Volcanoes
Exploring a Natural Phenomenon with Grades Four through Eight
Joy Fleishhacker, Curriculum Connections -- School Library Journal, 11/8/2007
Related TeachingBooks.net resources »»»
A sudden crack in a Mexican cornfield that quickly burgeoned into a 1,100-foot-tall volcano. An earth-shaking eruption that ripped 1,200 feet off Mount St. Helens’s peak. A photo of a car covered in volcanic ash. Plaster casts of bodies felled by Vesuvius’s fury, hauntingly preserving “imprints of the people’s dying moments.” Pyroclastic flows that “can melt automobiles, level forests, bury entire cities, and carbonize a human being in seconds.”
It’s no wonder that youngsters are fascinated by volcanoes, their breathtaking beauty and elemental omnipotence, their ability to alter the environment and reshape our planet, and the power they hold over the people who dwell in their shadows. The following books incorporate clearly presented scientific concepts, dramatic photographs and illustrations, enthralling eyewitness accounts, and a dose of edge-of-your-seat adventure. Use them to enkindle enthusiasm for a unit that amalgamates science, history, archeology, and art history.
Building the Core
Judy and Dennis Fradin’s Volcanoes (National Geographic, 2007) brims with spectacular photos and quotes from scientists, photographers, and ordinary people who have experienced eruptions. Beginning with an amazing account of the 1943 birth of Mexico’s Paricutín, lively chapters cover the science of volcanoes, spectacular explosions, how volcanoes shape and benefit our planet, and predictions of future blow-ups.
Researcher and photographer Donna O’Meara takes readers Into the Volcano (Kids Can, 2005), describing her often dangerous and always rewarding excursions to active sites around the world. Couched between the author’s exhilarating adventures—including a hot-footed hike at Hawaii’s Kilauea to photograph flowing lava—is a wealth of information about volcanoes and the scientists who study them, presented in a conversational tone and punctuated with stunning photos.
Go Ahead, Blow Your Top
OK. We all know that kids love to make soda-bottle volcanoes powered by baking soda, vinegar, and lava-red food coloring. Why not introduce this tried-and-true activity with Frances O'Roark Dowell's Phineas L. MacGuire…Erupts! (S & S/Atheneum, 2006), a fast-paced read-aloud that percolates with humor and action. When Mac, a quirky fourth grader and budding scientist, is paired with his least favorite classmate for a science fair assignment, he unexpectedly finds that the project rekindles his interest in volcanoes—and in making new friends. Amusing pencil sketches are sprinkled throughout, and three science activities, including the aforementioned volcano, are appended.
 |
|
Will It Blow? (Rausch) © 2007 by K. E. Lewis |
Bring your exploration of Mount St. Helens up to date with Elizabeth Rusch's Will It Blow? (Sasquatch, 2007), an invigorating, interactive book that invites kids to become volcano detectives by trying to predict an eruption. After summing up the 1980 blast, Rusch provides clues to possible activity (earthquakes, temperature changes, etc.), introduces the scientists who study these indicators, and encourages students to make their own hypotheses. The chatty text and K. E. Lewis's cartoon artwork painlessly deliver rock-solid information, and easy activities and challenge questions make this title perfect for classroom use.
Blast from the PastTravel back to AD 79 to investigate a doomed city buried in ash and forgotten by time. These books on Pompeii shed light not only on Vesuvius’s devastating eruption but also on ancient Rome's culture, day-to-day life, and religion. The titles could also initiate discussion about how archeologists interpret artifacts and artworks to formulate theories about ancient civilizations.
Mary Pope Osborne’s Pompeii: Lost & Found (Knopf, 2006) makes a compelling read-aloud. The brief yet telling introduction is fittingly illustrated with Bonnie Christensen’s stunning frescoes in burnished hues, and an artist’s note explains that frescoes still decorate the walls of the ruined city.
Peter Riley’s The Pompeii Pop-Up (Universe, 2007) offers historical and cultural information, facts about the explosion, and a summary of later excavations. David Hawcock’s intricate, three-dimensional paper sculptures of contemporary buildings, complemented by colorful illustrations and photos of artifacts, allow students to walk the streets of Pompeii—before and after the disaster.
Kids who are ready for more detail will be mesmerized by James M. Deem’s Bodies from the Ash: Life and Death in Ancient Pompeii (Houghton, 2005). Gripping, vividly written chapters provide a thorough recounting of the eruption; a summary of the city’s rediscovery by archeologists centuries later; descriptions of chillingly lifelike plaster casts taken of Vesuvius’s victims; heart-wrenching stories about people’s last moments, based on information gleaned from their remains; and events in nearby Herculaneum. Well-chosen, graphic photos and reproductions complete this riveting resource.
Try sharing an eyewitness account with students in grades six through eight. Ashen Sky: The Letters of Pliny the Younger on the Eruption of Vesuvius (Getty, 2007) is vividly translated by Benedicte Gilman and includes background information. Barry Moser’s striking wood engravings, printed on full pages in stark black and 
white, echo the intensity and magnitude of the events.
Finally, Kathryn Lasky’s The Last Girls of Pompeii (Viking, 2007) presents a fictional look at the disaster. Caught up in the plans for her older sister’s wedding and concerned about her own future (a deformed arm means she will never marry), 12-year-old Julia has no idea that her whole world is on the brink of extinction. With a richly woven tapestry of historical and cultural details, intriguing characters, and smoldering suspense, this spellbinding novel brings the ancient world to life.
Hear Judy and Dennis Fradin read from Volcanoes
Related TeachingBooks.net resources »»»
