Texts & Media, ‘Artist, Explorer, Scientist’:
Core Texts:
These are texts directly referenced and included in the lessons.
A collection of Books about locations/habitats, such as:
-Web of Life series by Madeline Dunphy
- Here Is the Southwestern Desert (Web of Life)
- Here is Antarctica
- Here is the Coral Reef
- Here is the African Savanna
- Here is the Wetland
- Here is the Tropical Rainforest
The above texts are optional, as you can alternatively allow students to research on their own computers/tablets.
Text Set:
Text Sets support all learners, especially those with background knowledge or vocabulary deficits, by building up these domains through a volume of reading on Science, Social Studies, and other high interest topics. You can learn more about building and using text sets here.
The texts listed below have been pulled from readworks.org, newsela.org, El Education modules, and resources referenced in text sets from achievethecore.org based on their connection to the topics addressed in this lesson. In addition, we have partnered with Lee & Low, the largest multicultural children’s book publisher in the United States, to add to the text set and ensure that there are fiction and non-fiction selections that represent a diverse set of experiences.
Texts listed are at a variety of reading levels and could be read aloud or printed/provided for students to read, depending on the needs of the readers in your classroom. These texts are not integrated into the lessons; they are an optional extension, and listed here as a reference for educators interested in building their student’s background knowledge around the project’s core topic.
1st Grade, Birds:
ISBN/Website |
Title | Author | Type |
readworks.org | ‘Birds’, Article a Day Collection | Various | Article/Non-fiction |
readworks.org | The American Bird | Susan LaBella | Article/Non-fiction |
readworks.org | A Really Big Bird | Readworks | Article/Non-fiction |
newsela.com | Caught on Camera: The greater bird-of-paradise | By bioGraphic, adapted by Newsela staff | Article/non-fiction |
newsela.org | Poo-Poo Project saves birds and makes people laugh | By Atlas Obscura, adapted by Newsela staff | Article/non-fiction |
newsela.org | Researchers use museum bones to study extinct flightless dodo bird | By AFP, adapted by Newsela staff | Article/non-fiction |
newsela.org | Scientists study how to save birds’ rest stops during migration | By NASA, adapted by Newsela staff | Article/non-fiction |
newsela.org | Racing pigeon sold for more than a million dollars | By Atlas Obscura, adapted by Newsela staff | Article/non-fiction |
1452131481 | An Egg is Quiet | by Dianna Aston | Book/non-fiction |
1561454745 | A Place for Birds | by Melissa Stewart | Book./non-fiction |
141693359X | City Hawk: The Story of Pale Male | by Meghan McCarthy | Book/non-fiction |
9781620140048 | Parrots Over Puerto Rico |
By Susan L. Roth, Cindy Trumbore Illustrated by Susan L. Roth |
Book/non-fiction |
9781600604249 | Puffling Patrol |
By Ted Lewin, Betsy Lewin Photographed by Ted Lewin, Betsy Lewin |
Book/non-fiction |
9781584301646 | Everglades Forever: Restoring America’s Great Wetland |
By Trish Marx Photographed by Cindy Karp |
Book/non-fiction |
9780892393077 | Nana’s Big Surprise / Nana, ¡Qué Sorpresa! |
By Amada Irma Pérez Illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez |
Books/fiction |
9780892391691 | The Harvest Birds / Los pájaros de la cosecha |
By Blanca López de Mariscal Illustrated by Enrique Flores |
Books/fiction |
9781885008572 | The Crane Girl |
By Curtis Manley Illustrated by Lin Wang |
Book/fiction (with non-fiction elements at the end) |
9780892391103 | Nine-In-One, Grr! Grr! |
By Blia Xiong, Cathy Spagnoli Illustrated by Nancy Hom |
Book/fiction/folktale |
*see also the texts listed as ‘optional’ within the Books/Media part of the lesson. While these are incorporated into the lesson itself as an optional extension, they would make useful additions to a text set. |
2nd Grade, Pollination:
ISBN/Website | Title | Author | Type |
1620142295 | Raymond’s Perfect Present |
By Therese On Louie Illustrated by Suling Wang |
Book |
158430829X | Hello Flower |
By Uma Krishnaswami Illustrated by Winifred Barnum-Newman |
Book |
1600603432 | Grandma’s Purple Flowers | By Adjoa J. Burrowes | Book/fiction |
9781553655336 | The Little Hummingbird | by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas | Book |
9781561457847 | A Place for Butterflies | by Melissa Stewart and Higgins Bond | Book |
9781561457632 | A Place for Bats | by Melissa Stewart | Book |