The Living World
Rachel Rohloff
New Shoots Publishing
Supplied by Fantail Communications
Reviewed by Jan Butterworth
“It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement, the greatest source of visual beauty, the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.” David Attenborough
This is a fantastic resource book for teachers and parents eager to teach children about science and nature with hands-on learning and play.
“Knowledge gained through experience is far superior and many times more useful than bookish knowledge.” Mahatma Ghandi
The introduction explains how this resource develops science skills and how it uses hands-on fun and play to make sense of the Living World. All activities in this book involve at least one of the 22 pattern/urges of play and details what they are. Children learn from experience and the eleven scientific skills they will gain are listed – Observation, Communication, Classification, Measurement, Inference, Predictions, Making Hypotheses, Recording, Experimenting, Analysing, Evaluating – and defined.
The book is divided into four chapters;
- What is the Living World
- Plants
- Animals
- People
There is a list of activities at the beginning of each, along with equipment and supplies needed, learning outcomes, a list of scientific vocabulary and skills gained from the experiments, ideas for further activities, and teaching tips.
The photos are stunning and the book is well laid out, with information and instructions easy to find and understand. You can also download worksheets for the activities in the book from www.newshootspublishing.co.nz.
The book itself is printed on environmentally responsible paper and it’s awesome that a book about nature is sustainable. I love all the quotes scattered throughout the text. “To reconnect with nature is key if we want to save the planet” Jane Goodall.
This book needs to be in every educator or homeschooling parent’s resource kit.
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