2008
Grade Level 5-8
First Light is a science fiction novel written by Rebecca Stead. The story is about a boy named Peter that goes on an expedition to Greenland where his father studies global warming. Thea, who lives under the arctic ice, lives in a society created generations ago by a group of people fleeing persecution in Europe. The stories of these two characters are told in parallel story lines until the two narratives converge in a surprising twist to the story.
Science Discovery Questions
Written the author and Susan Buhr, Ph.D., Director of Education and Outreach Program, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences
1. Peter's father is a scientist who studies global warming. Why is he so interested in Greenland?
2. What is causing the ice to melt?
3. How does the ice move in Greenland? Isn't it all stuck together like a big ice cube?
4. The people of Gracehope live deep within the ice next to a lake. Are there really lakes under the Greenland Ice?
5. What do scientists think cause climate change?
To learn more about global warming click on: http://www.koshland-science-museum.org/
For more information about changes in Greenland follow the link:
Small Group Presentation:
Divide students into small groups. have students design posters that answer the following questions. Have teams present their posters in front of the class.
- What is global warming?
- What is causing global warming?
- How does global warming affect you?
- What can engineers do to prevent or slow down global warming?
Resources for Scientific Research:
National Geographic Video About Global Warming
References
Steed, R. (2008). First Light. New York, NY: Random House
Hi Lara! This was probably my favorite post of yours. I love that this book combines entertaining and suspenseful literature with important issues that are going on in our world. It's important that our children are informed about the earth. Another cool idea for a small group presentation would be for the children to make a model, demonstrating what global warming is. There is one thing to be told, but we all know children are overall visual learners. They could create the model that exemplifies the effect that global warming has on the icy parts of our earth.
ReplyDeleteAnother fun idea for the children is to have them pretend that they have been assigned the task of prevention. Have them come up with 2 or 3 ideas that will help us prevent global warming, and present them to the class.
Awesome post! :)