Integrate Science and Reading in a Natural Way with NSTA’s Teaching Science Through Trade Books

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--If you like the popular “Teaching Through Trade Books” column in NSTA’s journal Science and Children, or if you’ve become enamored of the award-winning Picture-Perfect Science Lessons series, you’ll love NSTA’s new Teaching Science Through Trade Books. It’s based on the same time-saving and popular methodology: Using children’s books to teach both science and reading in an engaging and effective way.

Co-authors Christine Royce, Emily Morgan and Karen Ansberry handpicked 50 of their favorite columns comprising 100 different activities, and divided them into four categories; Engineering, Technology, Applications of Science, Physical Science, Life Science, and Earth and Space Science, and aligned them with A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas. They added even more student pages with data sheets and information tables to assist teachers in their daily planning. Each inquiry-based lesson offers one activity for grades K-3 and one for grades 4-6; highlights two trade books; and includes an introduction, a purpose, a materials list and procedural outline.

Teachers will recognize many of these well-known trade books such as the wonderfully illustrated Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee, a perfect choice to engage students in a lesson on force and motion. Tiger Math is an appealing selection about a true story of TJ, an orphaned baby tiger who struggles to survive with the help of the Denver Zoo staff. This emotional story provides the opportunity for a lesson on graphing the growth of the baby tiger.

The activities and use of corresponding trade books offer compelling ways for teachers to reach students as they learn science concepts in a whole new context and improve their reading skills.

About the Authors

Christine Anne Royce is an associate professor of education at Shippensburg University, where she chairs the teacher education department. She has taught elementary, middle, and high school students.

Emily Morgan, a former elementary and middle school teacher, is a consultant for Picture-Perfect Science, LLC, where she facilitates elementary science workshops for teachers nationwide. She coauthors the Picture-Perfect Science series from NSTA Press.

Karen Ansberry, a former classroom teacher, is the elementary science curriculum leader for Mason City Schools in Mason, Ohio. She coauthors the Picture-Perfect Science series published by NSTA Press.

You can browse sample pages of this new book free at the NSTA Science Store website at www.nsta.org/store.

For additional information or to purchase Teaching Science Through Trade Books and other books from NSTA Press, visit the NSTA Science Store at www.nsta.org/store. To order by phone, call 800-277-5300 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET weekdays. The 326-page book is priced at $32.95 and discount-priced for NSTA members at $26.36. (Stock #PB315X, ISBN #978-1-936959-13-6)

The Arlington, Va.-based National Science Teachers Association is the largest professional organization in the world promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all. NSTA's current membership includes more than 50,000 science teachers, science supervisors, administrators, scientists, business and industry representatives, and others involved in science education.

NSTA Press produces 20–25 new books each year. Focused on the preK–college market and specifically aimed at teachers of science, NSTA Press titles offer a unique blend of accurate scientific content and sound teaching strategies.