I love interesting picture books and I love science. So, this course combines both! Through an integrated approach to science, we will use literature, multiple activities, crafts and experiments to enlighten the learner about scientific concepts. These concepts will cover some Earth, Life and Physical Science. This is an elementary science class, with no prior science required.

The Picture Book read each week introduces the scientific concept. These are engaging, insightful books. I encourage you to purchase the book or obtain it from a library (optional, though.) We discuss the book, answer questions about the concept, then proceed to the activities which reinforce the concept. These are fun, hands-on activities/experiments. Many classes will involve break-out rooms to further discussion. Each class has a supply list. This list will be given a week in advance, most objects are household items. Some activities will not be completely finished in class and will need added work outside class.

Before the Picture Book is read each week, we will have a short sharing time. A few students will share what they learned from the previous week's concept. This could be a cool bug they saw, a finished project they show, or an experiment gone wrong that they explain!

Here's the Outline of the Books, Concepts and some of the activities/experiments in class:

Week 1 Rocks
Everybody Needs a Rock (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster) - What's in a Rock? Welcome to our class, learners will share, show and describe a Favorite Rock. We will answer rock questions: 
•	Where do Rocks come from? 
•	What are the different kinds of Rocks? 
•	How are Rocks used?  
•	We will dip our rocks in water. How does the rock change? 
•	Aunt Sam will break a frozen rock. What are rocks made of? 

Week 2 Volcanoes
Hill of Fire (Harper Collins) - Boom! How do Volcanoes form? This book describes a Volcano forming in a few days/weeks in front of the eyes of the villagers.  Learners will 
•	Diagram a Volcano
•	Make a Volcano flip book and learn about Plate Tectonics 
•	Identify this Mexican town from the book on your Map 
•	Identify the Ring of Fire and Major Volcanoes. 

A MUSSEL OR CLAM will be needed for the next week's experiment. 

Week 3  Arctic Life
The Very Last First Time (Groundwood/House of Anansi)- When the Ocean Freezes: Eva's way of life is different. 
•	Who lives in the Artic? 
•	What do people eat in the Artic? 
•	What sea animals live in the Artic? 
•	What is a Mussel? 
•	If available, obtain some mussels or clam. With adult help, we will dissect
•	Identify parts of mussels/clam. Identify the Artic and the Ungava Bay on Maps

Life Science:
Week 4 Bugs
Two Bad Ants (HMH)  - Thorax and Crystals: In this book we see the world through the eyes of ants. 
•	We will view how things look through magnification. 
•	What does a grain of wheat look like under Magnification? 
•	We will create a diagram of an ant 
•	Start our crystals.  

NEXT WEEK, you will need soil, seeds, containers

Week 5 Plants
The Tiny Seed (Little Simon/Simon & Schuster)- Seed, Soil and Sun 
•	What do seeds look like? With your magnifying glass, describe/dissect a seed (larger seed, such as a Kidney bean seed that has soaked for a couple of hours.) 
•	Plant the same kind of fast-sprouting seed in two containers change a variable (soil, water or amount of sunlight.) 
•	Keep a log or make sketches of the growth of the seeds. How are the crystals looking?

Week 6 Fish  
Swimmy (DragonFly) - Fins, Scales and Food: There is safety in numbers. 
•	How are Humans and Fish similar? How are they different? 
•	Make a Venn Diagram to explain
•	Identify major oceans on Maps
•	Make Japanese Fish Kite 

How are the crystals looking? 

NEXT CLASS, bring a Food that you have never tried.  Let's have a taste challenge!

Week 7 Nutrition
Gregory, the Terrible Eater (Scholastic) - You are what you Eat! 
•	What is good to eat? What tastes good? 
•	How do we taste?  
•	Make a Food Pyramid diagram  
•	Experiment with tastes. 
•	What food will you eat this week?

Have the seeds sprouted?

Physical Science
Week 8 Deafness
 Dad and Me in the Morning (Albert Whitman & Company)
•	Diagram an ear 
•	experiment with vibration and how our ears work
•	Experience part of class muted, discuss what life would be like living in silence
•	Discuss what Life is like for the Deaf
•	Learn some sign language

NEXT WEEK'S EXPERIMENT needs balloons, baking soda, Food dye

Week 9 Chemical and Physical Change. 
Strega Nona's Magic Lessons (Simon & Schuster)- Gas, Balloons and Baking Soda- There is chemical change all around us. 
•	How does yeast rise? 
•	How does soda and vinegar react? 
•	This story takes place in Italy, we will identify Italy on the Map 
•	Learners will do several chemical reactions using household items 

How are the Crystals and plants?

Week 10 Presentations
Learners will each present a scientific project from this class or something they are working on personally. Learners will be encouraged to describe the experimental process, what they learned, what they liked, or did not like and how this project connects with the learner. For example, the Learner's crystals formed a snowflake shape and so the learner is using the crystals as an ornament on their Christmas tree.  

We will also have a fun review KAHOOT quiz this week. Learning for us ALL! 

Most of these lessons are taken from "Science Through Children's Literature, An Integrated Approach" by Carol M. Butzow and John W. Butzow. These books are read with the permission from Publishers: HarperCollins; Penguin; Disney; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books.