a lot in the Revision Timeline. Other items on the list included a distinctive voice, strong verbs, meaningful comparisons . . . BINGO!

Similes are at the heart of Feathers: Not Just for Flying, so they’d be the perfect focus for educational materials. After some more thought, I decided to create a mini-lesson that includes reading the book, watching a video, and doing a worksheet.

Of course, you can bring your own creativity to how you present the material to students, but everything you need to get started is right here.

 

I hope you like it.

 

 

Shifting Gears

A few months ago, I connected with Colleen Cruz, a Lead Senior Staff Developer for the Columbia University Teacher’s College Reading & Writing Project, on Twitter. Colleen is one of the authors of the popular Units of Study in Opinion, Information, and Narrative Writing: A Common Core Workshop Curriculum. Working with Lucy Calkins, Colleen wrote the third grade module entitled The Art of Information Writing, which uses my book Deadliest Animals as a mentor text.

I’m honored that Colleen selected my book, Deadliest Animals, and was delighted that she invited me to participate in a Twitterchat with teachers using the Units of Study program. As I read The Art of Information Writing, I was thrilled to discover that one of its main focuses is structure in nonfiction writing. As far as I’m concerned, structure is the most critical element of nonfiction writing, and the one I struggle with most. 

The Twitterchat was a huge success, and I’ve continued to stay in touch with the #TCRWP and #UofS communities via Twitter. I love seeing the student work teachers post and hearing their stories of success with the program. It’s exciting to be involved.

Quite a few teachers have asked me questions about the creative process behind Deadliest Animals and some of my other books on Twitter or at conferences, such as NCTE, so I thought I’d blog about it here for the rest of the school year.

I’ll start today by explaining why I wrote the book in the first place. I began writing for the National Geographic Readers series in 2008 after being contacted by editor Amy Shields. I had known Amy since the late 1990s when she acquired a book I wrote for Millbrook Press, which is now part of the Lerner Publishing Group.

The National Geographic Reader series was just beginning and I was one of the prototype authors. My first book for the series was a Level 2 reader entitled Snakes!. Over the next couple of years, I wrote Ants (Level 1) and Dolphins (Level 2). Then in 2010, the series’s new editor, Laura Marsh, asked me to write my first Level 3 reader, Deadliest Animals. I thought it was a great topic, and said yes immediately.

What happened next? I’ll continue the story behind the book next week.

Friday Fun: Super Silly Science Jokes

Q: Why was the farmer dirt poor?

A: He didn’t have any cent-ipedes in his soil.

Q: What did the mother soil name her baby?

A: Sandy.

Q: What did the soil do after school? 

A:  It had a claydate.

Q: Why was the humus upset?

A: Because everyone treated him like dirt.

Q: What do rocks say when they agree with one another?

A: My sediments exactly.

Looking for more super silly jokes about the weather? Check out Mountains of Jokes About Rocks, Minerals, and Soil.

Behind the Books: Feathers

Yesterday was the official publication date for my new book, Feathers: Not Just for Flying. I am especially excited about this book because it has already received a starred review from Publisher's Weekly and because was illustrated by my friend Sarah S. Brannen.

Sarah is a member of my critique group and first saw the book in its very early stages. But she was so inspired that she created a painting, which in turn inspired me. It made me believe in the manuscript and fight to find the best way to present the information.

So when the manuscript eventually was accepted, I suggested Sarah as a potential illustrator. By this time, she had created several feather paintings and put them added them to the gallery on her website.

Voila! She got the job.

Even after acceptance, this little book had to overcome many hurdles. Three editors worked on the book, and late in the game, we discovered an arcane law stating that it is illegal to even pick up most of the feathers the average American might find on an afternoon walk through the woods. This meant Sarah and the art director had to quickly come up with a way to maintain the book’s magic without showing a kid breaking the law. But it all worked out, and we are both excited to finally bring the book into the world.

Integrating Science and Language Arts: NGSS Performance Expectation 1-LS4-1, Part 3

2-LS4-1. Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the diversity of living things in each of a variety of different habitats.]

After comparing two very different biomes, you can focus on two different examples of the same biome, such as a swamp and a bog (both wetlands) or a prairie and a savanna (both grasslands).
 

Catfish Kate and the Sweet Swamp Band by Sarah Weeks

Frog in a Bog John Himmelman

A Frog in the Bog by Karma Wilson

Who Lives in an Alligator Hole? by Anne Rockwell

Big Night for Salamanders by Sarah Lamstein

A Day in the Salt March by Kevin Kurtz

Deep in the Swamp by Donna M. Bateman

The Swamp Where Gator Hides by Marianne Berkes

Water Hole Waiting by Jane and Christopher Kurtz

Out on the Prairie by Donna M. Bateman

The Great Fuzz Frenzy by Susan Stevens Crummel and Janet Stevens

African Acrostics by Avis Harley

Pinduli by Janelle Cannon

Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow by Joyce Sidman

Activity 1
Guide students as they create an interactive bulletin board with the title, Where Do These Wetland Plants and Animals Live? Ask each student to draw, label, and cut around the edges of two separate pictures—one of a bog plant or animal and one of a swamp plant or animal. Each student must pick different plants and animals, focusing on the examples included in Frog in a Bog and Catfish Kate and the Sweet Swamp Band. Add a one side of a Velcro button to the back of each picture.

Cover the left side of the bulletin board with light green (top) and blue (bottom) paper and label it bog. Cover the right side with dark green (top) and blue (bottom) paper and label it swamp. Cover a central band of the bulletin board with orange paper and attach seven pockets made from folded sheets of paper and label them: Insects, Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds, Mammals, Fish, Other. After sorting the student artwork into the appropriate pockets, stick the other sides of the Velcro buttons to the bog and swamp areas of the bulletin board. When students have free time, they can match the plants and animals pictures to the correct wetland home.

Activity 2
After reviewing the backmatter of Frog in a Bog, encourage students to make eight-page booklets and then create bog field guides that include a decorative front cover, a blank back cover, and labeled drawing of a plant and one animal from each of the following groups: Insects, Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds, Mammals. When the students are done, they can glue the back cover into their Wonder Journals.

Activity 3
Haiku poetry has three non-rhyming lines. The first line has five syllables, the second has seven and the third has five. Invite students to use information from the “know” lists and their own creative ideas to write and illustrate haiku poems about the African savanna and the North American prairie. For example:               

            Primrose and daisies

            Bison roam the wide prairie

            Prairie in summer

            Zebras are thirsty

            Less water in dry season

            Sizzling savanna

Friday Fun: Gross Out!

A horned lizard might be small, but it sure knows how to survive. First, it tries to run and hide. If that doesn’t work, the lizard hisses fiercely and puffs up its body to look as big as possible. It may also try to stab an attacker with its horns and spines.

The resourceful reptile has one more trick. It can startle enemies by squirting blood out of the corners of its eyes. Yikes!

For more gross facts about our animal neighbors, check out Animal Grossapedia. But be sure not to read it right after lunch!

Behind the Books: The Animal Book

I don’t usually review books here on Celebrate Science, but today I’m going to make an exception. Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that I am a huge fan of books by Steve Jenkins, and I can’t help but gush over what is now my favorite of all—The Animal Book.

This is a book I wish I had been handed as a child, and I have no doubt it will inspire a whole new generation of professional scientists and amateur naturalists. Combining art and ideas from a half dozen or so of his past titles with lots of brand new content, Jenkins has created a magnum opus that puts the animal kingdom in context for kids. The result is a clearly presented, visually dynamic overview that is sure to fascinate curious young minds.

 

Topics range from animal families and animal senses to extreme animals and animal defense strategies. Perhaps most importantly, Jenkins does an excellent job of putting the evolution of life on Earth in perspective for young readers.

I know there are children out there that will spend hours happily poring over this beautiful crafted, informative book. So please buy this book and put it in their hands.

Integrating Science and Language Arts: NGSS Performance Expectation 1-LS4-1, Part 2

2-LS4-1. Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the diversity of living things in each of a variety of different habitats.]

After students have a clear understanding of what a habitat is, you can introduce the term biome (a large area of land with special features) and compare the diversity of life in a rain forest biome and a desert biome. Here are some great books to share with kids:

The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry

Here is the Southwestern Desert by Madeleine Dunphy

Desert Voices by Byrd Baylor

Here is the Tropical Rainforest by Madeline Dunphy

The Desert is Theirs by Byrd Baylor

Rain, Rain, Rain Forest by Brenda Z. Guiberson

Activity 1

After reviewing the cumulative format of Here Is the Southwestern Desert, invite students to create their own cumulative text that features at least three rain forest plants or animals. Here’s an example:

 

   Here is the tropical rainforest.

 

   Here is the kapok tree

   that grows tall:

   Here is the tropical rainforest.

   Here is the toucan

   who sits in the kapok tree

   that grows tall:

   Here is the tropical rainforest.

   Here is the jaguar

   who hunts the toucan

   who sits in the kapok tree

   that grows tall:

   Here is the tropical rainforest.

Encourage students to illustrate their cumulative texts.

 

Activity 2

Show your class how to make a pyramid by folding a piece of 12 × 12 drawing paper. (Excellent directions can be found online.) After each child has created two pyramids, invite students to turn each pyramid on its side to make a diorama frame. Then provide art materials, so that students can create at least one plant and two animals to add to a desert biome diorama and a rain forest biome diorama.