Also, on April 18, 2010, I answered questions about the book, as well.

It was recently featured as a book of the week at the wonderful CCBC, Cooperature Children’s Book Center. Hurray!

This quote is from Chrissy Larson, the teacher Balsam of the Nuts about Nature Preschool run by the   Portland Environmental Education Department. She wrote to me this week. Below are some photos she took of her activities.1) The teachers and kids create some appropriately gooey looking “carrion”

2) The kids make vulture shapes and attach them to paper airplanes.

3) They practice soaring like vultures. Notice the proper vulture wing posture of the kids in the photo! (See first photo.)

Students use ink pens to color parts of coffee filters, then fold each filter into a pie-piece shape.They dip the end of the “pie piece” into water. The water will travel up the filter and spread ink pigments to the far edges. Unfold the filter and find a beautiful sunrise or sunset color pattern with rays of color. Let the paper dry, and you have art!

If you want to tie in even more science, use this activity to introduce a wonderful scientific lab technique: paper chromatography. Many chemicals can be identified by placing a colored sample (a dot) of the substance on filter paper, then dipping the end of the paper in a solvent. The solvent moves through the paper and carries the chemical (the dot) a certain distance, based on its structure. By seeing how far the color travels, a scientist can figure out what chemicals are in the sample. This process is paper chromatography. (Check Wikipedia to see the entry on this.) Some inks can be separated into their component colors in this way.

These are based on Indiana Standards but should fit most.

Ant, Ant, Ant (An Insect Chant)

English/Language Arts Standards

Kindergarten

K.1.1 Identify the front cover, back cover, and title page of a book.

K.1.2 Follow words from left to right and from top to bottom on the printed page.

K.1.3 Understand that printed materials provide information.

K.1.4 Recognize that sentences in print are made up of separate words.

K.1.5 Distinguish letters from words.

K.1.6 Recognize and name all capital and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

K.1.10 Say rhyming words in response to an oral prompt.

K.1.22 Listen to stories read aloud and use the vocabulary in those stories in oral language.

K.2.1 Locate the title and the name of the author of a book.

K.3.1 Distinguish fantasy from reality.

Grade 1

1.1.1 Match oral words to printed words.

1.1.2 Identify letters, words, and sentences.

1.1.3 Recognize that sentences start with capital letters and end with punctuation, such as periods, question marks, and exclamation points.

1.1.7 Create and state a series of rhyming words.

1.2.1 Identify the title, author, illustrator, and table of contents of a reading selection.

1.3.2 Describe the roles of authors and illustrators.

1.3.4 Distinguish fantasy from reality.

Grade 2

2.3.4 Identify the use of rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration (using words with repeating consonant sounds) in poetry or fiction.

2.3.6 Recognize the difference between fantasy and reality.

Grade 3

3.3.1 Recognize different common genres (types) of literature, such as poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction.

Science Standards:

Kindergarten

K.1.1 Raise questions about the natural world.

K.2.2 Draw pictures and write words to describe objects and experiences.

K.4.1 Give examples of plants and animals.

K.4.2 Observe plants and animals, describing how they are alike and how they are different in the way they look and in the things they do.

K.6.1 Describe an object by saying how it is similar to or different from another object.

Grade 1

1.1.1 Observe, describe, draw, and sort objects carefully to learn about them.

1.1.2 Investigate and make observations to seek answers to questions about the world, such as “In what ways do animals move?”

1.1.3 Recognize that and demonstrate how people can learn much about plants and animals by observing them closely over a period of time. Recognize also that care must be taken to know the needs of living things and how to provide for them.

1.2.6 Describe and compare objects in terms of number, shape, texture, size, Lose Weight Exercise, color, and motion.

1.2.7 Write brief informational descriptions of a real object, person, place, or event using information from observations.

1.4.1 Identify when stories give attributes to plants and animals, such as the ability to speak, that they really do not have.

1.4.2 Observe and describe that there can be differences, such as size or markings, among the individuals within one kind of plant or animal group.

Grade 2

2.1.3 Describe, both in writing and verbally, objects as accurately as possible and compare observations with those of other people.

2.1.4 Make new observations when there is disagreement among initial observations.

2.2.5 Draw pictures and write brief descriptions that correctly portray key features of an object.

2.4.4 Recognize and explain that living things are found almost everywhere in the world and that there are somewhat different kinds in different places.

Grade 3

3.2.3 Keep a notebook that describes observations and is understandable weeks or months later.

3.2.6 Make sketches and write descriptions to aid in explaining procedures or ideas.

3.2.7 Ask “How do you know?” in appropriate situations and attempt reasonable answers when others ask the same question.

3.4.1 Demonstrate that a great variety of living things can be sorted into groups in many ways using various features, such as how they look, where they live, and how they act, to decide which things belong to which group.

3.5.5 Explain that one way to make sense of something is to think of how it relates to something more familiar.

Grade 4

4.2.5 Write descriptions of investigations, using observations and other evidence as support for explanations.

 Understanding Standards

Standards are created nationally. For example. in the case of English/Language Arts, the National Standards consist of 12 standards. Each state takes those twelve standards and develops their own objectives to indicate how they intend for those standards to be taught. Then, each school district takes their state’s standards and sometimes defines them even slightly more or determines in which order those standards and objectives will be taught. 

Therefore, the first number is the grade level, the second number is the national standard and the third number is the state objective. For example: 5.1.3 stands for 5th Grade, National Standard #1, and the state’s 3rd objective.

These are keyed to national standards and Indiana’s standards. As you can see from the explanation above, it should be simple to plug in your state’s standards, as needed.  

A middle grade nonfiction book about field scientists and how they study animals.