by Laura Perdew
Look around you—biodiversity is everywhere!
From the tallest tree to the smallest microbe, Earth is home to more than 1.5 million known species of plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and microorganisms. And scientists estimate there could be millions, if not billions, more that have not yet been identified.
Biodiversity: Explore the Diversity of Life on Earth with Science Activities for Kids introduces middle schoolers to the evolution of life on Earth, beginning with the first single-celled organisms that emerged 3.8 billion years ago to the complex, multi-celled organisms that exist today and make up the tree of life. Biodiversity is found everywhere on the planet—on land, in the water, and even in extreme environments such as ice and volcanoes. Biodiversity can also be discovered by looking through a microscope at tiny worlds of organisms that can't be seen with the human eye. There are whole microbiomes beneath our feet, in puddles, and even in our belly buttons!
All of this biodiversity on Earth helps keep the planet in balance. Biodiversity is also important to humans because it provides food, shelter, clothing, medicines, and more. However, the rates of biodiversity loss are increasing because of human activities. Climate change, pollution, habitat destruction, over-exploitation—these are all critical threats to biodiversity. There are, however, ways to slow or stop this loss through conservation and sustainable development.
Biodiversity includes hands-on STEM activities and critical thinking exercises to encourage readers to consider the threat to biodiversity and figure out ways to be part of the solution. Fun facts, links to online primary sources and other supplemental material, and essential questions take readers on an exploration of the incredible biodiversity on Earth.
Biodiversity is part of a set of four Build It Environmental Science books that explore the history and science of the planet and all that live on it through hands-on STEM activities and real-life environmental connections. Other titles in this series are Planet Earth, Garbage, and Biomes.
Nomad Press books integrate content with participation. Common Core State Standards, the Next Generation Science Standards, and STEM Education all place project-based learning as key building blocks in education. Combining content with inquiry-based projects stimulates learning and makes it active and alive. Nomad's unique approach simultaneously grounds kids in factual knowledge while allowing them the space to be curious, creative, and critical thinkers.
Look around you—biodiversity is everywhere!
From the tallest tree to the smallest microbe, Earth is home to more than 1.5 million known species of plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and microorganisms. And scientists estimate there could be millions, if not billions, more that have not yet been identified.
Biodiversity: Explore the Diversity of Life on Earth with Science Activities for Kids introduces middle schoolers to the evolution of life on Earth, beginning with the first single-celled organisms that emerged 3.8 billion years ago to the complex, multi-celled organisms that exist today and make up the tree of life. Biodiversity is found everywhere on the planet—on land, in the water, and even in extreme environments such as ice and volcanoes. Biodiversity can also be discovered by looking through a microscope at tiny worlds of organisms that can't be seen with the human eye. There are whole microbiomes beneath our feet, in puddles, and even in our belly buttons!
All of this biodiversity on Earth helps keep the planet in balance. Biodiversity is also important to humans because it provides food, shelter, clothing, medicines, and more. However, the rates of biodiversity loss are increasing because of human activities. Climate change, pollution, habitat destruction, over-exploitation—these are all critical threats to biodiversity. There are, however, ways to slow or stop this loss through conservation and sustainable development.
Biodiversity includes hands-on STEM activities and critical thinking exercises to encourage readers to consider the threat to biodiversity and figure out ways to be part of the solution. Fun facts, links to online primary sources and other supplemental material, and essential questions take readers on an exploration of the incredible biodiversity on Earth.
Biodiversity is part of a set of four Build It Environmental Science books that explore the history and science of the planet and all that live on it through hands-on STEM activities and real-life environmental connections. Other titles in this series are Planet Earth, Garbage, and Biomes.
Nomad Press books integrate content with participation. Common Core State Standards, the Next Generation Science Standards, and STEM Education all place project-based learning as key building blocks in education. Combining content with inquiry-based projects stimulates learning and makes it active and alive. Nomad's unique approach simultaneously grounds kids in factual knowledge while allowing them the space to be curious, creative, and critical thinkers.
Reviews-
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Starred review from April 1, 2019
Grades 4-8 *Starred Review* Nomad applies its dependable activity-book format to the new Build It Environmental Science series (4 titles). Here biodiversity is placed under the microscope?sometimes literally?in a text that makes daunting concepts, such as evolution, levels of biodiversity (genetic, species, or ecosystem), and why biodiversity matters, easy to understand without sacrificing scientific precision. The book is divided into six chapters, and readers will explore different aspects of the topic through accessible writing, photo illustrations and diagrams, sidebar vocabulary definitions, and primary-source videos linked by QR code. An Essential Question is also posed at the beginning and end of each chapter to aid reading comprehension and critical thinking; additionally, four to five thoughtfully designed activities utilizing scientific methods conclude every chapter and, in some cases, offer learners an arts-based activity. Activities include making your own microscope, collecting soil samples, and dissecting a candy bar, to name a few. By book's end, readers will truly understand what biodiversity is, its importance to the health of the planet, and humans' impact on the complex natural systems where it thrives.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)
