American
History Year One Curriculum
Books and Materials List for Topic 7
This page contains the books and materials (plus reviews) used in our American history curriculum topic 7. In this topic of our history curriculum you will learn about the Inuit, caribou and more.
Books and Materials for Topic 7
Little
Caribou (by Sarah Fox-Davies)
This is a very easy read with attractive,
gentle watercolor pictures. I chose it so that my son could get a better feel
for what caribou are all about. It's a "picture" book, but it does the
job just fine.
Topic 7
Tikta'liktak:
An Inuit-Eskimo Legend (by James A. Houston) This is a story about a young
man who has to survive in the Arctic alone after being carried out to sea on a
drifting ice floe. It pictures the Arctic as harsh but beautiful and introduces
children to the landscape, animals and ways of life of an Eskimo. I thought it
would be "boring" at first glance but found both myself and my son enjoying
this tale of bravery, self reliance and survival.
We have a study guide / book notes that go with this book.
Topic 7
Otter's rating: 3-4 stars
Tooga
The Story of a Polar Bear (by Shirley Woods) Shirley Woods, a naturalist,
has written a well researched story about a polar bear cub who becomes trapped
on an ice floe and eventually ends up wandering into a human settlement. Lots
of information about the ecology of the north is interwoven throughout the story.
Topic 7
Polar
Bear Arctic Odyssey
This is a documentary of a Norwegian adventurer
in search of the elusive polar bear. It features close-up encounters with polar
bears and other Arctic wildlife. "Included... is amazing footage of the first
time a wild polar bear has ever been hand-fed by man".
We thought the
footage of the polar bears was great fun. There is some behavior on the part of
the "adventurers" (feeding bears, etc.) that would probably appall most
naturalists but didn't bother us.
Topic 7
Otter's rating: 4 stars
Polar
Bear Math - Learning About Fractions From Klondike and Snow (by Ann Whitehead
Nagda & Cindy Bickel)
This
is a wonderful book not only about fractions, but also about two polar bear cubs
that were raised at the Denver zoo. The photographs are adorable and the fraction
concepts are introduced in clear, easy to understand illustrations and diagrams.
Fractions are tied directly into information about the cubs such as mixing up
polar bear milk, finding out how many times a month a keeper took the cubs home,
the bears' weight, etc. My son really enjoyed this title.
If you use this book you may want to download our fraction strips for a hands-on manipulative.
The following books are good books to check out from the library for your book basket. If you check any of them out, let your child choose the ones that interest him. Most of the following books are very light reading, but worth taking a look at to get a better feel knowledge-wise for the Arctic. I wouldn't purchase any of them unless one becomes a favorite after checking it out from the library.
We got kind of carried away with this portion of the study and really enjoyed ourselves!
Otter's rating: 5 stars
All
Aboard Science Reader - Amazing Arctic Animals (by Jackie Glassman)
This
book doesn't have especially beautiful illustrations nor is it a "great"
read, but it DOES cover quite a few arctic animals in simple to understand text.
Pipaluk
and the Whales (by John Himmelman)
Based roughly on a true story this easy
to read "picture" book tells about some Beluga whales trapped in a closing
ice hole. If they aren't freed they will drown. Pipaluk has an idea and she knows
it's the whales last chance. There is an author's note at the end about the "real
details" of the true story as well as a map showing where the incident took
place. We enjoyed the colorful pictures and the warm hearted story.
Otter's rating: 5 stars
Polar
Bear Patrol (Magic School Bus Chapter Book by Judith Stamper)
This is
no award winner, but reluctant readers may enjoy reading a Magic School Bus book
and learning about polar bears and other arctic animals.
Snow
Bear (by Jean Craighead George)
The story isn't much to speak of, but the
paintings are beautiful. This is a picture book and a very quick read. If there
is a younger sibling your child may enjoy reading it to him / her.
Otter's rating: 4 stars
The Inuit Ivory Carvers of the Far
North (by Rachel Koestler-Grack) This book has beautiful photographs
and paintings to help explain Inuit life. It's a very easy read with a
recipe idea, soap carving instructions and a simple game to construct. It's worth
seeing if your library has it.
The
Practically Perfect Pajamas (by Erik Brooks)
Percy the polar bear loves
his pajamas but starts to question wearing them when he isn't accepted by his
fellow bears. He decides to try and be like them and gives up his pajamas "forever"
to gain acceptance. Not only is he not truly accepted but he finds himself miserable
to boot. In the end Percey figures out that it doesn't matter what his peers think,
he just needs to be himself. He finds a friend who agrees and it's a happy ending
when the other bears decide to give pajamas a try too. It's a bit silly with an
agenda but my son loved it. It's a "picture" book so it's an easy and
quick read. This is another one the "youngers" may like too.
Otter's rating: 5 stars
What do we know about the Inuit? (Bryan
and Cherry Alexander)
This
is one of those books that combines illustrations and photographs together and
does a pretty good job of getting across how the Inuit lived in the past and how
they live today. We found out some interesting information like how their language
is written in syllabics (a set of shapes representing sounds) via an illustrated
chart. We liked the picture of inside an igloo too. It's probably not a book you'd
ever read again though.
Why
Don't Polar Bears Have Stripes (by Katherine Smith)
Very nicely photographed
this very simple book lets you get "up close" to polar bears and learn
a few facts along the way. This would be a good book for an easy report.
Otter's rating: 5 stars
Plus
previously mentioned on the page for Topic 1 books and materials:
North American Indians
Draw Write Now Book 3
The Indian Book
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