Chasing Cheetahs: The Race to Save Africa's Fastest Cats

Montgomery, Sy. Photographs by Nic Bishop. Chasing Cheetahs: The Race to Save Africa's Fastest Cats. Houghton, 2014. 80pp. Lexile 1000.

Another outstanding entry in the Scientists in the Field series, this introduces Laurie Marker, an American scientist who has opened a clinic in Namibia to help save cheetahs.  The excellent team of writer Sy Montgomery and photographer Nic Bishop spends time at the clinic and out in the field with the scientists.  They participate in an annual physical checkup of a cheetah, including a dental check that shows the cheetah will need a root canal next year.  They accompany other volunteers into the savanna to take a census of the animals.  The text and photographs present facts about this remarkable animal and the efforts to keep it from extinction. The book brims over with helpful material including a map, resources list, index, and even "advice for saving world" from Marker.

Reading Std #5: Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and/or larger portions of the text relate to each other and the whole. Like other books in the series, this photo-essay weaves together the story of a specific scientist and how she came to do this work; a sampling of her everyday activities as a scientist; a strong sense of setting; and lots of information about the book's focus, in this case, the cheetahs.  Have students examine the structure that Montgomery uses to integrate these topics, and how the photographs contribute to the balance.  Students can create a quick outline to illustrate their analysis.

Science Warriors: The Battle against Invasive Species

Collard, Sneed B. Science Warriors: The Battle against Invasive Species. Houghton, 2008. 48pp. Lexile: 1110.

It's a rare science book that brings to mind Indiana Jones, but this important book in the Scientists in the Field series does just that.  Just check out the photograph of red imported fire ants swarming.  Non-native plants and animals like these ants are wreaking havoc on parts of our country.  This fine photo-essay focuses on three main examples but mentions others as well.  It looks at the history of the problem, finding that typically the species was introduced with good intentions that backfired.  Collard examines the costs to agriculture and the efforts to solve the increasingly serious problem.  The book offers the series' usual helpful back matter including glossary, websites, index, and "local steps to take" in helping in the fight.

Writing Std. #7: Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.  Since this book is now eight years old, students could supplement it with more up-to-date information and find out what progress has been made on the three species. They could also each research a species that Collar didn't highlight--there are 6,200 invasive species in the U.S.  The websites in the book under "More Invasive Information" are a good starting point.  The U.S. Department of Agriculturel also has a great resource page for K-12 at http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/resources/educk12.shtml.

Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion

Burns, Loree Griffin. Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion. 2007. 58pp. Lexile 1200

No one expects a scientist's research project to come about because a mother sends a newspaper clipping to her son.  Yet that’s what happened to oceanographer Curt Ebbesmeyer in 1990.  The newspaper article described hundreds of Nike sneakers washing up on Pacific shores.  Two years later, thousands of rubber duckies did the same.  The items had spilled out of shipping containers that went overboard from ships during bad weather.  Ebbesmeyer realized that the spilled items offered a unique way to study ocean currents.  He enlisted volunteers to collect the items along the U.S. and Canadian Pacific shore, recording the place and date.  Ebbesmeyer’s study expanded beyond ocean currents to issues of trash clogging the Pacific.  This excellent entry in the Scientists in the Field series shows readers the work of an ocean scientist while also imparting information about ocean currents and environmental problems. Color photographs, maps, and useful diagrams supplement the text, which is followed by a glossary, notes, and lists of further reading and websites.  Booktalk this with sneakers and rubber duckies to draw in readers.

Reading Std #1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and implicitly, citing specific textual evidence to support conclusions drawn from it.  Burns contends that the problem of trash in the oceans is larger than generally recognized, which she presents through the work of a scientist.  Have students summarize content and cite explicit and implied evidence for that thread in the book.  This would be an excellent jumping-off point for more research, including an update on the topic since the book was published in 2007.