Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Books I used with First Grade Biology Studies....

General:
DK Why Are Zebras Black and White? Questions About Color
DK Why Do Sunflowers Face the Sun? Questions About Nature
 
Mammals:

I used DK's Picturepedia: Mammals as a spine, so based the order of the rest of my books on their spreads.

I used McGraw Hill's Complete Book of Animals along with biology for "worksheet" type activities.

National Geographic Mammals (This is a really nice set of books. I only got the one on Mammals, because it was free, but if you can't find the Picturepedias, these would make nice spines.) I used applicable parts along with the Picturepedia throughout this study.

I made a note to pull library books on various animals, such as aardvarks, etc. and checked to see that my library had titles on these animals, but I didn't generally written down the actual book names so I didn't even list those here unless I did happen to note a specific title.

What on Earth is a Meerkat? Jenny Tegar
(And I couldn't resist here) Riki Tiki Tavi
Otter on His Own (Smithsonian)
Skunks and Their Relatives
Cats, Big and Little
Cats: A First Discovery Book (Scholastic)
Animal Homes and Societies (I used applicable parts throughout this study; by Billy Goodman)
The Eyes of Gray Wolf
Foxes for Kids
Wolves for Kids
Bears for Kids
The Polar Bear: Masters of the Ice
Wild Bears, Seymour Simon
Jane Goodall: With Love
Gorillas, Seymour Simon
Aerial Apes: Gibbons of Asia, Geza Teleki
Mountain Gorilla, Michael Bright
Tamarins, Eric Braun and Sandra Donovan
Bats, Gail Gibbons
Magic School Bus: Going Batty (my library had this on video, too)
Mice are Amazing
Discovering What Gerbils Do, Seymour Simon
What is a Rodent? Bobbie Kalman
What's a Lemming? D.M. Sohza
Squirrels, Brian Wildsmith
Scamper, A Gray Tree Squirrel
Gray Squirrel at Pacific Avenue (Smithsonian)
Whales: A First Discovery Book (Scholastic)
Killer Whales, Seymour Simon
Whale, Seymour Simon
Horse Heroes (a DK reader)
Pigs and Peccaries, Anne Marie Schmidt
All About Deer, Jim Arnosky
Deer at the Brook, Arnosky
DK Picturepedia: On the Farm
 
Birds:

I again used a DK Picturepedia as a spine for this study. I'll bet the National Geographic book would be very comparable, as was the mammal book.

Again, I tied in pertinent sections of the Complete Book of Animals and Animal Homes and Societies.

Again, I didn't list categories of books I noted to check out unless I happened to list a specific title.

World Wildlife Federation: Birds
Usborne First Book of Nature - section on birds
Gone Again, Ptarmigan, Jonathan London
Clem: The Story of a Raven, Jennifer Dewey
Soaring With the Wind: The Bald Eagle, Gail Gibbons
Jays, Lynn Stone
Herons, Frank Staub
Spoonbill Swamp, Brenda Guiberson
Loon Magic for Kids
The Black Swan, Paula Hogan
The Puffins are Back! Gail Gibbons
Penguins! Gail Gibbons
Vultures, Roland Smith
The Book of North American Owls

Reptiles:

Used Can Snakes Crawl Backward? Questions and Answers About Reptiles, as a sort of spine.

Added in pertinent portions of the Complete Book of Animals and Animal Homes and Societies.

Slinky, Scaly Snakes (early reader)
Snakes, Patricia Demuth (early reader)
Discovering What Garter Snakes Do, Seymour Simon
All About Rattlesnakes, Arnosky
All About Alligators, Arnosky
Turtles and Snails: A First Discovery Book (Scholastic) - pertinent portions
Hide and Seek Science: Where's that Reptile?
 
Amphibians:

No real "spine".

Used pertinent portions of Complete Book of Animals.

Frogs are Fantastic (early reader)
Rainforest Ride (early reader)
Magic School Bus Hops Home
A Frog's Body, Joanna Cole
Growing Frogs, Vivian French
All About Frogs, Arnosky
Frogs, Gail Gibbons
Frogs and Toads, Steve Parker
Moon of the Salamander, Jean Craighead George
Salamanders and Newts: A Complete Intro.
Eyewitness Amphibians - video
What is an Amphibian? Lola Schaefer
A First Look at Frogs, Toads and Salamanders, Milicent Selsam
Amphibians and Reptiles in 3-D, Mark Blum
 
Fish:

Questions and Answers About Sharks
Eyewitness Fish - video
Fishes and Their Young, Alan Fletcher
Crinkleroot's 25 Fish Every Child Should Know, Arnosky
A Fish Hatches, Joanna Cole
Fish, Steve Parker
Brian Wildsmith's Fishes
Discovering What Goldfish Do, Seymour Simon
Tell Me Why: Fish, Shellfish and Other Underwater Life - video

Pertinent portions from Animal Homes and Societies.

Pertinent portions from the Complete Book of Animals.
 
Invertebrates - Ocean:

At the Ocean
Tide Pool, Rood
Starfish: Stars of the Sea
Exploring an Ocean Tidepool
Seashells, Crabs and Sea Stars, Christiane Tibbitts
Sea Jellies: Rainbows of the Sea, Elizabeth Gowell
Gentle Giant Octopus, Karen Wallace
Seashore Surprises, Rose Wyler
Seashells by the Seashore, Marianne Berkes
Is This a House for Hermit Crab? Megan McDonald
Hermit Crabs, Sylvia Johnson
Discovering Crabs and Lobsters, Jill Bailey
Lobsters: Gangsters of the Sea, Mary Cerullo
The Blue Lobster: A Life Cycle, Carol and Donald Carrick
Animals that Live in Shells, Dean Morris
Mollusks, Joy Richardson
A First Look at Seashells, Millicent Selsam
Shells are Skeletons, Joana Victor

Pertinent portions from the Complete Book of Animals.
 
Invertebrates - Land:

The Snail's Spell
Turtles and Snails: A First Discovery Book (Scholastic) - pertinent portions
A First Look at Animals Without Backbones, Millicent Selsam
Invertebrates, Alvin Silverstein
Sorting out Worm.... Samuel Woods
Mini-Beasts - video

Info. on worms from Christian Liberty Press Nature Reader 3 (I have their first three titles and like all of them.)

Discovering What Earthworms Do, Seymour Simon
 
Invertebrates - Insects and Spiders:

Used DK Picturepedia as a spine.

Completed pertinent portions of the Complete Book of Animals.

I utilized the Nature Readers a lot for this section. They provided a fun, gentle way to introduce odd creatures to younger children.

I also utilized pertinent portions from Animal Homes and Societies here.

Buzz! A Book About Insects
If You Were a Bug
Lady Bugs and Other Insects: A First Discovery Book (Scholastic)
The Life of a Butterfly
Usborne First Book of Nature - section on butterflies and moths
Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing Butterflies and Moths, Arnosky
Eyewitness Butterflies and Moths - video
Butterflies and Moths, Bobbie Kalman
Amazing Worlds of Ants
Armies of Ants
Mysterious Castle Builders: African Termites, Tom Lisker
Termite, Karen Hartley
How Insects Build Their Amazing Homes, W. Wright Robinson
An Insect's Body, Joanna Cole
Ants Have Pets, Kathy Darling
Magic School Bus: Inside a Bee Hive
Honeybees
How Insects Build Their Amazing Homes, Robinson
Wonders of the Wasp's Nest, Sigmund Lavine
Water Bugs, Helen Frost
A Dragon in the Sky: The Story of a Green Darner Dragonfly, Laurence Pringle
I Can Read About Spiders (easy reader)
Spider's Lunch (easy reader)
Spiders, Gail Gibbons
Magic School Bus Spins a Web (video, too)
How Spiders and Other Silkmakers Build Their Amazing Homes, W. Wright Robinson
A Mosquito is Born, William White
(Fiction: I Know Why Mosquitos Buzz)
 
Plants:

Incredible Plants (but I did not use it as a "spine"; I used the Scholastic First Discovery books for this.)
The Tree: A First Discovery Book (Scholastic)
I Am A Leaf (easy reader)
Secret Life of Trees (easy reader)
Usborne First Book of Nature - section on trees and flowers
Fruit: A First Discovery Book (Scholastic)
Vegetables in the Garden: A First Discovery Book (Scholastic)
Plant Stems and Roots (easy)
Plant Leaves (easy)
Among the Flowers (easy)
Diary of a Sunflower (easy)
Flower: A First Discovery Book (Scholastic)
Plants Bite Back (easy reader)
Desert Giant (re: Saguaro)
Mushrooms and Molds, Robert Froman
DK Picturepedia: Food and Farming - sections on plants grown agriculturally
(easy readers: Orange Juice; Pancakes! Pancakes!, Carle)
 
The Human Body:

Used DK's My First Body Book as a spine.

Let's Explore: Me and My Body (DK)
Why Do We Laugh? Questions About the Human Body (DK)
Let's Explore Sound and Music (DK)
Magic School Bus: Inside the Human Body
I Know Why I Brush My Teeth
Hooray for Teeth!
I Know How We Fight Germs
A Book About Your Skeleton
Look Inside Your Brain
Stop, Look and Listen: Using Your Senses From Head to Toe
Magic School Bus Explores the Senses
Why Boys and Girls are Different
Where Do Babies Come From?
Me and My Amazing Body
The Human Body Riddle Book (easy)

Library books for this subject:

Look at Faces, Henry Pluckrose
Faces, Shelley Rotner
Skin, Teeth and Hair, Anna Sandeman
Your Skin Holds You In, Helen Doss
All About Your Skin, Hair and Teeth, Donna Bailey
Hairy Science, Jess Brallier
Straight Hair, Curly Hair - Augusta Golden
Magic School Bus Flexes Its Muscles (video)
You Can't Make a Move Without Your Muscles, Paul Showers
Cuts, Breaks, Bruises and Burns: How Your Body Heals, Joanna Cole
The Human Body: The Inside Scoop! (video - Walt Disney)
The Heart and Blood, Steve Parker
Let's-Try-It-Out: About Your Heart, Seymour Simon
I Know Where My Food Goes, Jacqui Maynard
Food and Digestion, Steve Parker
My Five Senses, Aliki
You Can't Smell a Flower Without Your Ear! Joanna Cole
My Busy Body, Bobbie Kalman
Mystery of the Senses - video
Nerves to Senses, Steve Parker
Touch, Taste and Smell, Steve Parker
Finding Your Senses, Seymour Simon
You Can't Taste a Pickle Without Your Ear! Harriet Ziefert
Sleep is for Everyone, Paul Showers
Hear Your Heart, Paul Showers

Mixed Animal Groups or Habitats:

Magic School Bus Explores the World of Animals
Wonders of Swamps and Marshes
A Picture-Perfect World
Around the World: Who's Been Here?
Under the Ground: A First Discovery Book
In the Forest
Night Creatures: A First Discovery Book
Endangered Animals: A First Discovery Book
One Day in the Woods, Jean Craighead George
Animals Do the Strangest Things
I Wonder Why Skunks are Smelly and Other Neat Facts About Mammals
Wild Animal Go Round (DK)
Animal Skin and Scales (easy)
Animal Feet (easy)
Animal Feathers and Fur (easy)
Munching, Crunching, Sniffing and Snooping (DK easy reader)
Amazing Animals (DK)
101 Questions About Desert Life
Amazing Nature (Barron's)
The Really Amazing Animal Book (DK)
Incredible Little Monsters (DK)
Incredible Great Hunters (DK)
One Day in the Desert, George
Wonders of the Desert
Wonders of the Forest
Wonders of Rivers
I see Animals Hiding, Arnosky
How Do Animals Talk? (Usborne starting point science)
Animal Senses
Explore the Wild
Look Again!
One Day in the Tropical Rainforest, George
Bamboo Valley (Smithsonian, I think)

We raised all sorts of critters and monitored them throughout the year.  We also took lots of field trips to zoos, reptile zoos, aquariums, etc. throughout the year.  Most zoos now have scavenger hunts and other worksheets that can be printed off to do before or after a trip (or while there).... 

It was great fun! 

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