Melissa Stewart
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Perfect Pairs

Using Fiction & Nonfiction Picture Books to Teach Life Science, Grades 3–5

Using Fiction & Nonfiction Picture Books

to Teach Life Science, Grades 3–5

Perfect Pairs for Grades 3-5

by Melis­sa Stew­art
and Nan­cy Chesley

Rout­ledge, 2016

for Grades 3 to 5

ISBN 978–0‑81413–352‑1

Pur­chase this book at your local inde­pen­dent book­seller or Amazon.com.

Each of the twen­ty lessons in Per­fect Pairs is built around a pair of award-win­ning trade pic­ture books. After extract­ing crit­i­cal con­tent from the books, stu­dents par­tic­i­pate in an inquiry-based inves­tiga­tive process to explore key life sci­ence con­cepts — from ways plants and ani­mals depend on their inter­nal and exter­nal body parts to how food webs work , from inher­i­tance of traits to the role of nat­ur­al resources in our lives. Even if you are sci­ence shy, Per­fect Pairs will help you cre­ate a class­room that buzzes with curi­ous stu­dents eager to explore the nat­ur­al world.

Reviews

“Thor­ough­ly user friend­ly in orga­ni­za­tion and pre­sen­ta­tion, Per­fect Pairs: Using Fic­tion and Non­fic­tion Pic­ture Books to Teach Life Sci­ence, Grades 3–5 is extra­or­di­nar­i­ly infor­ma­tive and prac­ti­cal.” (Mid­west Book Review)

“The book’s 20 lessons meet the expec­ta­tions and rig­or of the Next Gen­er­a­tion of Sci­ence Stan­dards for grades three, four and five. Teach­ers will find new and inven­tive ways to teach high­er lev­el think­ing skills, read­ing com­pre­hen­sion, and writ­ing skills while cov­er­ing crit­i­cal sci­ence con­cepts … If you want to sup­ple­ment your sci­ence cur­ricu­lum, pur­chase this book. If you want to inte­grate lit­er­a­cy into your sci­ence cur­ricu­lum, pur­chase this book. If you want to pro­vide your stu­dents with rich­er, more chal­leng­ing sci­ence learn­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties, pur­chase this book. Most of all, if you want to have fun teach­ing, pur­chase Per­fect Pairs: Using Fic­tion and Non­fic­tion Pic­ture Books to Teach Life Sci­ence, Grade 3–5.” (Mid­dleWeb, read the full review)

“… encour­ages log­i­cal think­ing, inde­pen­dent inves­tiga­tive skills, and col­lab­o­ra­tions that cross the line between fic­tion and non­fic­tion read­ing appli­ca­tions, mak­ing for a fine approach teach­ers can use to rein­force life sci­ence con­cepts.” (Cal­i­for­nia Book­watch)

Behind the Book

“In 2006, I began to real­ize that some chil­dren con­nect more strong­ly with non­fic­tion books, while oth­ers pre­fer fic­tion. As a result, I start­ed pair­ing the books I wrote with fic­tion titles and devel­op­ing inno­v­a­tive activ­i­ties with the books as a centerpiece.

“When I met Nan­cy Ches­ley in 2008, she was con­cerned with the way she saw teach­ers try­ing to use books to teach sci­ence. She was intrigued with my ideas, and we began a series of con­ver­sa­tions about the most use­ful and prac­ti­cal way to com­bine the mag­ic of children’s books with the won­ders of the nat­ur­al world.

“With the pub­li­ca­tion of the Next Gen­er­a­tion Sci­ence Stan­dards (NGSS), we knew the time was right to cre­ate Per­fect Pairs. By bring­ing togeth­er Nancy’s tremen­dous expe­ri­ence as an edu­ca­tor and my knowl­edge of children’s books, we cre­at­ed Per­fect Pairs: Using Fic­tion & Non­fic­tion Pic­ture Books to Teach Life Sci­ence, K‑2 in 2014. Now, we are delight­ed to pub­lish a com­pan­ion book for teach­ers of grades 3–5. Togeth­er, these books offer a com­pre­hen­sive sci­ence pro­gram for ele­men­tary educators.”

Perfect Pairs for Grades 3-5

by Melis­sa Stew­art
and Nan­cy Chesley

Rout­ledge, 2016

for Grades 3 to 5

ISBN 978–0‑81413–352‑1

Pur­chase this book at your local inde­pen­dent book­seller or Amazon.com.

Interested in Perfect Pairs
for grades K‑2?

Perfect Pairs for Grades K-2