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Arnold, E.K. (2017). A boy called bat. Walden Pond Press.

Annotation- This novel is about a 3rd grade boy with autism.  His nickname is Bat.  His mom is a veterinarian and she inherits a baby skunk.  Bat desperately wants to raise the baby skunk.

Genre- Realistic Fiction

STEM Concepts-3-LS4-3.   Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.

Engineering connections, analysis of habitats and enclosures, types of restraints or leashes. You can also tie in the needs of raising a typically wild animal.

Challenging Aspect-If this is the first time a student is introduced to a child with autism, some discussion might be necessary. There is also the way Bat is perceived by peers and his family.

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Amstutz,L.J. (2015). Investigating animal life cycles. Searchlight Books.

Annotation- This is a nonfiction book with 4 chapters.  They hit the definition of a life cycle, birth, stages of growth, and adulthood of a variety of animals.  It also contains a glossary, index and a list of websites for further investigations.

Genre- Browsable Nonfiction

STEM concepts-

3-LS3-1.   Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exists in a group of similar organisms.

3-LS3-2   Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.

3-LS4-2   Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.

The book also helps the reader make text to self connections, read a glossary and index and identify a variety of graphic features.

Challenging Aspect- The length of the text could be a potential issue depending on the reading level of your students.  If students have access to Epic! they can listen to the book.

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Waring, J. (2007). Oscar and the frog. Candlewick Press

Annotation- This is a book about a cat named Oscar and a little frog.  The frog teaches Oscar about how living things grow.  Some grow from eggs, experience a metamorphosis and some are born like small versions of their parents.  Oscar and the Frog is a series.  He is a very curious kitten.

Genre- Narrative Nonfiction

STEM Concepts-

3-LS1-1   Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.

3-LS3-1.   Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exists in a group of similar organisms.

Oscar and the Frog covers living things, sequencing, and questioning.

Challenging Aspect-There is some vocabulary that would need to be explained and explored.  There are video versions of the book that might help or as you read aloud you stop and discuss the terms.

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Pallotta,J. and Masiello, R. (1992). The icky bug counting book. The Trumpet Club.

Annotation-This is a really fun book that has a different bug, insect, arachnid or other creature on each page.  They are counted up to 26 with a bonus butterfly on the last page.  The author and illustrator showcase the bugs with interesting facts and beautiful pictures.

Genre- Expository text

STEM concepts- math, sequencing, planning, designing
Students could create a class book with their own bugs.

Challenging Aspect- Some students might struggle with designing and creating a new bug book. The book uses more than simple insects and through discussion and research students could learn the differences between the bugs.

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Brenner, B. and Chardiet, B. and Schwartz, C. (1993). Where's that reptile?. Scholastic Inc.

Annotation- This book helps readers appreciate the adaptations and physical traits reptiles use to hide or survive.  It helps students understand how these creatures camouflage and interesting fun facts.

Genre- Browsable Nonfiction

STEM Concepts-
3-LS3-2   Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.

3-LS4-2   Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.

3-LS2-1   Construct an argument that some animals form groups that help members survive.

Challenging Aspect- This book has many creatures that students may have seen but don't know much about. For 2nd-3rd graders is should be a read aloud to provide opportunities for explanations. Several geographical locations are mentioned and they could be looked up on the world map.

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Bauer, J. (2007). Sunflower life cycle. Scholastic Inc.

Annotation- This book has 4 chapters covering the plant life cycle, needs, a glossary and comprehension questions.  It includes many text and graphic features appropriate for 2nd and 3rd graders.

Genre- Browsable nonfiction

STEM concepts- Sequencing, Plant life cycles, ideal growing conditions
3-LS3-1.   Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exists in a group of similar organisms.

Challenging Aspect-If a student has never seen a full grown sunflower they may not grasp how large they can grow. Show videos and bring in a live sunflower. You could also bring in sunflower seeds .

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Freshwater and Marine Biomes: Knowing the Difference by Baby Professor

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Freshwater and Marine Biomes: Knowing the Difference by Baby Professor

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Baby Professor, an imprint of Speedy Publishing, LLC. (2017). Freshwater and marine biomes: Knowing the difference.

Annotation: This book discusses the difference between two bodies of water that are homes to different kinds of life forms. Readers will learn about how the various types of plants and animals that live in a freshwater biome are different from those living in a marine biome.

Genre/Type: Traditional Nonfiction

STEM Concepts:

3-LS4-3. Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.

This book covers how different aquatic animals survive in two different aquatic habitats.

Creativity: Design a project where students come up with a creative way to demonstrate which plants and animals can survive in one of the two water biomes.

3-LS4-4. Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may change.

Pose the question: How could we help animals if either of these water biomes became contaminated and uninhabitable? Then allow students to work collaboratively in order to come up with possible solutions to answer the question.

Challenging Aspect: Some challenging vocabulary words are used throughout the book. The book does a good job of explaining what the meaning of the words are, but it might be beneficial to go over the correct pronunciation of the words. The amount of pages may also be intimidating for students. Certain pages could be marked for important information for students, or the book could be read over a few days.

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Chin, J. (2016). Coral reefs. Square Fish, an imprint of Macmillan.

Annotation: A young girl pulls a book off of a shelf in the library that looks exactly like the book the readers have in their hands. As she opens the book and begins reading and learning about the coral reef, she finds herself being drawn deeper and deeper into the coral reef ecosystem and the vast amount of plants and animals that live there.

Genre/Type: Expository Nonfiction

STEM Concepts:

3-LS3-1. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exists in a group of similar organisms.

Many animals that live in coral reefs have adaptations that they developed to help them survive in that environment. They then pass these traits onto their offspring. Students could explore the different species that have adapted and discuss what might have happened if these organisms hadn’t developed adaptations.

3-LS3-2. Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.

One possible project would be to have students choose an animal that has developed traits that were influenced by the coral reef environment. Give the students the chance to research the animal and find a creative way to display their animal and information about the traits/adaptations the animal has developed based off of its environment.

Problem Solving: At the end of the book, Jason Chin talks about the threats to the coral reefs and includes a list of things the reader can do to help. I think each of these suggestions could be turned into a project-based learning activity in which students are in charge of finding ways that they can help save the coral reefs in the world even though they live far away from them.

Challenging Aspect: One challenging aspect for this book is that not all students in this area may be familiar with coral reefs, so they may need to be introduced to some overall concepts before diving into this book. Also, they might have a difficult time understanding that even though the pictures are amazing, the book is actually a very informative piece of literature that educates readers about the coral reef.

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Torday, P. (2015). The last wild. Puffin Books.

Annotation: Kester Jaynes is a twelve-year-old boy who lives in a world where animals are fading into extinction. Kester finds himself stuck in a special school for troubled children.. Some days, he feels as if he is going into extinction, as well. One day, a flock of pigeons and a cockroach help Kester escape and he finds out he has a hidden talent. Kester and his new friends work together in order to survive in the world and find a cure to save the animals.

Genre/Type: Fiction Novel

STEM Concepts:
3-LS4-4. Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may change.

The students could work on a project that focuses on how to improve the quality of the sea surrounding the children’s home.

3-LS4-4. Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may change.

With the animals facing extinction, a possible project would be for students to try and come up with a solution in order to make the animals less afraid of the forest like Kester did in order to ensure their survival.

Problem Solving: Virus Spread/Control

This isn’t part of the NGSS for third grade, but I thought this would be an interesting way to tie in a real world connection for the students in regards to Covid. They could come up with possible solutions on how to control or cure the red eye virus in the novel.

Challenging Aspect: There are several words in the book that would probably need to be explained or discussed as a class. For example the word “varmint” is used in the first chapter. Students may not know what a varmint is. This could be a vocabulary lesson, using the dictionary to look up the word and pictures to show the students examples. We could also discuss synonyms for the word.

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Life in the Gobi Dessert by Ginjer L. Clarke

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Life in the Gobi Dessert by Ginjer L. Clarke

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Clarke, G. L. (2018). Life in the Gobi Desert. Penguin Young Readers.

Annotation: This leveled reader is written in an engaging style that makes the reader want to keep reading. Life in the Gobi Desert is very different from life here in Kansas. There are a wide variety of animals and other creatures that call the Gobi Desert their home, and even more that used to live there. Fossils of animals who lived long ago can be found in this desert.

Genre/Type: Traditional Nonfiction

STEM Concepts:

3-LS4-1. Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago.

Students can explore fossils and come up with a way to sort or classify the fossils they are studying in a system that makes sense to themselves and others. They could also research the types of animals that lived in the Gobi Desert long ago and determine where those animals would fit in the classification system that they created.

3-LS4-3. Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.

Students can launch an exploration to determine what plants could or could not survive in a desert habitat. In order to do this, students could create desert habitats in jars. They could plant different plants in the jars, but use mostly sand based soil in order to replicate the desert sand. The students could form hypotheses on which plants will survive and be able to observe which plants do or do not survive in the desert habitat jars. This activity could be adapted to use for different ecosystems and habitats, as well.

3-LS4-4. Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may change.

Problem Solving: Students take the information they read from the book about how to protect and preserve the Gobi Desert. They can then explore more ways on how they can help protect the desert and then design a plan of action to help preserve the desert habitat that they could share with others.

Challenging Aspect: This book is a level 4 leveled reader, so some of the vocabulary may be difficult for students to read independently. This would best be used as a teacher read to the class or in small groups. The book has several pages, so it would be read over the period of a few days to a week in order for students to fully understand the text.

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Willow, M. (2018). Rainforest explorers. Autumn Publishing.

Annotation: Max and Rosie go on an adventure deep into the rainforest to take pictures of orangutans. Along the way, the explorers encounter elephants, tigers, carnivorous plants, fireflies, and many other animals and plants living in the rainforest. Along the journey, they learn about each of the layers of the rainforest and what animals can be found in each layer. Will Max and Rosie complete their mission and collect photographs of orangutans, or be satisfied with the adventures they had in the rainforest?

Genre/Type: Fiction Picture Book

STEM Concepts:

Creativity/Collaborative: This activity is one that one of my former teachers had us participate in when we were learning about the rainforest. For this activity, students will be working with a team. Each team will be given one of the layers of the rainforest. The teams will research each of the layers and learn what plants and animals live in the layers. The students will then create a living representation of the rainforest in the classroom or hallway.

3-LS4-3. Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.

The students could create an experiment to determine what animals that can survive in the rainforest would need in order to survive in other ecosystems. They can create a system in order to classify the animals and list what they would need in order to survive and come up with a possible solution to how they could create an environment in which those animals could survive.

Perseverance: Max and Rosie were determined to find orangutans in order to complete their mission and gather pictures of the apes. Their journey took them deep through the rainforest where they were about to see and learn about all the living organisms in the habitat, but they kept on going in order to find the orangutans.

Challenging Aspect: One potential challenging aspect of this book is that all the students might not have any background knowledge about rainforests. They might not know that there is a large variety of animals and plants that can be found within the different layers of the rainforest. In order to address this, it might be helpful to do a KWL or other activity before in order to help students share what they already know and find out what others want to know about the rainforest.

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Whose Habitat is That? by Lucille Piketty

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Whose Habitat is That? by Lucille Piketty

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Piketty, L., & Brownridge, L. (2020). Whose habitat is that?: Reveal the animals hiding inside spectacular pop-ups. Wide Eyed Editions.

Annotation: There is a hidden animal in each habitat. Through clues about what the animal eats, where it lives, and other fun facts, readers guess what animal is hidden and then pull a tab to see if they are correct. The animal appears and  the name of the animal is located underneath. This pop-up book is a fun and engaging way to learn about the habitats in which each of these animals live.

Genre/Type: Active Nonfiction

STEM Concepts:

Creativity: Have students choose an animal to research. They will need to find enough information about the animal and its habitat in order to come up with a list of clues like the ones in the book. Once they have created their clues, they then need to think of a way in which they can also hide an animal in its habitat for someone else to discover. This could be done in a way similar to the pop-up book, or they could hide it within a diorama, or something completely different. It would be up to the students to create. It would be fun for the students to then share this with students in other classes, so they can have fun learning about the animals and habitats, as well.

3-LS3-2. Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.

In this book, the students learn about how the polar bear has adapted in order to survive in the arctic. Students could work on a project where they choose an animal and a habitat that do not belong together, and try to come up with a way that the animal could adapt in order to survive in that environment. This would help students understand that some traits can be acquired based on the environment the animal lives in.

Problem Solving: The students will participate in an activity that is similar to the pop-up book, but with endangered animals. They would need to include facts and information about the animal and where it lives, but they would also need to come up with different ways that we can help to protect the animal and save it from extinction.

Challenging Aspect: This book gives information about a specific animal for each habitat. There are a lot of words on each page, which may cause students to struggle with focusing as the teacher reads the clues. Also, if students are not familiar with what animals might live in each habitat, they may not be able to connect the clues in order to determine what animal is hiding in its habitat.