A Model Nature Journal for Linking Science and Writing

Continuing in the spirit of the books & authors we've had the opportunity to chat with here at NSTA in San Antonio, we want to tell you about The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound: A Birder's Journal, by Sallie Wolf. This book is organized by the seasons, highlighting observable behaviors and characteristics of birds throughout the year.  Therefore, it's not only a great resource across the grades (K-5 and beyond, really) for teaching the seasons, but also serves as a model for nature journals with its sketches, observational notes, and questions for further exploration.



I (Amy) love it because Sallie allows us to enter the world of revision by including snippets of her drafts, with phrases visibly marked out and replaced with other words. It is so hard to get students to understand the revising process, and in this book, a "real" author allows them to glimpse into her revision process. Sallie also takes a page (at the back of the book) to explain her journals--from what they look like to how she gets ready to write, and from their organizational structure to the kinds of information she includes. Of course, I have other favorite parts, like the Author's note, where Sallie talks about her inspirational 7th grade teacher, who taught her class how to use Roger Tory Peterson's Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America (if you have time, check out another award winning book on Peterson, written by Peggy Thomas!), and who is the reason she became a bird watcher. The list of resources Sallie includes will also help guide any student who suddenly becomes interested in finding out more about birds! So, if you are looking for  a mentor text for nonfiction writing instruction, poetry, journaling,  and revision, I say this is one you can't be without.

Finally, like most incredible, authors, Sallie has a website. Upon entering it, you get to pick where you want to start, which, if you know Sallie, is exactly where she would want you to start. If you happen to select "Kids and Teachers," you'll be taken to her explanation of what she wanted to be when she grew up, and if you read it, you will get a sense of the thoughtful, passionate, deliberate questioner that Sallie is. No matter what you explore, you'll find it has a sense of wonder and curiosity about the world, with just a touch respectful impertinence.  And DO NOT leave her site until you've taken the opportunity to explore her moon project, which we are convinced will become  another one of her amazing books someday.

Update: Sallie has a Robin Makes a Laughing Sound facebook page that would be worth your time to check out!

Keep an eye out for Sylvan Dell

We had the opportunity today to sit and chat with with Darcy Pattison and Terry Jennings, two  award winning authors who write for Sylvan Dell publishers. Their enthusiasm and excitement about their books, Desert Baths (Darcy) and Gopher to the Rescue! A Volcano Recovery Story (Terry) reminded us of why we keep coming back to see Lee & Donna German, who started the publishing company, every chance we get.

We first met the folks from Sylvan Dell at the 2008 NSTA Convention in Boston, when their books The Rainforest Grew All Around, ABC Safari (both of which are perfect for the tough K-1 crowd), and Ocean Seasons (for the older 3rd -5th crowd) caught our eye. Over the past five years, we've seen their collection of offerings grow to over 80 books focusing mostly on science (and math & and geography) concepts for elementary age learners. Many of their books have won awards...including some International Reading Association/Children's Book Council's Teachers Choice Awards & some NSTA Outstanding Trade Book Awards--two of our favorite "lists" for good books! They also quite impressively rely on a cadre of scientists in the field who vet each book, ensuring accuracy. These are books teachers can use knowing the information is correct.


However, Sylvan Dell offers unique opportunities to push the reading experience beyond the pages of the book with some of the more unique aspects of their publications.Teachers will likely be impressed with the "For Creative Minds" sections included at the back of each book. (Follow this link to see the Creative Minds pages for Ocean Seasons!) These pages include a variety of ways to extend the concepts explored in the book in cross-curricular ways, often including more detailed information, related maps and charts, fun little quizzes, and even experiments. But...

...one of the most exciting parts of the Sylvan Dell way of doing things has to be their online supplemental resources. Each book has its own homepage with an array of "extras" that include .pdf previews of each book, teaching guides, quizzes, related websites, and even interviews with the author. They also have a searchable standards database that links books with individual state standards or vice versa. And, just in case that wasn't appealing enough, Sylvan Dell offers eBook options in both English or Spanish (text AND audio!). They even offer some free trials and actually have pretty good deals for school site licenses.

If you ever get to NSTA or IRA or any of trade shows Sylvan Dell attends, keep an eye out for them and be sure to stop by the booth and introduce yourself to Lee and Donna (or any of their friendly employees!). But even if you don't get out much, you can spend a few hours exploring their books and resources on the website. Enjoy!

The Science Trade Book Blog for Busy Teachers

Welcome to our new blog, Perfect Pairings: Linking Science and Literacy! We were inspired to start this blog to share all of the great books we have been reading over the past few years. We have been looking at science trade books from science (Kristin) and literacy (Amy) perspectives, and are getting ready to present at the NSTA National Convention in San Antonio Texas with some of the authors of the NSTA/CBC Outstanding Science Trade Books.

One of the books we're going to share at our session (which is tomorrow at 1:00 in room 216B at the Convention Center, if you're here in San Antonio) is Blockhead: The life of Fibonacci by Joseph D'Agnese. It's a wonderful biography of Leonardo Fibonacci, told through his own eyes, from his youth in Italy, through his world travels and exposure to Arabic numbers, and ultimately to his discovery of what we now know as the Fibonacci sequence. The young mathematician is portrayed in this book as one who questions the world around him, wondering about nature and architecture and observing details that many seem to overlook. In the book it is this inquisitive nature that ultimately leads to the discovery of nature's famous sequence. D'Agnese seamlessly integrates famous problems (multiplying like rabbits, anyone?), applications of the sequence (pinecones, flower petals, sunflower seeds), and the Fibonacci spiral into the story in a way that engages the reader, while John O'Brien's illustrations provide a visual representation of each. And, the author wraps up the book with a one page explanation of what we actually know about Fibonacci's life (which is nice in terms of sorting out what's fact and what may be a bit of fiction in the story) and a "Can You Find?" page that invites readers to look for specific examples of the Fibonnaci sequence hidden in the illustrations,  challenges (and guides) them to find applications in real life, and even poses some pretty good  higher order thinking questions. It would make the perfect read aloud for 2nd grade and up. (Even though the text language is such that younger students would likely understand it, it would likely push the boundaries of their attention spans!)

And if you like the whole idea of exploring the Fibonacci sequence, you might also check out Sarah C. Campbell's non-fiction book Growing Patterns: Fibonacci Numbers in Nature, which uses vivid photographs, taken by Sarah and her husband, to show examples of the Fibonacci sequence in nature. She, too, includes additional information on Fibonnaci, his now-famous numbers, and other related information (The Golden Ratio, The Rabbit Problem, Golden Spiral, etc.) in the final pages of the book, and has some ideas for use in classrooms on her website (check out the "For Teachers" section in particular!). And, just in case you're here in San Antonio, think about coming to tomorrow morning's session (9:30-12:30 in the Marriott Rivercenter, Salon L) where you can meet and interact with Sarah (and Amy) and a number of other science trade book authors or a Saturday morning session (9:30-10:30) where Sarah (and Kristin) will talk about using scientists' stories in teaching!

That's enough for now--we've got to head back over to the Convention Center and check out more of the sessions (and exhibits!). Looking forward to sharing more books tomorrow!