Explorations in Backyard Biology: Drawing on Nature in the Classroom, Grades 4-6 [Paperback]

R. Gary Raham (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 1996

Students will discover life science adventures in their own backyards (or school yards) with this new resource! After reading brief descriptions of fascinating creatures, they participate in hands-on explorations with exciting classroom and field activities. Using drawing and writing skills, they record their experiences in a Naturalist's Notebook, which helps them make further discoveries. The author offers activities in four areas of natural history-size, scale, and the world of the very small; predator-prey relationships among animals; animal communication; and the ecology of living communities, including their human members. The activities can be integrated with other curriculum areas, used to supplement the science program, or be used as springboards for science projects. By emphasizing the process of drawing and combining it with study of an area that teachers and students may think difficult, this book offers a fun and user-friendly approach to science. Grades 4-6.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"By emphasizing the process of drawing and combining it with study of an area that some students may think difficult, this book offers a fun and user-friendly approach to science." -- Gifted Child Today Magazine, Vol. 19 No. 5, Sept/Oct 1996

"Filled with many excellent illustrations by the author,...this book is ideal for young children..." -- Michigan Alumnus Magazine, Vol. 103 No. 4, Late Spring 1997

"This superb teacher's guide invites teachers and other educators to practice a few drawing skills, to indulge their curiosity, and to share the fun of discovery with students." -- Y.E.S. Quarterly 14(2) April/June 1997.

"What a delight it is! The whole thing is brilliantly conceived and beautifully executed. I love the way you make the subject so friendly and approachable." -- Author, Dougal Dixon, in personal correspondence, September 2, 1996

About the Author

R. GARY RAHAM, a freelance writer and illustrator, is also a graphic designer for Citizen Printing Co., Ft. Collins, Colorado.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 204 pages
• Publisher: Teacher Ideas Press (May 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563082543
• ISBN-13: 978-1563082542
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,623,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I love to help connect kids to science through story. I've written 14 books, several video scripts, and award-winning articles for Highlights for Children, Cricket, Read, and other magazines, as well as some short SF stories. I use The Deep Time Diaries and Teaching Science Fact with Science Fiction, to create middle school enrichment material in English and science with the help of master teacher, Vicky Jordan. I illustrate much of my own work and also create natural history and biomedical illustrations for a variety of clients. I enjoy writing adult science columns for The North Forty News and Colorado Gardener magazine, as well as "Kid's Quarry" columns for Trilobite Tales, the official newsletter of the Western Interior Paleontological Society.