Overview of Series

Earth Matters explores different environments, life forms, and topics relevant to the earth and earth science. Bold photographs and nonfiction text features such as maps and diagrams support clear explanations of earth features and phenomena.


Comprehension Strategy

Asking Questions

Learning to ask questions before and during reading helps children focus their attention and seek answers that increase their comprehension. If students have questions that remain after reading, they can learn how to seek answers outside the book to support further learning.

"I Do" (Teacher models strategy)

Read aloud page 4 of the book Air. Stop to model questions you might ask before continuing to read. Write your questions on the board. Teacher: "I read about air and the atmosphere. After reading, I wondered: ‘How can we tell air is around us if we can’t see it? And where does the atmosphere end and space begin?’ I can ask questions, look for answers to my questions, and ask new questions as I read."

"We Do" (Teacher and children practice together)

Provide sticky notes for students to write new questions as they read. Read aloud through page 9, noting that you can answer your earlier questions, and asking if students have new ones. If necessary, model asking questions about the gases in the atmosphere or other things in the text.

"You Do" (Children use the strategy)

Encourage students to continue using sticky notes to write questions as they read the rest of the book Air independently or with a partner. Remind them to seek answers in the text and help them know where to look for answers to unanswered questions.

Textual Supports

Appealing photographs
Mostly simple sentence structure

Photographs in each book will engage readers’ interest in the topics. Most of the sentences are simple and follow the pattern of subject, verb, object and/or prepositional phrase.

Textual Challenges

Some difficult concepts and vocabulary

Help children preview content vocabulary in the "Challenge Words" glossary. Show children that the italicized words in each book text are defined in the glossary. You may need to help children connect the words and photos in the book when the relationships are more abstract.

ESL Connections

Words Inside and Out

As they read, have ESL students use sticky notes to label the photographs inside each book with new words from the book (for example, marking the seashore or volcano in the book Land). After reading, have them remove the notes, put them on a new sheet of paper, and sketch each word to check and reinforce their understanding.

Language Acquisition

Word Wallpaper

Help children create large cards with the Challenge Words from the series (see page 30 of each book for these). Then cover a portion of the room’s wall with butcher paper and have children post some of the word cards and write and draw in thoughts and sketches that connect to the words.

Integration of Literacy,Science, and Art

(Earth and Space Science) With children, create a class journal to record new understandings about earth and space science phenomena that result from reading the books in the series and conducting the extensions for each book.

(Life Science) With children, create life cycle and food chain diagrams connected to the book Life. Also, discuss how life is affected by phenomena from the other books in the series (such as landforms, seasons, and so on).

Internet Links

http://www.sciencenetlinks.com

The "resources" section of the Science NetLinks Web site for the topics "air," "land," "life," "maps," "oceans," "space," and "time" provides activities connected to standards and reviewed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngkids/trythis/trythis_air/heavyweight.html

Simple activities and experiments from the "National Geographic Kids" Web site illustrate the properties of air.

http://education.usgs.gov/

The U.S. Geological Survey Web site has an Education section with a variety of resources connected with several of the books in the series, including Land and Maps.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/foodchain/

EnchantedLearning.com provides a variety of activities and diagrams, related to food chains and food webs. This site supports the book Life in particular.

http://www.maps4kids.com/index.htm

This site offers English and Spanish versions of activities and resources related to maps for children.

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/kids/

This Web site of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) links to a variety of ocean-related resources, including its own "NOAA Education" section.

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/the_universe/uts/seasons1.html&edu=elem

This site has a variety of explanations for Earth and space phenomena, including this explanation of the seasons. Each explanation has three versions—for "Beginner," "Intermediate," and "Advanced" learners.

Word Study Skills

-	Hard and soft g sounds: fungi, grow, green, ground, change, energy
-	Context clues and synonyms: microscope and "so small," changes and "turns into," reproduce and "make more of"

Multiple Intelligence Extensions

-	Mathematical-Logical and Interpersonal: Have the group decide together how to classify different animals from the book (or from a set of photographs you provide). Prompt children as needed to think about plants, animals, fungi, mammals, reptiles, and so on.
-	Existential: Have a discussion about the different types of organisms in the book, what the purposes of life are for different creatures (what they "live for"), and whether one form of life is "more important" than another. Write ideas on the board and encourage a variety of opinions.