reddit: science books

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Thank you so much for your donation to fund my project! "The Stuff of Life: A Graphic Guide to Genetics and DNA" is such a great book and the students loved reading it. This book even got kids to laugh and giggle at times. It has intelligent, science based humor throughout.

Molecular genetics can be a hard concept for students to understand, so having the drawings in the graphic novel really helped to explain the concepts, particularly protein synthesis (the process of how DNA codes for traits).

Knowing people like you are out there helping teachers do cool activities in school makes it more rewarding to be a teacher.

So thank you!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Hollis

It is hard express the thankfulness I have that you supported our classroom through supplying our students with non-fiction books. Non-fiction books were a classroom need as well as a wish from the students. The kids are consistently picking out a new non-fiction book and sharing the new facts they have learned about the life cyles, plants, the human body, physical science, animals, and habitats. The books are beautiful and exciting!

The books range from reading levels of grade levels 1-5, so they are great for my 1st grade classroom as reading levels are very diverse. Many of the books are Accelerated Reader books, so the children can log in on the computer and take a comprehension quiz after reading the book. This is wonderful because I can view the comprehension scores online. The children are earning between 80-100% scores on their quizzes and this makes them even more excited to pick up another non-fiction book and keep learning! It is so exciting in here!

Thank you again! You have made a wonderful difference in our classroom. Thank you very much for the joy you have brought us!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Rakes

The project was funded by three generous donors and the materials arrived in September, 2012. The students were very excited about having new books (as a teacher, this is always really cool to see!) and were trying to check them out before I had even stamped them! They have been checked out quite a bit this fall and I am glad we have these resources for them to use.

Having students read several times a week is a great idea but without a wide variety of materials it is difficult to keep them interested. Thanks to the generosity of the donors we have a great section for science related texts.

Thank you for supporting literacy in our students!”

With gratitude,

Mr. Brousseau

Thank you so much for helping my class to aquire books on careers in science. My students have very much enjoyed using them to research possible paths that they can take after they leave school. Every year, we do a project where students resereach a career and what it would take for them to achieve that particular job. I have always felt that there was a lack of science related careers for students to choose from but now my students are going to be exposed to career ideas that they didn't even know was possible. I have witnessed my students exploring science careers and they have even written letters to me indicating that they love science now and want to continue it in the future. Thank you for your help! It is very much appreciated.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. S.

When I realized that my project was funded at the end of school last year and my novels, Who Really Killed Cock Robin would be arriving at the beginning of the school year, I could not wait to begin designing my lessons around this Ecological Mystery over the summer.

My advanced reading students were the first grouping of students to get the book in their hands and they found themselves not being able to put it down. They were fascinated by the clues given and kept track of the ever changing pieces of evidence that could show them the killer of Cock Robin.

After the class finished reading the book, they were then given other real life Ecological Mysteries to research. Each small group of students is using their research to not only create a "Roll Movie", but they are creating their very own Ecological Mystery picture book for younger children. Our hope is to give these picture books to our special needs students in our school so they too can enjoy an Ecological Mystery.

I would like to thank all of the selfless people who saw value in this book and who see value in today's youth. They truly are our future.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Walters

Thank you so much for funding this project. My students love science, but they have a hard time understanding concepts. These books take important information and portray it in a way that is not only engaging, but also visually appeasing to my students. These books are going to help my students learn a lot more about topics that are of high interest to them. I now have students who want to read science books. This in itself is helpful.

My classroom is now on its way to having a science library, which the students love.

Thank you again for supporting my students!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Szoyka

As you can see, we are already using our new science books. The students are standing outside our new STEM Lab ready to learn about new topics. The great thing about these new books is that the students can learn in many ways. They are able to read alone, with a friend, or I can use the books during science and math time. Teachers can collaborate their units with each other, too. You see me working with another teacher at my school as we plan our next science project using these books. Without your generosity, we would not have these new books to supplement our curriculum. Thank you for the books for our new science lab!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Miller-Ahmed

I want to thank you all so much for supporting this project and the work I did with my students this year. After finding and reading Hurricane Song on my own last year, and then sharing it with my class as a read aloud, I knew I had to make it a bigger part of the project and experience this year.

Synthesizing information and skills from our geography, weather, and landforms units, my students prepared tracking maps, examined how the natural forces of wind and water affect land, and designed and built levees and seawalls to protect houses from flooding. While the science curriculum and extensions provide my students with an immense amount of knowledge from which to draw while analyzing the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina, this novel provides an engaging and compelling account of what many families, including children at a similar age, experienced during and immediately after the storm.

I started using the novel in my intervention classes with a mixture of small group, class, and individual assignments and discussions. However, the book became so popular that other students wanted the chance to read it also. I started reading groups two days per week during lunch so students could come to the classroom, read, and share about the book. Many of the students in my lunch groups were students that struggle in reading and otherwise are often reluctant to read. Many of my students commented that it was the best book they read all year, or even ever.

I absolutely love the moments I get to see as a teacher when my students make connections with the science material we are learning. However, it is a very powerful thing to see a child make a human connection, and this book certainly allowed my students to connect to Hurricane Katrina and the people of New Orleans in a meaningful and authentic way. Thank you for providing us with the opportunity to do so. ”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Miller

Thank you for providing workbooks for my Earth Science classroom. These worksheets helped with vocabulary and reading. My students were able to create a study guide for the upcoming test by answering the worksheets that were provided. These worksheets enabled my students to understand the outline of the section being read. Having these workbooks helped my students to read the textbook and understand the curriculum.

Thank you for helping my classroom by purchasing these workbooks for my students to use. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Critchley