Science-Savvy Students, Part II
Where to look for support materials for middle school science standards
By Janet Dawson Hamilton -- School Library Journal, 6/1/2000
In the March "Up for Discussion", I looked at materials that related to the National Science Education Standards for the elementary grades. This time I'll discuss books that help with standards for grades 5-8. While the transition to middle school can be tough for some youngsters, it's also an exciting time in that they can move beyond the basics in science. They can begin to do full inquiries into scientific problems, come up with questions, design experiments to test them, and report on their results.
As I did in the first article, I'll look at the standards for physical science, life science, earth science, and technology. There are so many great books for this audience that it's tough to know which ones to single out. The examples included are tried-and-true titles that I've found myself reaching for time and again, and new books that approach their subjects in fresh or unique ways.
The physical-science standard for grades 5-8 states that all students should develop an understanding of properties and changes of properties in matter, motions and forces, and transfer of energy. Students are building on the observations about matter that they made in earlier grades, and beginning to observe more complicated properties such as boiling point and solubility. These studies provide the foundation for studying chemistry.
Despite the fact that there never seem to be enough good chemistry books for this audience, I have had success using Jack Challoner's The Visual Dictionary of Chemistry (DK, 1996), Steven Moje's Cool Chemistry (Sterling, 1999), Janice VanCleave's A+ Projects in Chemistry (Wiley, 1993), and Ann Newmark's Chemistry (DK, 1993). David Burnie's Light and Chris Cooper's Matter (DK, both 1992) also work well for physical science. Information and activities to explore matter can also be found in Margaret Griffin's It's a Gas (1993), the Ontario Science Centre's Solids, Liquids, and Gases (1998, both Kids Can), and Paul Doherty's The Cool Hot Rod and Other Electrifying Experiments on Energy and Matter (Wiley, 1996). This last book highlights exhibits from the world-famous Exploratorium in San Francisco. It includes descriptions of how the exhibits work and instructions for students (and their parents) on how to build them. Doherty's The Spinning Blackboard and Other Dynamic Experiments on Force and Motion (1996) also fits in with this standard.
Students in these grades need to learn about many forms of energy: light, heat, sound, magnetism, and electricity. Shar Levine's The Optics Book (Sterling, 1998), Vicki Cobb's Light Action! (HarperCollins, 1993), Alex Sabbeth's Rubber-Band Banjos and a Java Jive Bass (Wiley, 1997), and the Thomas Alva Edison Foundation's The Thomas Edison Book of Easy and Incredible Experiments (Wiley, 1988) all do a fine job of presenting their subjects. Janice VanCleave's Magnets (1993) and Electricity (1994, both Wiley) are loaded with project ideas.
The life-sciences standard for grades 5-8 recommends that students develop an understanding of the following: structure and function in living systems, reproduction and heredity, regulation and behavior, populations and ecosystems, and diversity and adaptations of organisms. Structure and function in living systems can start at the very basic level, with cells, and progress to more complex systems, such as digestion, respiration, and movement. Frances Balkwill's Cells Are Us (Carolrhoda, 1993) is an excellent introduction that offers a straightforward overview. Cell observation is also covered in Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone's The Microscope Book (Sterling, 1996) and Janice VanCleave's Microscopes and Magnifying Lenses (Wiley, 1993).
Books on human body systems are plentiful for this level. Andrew Haslam and Liz Wyse's Body (World Bk., 1997) is part of a great series called "Make It Work!," and shows kids how to make excellent models of various parts of the body. Steve Parker's How the Body Works (Reader's Digest, 1994) is chock-full of activities.
Robie Harris's It's So Amazing: A Book About Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families (Candlewick, 1999) is a comprehensive guide to the reproductive system for this audience. While some of the goofier parts of this book will elicit embarrassed giggles, it is very well done and informative. Lennart Nilsson's How Was I Born? (Delacorte, 1994) tells the story from conception to birth with amazing full-color photographs.
Reproduction and heredity are grouped together in the standards. Dorothy Hinshaw Patent's Grandfather's Nose: Why We Look Alike or Different (Watts, 1989; o.p.) provides an excellent basic introduction. For more advanced students, Daniel Cohen's Cloning (Millbrook, 1998) is an interesting look at a current topic. For comic relief, with a little DNA thrown in, try Joel Herskowitz's Double Talking Helix Blues (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1993).
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Working to meet the science education standards becomes more challenging in upper grades, but it is also more interesting and exciting. |
Two parts of the life-sciences standard talk about behavior and adaptation. One is on a micro scale, looking at how organisms regulate their internal environments to adapt to changes in the external environment. Joanne Settel's Exploding Ants: Amazing Facts About How Animals Adapt (Atheneum, 1999) is a solid introduction to animal adaptations. For those looking to do their own research, Robert Gardner's Science Project Ideas About Animal Behavior (Enslow, 1997) and Nancy Woodard Cain's Animal Behavior Science Projects (Wiley, 1995; o.p.) are fine choices.
On a larger scale, Linda Gamlin's Evolution (DK, 1993) and Sara Stein's The Evolution Book (Workman, 1986) are good introductions to the ways that animals and other living things adapt over time. Part of the discussion includes extinction, which is well covered in Don Lessem's Dinosaurs to Dodos: An Encyclopedia of Extinct Animals (Scholastic, 1999). Dorothy Hinshaw Patent's Biodiversity (Clarion, 1996) looks at the importance of diversity and interdependence among living things in maintaining life on Earth.
Biodiversity ties in directly with the final part of this standard, which emphasizes teaching about ecosystems. This is more than simply looking at a variety of biomes, such as the rain forest, the desert, or the ocean. It's important to have materials that explain the general concepts of how populations of organisms within an ecosystem work together to support life for all. Beth Savan's Earthwatch: Earthcycles and Ecosystems (Addison-Wesley, 1992) provides a wealth of activities that look at these topics. Melissa Stewart's Life Without Light: A Journey to Earth's Dark Ecosystems (Watts, 1999) describes how organisms survive in such hostile environments as caves or the deep sea. Elizabeth Ring's What Rot!: Nature's Mighty Recycler (Millbrook, 1996) explores the role of microorganisms in supporting life.
The earth-science standard for grades 5-8 states that students should develop an understanding of the structure of the Earth, its history, and its place in the solar system. There are several areas included in the study of the Earth's structure: the atmosphere, water, and the Earth itself, from its molten core to its surface. Andrew Haslam's Earth (World Bk., 1997) and John Farndon's How the Earth Works (Reader's Digest, 1992) are excellent places to start. Noel and Phyllis Fiarotta's Water Science, Water Fun: Great Things to Do with H2O (Sterling, 1996) and Walter Wick's A Drop of Water (Scholastic, 1997) do an outstanding job of exploring various properties of water. Bruce McMillan's The Weather Sky (Farrar, 1991) has wonderful photographs that teach about clouds and how they reflect what is going on in the atmosphere.
Scientists study rocks, sand, the atmosphere, the shape of the continents, and other geological structures to learn what happened on Earth millions of years ago. Helen Roney Sattler's Our Patchwork Planet (Lothrop, 1995) is a well-written introduction to the study of tectonic plates and how scientists study them to learn about the Earth's history. Kathryn Lasky's Surtsey: The Newest Place on Earth (Hyperion, 1992) provides a good look at how land forms and how it becomes inhabited with a variety of species over time.
The final part of this standard, learning about the Earth as part of the solar system, is covered in many books. Seymour Simon's Our Solar System (Morrow, 1992) has beautiful photographs and simple text. It can be supplemented by Simon's other books on the Sun, the moon, and each of the other planets. Sally Ride and Tam O'Shaughnessy's The Third Planet (Crown, 1994) focuses on the Earth and its place within the solar system. Martin Redfern's The Kingfisher Young People's Book of Space (Kingfisher, 1998) and Kristen Lippincott's Astronomy (DK, 1994) are two other general introductions to the study of the solar system.
The final standard I'll look at is the one pertaining to technology. According to this standard, students should develop abilities of technological design and understandings about science and technology. Middle schoolers can continue the work they began in the earlier grades of coming up with solutions to problems and testing them out. Failure is always a part of this process; a good look at how defeat has led engineers to eventual success in their designs is Fred Bortz's Catastrophe!: Great Engineering Failure--And Success (Scientific American, 1995). Another title kids will love browsing through is David Macaulay's The New Way Things Work (Houghton, 1998). Neil Ardley's How Things Work (Reader's Digest, 1995) shows kids how to make engines, dams, cameras, and many other everyday objects. I use this book often for science project research. Finally, Frances Karnes's Girls and Young Women Inventing (Free Spirit, 1995) tells the inspiring stories of 20 ordinary people who have patented their own inventions.
Working to meet the science education standards becomes more challenging in upper grades, but it is also more interesting and exciting. The books written for intermediate grades reflect this, and many are as appealing as any fiction in your collection.
Janet Dawson Hamilton is a librarian at the Museum of Science in Boston, MA. This is the second of a series of articles on
The National Science Education Standards.
