education: working with watersheds
recommended books

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NSTA Recommends
NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students
United States EPA Wetlands Reading List

NSTA Recommends
Books related to watershed dynamics and ecology. Recommendations of some of the best available science-teaching materials (includes books, kits, DVDs/videos, and software). All reviews are prepared by outstanding science educators.
http://www2.nsta.org/recommends/

Watersheds: A Practical Handbook for Healthy Water
By Clive Dobson and Gergor Gilpin Beck
Firefly Books Inc. 1999
Grade level: 5-12

This book brings to its readers an enticing survey of the essential elements of water ecology. From the elementary concept of a watershed to more intricate biological aspects of wetland ecosystems and their impact upon the environment, this book delivers the most up-to-date scientific information in a simplified format and writing style.

Reviewed by Arthur Carin

Life in a River
By Valerie Rapp
Lerner Publications Co. 2003
Grade level: 5-8

Life in a River is a thorough examination of the Columbia River Basin ecosystem. Well-written text explores the water cycle, food webs, and the log jams, steps, and eddies that all contribute to the health of a river system. This book would be an excellent resource for upper elementary or middle school students.

Reviewed by Christy Moore

Freshwater Wetlands: Marsh
Environmental Media Corporation, 2003
Grade level: 5-12

Freshwater Wetlands: Marsh is part of a video series that complements middle, secondary, and college level studies of ecosystems. Marshes are classified by their flora, water supply, and surrounding landforms, and this video covers marsh plants and animals and explains the effect of human intervention on the habitat. It even covers the way weather and marshlands are interlinked.

Reviewed by Pam Butcher

WOW!:The Wonders of Wetlands is an exciting and complete educational resource book of background material for teachers who are preparing wetland study units. The book features discussions of the physical science, chemistry, and biology of wetlands as well as their socioeconomic benefits. Other chapters address the topics of management and action for wetlands. This book focuses on easy-to-follow, hands-on/minds-on activities that encourage students to use higher-order thinking skills as they collect data and make conclusions.

Reviewed by Debby Chessin

Living in Water integrates basic physical, life, and Earth sciences into a comprehensive study of aquatic habitats. The role of the teacher is that of facilitator, emphasizing controlled experiments and model-building. Offered as an alternative to traditional curricula for grades 5 through 7, the program is most frequently used at grade 6 in a year-long sequence where each lesson builds on the last. The activities can also be used to supplement a textbook. This third edition has been revised by Dr. Valerie Chase of the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

Reviewed by Geraldine Waller

This intriguing kit brings watershed science to life with a miniature model that allows students to see for themselves how watersheds work. The model, which students cast in plaster from a mold, is approximatelyfoot square. The model's topography includes a small mountain, drainage ditches, a stream, plowed farmland, and streets/parking lots. For teachers willing to spend the time to make the model, Make Your Own Watershed Kit is a nice tool for helping students visualize run-off pollution.

Reviewed by Twyla Surritte-Rodriguez

Restless Planet Series: Floods
by Emma Durham and Mark Maslin
Raintree Publishers, 2000
Grade level: K-8

Floods explores the causes of floods and the measures that humans take to try to control flooding. The natural movement of water through the water cycle demonstrates the somewhat precarious balance of water in nature. River flooding, coastal flooding, and flood disasters are covered in Floods , as are the human factors (urbanization, deforestation) that restrain the natural flow of water.

Reviewed by Diana Wiig

Water Matters Volume 1 is the first of a series of three teachers guides released by U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Educational Initiative and NSTA. The series is designed to help teachers investigate the integral role that water plays in our lives with students grades three through eight. The series can be integrated into almost any science curriculum. Volume 1 addresses "Wetlands, Water Use, and Wastewater Treatment."

Reviewed by Janie Stokes

Water Matters Volume 2 is the second of a series of three teachers guides released by U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Educational Initiative and NSTA. The series is designed to help teachers investigate the integral role that water plays in our lives with students grades three through eight. The series can be integrated into almost any science curriculum. Volume 2 addresses "Navigation, Groundwater and Water Quality."

Reviewed by Janie Stokes

Water Matters Volume 3 is the third of a series of three teachers guides released by U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Educational Initiative and NSTA. The series is designed to help teachers investigate the integral role that water plays in our lives with students grades three through eight. The series can be integrated into almost any science curriculum. Volume 3 addresses "Oceans, Watersheds and Hazardous Waste."

Reviewed by Janie Stokes

River Life takes readers Deep in the Amazon for a geological history tour of the Amazon River, from a small, westward-flowing channel, through the formation of the Andes Mountains and the Glacier Age, to its present-day status as the largest river in the world. The author explores the plants and animals that live in floating meadows and thrive in this unusual water habitat.

Reviewed by Sherry McVeigh

Earth Science: River Systems is a JASON Interactive Science Workshop activity book that teaches key concepts in Earth science through river systems. It can be used as an interactive workshop for teachers, or the activities can be used directly with students from grades 4-9. Lessons on watersheds, wetlands, and deltas are intermixed with experiments on river energy and density. By studying how water shapes the Earth, students will come to understand how they can individually impact their environment.

Reviewed by Teri Cosentino

Energy Transfers presents information on a topic often included in content for grades 6-8 in a clearly organized and manageable manner. To help readers stretch their skills, the authors include some of text supports that are used in informational texts written for the lower grades, including short chapters, headings, boldface, descriptive captions, and sidebars. This series is ideal for integrating informational reading skills into science lessons, broadening and extending physical science content, or linking science with language arts.

Reviewed by Nancy McDonough

Deep, cold Lake Superior is the model for Life in a Lake , an attractive and readable reference on aquatic ecosystems. This volume covers the biotic and abiotic factors in each layer of the lake, and the delicate balance that exists in this ecosystem. It would provide good support for a class that is doing their own field studies of a nearby lake or pond. The ten books in the Ecosystems in Action series would be ideal for group work on ecosystems or individual research.
Reviewed by Mary Memmer

Life in a Wetland
By Melissa Stewart
Lerner Publications Co. 2003
Grade level: 5-8

Life in a Wetland does a wonderful job of explaining to the upper-elementary or middle-level student how all aspects of this fragile ecosystem interact. The rich, descriptive text and photographs help readers imagine they are on a very personal tour of the Everglades.

Reviewed by Sarah Haines

River Cutters is a major revision of a popular title from the Lawrence Hall of Science GEMS program. Like the other GEMS books, River Cutters begins with an introductory activity followed by several days worth of engaging, hands-on science lessons. Each activity is thoroughly explained so that the teacher understands exactly how to prepare for and deliver the lesson. A summary outline in the back of the book details each day and offers engaging questions to follow up the lesson. Support materials, including current applications, geological features, and ties to other disciplines, round out a very rich explanation and exploration of dynamic river systems.

Reviewed by Shannon Cde Baca

Conserve Water: Educators' Guide is a resource book of case studies and full-length activities that have been field tested. More than just another activity book, Conserve Water exposes students to critical issues related to water conservation.

Reviewed by Sue LeBeau

Water is one of eight volumes of Hands-On Science from J. Weston Walch designed to enrich traditional text-based curricula. Each volume follows a similar format, a carefully structured set of 16 to 20 activities requiring one or two class periods. The strength of these low-cost editions is the teacher-friendly format; tips "before you begin," objectives, the National Science Education Standards , materials, adaptations for both high and low achievers.

Reviewed by Ernest D. Riggsby

Protecting our Watersheds Activity Book and Teacher's Guide uses local waterways as a vehicle for middle school inquiry and problem solving. Students observe and measure the health of their local watershed and analyze their data to determine the source of problems or threats. Then it's time to gather information from community leaders and experts. Once all the information is in, students collaborate to come up with a possible solution and a method to put it into action. Earth Force suggests that teachers take an Earth Force training about how to do the testing as well as how to align the program with local education standards.

Reviewed by Pam Butcher

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NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students
Books dealing with water, watersheds, wetlands, and their ecology. All books were selected by a review panel appointed by NSTA (National Science Teachers Association) in cooperation with the CBC (Children's Book Council).
http://www.nsta.org/ostbc

Endangered Planet
By David Burnie
Kingfisher/Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004
Grade level: 6-8

This is an important book for everyone who is concerned about the environment. Illustrated with full-color photographs throughout, Endangered Planet describes natural cycles and habitats and the impact humans have on the environment. Contains messages that encourage sustainable living. Foreword, Glossary, Index, Web Resources.

The Temperate Forest: A Web of Life
By Philip Johansson
Enslow Publishers. 2004
Grade level: 3-5

The author takes the reader on a journey through a temperate forest, providing a glimpse of the plants and animals found there and the interactions between them that create food webs. The author also describes how energy flows through this biome. Table of Contents, Glossary, Further Reading, Internet Addresses, Index.

Pond
By Gordon Morrison
Houghton Mifflin. 2002
Grade level: 3-5

Changes and activities that occur over days and weeks throughout the seasons in, on, and around a pond are described. Through the narrative and illustrations the reader observes interactions of thriving plants and animals. Insets provide additional details about these plants and animals, the seasons, and how a pond is formed.

Salamander Rain: A Lake & Pond Journal
By Kristin Joy Pratt-Serafini
Dawn Publications. 2001
Grade level: 3-5

Bold illustrations and journal notes, maps, clips from news articles, and fun tidbits provide a brilliant model for student journals. The story joyfully describes major seasonal changes that occur in a temperate pond community.

Welcome to the River of Grass
By Jane Yolen
G.P. Putnam's Sons. 2001
Grade level: 3-5

The magnificent illustrations and rich language make this volume of interest across the grades as the author depicts a day in the Everglades. The lush river of grass-inches deep and miles wide-is home to a wide variety of interesting residents, both flora and fauna. Predator/prey relationships are depicted.

Dr. Art's Guide to Planet Earth: for Earthlings Ages 12 to 120
By Art Sussman
Chelsea Green. 2000
Grade level: 6-12

Dr. Art's systems-based Earth guide introduces three easy-to-understand principles that explain how our planet works - Matter Cycles, Energy Flows, and Life Webs. This full-color, engaging guide will help us better understand Earth's systems. Dr. Jane Goodall proclaims "[this book] deserves a place not only in every classroom but also every home." Author's Note, Glindex (glossary + index), Web Sites.

Butternut Hollow Pond
By Brian J. Heinz
Millbrook Press. 2000
Grade level: 6-8

The reader explores the interdependence of organisms in a pond with particular emphasis on food webs. Excitement reigns as an animal quickly changes its role from hunter to hunted. Through text and watercolor illustrations, the reader develops an appreciation of ecology and the environment.

River of Life
By Debbie S. Miller
Clarion Books. 2000
Grade level: K-2

Rich in word choice, this book develops strong images of the life cycle that unfolds along a river, as winter melts into spring and spring becomes the warm days of summer. Inviting illustrations help tell this story of a river ecosystem. Glossary.

I Want to Be an Environmentalist
By Stephanie Maze
Harcourt. 2000
Grade level: 6-8

Many environmental careers are profiled within the context of ecological issues. A colorful format focuses on topics from high-tech data collection to famous environmentalists to ways children can get involved in preservation of the environment. Government and Environmental Organizations Listing.

Erosion (Carolrhoda Earth Watch Bookseries)
By Sherie Winner
Carolrhoda/Lerner. 1999
Grade level: 6-8

Photographs of actual locations offer the reader views of one of nature's strongest land-shaping forces: erosion. The text provides information on glaciers, water, and wind as forces of erosion, as well as how these forces shape the Earth's surface. Glossary, Index, About the Author.

The Drop in my Drink: the Story of Water on our Planet
By Meredith Hooper
Viking. 1998
Grade level: 6-8

Here is the amazing and ever-changing story of water-where it comes from, how it behaves, why it matters-and the crucial role it has played throughout life on Earth. The eye-catching illustrations are realistic and thought-provoking. Author's Notes.

Marshes and Swamps
By Gail Gibbons
Holiday House. 1998
Grade level: 3-8

Various forms of marshes and swamps are presented through clearly written text and detailed illustrations. Information is also provided about the types of organisms and animals that live in these wetlands. Afterwords: Wetlands to Visit; More About Wetlands.

Our Wet World
By Sneed B. Collard, III.
Charlesbridge. 1998
Grade level: 6-8

Readers will discover 13 different aquatic ecosystems as they read about the diversity of life found in the wet places of the Earth. Closeup illustrations provide details about the fascinating flora and fauna that inhabit the waterways and oceans of our planet. Glossary.

A Drop of Water: a Book of Science and Wonder
By Walter Wick
Scholastic Press. 1997
Grade level: 6-8

Easy-to-read text and exquisite photographs explain the concepts of evaporation, condensation, capillary attraction, and surface tension. The camera halts and magnifies the action so all states of water can be observed. A collection of simple, exceptional experiments offers ways to further investigate the principles of water transformation. Author's Note.

The Big Rivers: the Missouri, the Mississippi, and the Ohio
By Bruce Hiscock
Atheneum. 1997
Grade level: K-8

This book describes how the Missouri, Mississippi, and Ohio Rivers produced the Midwest floods of 1993. Watercolor illustrations set the mood for the simple text in picture book format. This is an excellent book on weather phenomena for young children. Author's Note.

Watching Water Birds
By Jim Arnosky
National Geographic. 1997
Grade level: 6-8

The author of this unique book grabs the reader's attention from the very first page. The life-size paintings of favorite water birds in both fresh and saltwater environments are informative and delightful.

Squishy, Misty, Damp, & Muddy: the In-Between World of Wetlands
By Molly Cone
Sierra Club. 1996
Grade level: K-8

Stunning, well-placed photographs pull the reader into this book. The story here is diversity--of wetlands and the abundant life they support. It also speaks of their precarious future and the importance of preservation. Cone's richly innovative text is enhanced by touches of alliteration and an almost poetic cadence.

Who Eats What?: Food Chains and Food Webs
By Patricia Lauber
HarperCollins. 1995
Grade level: K-2

Using simple diagrams and illustrations, this book explains the concept of food chains and how plants, animals, and humans are ecologically linked.

Flush!: Treating Wastewater
By Karen Mueller Coombs.
Carolrhoda. 1995
Grade level: 6- 8

Ever wonder what happens to water you flush down the toilet? A step-by-step trip through the process of cleaning wastewater gives a behind-the-scenes look using excellent, full-color photographs. A unique book concerning our most valuable natural resource - water. Glossary. Index.

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United States EPA Wetlands Reading List
Environmental Protection Agency's recommendations of books about wetlands for the Intermediate Level student (grades 6-8).
http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/science/readlist.html#anchor1063866

Estuaries, Where River Meet the Sea
By Laurence Pringle
The MacMillan Co. 1973
Grade level: 5-7

Superb photographs and simple, concise text. Explores bays and salt marshes, with descriptions of plant and animal life above and below water, including the complex, interrelationships between tides, grasses, crabs, fishes and birds.

Everglades Country
By Patricia Lauber
T he Viking Press, 1973
Grade level: 5-8

Very informative and accurate. Provides an account of the Florida Everglades, with its unique plant and animal life. Describes this internationally unique and valuable wetlands system known as the Everglades as well as the constant, heavy pressure to develop this area. It includes discussions of the defeat of proposed construction for an expansive airport, and ongoing irrigation for agricultural practices that have changed the grassy water to barren land.

Exploring the Great Swamp
By George Laycock
David McKay Company, Inc. 1978
Grade level: 5-8

Author Laycock conveys sense of intrigue and adventure as he defines wetlands and some of their values and functions. Describes swamps, including the history and vegetative communities that comprise some swamps of North America. In Exploring the Great Swamp, George Laycock investigates scientifically accurate facts, eye-witness accounts, history and legends of the great swamps.

Look What I Found
By Marshal T. Case
The Chatham Press, Inc. 1971
Grade level: 5-7

Contains useful information on setting up an aquarium either at home or in the classroom, for studying plant and animal life, including those found along the edge of wetlands. Discourages disturbing wetlands, and encourages students to release living things they capture to their native habitats once finished with them.

Misty of Chincoteague
By Marguerite Henry
Rand McNally and Co. 1946
Grade level: 5-8

Fiction based on fact; occurs along the barrier islands of Maryland and Virginia; Assateague Island, where according to legend shipwrecks in colonial times occurred and stranded fifteen ponies in wild, grassy marshlands; and neighboring Chincoteague Island, home of children Maureen and Paul. Classic narrative of Paul and Maureen's adventures acquiring three ponies: a wild mare, stallion and colt during annual round-up and lessons learned in the process.

The Mystery of the Bog Forest
By Lorus J. Milne and Margery Milne
Dodd, Mead and Company, 1984
Grade level: 5-7

Attractive, well-done and accurate, with index. Explains the origins of bogs, their special attractions and their unique plant and animal life. Lists plants and animals occurring in wetlands, providing scientific name and range. Describes the formation of bogs from peat moss as it spreads out from shore, and the usually harsh, physical characteristics that limit the plant community to life forms specially adapted to wetlands, emphasizing the adaptation of carnivorous plants.

A Naturalist's Sketchbook
By Clare Walker Leslie
Dodd, Mead and Company, 1987
Grade level: 7-12

Creative, new method for studying wetlands. Leslie presents a calendar year of pages taken from ten naturalist journals daily covering the period 1977 to 1987. Provides helpful notes on drawing, demonstrating a new way of seeing nature. Drawings of waterfowl, paddling painted turtle and hooded mergansers in a pond with notes describes author's experiences during the day in margins.

Of Men and Marshes
By Paul L. Errington
The Iowa State University Press, 1957
Grade level: 7-10

Accurate but not too technical description as dedicated naturalist unveils little known world of wetlands life; encompasses prairie marshes and marsh-dwelling animal societies such as muskrat and water birds in glaciated regions of Midwest and far West, and Southeast. Portrays ducks filling skies and covering waters, shorebirds running on mudflats, fishes in shallows; describes living things adjusting to changes such as muskrats during flood and drought, waterfowl in migration during a snow storm.

Pitcher Plants: The Elegant Insect Traps
By Carol Lerner
William Morrow and Company, 1983
Grade level: 5-8

Contains a glossary, an index and a list of places with collection of pitcher plants and other carnivorous (insect-eating) plants. Portrays a group of plants known as pitcher plants which are unique to bogs along the East coast. These unusual plants are unable to obtain nutrients from acidic soils conditions and have adapted by consuming insects to live.

Pond Life
By George K. Reid, Ph.D.
Western Publishing Company, Inc. 1967
Grade level: 6-10

Popular, accurate and informative book in the Golden Guide Series. Describes and illustrates in color some of the most common of the thousands of animals and plants that inhabit ponds and other wetlands, lakes and streams. Discusses water characteristics and the different habitats found in freshwater systems, including the littoral or wetland habitat extending from the water's edge outward as far as rooted plants grow. Suggestions for when to visit, where to look, how to make exciting discoveries, and how to observe, collect and release live specimens.

The Snow Goose
By Paul Gallico
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1940
Grade level: 5-12

Haunting, moving and tender account during World War II. Snow Goose wanders from home in Canada to England and is wounded by hunters in nearby marsh. Twelve year old girl, Fritha, daringly brings wounded Snow Goose to lonely, deformed man, Rhayader, who cares for wild, wounded animals. Once healed, "Great White Bird" returns annually. Remainder of story is a mystery but fragmentary and is based on words from pub and local residents.

Wild and Scenic Rivers
National Geographic Society, 1983
Grade level: 6-9

Stunning photographs and informative text on America's rivers, including many riverine wetlands as those along the Little Pee Dee River in South Carolina, the floodplain wetlands of Minnesota's Big Fork River, and the Bayou Penchant, a 30-mile marsh environment in Louisiana.

The Wind in the Willows
By Kenneth Grahame
Charles Scribener's Sons, 1908
Grade level: 6-10

Classic, delightful story featuring adventures of animals along a riverbank, wetlands habitats and other low-lying areas. Star characters include Mole, Rat, Toad and Badger. Whether it is the adventures boating with Rat or Toad in his motor car, wetlands are never far off: along the river, besides the meadows, on the bank where Rat's house is found or beside the pools where Otter hides.

The Yearling
By Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1938
Grade level: 7-10

This cherished classic that takes place in the shallow springs and pools, sawgrass rivers and adjacent meadows and wooded swamps in and around the Florida Everglades. Story is about a boy growing up in a poor family, his attachment to adopted, semi-tame fawn, the fawn's repeated invasion of his father's corn field, the tragedy that follows, and the painful maturing these experiences bring. Excellent characters, realistic experiences and accurate descriptions of landscapes.

Amazon: The Flooded Forest
By Michael Goulding

Animals and Plants That Trap
By Philip Goldstein

The Birder's Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds
By Paul R. Erlich, David S. Dobkin, and Darryl Wheye

Dragonflies
By Hilda Smith

Frogs, Toads, Lizards and Salamanders
By Nancy Winslow

Island of the Loons
By Dayton O. Hyde

Life and Death of the Salt Marsh
By John and Mildred Teal

The Pond
By Robert Murphy

A Sand County Almanac
By Aldo Leopold

Through the Eyes of a Young Naturalist
By Bill Sipple

Walking the Wetlands
By Janet Lyons and Sandra Jordan

Wandering Through Winter
By Edwin Way Teale

Water Insects
By Sylvia A. Johnson

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