David Macaulay s (1988) The Way Things

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1 CHILDREN S BOOKS A Way of Understanding the World of Science Informational Books Alice Lee David Macaulay s (1988) The Way Things Work signaled a major change in science books for youth. From his writing style to the format of the book, Macaulay hooks readers of all ages from the first page, making complex scientific concepts simple and interesting. The visuals in this book also diverged from traditional science informational books by transforming diagrams and charts into creative, engaging artwork. The CD-ROM version is digitally formatted and provides interactive information on inventions its inventor, history, and resourceful websites. The updated CD-ROM version even includes Macaulay as a host to explain various scientific principles. The Way Things Work has impacted how things work in the world of science informational books. Macaulay continues to write and illustrate equally mesmerizing books. His latest, The Way We Work (2008), explains human anatomy with easy-tounderstand language and vivid illustrations. From the smallest part of our body to larger organs, Macaulay elaborates on how and why bodily structures function the way they do. One chapter, titled Let s Eat, discusses how food is processed but also includes what happens to food once digested, as well as why food tastes good to us. More than just informing students about the chemical reactions that occur during these processes, teachers can activate schema by asking students to think about their favorite foods and how good they taste. As students learn how food breaks down into amino acids and enzymes, they will be able to construct this new knowledge in the context of the food they love. By activating their love for food, students not only gain knowledge about those foods but also about the importance of those foods to the body. This newly gained information can springboard cross-curricular questions such as, Does everyone have the luxury of having favorite foods? or How would the lack of food affect a person? Thus begins the journey for students to deeply comprehend how we work and why it is important. Time is always a pressing factor for teachers. It occasionally may feel impossible to balance curricular and learning needs for each student. However, as science informational books increasingly cater and appeal to a wide range of children, these books can serve a dual function in building comprehension skills. Informational books can help children develop 424 The Reading Teacher, 63(5), pp DOI: /RT International Reading Association ISSN: print / online

2 an interest in science, as well as to help them read better. Students are privy to the strategies going on in their own heads and only make them known through observable behaviors. Teachers, however, have the power to promote comprehension through an environment rich in literate discourse. Teachers can model the internal strategies they use to make sense of text, allowing that guiding inner voice to be heard by others. As teachers tap into that voice and become metacognitive, they engage in self-reflection. While self-reflection is not a skill that can be force-fed to students, this crucial skill plays out in various strategies. Keene and Zimmermann (2007) suggested seven major metacognitive strategies: monitoring for meaning, using and creating schema, asking questions, determining importance, inferring, using sensory and emotional images, and synthesizing. Consider using content-specific text to teach reading strategies. In this review, I have selected science texts that can serve as touchstone pieces. The strategies these fiction and nonfiction books can be used for include using and creating schema, asking questions, and determining importance. Using and Creating Schema When thinking about deep comprehension, Dorn and Soffos (2005) made a distinction between generic and text knowledge: Generic knowledge refers to the reader s background knowledge, perceptions and beliefs about the world, and forms a context in which he or she will understand the author s message; text knowledge refers to knowing the text s content, vocabulary, structure, and message. Oftentimes, as teachers, we mistakenly provide background information about a specific topic, thinking we have activated our students schema. Students may walk away with greater knowledge about a specific topic but have not reconstructed it in their own worlds. In Living Sunlight (Bang & Chisholm, 2009), the sun is the narrator, and it shares about its importance to all living things on Earth. The book focuses on the process of photosynthesis but also gives a broad overview of the sun s relations with animals and people. Teachers may be tempted to activate schema by linking this book with a science lesson on plants, photosynthesis, or the sun. Although that connection may be a great cross-curricular link, additional content-specific information does not activate students schema. Instead, ask students to ponder the sun s effects in their lives perhaps in its abundance or absence, how it might change their daily plans, or how it makes them feel. As students access the importance of the sun in their personal lives, they are more apt to make deeper connections as they read. Other science texts that could be used as touchstone pieces for activating schema are Mars and the Search for Life (Scott, 2008), Science Warriors: The Battle Against Invasive Species (Collard, 2008), The Mysterious Universe: Supernovae, Dark Energy, and Black Holes (E. Jackson, 2008), and Melting Glaciers and the Recovery of the Past (Deem, 2008). Asking Questions Keene and Zimmermann (2007) pointed out that questioning plays a fundamental role in our everyday lives. From clarifying to analyzing, asking questions can even be used as a tool to deepen relationships (Keene & Zimmermann). If this skill can better acquaint us with people, why not with books? Harvey and Goudvis (2007) devoted a chapter in Strategies That Work to various questioning strategies. A Way of Understanding the World of Science Informational Books 425

3 One strategy helps students record what they learned and still wonder in a two-column chart. Ask Dr. K. Fisher about Reptiles (Llewellyn, 2008) lends itself well to such an I Learned/I Wonder chart. In the format of letters to and from Dr. K. Fisher, different reptiles request diagnoses for problems they encounter. Each diagnosis explains traits unique to certain reptiles, as well as traits of the group as a whole. Other books that cover a plethora of information include Zany Miscellany: A Mixed-Up Encyclopedia of Fun Facts! (T. Jackson, 2008), 100 Most Dangerous Things on the Planet (Claybourne, 2008), and How Many Ways Can You Catch a Fly? (Jenkins & Page, 2008). Each of these books is formatted to engage learning and invite further wonder. Another questioning strategy Harvey and Goudvis (2007) offered requires students to narrow their focus to one question throughout a text. Nonfiction texts are often dense in information, so setting a question at the beginning helps students filter through details. Adventures of Riley: South Pole Penguins (Lumry & Hurwitz, 2008b) is a hybrid text that combines information about Antarctic penguins in narrative form. The illustrations are in multiple media collage, photographs, diagrams all combined to convey information through art. To help focus students attention, the question How does climate change affect Antarctic penguins? can be posed prior to reading. Even though they will enjoy the various text features, they will have one guiding focus. Other intriguing adventures Riley embarks on include Tigers in Terai (Lumry & Hurwitz, 2009b), Dolphins in Danger (Lumry & Hurwitz, 2009a), and Polar Bear Puzzle (Lumry & Hurwitz, 2008a). Determining Importance For most of students academic lives and throughout adulthood, garnering key ideas is imperative. For adults, distinguishing between the essentials and nonessentials can be easier to execute than teach (Keene & Zimmermann, 2007). However, pairing appropriate texts with effective strategies can make a hard-to-explain process explicit. Harvey and Goudvis (2007) suggested various text features that alert students with importance. Noticing different fonts, signal phrases, illustrations, graphics, and structure all lead a reader to the passage s significance. Butterflies and Moths (Bishop, 2009) contains brilliant photographs and uses font effects to emphasize the main idea of each passage. The enlarged, labeled photographs of the butterflies and moths will fascinate students. Another excellent book to model various text features is Crocodile Safari (Arnosky, 2009), which contrasts crocodiles and alligators. How Weird Is It? A Freaky Book All About Strangeness (Hillman, 2009) and How Fast Is It? A Zippy Book All About Speed (Hillman, 2008) are both books that center around one idea. For How Fast Is It?, each section cleverly highlights something that 426 The Reading Teacher Vol. 63, No. 5 February 2010

4 References Dorn, L.J., & Soffos, C. (2005). Teaching for deep comprehension: A reading workshop approach. Portland, ME: Stenhouse. Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension for understanding and engagement (2nd ed.). Portland, ME: Stenhouse. Keene, E.O., & Zimmermann, S. (2007). Mosaic of thought: The power of comprehension strategy instruction (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. either has an abundance or complete lack of speed. Each passage also contains a graphically altered photograph that gives readers a sense of the object s speed. While reading each section, teachers can help students focus on the object s relative speed. In addition to using these books to determine importance, they could be used to teach theme, as well as how to compare and contrast objects. The science informational texts mentioned in this review are by no means an exhaustive list of resources. Additional sources can be found through the National Council of Teachers of English Orbis Pictus Awards, the International Reading Association Children s and Young Adult s Book Awards and the Association s Teachers Choices and Children s Choices book lists, the National Science Teachers Association Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students, and The Horn Book Guide. For digital, interactive activities online, visit the NASA website ( which offers free, downloadable programs that allow students to engage in multiple formats of science information. Literature Cited Arnosky, J. (2009). Crocodile safari. New York: Scholastic. Bang, M., & Chisholm, P. (2009). Living sunlight: How plants bring the earth to life. New York: Scholastic. Bishop, N. (2009). Butterflies and moths. New York: Scholastic. Claybourne, A. (2008). 100 most dangerous things on the planet: What to do if it happens to you. New York: Scholastic. Collard, S.B., III. (2008). Science warriors: The battle against invasive species. New York: Houghton Mifflin. Deem, J.M. (2008). Bodies from the ice: Melting glaciers and the recovery of the past. New York: Houghton Mifflin. Hillman, B. (2008). How fast is it? A zippy book all about speed. New York: Scholastic. Hillman, B. (2009). How weird is it? A freaky book all about strangeness. New York: Scholastic. Jackson, E. (2008). The mysterious universe: Supernovae, dark energy, and black holes. New York: Houghton Mifflin. Jackson, T. (2008). Zany miscellany: A mixed-up encyclopedia of fun facts! New York: Scholastic. Jenkins, S., & Page, R. (2008). How many ways can you catch a fly? New York: Houghton Mifflin. Llewellyn, C. (2008). Ask Dr. K. Fisher about reptiles. New York: Kingfisher. Lumry, A., & Hurwitz, L. (2008a). Adventures of Riley: Polar bear puzzle. Bellevue, WA: Scholastic. Lumry, A., & Hurwitz, L. (2008b). Adventures of Riley: South Pole penguins. Bellevue, WA: Scholastic. A Way of Understanding the World of Science Informational Books 427

5 Lumry, A., & Hurwitz, L. (2009a). Adventures of Riley: Dolphins in danger. Bellevue, WA: Scholastic. Lumry, A., & Hurwitz, L. (2009b). Adventures of Riley: Tigers in Terai. Bellevue, WA: Scholastic. Macaulay, D. (1988). The way things work. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. Macaulay, D. (2008). The way we work: Getting to know the amazing human body. New York: Houghton Mifflin. Scott, E. (2008). Mars and the search for life. New York: Houghton Mifflin. Lee is a doctoral student at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA. She teaches in the Champaign Unit 4 School District; mrs.alicelee@ gmail.com. The department editors welcome reader comments. Materials for review can be sent to Violet J. Harris, Curriculum and Instruction, University of Illinois, 1310 South Sixth Street, Champaign, IL 61821, USA; vjharris@uiuc.edu. They may also be sent to Michael Strickland, 416 5th Street South, Nampa, ID 83651, USA; strick@michaelrstrickland.com. 428 The Reading Teacher Vol. 63, No. 5 February 2010