Category: Book Review (Page 51 of 63)

Water Can Be… Very Important

In honor of World Water Day tomorrow (March 22, 2014) we have Water Can Be . . . by Laura Purdie Salas and illustrated by Violeta Dabija. For more information about the book, see the review at our sister blog, Wrapped in Foil.

water-can-be

Water Can Be... is perfect for World Water Day because Laura Purdie Salas has pledged to donate 10% of her royalties on this book to WaterAid.org, an organization that helps bring clean water and improved sanitation to areas that lack it.

waterAid-WorldWaterDay

Not only does the book help a charity, but it also is likely to be an inspiration for STEM-related activities.

At first glance, it might seem to be too lovely to be a serious science book.

Water can be a…

Thirst quencher
Kid drencher
Cloud fluffer
Fire snuffer

As you spend more time with the book, however, you begin to discover the depth Salas has incorporated into it. The back matter has “More About Water” with explanations for each phrase in the main text. In it Salas introduces children to such scientific vocabulary as “condense,” “water vapor” and “water cycle.” She explains how all living organisms need water to live, how it regulates temperature and how it can be a powerful natural force. It is sure to generate discussion and even more ideas about the importance of water.

Water Can Be… could be used to learn about the seasons, weather, the importance of water to living things, and even life cycles. Today, however, we are going to concentrate on water quality issues for World Water Day.

Science activities inspired by Water Can Be...

1. Water filtration experiments – modeling a real world event

In January 2014, there was a chemical spill into the Elk River of West Virginia (Wikipedia report). Residents of several localities that use the river as a source of water were told not to drink, cook with, or bathe in the contaminated water. How did the water treatment plant go about removing the chemicals from the water?

Water treatment plants use a variety of steps to clean water, but the most common are disinfection (using ozone or ultraviolet light, for example), coagulation (clumping contaminants so they are easier to remove), sedimentation (allowing contaminants to settle to the bottom), and filtration. Today we are going to concentrate on filtration.

One of the chemicals that was spilled into the water in West Virginia was reported to smell like licorice, which is how the spill was first noticed.  Let’s model this real world event by adding some licorice candy to water and then try to remove it again.

licorice

Note:  remind children to never eat or drink their science experiments! Just because the experiment involves food, doesn’t mean it is safe to consume.

Gather:

  • Small colander or similar device
  • Coffee filters
  • Cheesecloth or similar material (optional) Note:  paper towels are generally too absorbent to filter properly
  • Clear plastic cups
  • Clear jar with lid
  • Licorice candy
  • Water
  • Activated carbon

Note: You can obtain activated carbon from most aquarium supply stores. The carbon is used in aquarium filters.

Step 1. Add a few pieces of licorice to roughly two cups of water and let it set overnight in a covered jar.

What happens?

filtration-over-nightAsk the children to examine the contents of the jar and see what changes occurred. Has the color of the water changed? What about the smell? Has the licorice changed? Remove a piece and compare it with a fresh piece of licorice.

Explain that the licorice contains sugars, artificial colors, and other ingredients that are soluble in water.

The licorice I used contained palm oil, which formed a skim at the top of the water (thin darker red band). If your candy also contains oil, see if the children notice a similar layer. If they do not notice, you can point it out to them.

Step 2. Pour about half the liquid and a few pieces of soaked licorice into a plastic cup or glass. Set this aside so the children can compare their results later.

Step 3. Ask the children how they would remove the licorice from the water.

One way would be to filter the water.

Set up a colander. Line it with a coffee filter and some cheesecloth or similar material. Place the colander over a plastic cup or small bowl to catch the liquid.

filtration-setup

Pour the remaining liquid and licorice through the colander.

What does the resulting liquid look like? What does it smell like?

filtered-versus-not

The filtered water should be lighter colored (left), but it still will likely contain sugars, colorants, and smell like licorice.

Step 4. How can you remove even more of the contaminants?

activated-charcoal-111

Activated carbon is said to remove toxins, odors and discoloration from water. Will it help?

Clean the colander and replace the coffee filter with a new one. Add a layer of activated carbon to the bottom over the filter. The amount will vary with the size of your container, but try to add enough that the contaminated water must flow through the carbon. Rinse the activated carbon with clean water for several minutes to remove all the accumulated dust. Otherwise your sample will look like the one on the left, below:

charcoal-filtered

After the carbon has been washed, pour the sample you previously filtered through the carbon in the colander and collect it in another clean, clear container.

filtration-right-charcoal

What does the water look like now? How does it smell?

What would happen if you filtered it again? Do you think more of the licorice would be removed? Do you think it is possible to remove all of the chemicals from it?

Depending on what age children you are working with, you could take it to the next level with a more complicated water filter.

This video from Home Science Tools shows how to make a water filter using a large soda bottle. It uses coarse sand, fine sand and pebbles. See full instructions at their website.

You could also add activated carbon to this filter.

Extension:  If you search around the Internet, you will find some filters that layer the ingredients in the order:  Sand at the bottom, pebbles in the middle and charcoal on top (to receive the water first). Other filters show that charcoal on the bottom, the pebbles in the middle and the sand on top. Which way do you think will work best? Why? Now build two filters, one each way, and compare them.

The Water Project website has more links to Water Pollution and Filtration Science Experiments for Kids.

2. Using STEM to help people gain access to better quality drinking water.

According to WaterAid, women in developing countries walk an average distance of 4 miles each day to gather water for their families use. A typical can of water that these women carries weighs 40 pounds (5 gallons x 8 pounds/gallon). The water they gather is also often dirty and may contain disease-causing organisms. How can STEM help?

In one example, an engineering student at Arizona State University has come up with a way to allow women to carry more water more easily, plus the water is cleaned and disinfected during transport. The new invention is called Safe SIPP. You can see more about it in the video below. Note: you might want to preview the video before showing it to sensitive children because it does talk about how unsafe water results in children dying.

 

 

Want to learn more about water? The American Chemical Society has a The Wonder of Water activity guide to download at the website (see right sidebar on the page for link). Visit the archive as well for another activity guide, Water in Our World.

Let’s not forget Water Can Be . . . (Millbrook Picture Books)., a little book with a huge message about the importance of water that inspired our post today.

Ages 5-8
Series: Millbrook Picture Books
Publisher: Millbrook Pr Trade (April 1, 2014)
ISBN-10: 1467705918
ISBN-13: 978-1467705912

Disclosures: This book was provided electronically for review via NetGalley. Also, I am an affiliate for Amazon, and if you click through the linked titles or ads and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. Proceeds will be used to maintain this self-hosted blog.

 

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.

Native Plants for Garden Week: Plant a Pocket of Prairie

When we think of gardening with children, the first thing that comes to mind is often vegetable or kitchen gardening. Have you ever considered wildlife gardening? It is a whole new way to enrich your children’s lives.

In this vein, Plant a Pocket of Prairie by Phyllis Root and illustrated by Betsy Bowen is an exciting new picture book coming out April 15, 2014. It explores the prairies of Minnesota, but has a much more general appeal and a serious message that can apply anywhere.

plant-a-pocket-prairie

The first thing you notice about the book when you open it is Betsy Bowen’s gorgeous woodcuts (children might like to see how she does them). They are so clean and vibrant, they make you want to hang the book on the wall.

Phyllis Root’s free verse text starts out by explaining,

“Almost all gone now
to farm and town and city,
even before we knew
all of the things a prairie could do.”

She then highlights examples of relationships between specific plants and animals in the prairie ecosystem, such as between foxglove beardtongue (a type of Penstemon) and hummingbirds; monarch butterflies and milkweeds; and goldfinches and sunflowers. The back matter includes lists of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, insects, and plants commonly found in prairies.

goldfinch-for-gbbc

Did you know that the prairie is one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world? In the back matter the author also explains that less than one percent of native prairies remain. Her premise is that if you plant a pocket of prairie in a backyard, lot or even in containers, some of the animals she identifies might come to visit. If enough people plant pockets, more struggling plants and animals might survive. If everyone who lives where prairies once occurred were to plant a “pocket of prairie,” who knows what might show up. The illustrations suggest a bison, giving the children a concrete idea of the big things that could happen.

Which is really what Plant a Pocket of Prairie is all about, it is a little book with a big idea that could enrich our world by inspiring people to grow native plants.

Are you ready to grow native plants? How do you start?

If you want to start a prairie, of course the first question is:  what is a prairie? The word comes from a French word meaning “meadow.” Typically prairies are expanses of grasses mixed with other plants, but with few or no trees.

How would you go about it? Here in Arizona it is not uncommon to see yards with absolutely no lawn, but in most areas an expanse of lawn is still the norm. One step could be to carve out areas from that lawn and start adding beds and borders of a mix of native perennials. Over time, you could continue to expand the beds until you reach the point where you can throw away the lawnmower.

Wonder what it might look like to replace the lawn with a meadow?

Alex-Wild's-gardengardenThis is Alex Wild’s prairie yard. (Copyrighted photograph of photographer Alex Wild’s meadow yard used with permission. See more of Alex Wild’s work at SmugMug.) Includes “black-eyed susans, prairie milkweed, New England aster, ironweed, and blazing star.”

Isn’t it wonderful? Of course you’ll want to include paths so your children can run through and explore. Imagine all the wildlife they would be able to experience first hand.

Not ready to convert the whole yard? If you already have flower beds or pots, simply throw away the geraniums (which produce absolutely nothing for wildlife) and grow plants that are naturally found in your area, such as purple coneflowers and penstemons, instead.

Another idea is to simply not be so neat and tidy. Allow some “weeds” to flourish in the corners and along banks, etc. When you see butterflies or birds visiting, point them out to the members of your community so they become interested, too.

Side note:  Right now people are focused on the plight of the monarch butterfly, because the numbers are declining so rapidly. Although encouraging milkweeds is a wonderful idea to help out, be sure to plant other native plants as well. Diversity is the key.

Because every region has its own naturally-occurring plants, it can be a daunting task to find out what to plant and where to find material. Fortunately most states have native plant societies with information to help out. The American Horticultural Society has a list of native plant societies by state, with addresses and links to websites.

Still have questions or have information to share? If you have ideas about wildlife gardening for kids or if you are interested in learning more, please leave a comment.

Related:

Build-a-Prairie is an online interactive game from the Bell Museum that is fun and educational (I recommend consulting the field guides provided :-)). It gives the important message that plant choice is critical.

The Home Bug Gardener blog recounts a transition of a yard in Canada over several years to an “oasis of biodiversity” (check older posts first, as currently the author lives in Australia).

Review of Touch a Butterfly:  Wildlife Gardening with Kids

In the UK? Try the Wildlife Garden Project

And let’s not forget our inspiration, Plant a Pocket of Prairie

Ages 5-10
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press (April 15, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0816679800
ISBN-13: 978-0816679805

Thank you for visiting us during Children’s Garden Week. Don’t forget to check the Children’s Garden Week organizational post for updates as well as visit our Gardening/Science Activities for Kids Pinterest board.

children's-garden-week

 

Disclosures: This book was provided for review electronically via NetGalley. Also, I am an affiliate for Amazon, and if you click through the linked titles or ads and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. Proceeds will be used to maintain this self-hosted blog.

 

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.

Weeds Find a Way for Garden Week

Monday starts out with a bang with a blog tour and giveaway (see below) for the exciting new picture book, Weeds Find a Way by Cindy Jenson-Elliott and illustrated by Carolyn Fisher.

weeds-find-a-way

Do your children always want to grab fiction picture books? Weeds Find a Way is a perfect example of the kind of nonfiction that will entice them to give it a try. Jenson-Elliott’s lyrical text paints vibrant, whimsical word pictures. For example, she says the bitter sap of a certain weed “…could turn a tongue inside out.” Can’t you visualize a plant bug with its beak puckered up?  As a perfect complement, Fisher’s mixed media and digital collage illustrations are intriguing and playful.

You can get a feel for the book in this trailer:

The back matter includes a serious discussion of weeds, including why they are interesting and important. There is also a list and descriptions of some common weeds, from dandelions to wild oats.

Weeds Find a Way gently introduces young readers to the wonders of the natural world by exploring these tough, adaptable plants. Pick up a copy and you will find out, as the author says, “Weeds are amazing!”

 

leaf-border

Giveaway:

Edit: Would like to try to win a copy of Weeds Find a Way? Simply leave a comment on this blog post with a valid e-mail address (U.S. mailing addresses only) by March 8, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. A winner will be selected at random from the comments. The giveaway is now closed.

leaf-border

Related Activities to Learn More About Weeds:

1. Cindy Jenson-Elliott has a free curriculum guide to download at her website (currently you download it by clicking on the book cover image). As she correctly points out, weeds can make good subjects to study because they are common and easy to find. She includes art ideas such as doing a botanical drawing, math and science activities (including plant adaptations) and even a weed poetry lesson.

2. Botany – Getting to know your local weeds.

For adults:

Why figure out what kinds of weeds you have?

I’m sure you all have heard of stories of people who have pulled out “weeds,” only to discover they were the seedlings of plants they were intending to grow. About.com has an enlightening essay about the hows and whys of garden weed identification. As the author rightly points out, an accurate identification is the key to proper action. Spend some time getting to know your local weeds and you might also find they have something to offer.

For example:

dandelion-flower

What use is the common dandelion, which grows virtually everywhere? You may have heard, or even tried them yourself, that you can eat the young green leaves in the spring. How about dandelion tea? They also are an important source of nectar and pollen for honey bees because they are some of the latest plants to bloom in the fall and some of the earliest in the spring.

dandelion-seed

Children love to help disperse the seeds by blowing on them.

dandelion-field-2

(Public domain photograph by Petr Kratochvil )

Besides, what is more beautiful than a sea of golden yellow flowers to run in?

Where to get help with weed identification?

A useful resource is your local Cooperative Extension office. They are like to have fact sheets about local weeds and Master Gardener volunteers to help.

Online resources, such as this key to weeds from the University of Minnesota Extension, can be helpful, too.

Your local library or bookstore carry books on weed identification, such as Weeds of the Northeast (Comstock books) by Richard H. Uva, Joseph C. Neal, and Joseph M. DiTomaso.

For children:

Weeds have many special ways to help them survive. Let’s take a “walk” and see what we can find out.

a. If you were a deer, which would you rather eat:  one of these plants or a lettuce leaf?

weed-for-post-4

Many weeds have prickles, thorns or spines to keep from being eaten by animals.  They also may contain chemicals that make them taste bad or might even be poisonous.

Do you know what this plant is? It is a teasel.

b. Look at this “flower” closely. Can you see that it actually is made up of many, many tiny flowers. How might that help a weed survive?

weed-3

Each of the tiny flowers has the capability of becoming a seed. Weeds, such as this Queen Anne’s lace (wild carrot), can make up to 350 seeds in one flower head!

c. Besides being too spiky to eat, how might the hooks on this plant help it?

budrock-burThe hooks on the burdock catch in an animal’s fur or on your socks. If you don’t notice, you carry the bur with its seeds inside to a new place. When you do take it off and throw it away, it might just be in a great new place to grow. Weeds have many tricky ways like this to spread their seeds.

d. Plants in the mustard genus (Brassica) are really good at racing. Any ideas why that might help them survive?

weed-photo-1

Mustards can germinate, grow and produce seeds very quickly. That means they can complete a life cycle in a short time compared to other plants.

Experiment idea:  Plant a known number of radish (which is a mustard relative) seeds and carrot seeds in containers under the same conditions. Record when you see the first radish sprouts and when you see the first carrots. Who won the race?

e. These heart-shaped seeds are extra hard and tough. How might that help the weed survive?

3-velvet-leaf-seeds

Velvet leaf seeds are so hard that they can stay alive in the soil up to 60 years. Many plants seeds stay viable (able to sprout) for only a few years.

Why don’t you go on a real walk and see if you can spot other weedy secrets. Then read a great book like Weeds Find a Way to learn more.

leaf-border

Weeds Find a Way

Age Range: 4 – 8 years
Grade Level: Preschool – 3
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Beach Lane Books (February 4, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1442412607
ISBN-13: 978-1442412606

Be sure to visit the upcoming stops on the Weeds Find a Way? blog tour:
Tues, Feb 25 – As They Grow Up
Wed, Feb 26 – Kid Lit Frenzy
Thurs, Feb 27 – Sharpread
Fri, Feb 28 – Children’s Book Review
Mon, Mar 3 – Let’s Go Chipper!
Tues, Mar 4 – Just a Little Creativity
Wed, Mar 5 – Unleashing Readers
Thurs, Mar 6 – 5 Minutes for Books
Fri, Mar 7- Archimedes Notebook

____________________________________________________

Interested in gardening? Have resources to share? Join us for Children’s Garden Week this week.

children's-garden-week

Disclosures: This book was provided for review purposes via Blue Slip Media. I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at not extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

If you are interested in children’s nonfiction, you might want to visit the Nonfiction Monday blog and see what other new books bloggers have found.

nonfictionmonday

« Older posts Newer posts »