Finding Balance on the Blue Marble with Environmental Science Activities for Kids Kathleen M. Reilly
Illustrated by Tom Casteel
Contents
Timeline . . . iv
Introduction Welcome to Planet Earth . . . 1 Chapter 1 Our Spot in Space . . . 8 Chapter 2 Air All Around Us . . . 21 Chapter 3 Water, Water Everywhere . . . 31 Chapter 4 Our Star, the Sun . . . 41 Chapter 5 Life on Earth . . . 51 Chapter 6 Pollution . . . 61 Chapter 7 Global Warming . . . 71 Chapter 8 Ozone Depletion . . . 81 Chapter 9 Nature at Risk . . . 91 Chapter 10 Recycling . . . 101 Chapter 11 The Balance of the Environment . . . 121 Glossary | Metric Conversions Resources | Essential Questions | Index
Interested in Primary Sources? Look for this icon. Use a smartphone or tablet app to scan the QR code and explore more! Photos are also primary sources because a photograph takes a picture at the moment something happens. You can find a list of URLs on the Resources page. If the QR code doesn’t work, try searching the internet with the Keyword Prompts to find other helpful sources. planet earth
Introduction
WELCOME TO
PLANET EARTH
What’s the world like outside your window? A grassy backyard, full of trees? Maybe you have swaying palm trees or bending birches brushing gently against your window at night. Or maybe there aren’t any trees, but dry, desert air drifts in through your screen door. Maybe pigeons gather on your window ledge, far above the urban streets below. ESSENTIAL QUESTION What type of environment do you live in? Desert, tundra, forest, grassland?
Whatever you see out your window—that’s the environment. Everything natural that’s out there, living and nonliving, is what people are talking about when they say “the environment.” The grass, trees, birds, bugs, bears, falling rain, shining sun— even you! You’re part of the environment, too.
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PLANET EARTH WORDS TO KNOW urban: relating to a city or large town. environment: everything in nature—living or nonliving—including plants, animals, rocks, and water. industry: the large-scale production of goods, especially in factories. climate change: a change in long-term weather patterns, which happens through both natural and man-made processes.
The environment is the things you can see, such as critters, rocks, and water, plus all of the things you can’t see, including earthworms pushing through the ground under your feet and the air that’s touching your skin right now.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS Wherever you are on Planet Earth, you’ll find the environment. And such an enormous thing must stay pretty healthy, right? After all, what could have enough strength to hurt an entire planet?
A beautiful mountainous environment here on Earth.
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Welcome to Planet Earth
In fact, many people are very worried about the health of the planet. For decades, scientists have been studying the impact people and industry have on the environment and how our habits, behaviors, and inventions affect the natural world. It turns out that the planet is warming up. More than 97 percent of scientists around the world have found that climate change is real and at least partly caused by humans.
That means there’s a direct link between human activity and rising temperatures.
Take a look at an animated infographic that shows the progression of global temperatures for the last 116 years. temperature circle climate
Not everyone agrees with the scientists who are finding evidence of climate change. Some people believe that the warming is part of a natural cycle that humans have very little control over. Others don’t believe that climate change is a very big problem. Others are suspicious of things they don’t experience themselves. They think that if they live in a region that gets lots of snow, why should they believe that the overall temperature of the globe is rising? 3
PLANET EARTH WORDS TO KNOW
DI
However, if we focus on scientific studies that have tracked global conditions global warming: an increase in the earth’s for many decades, we see OU KNOW? average temperatures, Y that the planet is breaking enough to cause climate D temperature records nearly change. About 27,000 every year. trees are cut down every day to make Extreme weather events, such as toilet paper. massive floods, wildfires, and mudslides, can be caused by climate change. All of this points to the need to focus on ways humans can help the earth recover and thrive. In Planet Earth, we’ll take a look at everything that makes up the environment, from earth to air to water to animals. We’ll get our hands dirty, feel the wind in our faces, and meet lots of different creatures that live on land and in the ocean. A mudslide in Southern California credit: Air National Guard photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Cristian Meyers
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Welcome to Planet Earth After we have a good idea about what the global environment is, we’ll explore the issue of climate change and take a look at how global warming is affecting life on earth. We’ll also explore things we can do to help the planet stay healthy! Let’s get started!
Good Science Practices Every good scientist keeps a science journal! Scientists use the scientific method to keep their experiments organized. Choose a notebook to use as your science journal. As you read through this book and do the activities, keep track of your observations and record each step in a scientific method worksheet, like the one shown here. Question: What are we trying to find out? What problem are we trying to solve? Research: What is already known about the problem? Hypothesis/Prediction: What do we think the answer will be? Equipment: What supplies are we using? Method: What procedure are we following? Results: What happened? Why?
Each chapter of this book begins with an essential question to help guide your exploration of planet earth and the environment. Keep the question in your mind as you read the chapter. At the end of each chapter, ESSENTIAL QUESTION use your science journal to record your thoughts and answers. What type of environment do you live in? Desert, tundra, forest, grassland?
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Activity
MAKE YOUR OWN BACKYARD POND Even if you have only a very small backyard, you can still create a pond to enjoy—just dig a smaller hole. If you have only patio or deck space, you can create an above-ground pond by using a watertight container. Create a pond and then see what kinds of creatures come to live in the new habitat ! Find a good location for your pond. Consider whether your plants need full ›or ›partial sunlight, or if overhanging trees will drop too many leaves into the pond during the autumn.
About the Projects As you read this book and do the projects, be aware of the materials you use. For instance, you’ll see many of the activities call for plastic, two-liter bottles. If you already get your drinks in this kind of bottle, a science or art project is a great way to recycle the container. You can also ask a neighbor or friend to save you one of their bottles. That way, you’re not making a purchase you don’t need, and materials aren’t being used to make an extra bottle that you wouldn’t have purchased otherwise. Same with other materials used for activities—be creative! Some of the projects involve living creatures or plants. Handle everything with great care, and return them unharmed to the place where you found them so they can continue to be part of the environment. And be sure to stay safe when you’re working near a body of water or using a knife or tool.
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Activity the space out for your pond. If you ›want›Digcritters living in your pond, such as frogs or turtles, you may want to dig it out so there are two levels—a shallow rim around your pond, perhaps a foot or so deep, and a deeper level in the middle that is a couple of feet deep so your aquatic life will have a place to swim down to in order to escape predators. Be sure you’re not digging an area that’s larger than your plastic sheet. a plastic sheet—an old shower curtain ›works ›Spread well—over the area you’ve dug, making sure it spreads all the way up the sides. Try to bring the sheet over the edges of your pond. For now don’t worry how it looks. You will cover it up with rocks and soil, then add plants later.
WORDS TO KNOW habitat: a plant or animal’s home, which supplies it with food, water, and shelter. predator: an animal or plant that kills and eats another animal. amphibian: an animal with moist skin that is born in water but lives on land. An amphibian changes its body temperature by moving to warmer or cooler places. Frogs, toads, newts, efts, and salamanders are amphibians. mammal: a type of animal, such as a human, dog, or cat. Mammals are born live, feed milk to their young, and usually have hair or fur covering most of their skin.
sand, rocks, or other bottom cover over your plastic sheet. This will ›weigh ›Pourit down and prevent the sheet from floating up. Cover up the plastic sheet around the edges of your pond with large rocks or soil and grass seed. pond. If you’re using water from the hose, wait at least a week for the ›chemicals ›Fill yourto filter out of the water before adding any plants or critters. the plants to your pond, setting some pots along the shallow ›edges ›Introduce and others, such as water lilies, deeper. Talk to your local plant nursery to learn about what kinds of plants are best for your area. Add water to your pond periodically to keep it full.
Think About It! What sort of wildlife comes to live in your pond? Do you have amphibians? Insects? Small mammals? What kinds of things grow in your pond? If you live in an area with changing seasons, what happens to your pond when it’s colder or warmer? Keep track of your observations in your science journal.
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Juvenile Nonfiction • Education Resource focus on science
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. Planet Earth includes hands-on STEM activities, fun facts, and links to online primary sources and other supplemental material. 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 the organisms that live on it through hands-on STEM activities and real-life environmental connections. Try these hands-on biology projects! • Build your own worm castle • Conduct your own food supply experiment • Make your own Tullgren funnel
OTHER TITLES IN THIS SET
books from Nomad Press include the following educational components:
Timeline of important events Hands-on, science-minded activities Links to online media Essential questions Primary sources, including maps, photographs, and letters Extensive back matter, including glossary, index, and resources Guided Reading Levels and Lexile measurements
PUB DATE: March 2019 PB: 9781619307438, $17.95 HC: 9781619307407, $22.95 4 Book Hardcover Set: 9781619308190, $89.95 eBook: all formats available, $12.99 Specs: 8 x 10, 128 pages, color interior with illustrations and photography Ages: 9–12 Grade Level: 4–7
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