Lakes and Ponds!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids (Explore Your World) - Hardcover

Haney, Johannah

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1619306999 ISBN 13: 9781619306998

Publisher: Nomad Press, 2018

Synopsis

What kind of life can you find in lakes and ponds?

Imagine the smooth, glasslike surface of a pond, the water mirroring a bright moon or a crystal blue sky. The water appears perfectly calm and still. What’s going on underneath the surface?

Lakes and Ponds! With 25 Science Projects for Kids invites kids ages 7 though 10 to investigate the bodies of water that might look calm from the shore but which are teeming with life and activity! Through fun facts and engaging content, readers explore the plants and animals living in lakes and ponds, from fish darting about to dragonfly nymphs gestating in the shallows to algae and aquatic plants converting sunlight into energy through photosynthesis. Discover fun facts about the duckweed, water lilies, and cattails growing in and around the waters of lakes and ponds. It’s a busy place!

In Lakes and Ponds!, readers dive in to discover how lakes and ponds are formed, how they are different, and what kinds of animals and plants live there. Through investigative STEAM activities for elementary school ages, such as building a model of a floating city similar to Tonlé Sap, kids explore how humans have interacted with lakes and ponds throughout history and how we use this natural resource today. Discover how climate change and pollution affect the ecology of lakes and ponds and learn what you can do to help keep these biodiverse environments clean and healthy!

From the Great Lakes, the Great Salt Lake, Walden Pond, Loch Ness, and the pond down the street from school, readers discover the life teeming in and around lakes and ponds. And did you know that large bodies of water have their own life cycles? Sometimes these can last for days, sometimes for thousands of years!

STEAM projects for kids that promote the use of the scientific method, including using ice and dirt to understand how glaciation gave shape to lake and pond basins and using moss found near lakes and ponds to make unique art projects, offer a unique, interactive learning experience, while links to online primary sources offer ample opportunity for further, student-led exploration. Fun facts, engaging illustrations, timeline, glossary, and resources keep kids wanting to learn more about these bodies of water.

Explore Lakes and Ponds! is part of a set of four Explore Waterways books from Nomad Press. In Explore Waterways, readers ages 7 to 10 learn about the waterways of our world, including the what, where, how, and who about the origination, content, and aquatic life that water contains. Through science-minded STEAM projects and experiments that encourage readers to think of waterways as part of a larger ecosystem, kids develop critical and creative thinking skills about the role waterways play in our world. Other titles in the Explore Waterways set include Marshes and Swamps!, Oceans and Seas!, and Rivers and Streams!

About this title

Review:

Praise for other books in the Explore Your World! series:

Explore Forces and Motion! With 25 Great Projects 
School Library Connection
“Looking for ways to introduce, reinforce, and build on abstract physics concepts for young children? The author manages to make physics concepts simple in a light, accessible tone that will keep readers engaged. This very colorful text includes a timeline (not often seen in a book on physics), glossary, resources, essential questions, QR codes, primary source icons, and more. The real strength is the suggested projects that are simple to conduct yet essential in understanding concepts such as force, buoyancy, and magnetism. This would make an excellent addition to a classroom textbook to reinforce and demonstrate concepts. Librarians will love the focus on primary sources and scientific process.”

Puget Sound Council for the Review of Children’s Media
Recommended -- Superior in style, liveliness, integrity and format.
“This series, each book subtitled “With 25 Great Projects” is one that merits a place in every library serving children. Each book begins with a timeline, and a solid introduction. “Words to know” are defined throughout the book, and QR codes lead to interesting videos. (If the QR codes don’t work the book provides keyword prompts to lead young researchers to the right information.) Science practices are defined, and interesting projects follow that teach important principles. An extensive index, bibliography, and glossary follow. This book focuses on physics, introducing Newton, Einstein, Galileo and more. The basic forces around us are defined, explained, and explored through hands-on projects. Much of the information is on an advanced level, but explained so younger students can understand it. There’s interesting information to be found here, and the projects are unique and STEM oriented. Buy the whole series.”

National Science Teachers Association (NSTA Recommends)
“Physics is fun with this colorful and informative book for students ages 7–10. Using the theme of motion, the book encourages readers to push, pull, spin, twist, and turn their way to learning basic concepts of force and motion. There are ample activities and projects throughout the book that provide the reader with ways to explore forces and motion and learn basic concepts while having loads of fun. . . Students will enjoy the fun graphics in the book. A cartoon turtle and chicken lead students through the reading and activities by providing comedy and demonstrations on how to do the activities in the book. The color and design graphics are bright and capture the interest of the reader.”

Explore Solids and Liquids! With 25 Great Projects 
Booklist
“. . . The accessible text takes a friendly tone, providing ample background information and easily recognizable everyday examples. Cartoon illustrations, inset boxes with facts, and occasional jokes help keep readers engaged. . . This should provide inspiration and insights into scientific exploration for students, teachers, and budding mad scientists.”

Explore Comets and Asteroids!
National Science Teachers Association Recommends
“Not just a book, an adventure! As you pick up and flip through Explore Comets and Asteroids! you begin to engage in a print experience that opens your eyes and mind to exploration in our galaxy and beyond. While this is print based, it is linked to the extraordinary volume of additional resources of the internet while firmly grounded with study information that one holds in the hand. The pages include QR codes with key word prompts to facilitate research on the content, 25 projects to engage the learner, vocabulary boxes within the content to assist with understanding, and abundant graphics to visually illustrate the concepts. There are also the important element of comic relief in the form of kid friendly “asides” that use play on words. “Did you Know?” and “Time to Discuss” prompts entice memory of key events in astronomy.    

“This paper bound book could be considered a mini course in the subject of comets and asteroids that serve to either develop knowledge or review it. The writing is clear and well organized into 6 chapters. The overview, in the form of a timeline, sets the stage for the understanding of our advancement of knowledge and understanding of these celestial bodies as our technology that is used to study them improved. Facts, figures, and concepts are addressed in an entertaining, yet educational manner, to engage the learner in the learning process and reward him/her with insights, understanding, and even encourage career planning. While it may appear to be a book for young readers, do not let it fool you. There is something for everyone as there is more to learn than first meets the eye. Want to read a book to your child, grandchild. or class? This might be a welcome change that increases interest in the study of the skies and beyond.”  

 

From the Back Cover:

What kind of life can you find in lakes and ponds?

Lakes and Ponds! With 25 Science Projects for Kids invites kids ages 7 though 10 to investigate the bodies of water that might look calm from the shore but which are teeming with life and activity! Through fun facts and engaging content, readers explore the plants and animals living in lakes and ponds, from fish darting about to dragonfly nymphs gestating in the shallows to algae and aquatic plants converting sunlight into energy through photosynthesis. It’s a busy place!

Through science-minded STEAM projects and investigative experiments that encourage readers to think of waterways as part of a larger ecosystem, kids develop critical and creative thinking skills about the role waterways play in our world and their importance to human life.

Lakes and Ponds! is part of a set of four Explore Waterways books from Nomad Press. In Explore Waterways, readers ages 7 to 10 learn about the waterways of our world, including the what, where, how, and who about the origination, content, and aquatic life that water contains. Through science-minded STEAM projects and experiments that encourage readers to think of waterways as part of a larger ecosystem, kids develop critical and creative thinking skills about the role waterways play in our world. Other titles in the Explore Waterways set include Marshes and Swamps!, Oceans and Seas!, and Rivers and Streams!

Try these hands-on STEM activities!

• Build a model of a floating city
• Test the water quality of lakes and ponds near you
• Observe animal and plant life with a microscope

About this edition

• Publisher: Nomad Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1619306999
• ISBN 13: 9781619306998
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 96
• Illustrator: Casteel Tom