Reading Material on Natural Resources
Books to Connect Elementary Students to Earth Science
What's going on inside the Earth? What is the Rock Cycle?
by Tina King
| Baylor, Byrd. Everybody Needs a Rock | A librarian friend recommends this prose/poem about a child's hunt for the perfect rock. This K-2 book with simple line drawings would be a good book to read before students picked out a favorite rock. |
| Cole, Joanna and Deaden, Bruce, The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth. | This book (3-5) is similar to other Magic School Bus books as it mixes content with fiction. The "notebook pages/ side script" included within the text offers information on how rocks are made, types of volcanoes, and the rock cycle. Terms, such as igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary are introduced. |
| Gans, Roma. Let's Go Rock Collecting. | The colorful illustrated drawings would attract K-2, but the content is geared more for grades 3-5. This book goes through the rock cycle process beginning with erupting volcanoes and photos of igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks, and metamorphic rocks. It also had photos correlated with the MOHS' scale of hardness. |
| Hiscock, Bruce. The Big Rock | This book has beautiful illustrations, but the content is geared more for grades 2-5. The independent reading level is 4th/ 5th grade, but younger students would enjoy having this book read to them. This book touches on erosion, weathering, and how glaciers can move rocks |
| Hurst, Carol Otis. Rocks in his Head. | This picture book tells a story about the life of the author's father who loved rocks. This is a "true story of a man who followed his heart and his passion." This book for grades 2-5 could lead students to discuss the "theme" of the story. |
| Zoehfeld, Kathleen Weidner. How Mountains are Made. | This colorful book with beautiful drawings could attract younger students, but the reading and content level is for older students (4th-5th). The independent reading level is 4th grade. This book introduces terms, such as lithosphere, moving plates, folding and faulting, and sinking plates. |
Resource Books to Help Students Learn about our Earth's Rocks and Minerals
by Tina King
| Bass, Lin. A Golden Book: Science Close-Up Rocks. | The drawings help illustrate some of the rocks and minerals that makeup the three rock types in the rock cycle. |
| Kerrod, Robin. Planet Earth | This book is on a 6th grade reading level, but could be enjoyed by 4th/5th grades due to the photographs and layout of the text. It discusses volcanoes, earthquakes, drifting continents, and the Earth's water environment, atmosphere, and weather/climate. |
| Kosek, Jane Kelly. What's Inside Earth? | (3rd-5th) This book touches on the Earth as system by guiding the reader through a brief look at the Earth's layers, plates, internal forces, water, and atmosphere. |
| Lassieur, Allison. Natural Disasters: Volcanoes.
Natural Disasters: Earthquakes |
This book refers to volcanoes: the types, plates, ancient legends, and some of the famous volcanoes (Mount Saint Helens, Mount Tambora, Mount Vesuvius, Mount Pinatubo, Mount Mazama, and Mauna Loa.). Some terminology, such as "pyroclastic flow" pushes this to a 5th grade reading level. The photographs and the information about shield, composite, and cinder-cone volcanoes could be helpful to research in 4th grade. The book on Earthquakes has a similar format with great photos. |
| Martin, Fred. Focus on Disasters: Volcano. | This book has wonderful photos to illustrate the volcano's story from inside a volcano to the colliding plates, to the effect volcanoes have on the weather, and a brief account of the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 |
| Nicolson, Cynthia Pratt. EarthDance. | The inside story compares the layers of the Earth with a hard-boiled egg. It talks of moving plates, types of volcanoes, the Ring of Fire, faults, undersea landforms, and earthquakes. It also refers to famous eruptions such as Mount Tambora, Krakatoa, Mount Vesuvius, Mount St. Helens, Mount Pinatubo, and Mauna Loa. |
| Simon, Seymour. Volcanoes. | From legends to eruptions that have occurred at Mount St. Helens, Mauna Loa, and Iceland, this book also covers types of lava and volcanoes. |
| Squire, Ann O. Rocks and Minerals. | (3rd- 5th) This book has color photos to help explain the rock cycle and the structure of the Earth. It also includes examples of the rocks and minerals that have become a familiar and essential part of every day life. |
| Symes, Dr. R. F., Eyewitness Books: Rocks & Minerals. | The contents within this book cover the rock cycle, weathering and erosion, caves, rocks from space, and the general makeup of rocks, minerals, and ores. |
| A Dorling Kindersley Publishing Book: Eyewitness Visual Dictionaries: The Visual Dictionary of the Earth. | This visual reference book covers the Earth's physical features, faults and folds, mountain building, the rock cycle, minerals and fossils, weathering and erosion, glaciers, caves, rivers, oceans, atmosphere, and weather. |
Hands-on Activities or Reference Books for Teachers
by Tina King
| Blobaum, Cindy. Geology Rocks. | This book has "50 hands-on activities to explore the Earth and the minerals that affect our lives. |
| Curtis, Neal and Allaby, Michael. Visual Factfinder: Planet Earth | This illustrated reference book has detailed information on the structure of our planet, which makes it a good resource for teachers, as well as upper elementary students. It includes information about forces within the Earth, pollution, natural resources, weather systems, and the varied landforms. |
| DeWeese, Bob. Hands on Geology. | Activities for the elementary school (3rd-5th) to help teach landforms, weathering and erosion, and how mountains are made |
Book Series on Natural Resources
Nancy Stetten
(These books are all still in print)
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A series of books aimed at lower elementary school students |
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A series for students aged 8-12 |
Material on the Internet