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Becky Parker
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| Posted: March 12 2012 at 10:49am | IP Logged
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 Actually, I think I just need a review of Outdoor Secrets It is looking really good to me right now, but my wish list of books is growing more quickly than my budget will ever be able to handle! So, if you have it, what do you think of this book?
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Becky
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Mackfam
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I like the book. We used it for 5th grade science reading for a term. It's a small book with 17 very short little chapters. It could easily work for 3rd - 5th grade science reading. I don't have the accompanying book that SCM makes available - we just read and narrated.
I asked my son (who read it last year) what he though of it and he said he really enjoyed it. I asked if he'd read it again, he said yes. I asked if he'd recommend it, he said yes. So....I guess it gets two  .
It could not stand alone for a student's science/nature study for the year....at least it didn't for the year we used it. This list is my 5th grader's nature study/science selections for that year:
It’s Elementary - How Chemistry Rocks Our World Robert Winston
The New Way Things Work David Macaulay
The Story Book of Science Jean Henri Fabre
Outdoor Secrets Margaret Boyle
Adventures With a Hand Lens by Richard Headstrom
Detective Science Jim Wiese
Jack’s Insects Edmund Selous
The Burgess Bird Book for Children Thornton Burgess
The Stories Mother Nature Told her Children Jane Andrews
The Usborne Complete Book of Astronomy and Space Usborne
The Usborne Book of Science Usborne
The Secret of Everyday Things Jean Henri Fabre (only started a few chapters...finished 6th grade year)
Some of these books were finished and had been started in the 4th grade year....other books were begun for 5th grade and finished in the 6th grade year. Keep that in mind since this list is long.
Hope I didn't just make your science/nature study list and stretched budget worse. 
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Jen Mackintosh
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Grace&Chaos
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Becky, we have the companion. I'm so glad Jen refernced the book as used by an upper elementary student. The companion is a slim manual with a few extras to just narrating the book meant for the lower grades.
- There are options for other reading selections but IMO they are meant for the lower elementary grades as supplement. Many titles which I'm sure you'll recognize and easily available at the library. There are only a few which are OOP.
- There are also a few poems through out that coincide with the chapter topics. Ideas for copywork.
- There are also some hands on ideas or nature journal entries.
- There are a total of 50 lessons, which could easily be done twice a week; giving you a whole year of science a la nature study 
I like the companion for the guidance to an introduction to science using a nature study book. It is gentle and if you are not used to turning nature study readings into something a little more sciency: then this would be helpful.
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Jenny
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Becky Parker
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Thank you Jen and Jenny! That is exactly the information I was looking for.
My thought was that I would use this book for our afternoon or morning reading times, when I read to the kids. I would not use it as a stand alone science course. Actually, Jen, some of the titles you have listed are on my list for my ds for next year, although he will be in 6th. I hope what I am planning isn't too young. I don't want him to struggle with the reading for science, I want him to understand the concepts.
Do you mind if I ask how you split things up? Does he have a certain amount to read each day, going through one book at a time, or does he read from a couple of books, say one physical science and one nature at the same time? I think my ds would really enjoy the use of living science books but I don't want to overwhelm him with a huge reading list.
Now, Jenny, you have me thinking I could get the companion book and use it to flesh out my younger ds's science as well.
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Becky
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Grace&Chaos
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Becky Parker wrote:
| Now, Jenny, you have me thinking I could get the companion book and use it to flesh out my younger ds's science as well. |
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Oh yes, I really think you can do this, especially with the way you are thinking of having the book be a family read. You could easily then set up the other days to meet specific needs of your kids. The companion can help you oragainze your supplements for the younger ones. Like I said you could get many of the titles from the library. I always have a library list by term going so that when I reach a time for needing it I'm not worried about trying to rush out and getting it  .
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Jenny
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JennGM
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| Posted: March 12 2012 at 4:18pm | IP Logged
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Thanks a lot, Becky. I was blissfully unaware of this book and companion until you wanted to be talked out of it. 
Now MY budget will be blown.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: March 12 2012 at 6:23pm | IP Logged
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Sorry Jennifer!  Glad to know I'm not the only one!
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Becky
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Mackfam
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| Posted: March 12 2012 at 7:16pm | IP Logged
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Becky Parker wrote:
| Do you mind if I ask how you split things up? Does he have a certain amount to read each day, going through one book at a time, or does he read from a couple of books, say one physical science and one nature at the same time? |
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Well, please keep in mind that science is a passion for this kid, so his reading in this area was never a burden for him.
I just cut and pasted from my 5th grade master booklist, and copied all the science books along with the layout for you. You can print this and look over it. This was my master plan, so it was how I "budgeted" books on paper. They may have played out slightly differently during the actual terms....but hopefully this gives you an idea of the layering. I think any of these work well in a 6th grade plan, too.
2012-03-12_191537_Science_-_5th_grade.pdf
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Jen Mackintosh
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: March 13 2012 at 6:02am | IP Logged
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Thanks so much Jen. That really helps!
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Becky
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pumpkinmom
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| Posted: March 19 2014 at 12:47pm | IP Logged
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Mackfam wrote:
I like the book. We used it for 5th grade science reading for a term. It's a small book with 17 very short little chapters. It could easily work for 3rd - 5th grade science reading. I don't have the accompanying book that SCM makes available - we just read and narrated.
I asked my son (who read it last year) what he though of it and he said he really enjoyed it. I asked if he'd read it again, he said yes. I asked if he'd recommend it, he said yes. So....I guess it gets two .
It could not stand alone for a student's science/nature study for the year....at least it didn't for the year we used it. This list is my 5th grader's nature study/science selections for that year:
It’s Elementary - How Chemistry Rocks Our World Robert Winston
The New Way Things Work David Macaulay
The Story Book of Science Jean Henri Fabre
Outdoor Secrets Margaret Boyle
Adventures With a Hand Lens by Richard Headstrom
Detective Science Jim Wiese
Jack’s Insects Edmund Selous
The Burgess Bird Book for Children Thornton Burgess
The Stories Mother Nature Told her Children Jane Andrews
The Usborne Complete Book of Astronomy and Space Usborne
The Usborne Book of Science Usborne
The Secret of Everyday Things Jean Henri Fabre (only started a few chapters...finished 6th grade year)
Some of these books were finished and had been started in the 4th grade year....other books were begun for 5th grade and finished in the 6th grade year. Keep that in mind since this list is long.
Hope I didn't just make your science/nature study list and stretched budget worse. |
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I was searching for some ideas for 5th grade science for next year and ran across this post. Thanks Jen for all the ideas! I had some questions on the Adventures With a Hand Lens book. This was wasn't listed in your chart I downloaded. How did you use it? It looks really interesting! Do you have any recommendations for a hand lens? I have one of those handheld microscopes and wonder if that would work.
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Cassie
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Mackfam
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Hi Cassie,
The reason it isn't listed on the master list linked above is because it was read as part of our common time in our Morning Basket work.
I would read aloud and the kids would complete the investigations. We didn't complete every chapter, but most were really interesting. We included some investigations as part of our nature study time, and included sketches in nature notebooks.
Bausch & Lomb makes a really good pocket loupe that has a variety of magnifications so that it's very versatile. These become very handy to have on nature walks because they're so easily tucked in a pocket!
Your handheld microscope might work for some things in this book, but in general, having a good hand lens is probably better for the investigations in this book. You can pick up a general purpose magnifying glass sometimes, but their quality is frustrating to me. You used to be able to find good magnifying glasses...but that seems harder these days...at least for me. Most have lenses made of acrylic, and though light-weight, they scratch very easily. So, just be aware of that. We prefer glass lenses, and Bausch & Lomb is a great brand for that.
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Jen Mackintosh
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Wildflowers and Marbles
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AmandaV
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Jen, what were the shield, the bow, etc? Did those just name the terms?
I have already purchased CHC's Behold and See for my 5th grader, but I also have Jack's insects and Outdoor Secrets which I found for a very fair used price. I'm probably going to load his science a bit since he loves it, and was looking up this thread to see if I remembered you reading Jack's Insects aloud to the group or that he read it on his own. My son can read it on his own but I'm wondering if it would be a fun family read aloud as well, or if it would be too far above the 8 year old and 6 yr old twins. In that case, I would read Outdoor Secrets aloud for all, and maybe get the companion to flesh it out, and he would read Jack's insects on his own. However, I would imagine that in the PNEU they would have read it aloud in class.
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Amanda
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AmandaV wrote:
| Jen, what were the shield, the bow, etc? Did those just name the terms? |
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Yes - just "manly" names for Term 1, Term 2...
AmandaV wrote:
| However, I would imagine that in the PNEU they would have read it aloud in class. |
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Probably so...but I find it a challenging book to read aloud because of the dialogue. I really need to reconsider that book. It didn't work out well for us last year, but it's possible that was because of my "season of life." I think it may be one of those books like Burgess' Bird Book that is a really tough read aloud, but benefits from a thoughtfully prepared lesson.
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Jen Mackintosh
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CrunchyMom
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We love listening to the Burgess Bird and Animal books on librivox. The reader is decent--better than I could do it on the fly.
I have to say that when I read the description of Jack's Insects, I cannot decide whether I like it. Somehow Burgess's encountering each bird and animal through the eyes of Peter Rabbit and his dialog with Jenny Wren feels natural, but the idea of children shrinking to encounter the insects first hand in Victorian England sounds bizarre
I will definitely share my review of Children of Summer once we delve into it. I have to say that the plot appealed to me more.
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CrunchyMom
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AmandaV wrote:
Jen, what were the shield, the bow, etc? Did those just name the terms?
I have already purchased CHC's Behold and See for my 5th grader, but I also have Jack's insects and Outdoor Secrets which I found for a very fair used price. I'm probably going to load his science a bit since he loves it, and was looking up this thread to see if I remembered you reading Jack's Insects aloud to the group or that he read it on his own. My son can read it on his own but I'm wondering if it would be a fun family read aloud as well, or if it would be too far above the 8 year old and 6 yr old twins. In that case, I would read Outdoor Secrets aloud for all, and maybe get the companion to flesh it out, and he would read Jack's insects on his own. However, I would imagine that in the PNEU they would have read it aloud in class. |
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I don't think you could go wrong with Outdoor Secrets, and I like the companion, too. The stories are easy to read aloud, the suggested activities doable, and the suggested books have been great, too. You could certainly work your way through it, but I plan this year to have the supplements ready a couple of chapters ahead so that we can turn to it for our nature study on the days when our walk can't happen because of the weather. We are having friends come and join us weekly for a nature walk and art lesson, and I think that this will be an ideal weather contigency plan.
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Lindsay
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Topic: Anyone want to talk me out of a purchase?
