DO SOME VERMICOMPOSTING!

DO SOME VERMICOMPOSTING!

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Design a Seed

Design a Seed

From Keystone Plants and Fungi

Use the engineering design process to design a seed!

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Decomposers at Work

Decomposers at Work

From The Carbon Cycle

Yeast is a single-celled fungus. Like other decomposers, yeast feeds on organic material (sugar). The decomposition process produces CO In this activity, you'll see a decomposer (yeast) at work!

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The Ocean is Salty

The Ocean is Salty

From The Ocean

One of the ocean's best-known characteristics is that it is salty. The ocean's salinity affects both the water's density as well as the temperature at which it freezes. See for yourself!

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Design a Wildlife Corridor

Design a Wildlife Corridor

From Conservation Success

Wildlife crossings provide safe passages for animals moving between habitats. Time to think like an engineer and a conservationist to design a crossing near you!

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Reviews

Booklist Top 10 Nonfiction Series for 2020
“Build It Environmental Science (4 titles) Gr. 4–8. Mixing comics and thoughtfully designed activities with solid information, this series accessibly explores with precision such topics as biodiversity, biomes, and Earth’s garbage problem.”Read more online.

Praise for Explore Soil! With 25 Great Projects by Kathleen Reilly

School Library Connection
“Through engaging text, sidebars, graphics, and projects, this book just might change the way readers think about soil . . . The kid-friendly arrangement with a fair dose of humor and comic book illustrations means younger readers will be able to enjoy this book independently. Teachers of budding scientists will also enjoy this book for the depth of information covered.  Recommended.”

 

Detailed Book Description

The environment is all around us, whether you live in a city, suburb, or the country. Sometimes, it’s easy to ignore. But forgetting about the environment isn’t an option if we want our planet to be healthy!

Planet Earth: Finding Balance on the Blue Marble with Environmental Science Activities for Kids introduces middle grade readers to all the parts of the natural world, including the oceans, the atmosphere, the earth, and everything in between. In this book, kids master ecology basics, such as the food web and animal habitats, while also learning about environmental issues such as wind and solar power, endangered species, climate change, and more. Stories about new innovations in fields such as recycling, agriculture, and energy production galvanize readers to turn their creative thinking skills to their own inventions.

Planet Earth includes hands-on STEM activities and critical thinking exercises to encourage readers to discover connections among their observations of their immediate environment and the larger world around them. Fun facts, links to online primary sources and other supplemental material, and essential questions encourage readers to ask themselves what they could do differently to make the world a healthier place.

Planet Earth is part of a set of four Build It Environmental Science books that explore the history and science of the planet and all that live on it through hands-on STEM activities and real-life environmental connections. Other titles in this series are Planet Earth, Garbage, and Biomes.

Try these hands-on environmental projects!

  • Build your own worm castle
  • Conduct your own food supply experiment
  • Make your own Tullgren funnel
  • Observe air pollution in your home
Available In:
Hardcover, $22.95
9781619307407
Paperback, $17.95
9781619307438
Includes: Table of Contents | Timeline | Glossary | Resources | Index
Specs: 8 x 10 size | 4-color interior | 128 pages
Subject: Science

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Timeline

Introduction
Welcome to Planet Earth

Chapter 1
 Earth: Our Spot in Space

Chapter 2
The Planet of Air and Water

Chapter 3
Our Star, the Sun

Chapter 4
Life on Earth

Chapter 5
Pollution

Chapter 6
Climate Change

Chapter 7
Recycling

Chapter 8
 Finding the Balance

Glossary
Metric Conversions
Resources
Essential Questions
Index