Reading connections 3-7 books with each activity Literature piece as introduction Read alouds Stories and case studies Improved discussion questions Additional reading opportunities with Earth & Sky Educators are given additional techniques for effectively expanding upon the reading with students. Read aloud #22 Case studies and stories #8, 44, 56, 71, 80, 87, etc. Florida PLT 2008

Read alouds Goodnight, Owl! - an engager for Part A of #22, Trees as Habitats Discussion questions for after reading the story: Name the animals that visited the hollow tree. What sounds did the animals make? How did the animals use the tree? -Trees as habitats- Discuss who may use the tree as a home, go outside and examine a tree for food/habitat. Write and draw pictures. Present their information as a booklet, poster, etc. Now: Discuss trees as habitats, read a story “Goodnight, Owl!” -Discuss animals in the story, sounds they made, how they used the tree -Show them examples of nuts and leaves -Create a telescope and then go examine trees closely -Then they further study the tree to see how animals and plants depend on their tree- more detailed. Florida PLT 2008

Stories and case studies #44 Water Wonders “Adventures of a Water Molecule” by Jon Kohl I don’t know what I did wrong, but it must have been a doozey. Of all the molecules that I could have become, I ended up as water. Instead of the stability of quartz or the short-and-sweet existence of ethyl alcohol, I cycled round and round traveling endlessly from the bottom of the ocean to the stratosphere and back again. I rained down, evaporated up, flew sideways from the mouth of a mammoth to the squirt of a squid. Trade winds carried me across oceans and continents. The never-ending sojourns spun my mind, whipping it frothy with weariness, never permitting a moment to stop and contemplate the places I have been. Some lucky water molecules bounce lightly on the ocean or float calmly in the air, but not me  never a restful decade…..(complete story found at www.plt.org) Example of a story. Florida PLT 2008

Recommended books Title Author Annotation ISBN Grade level diversity Found at library or bookstore Florida PLT 2008

Reading with Earth & Sky Science radio program Connections to PLT activities Engager for activity Listen to the program Students read script for homework or during listening session Earth & Sky is a successful short format science radio program heard by millions of listeners throughout the U.S. and a broad that highlights the wonders of science and nature through daily radio shows. Students can take home radio script to read and then write discussion questions for class the next day as homework. May want to do an activity here. Suggested: #84. Use radio show as an engager and then explain activity. PLT Schools’ Conference 2007

Your turn! Discover a PLT activity & reading connection How might you use the activity and book with your audience? Facilitator: Bring literature books with you. Give one book to a group of 2-4 educators along with a PLT Activity (can be a Xeroxed copy or hand them a guide with an activity marked). Goal: The group is to review the assigned activity and the book. Determine if the book can be sued with this activity. Each group will provide an explanation as how they would use the book with this activity or why they would not. Note: provide some activities that go great with the book and some that don’t. This exercise shows educators that they can select books to go with their activities. Florida PLT 2008

Possibilities for books An engager for the activity Follow-up to reinforce concept or vocabulary A read-aloud Peer reading Homework assignment Others Engager for the activity– read prior to start of the activity Others: ask your audience for their ideas Florida PLT 2008

Questions? Florida PLT 2008