Topic: Endangered Species

Target group: ages 7-9

Library: Wantagh Public library

Annotated Bibliography

Book Source 1

Rockett, P. (2016). Ten thousand, eight hundred and twenty endangered species in the                               animal kingdom.
This book is a countdown of endangered species and their life cycles, habitats, migration and hibernation, evolution, and classification.  From smallest to largest animals find out other cool facts about legs on spiders and feathers on flamingos.

Book Source 2

Silhol, S., Guérive, G., & Doucedame, M. (2011). Extraordinary endangered animals. New                 York: Abrams Books for Young Readers.

This book contains large beautiful photographs and drawings of 35 endangered species from around the globe.  It discusses habitat, behavior, and the endangered status of each of the animals.  It also talks about the role of us humans in their endangerment and what actions we can take to stop it.

Book Source 3

Campbell, J., & Grano, A. (2016). Last of the giants: The rise and fall of Earth’s most                                   dominant species.

This book first starts talking about past extinct species, how they became extinct, and long it took for their species to be wiped out.  It then discusses current endangered species and their history, zoology, biology, sociology, and how they are linked to humans.  The last section of the book discusses “Call to Action” which talks about resources that you can read about conservation efforts and how you can save some of these animals before they are lost forever.

Book Source 4

Slade, S. (2010). What can we do about endangered animals?. New York: PowerKids Press.

This book looks at endangered species of animals and plants, the reasons they are threatened to become extinct, and what is being done to protect them for the future.

Book Source 5

Dunne, A. (2017). Endangered and threatened animals.

This book is an easy read and contains colorful photos which introduces the topic of endangered and threatened animals.  This is a good book to start with reading about endangered species because it focuses on animals that most people are familiar with and gives you fast facts about each of them and the dangers they face.

Article 1

Zackowitz, M. G. (2015). Species for Sale. National Geographic, 228(1), 30.

This article is about the 181 countries that have agreed to protect over 35,000 species in the world and continue their conservation.   Their job is to make sure everyone is following the law with not hurting the species and ensuring that live in their environment unharmed.

Article 2

Schardt, H. (2015).  7 wins for wildlife!.  Ranger Rick, 49(5), 22.

The article talks about information about different endangered species, including Humpback whale, American bison and Whooping crane, and how the U.S. government is trying to save them from extinction.

Article 3

GO ON SAFARI!. (2012). National Geographic Kids, (423), 14.

The article explores the seven continents and some of the endangered animals that live there. These include island fox in North America, brown spider monkey in South America, blue whale in Antarctica, African penguin in Africa, Iberian lynx in Europe, and giant panda in Asia. Also included are travel facts about each of the continents.

Video Source 1

Freeman, M., Galdikas, B. M. F., Sheldrick, D., Fellman, D., Lickley, D., Warner Home                           Video (Firm), Warner Bros. Pictures (1969- ), … IMAX Filmed Entertainment.                          (2012). Born to be wild. Burbank, CA: Warner Home Video.

This a documentary narrated by a popular Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman.  It is an inspiring story of love, dedication, and the remarkable bond between humans and animals. This film shows orangutans and elephants and the extraordinary people who rescue and raise them, saving endangered species one life at a time. It is a heartwarming adventure where you get to see the real life rainforests of Borneo in south east Asia.

Video Source 2

Fry, S., Cawardine, M., BFS Video (Firm), & British Broadcasting Corporation. (2010). Last                    chance to see: Animals on the verge of extinction. Ontario: BFS Video.

 A comedian and a zoologist travel from the Amazon’s steamy jungles to New Zealand’s icy mountain tops trying to find some of the most remarkable and endangered creatures of Earth.  This is a fun and educational experience where we get to take a peek into the fascinating world that we are in danger of losing.

References

“Extraordinary Endangered Animals.” Rev. of Extraordinary Endangered                                            Animals. Publishers Weekly 19 Sept. 2011: n. pag. Publishers Weekly. Publishers                  Weekly, 11 Jan. 2011. Web. 10 May 2017. <http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-               4197-0034-7>.

Goldstein, Gary. “Movie Review: Born to Be Wild.” Rev. of Born to Be Wild. Los Angeles                   Times 8 Apr. 2011: n. pag. LA Times. 8 Apr. 2011. Web. 11 May 2017.                                         <http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/08/entertainment/la-et-born-to-be-wild-                        20110408>.

“The Big Countdown: Ten Thousand Eight Hundred and Twenty Endangered Species.”                     Review. Blog post. Goodreads. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2017.                                                          <https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27153739-the-big-countdown&gt;.

Woods, Chelsea. “Last of the Giants: The Rise and Fall of Earth’s Most Dominant Species                   by Jeff Campbell | SLJ Review.” Rev. of Last of the Giants: The Rise and Fall of                       Earth’s Most Dominant Species. School Library Journal (2016): n. pag. SLJ. School                 Library Journal, Apr. 2016. Web. 10 May 2017.                                                                               <http://www.slj.com/2016/04/reviews/books/last-of-the-giants-the-rise-and-fall-of-                 earths-most-dominant-species-by-jeff-campbell-slj-review/#_>.

Xian, T. Y. (2013, August 24). DVD Review: Animals on the verge of extinction [Review of                 the movie Last chance to see: Animals on the verge of extinction]. C3A. Retrieved               May 10, 2017, from http://www.c3a.org.sg/MoviesBook_details.do?id=90

I thought overall my read aloud went well, considering it was first time I ever did one.  It was nice to be able to observe the different styles of my peers before I came up with my own style.  I was nervous at first; I admit it, despite being a high school science teacher for 10 years.  I think I am calmer in front of students than adults.  I wish I was aware of some basic skills before the fact, one being how to hold a book properly during a read aloud.  I was not aware there was a particular and suggested way to hold the book, but I guess this is something to note for the future.

I knew I wanted to choose a book with colors or numbers as I wanted to use props and have the class participate while I was reading the book.  Something that I was not aware of is to try and memorize some of the lines.  I find this to be a great idea as it would allow me to have more eye contact with the audience.  My overall goal however was to keep the audience engaged in the story and so I was not aware that I should stop at some pages and provide explanations, or ask questions to draw information from the audience.  Myself personally, I like to stick to the book and not get distracted by anything else.  When everyone else was going off on a tangent about the book, the characters, or the pictures, I forgot about what the book was actually about.  A read aloud I thought was reading a book to the class with a couple of questions here and there, but it sounded like I should have done a lesson with the book with the suggestions I got.  I even got a feedback that said I should offer “rewards or incentives” for the students getting the correct color for each page.  So I am not quite sure if I should have taught a lesson or stuck to the guidelines listed on the syllabus.  My ultimate goal was to stick to the guidelines.

Looking back on my initial report written, the one part I skipped was asking the class to make predictions about the last several pages.  I guess this would have gone over better with the class as it would have given me an opportunity to keep the students engaged and talk about the different aspects of the books.  Aside from that, I feel as though I stuck to my plan of using the color card props along with the story to allow for audience participation.

Watson, A. (2013). Countdown to destruction!: 4. London: Walker.

Gum Girl is a bubbly series about a regular school girl Grace who has an alter ego trying to save the world in her disguise as, you guessed it, Gum Girl, the ultimate heroin.  The reading is designed for students in grades 1-3 and is listed under the genre fiction/super hero.  Although its listed as fiction, there are literally references, scientific vocabulary, and historical references which can tie into different subjects that are taught in school at the elementary level.  In addition, each page is visually appealing with bright vibrant colors and easy to read school-like scenarios.  Gum girl uses gum to stop her enemies, tie up her enemies, and throw it on moving devices to track them like a GPS! Never a dull moment, always a good time when reading this series.  The following are a couple of pages showing the loud colors the illustrator and writer, Andi Watson, uses to keep his audience engaged.

The reason why I chose this comic is first because of the appealing colorful cover, and second because I’m all about “girl power”!  I love seeing females as superheroes because the majority of the classic super hero comics are all males.  Nowadays its important to make sure all groups are represented in books, not necessarily for political reasons, but more so for psychological ones.  Everyone should feel like they can be a superhero, or have super powers!  It’s one of those underlying values that makes you feel that you can do anything you set your mind to despite people doubting you.  The more representation of different genders and ethnicity, the more kids that will be inspired to do great and unimaginable things.

Some read-alikes:

Montijo, R. (2013). The gumazing gum girl!: Chews your destiny.

Fontana, S., Labat, Y. C., Kubina, M., & Chiang, J. (2016). Finals crisis.

Kirkus and goodreads are the most common websites used as tools to evaluate books and ebooks.  Most of the time however, they are reviews and recommendations written by professionals like teachers and librarians.  The real evaluation should come from the users themselves: the students, the patrons, and essentially the nonprofessionals.  I found this particular article to be rather interesting with the way they evaluate their media.  The new push apparently is using UGC (user generated content) to evaluate any sort of media, digital included.  According to the article “UGC as a social media initiative, often exists as comments and other utterances produced by users and can be harnessed to better understand the nuances, opinions and preferences of users.”  Using UGC can not only promote a popular well known book, but also those non mainstream books and materials that slip through the cracks or have an independent/self publisher.  Some libraries even allow for users to offer comments directly into their catalogs with the use of social catalogs like bibliocommons.

What i also found interesting about this article is the fact that a lot of independent companies have been partnering with libraries to circulate their materials at a low cost.  Magnatune is an independent music vendor that provides its catalog to libraries under a Creative Commons license.  Other e-book companies like smashwords offer independent authors and publishing companies at various prices.  The poisoned pen press offers an open invite to libraries to embed these small press titles into collections.  Dzanc books publisher as a partner of libraries does not place lending restrictions on the material and permits libraries to continue checking titles out to patrons forever

References