Product Reviews

Reviews of a variety of books and products I've used. If you have a product or book you would like me to review, please contact me.

	A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson An absolutely fantastic science resourse, written to be accessible to everyone. When I began reading this book, I started to underline fascinating facts, mind-boggling statistics, and colorful illustrations that I wanted to refer to in the future and share with my students. It wasn't long before I had to stop-it was easier to locate the non-underlined text than sift through the pages of underlined text. The book was so compelling, after putting down my pencil I had to find some way to share my complete fascination with what I was reading....in the end, I probably read half of the book aloud to my husband, one paragraph at a time. A Short History of Everything is so thorough, one could design an entire science curriculum around the text. The average high school students is capable of reading and processing the content. Middle school students could read the text in small doses. The way Mr. Bryson has written the book, you can read sections of the book independent of one another. You should be able to find this book through your local library system, but you just might want your own copy to return to time and time again. In fact, I think it's about time for me to pick it up again!
photo will go here	Dinah Zike's Big Book of Science Dinah Zike's Teaching Science with Foldables by Dinah Zike Same book, different titles. But, whatever the title, you NEED to find this book and add it to your collection! Foldables are simple student-created (!!!students take greater ownership, you have fewer photocopies to make!!!) organization systems. They can be used to take notes, organize data, create a study guide, assess knowledge, keep a journal, and more. In her book, Ms. Zike provides instruction for creating nearly 30 basic foldables. She then provides 100 pages of science topics, each with an exhaustive list ways to use foldables relative to said topic. While this book is for middle and high school students, don't hestitate to invest in it even if your students are younger - foldables can be adapted to any age level. You will also quickly realize that the basic styles of foldables can be adapted to any subject area, academic or otherwise. In fact, while paging through the book, you will no doubt find yourself brainstorming uses for each of the styles without even trying. Go get this book, NOW!
	Bottle Biology Wisconsin Fast Plants Program Use 2 liter soda bottles to create a variety of living systems. A bit of a niche item, but great ideas. The projects range from basic, one bottle structures to complex terrariums and aren't limited to strictly biology - think, water cycle, etc. Adaptable to a variety of ages. Young students will require the help of an adult to prepare the bottles.
	The Body Book Scholastic Appropriate for students in grades 4 through 7. Could be assembled by a teacher or parent for younger students interested in learing about the human body. Laminate for extended use. Good for the cut and paste crowd.
	The Basic Not Boring Series of Science Skills For generic worksheets (i.e. not directly connected to your textbook or curriculum), I like those found in the Basic, Not Boring series of books. The activities are varied within each book - it's not the same worksheet over and over again. The graphics are appealing to middle school students. Even if you determine that the exercises do not match your curriculum closely enough, I think these worksheets provide good ideas for you to create your own. I have used the Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, and Human Body & Health books with my students.