The Sun Makes the Earth Go Round!

When we first think of anything science related, we immediately think about experiments, explosions, and chemicals, right? Although this is true, there are tons and tons of science related books out there that relay information to students just as well as experiments do. The interesting part is finding books about science that are easy for students to relate to, easy to understand, and fun to read.

Sunshine Makes the Seasons by Franklyn Branley is the perfect example of one of these great science related books. This book is about of the nonfiction genre because it tells all sorts of reliable facts and accurate information to students about things going on in our sky. I was also able to look on the copyright page of the book to find out that it is a nonfiction book. This book encompasses all the important information students need to know about the sun, the seasons, and day and night cycle. This book is an easy read that proves to students that the sun does give us warmth and light, but it also makes the seasons change and allows for longer days and nights. Michael Rex, the book's illustrator, does a nice job of showing and explaining with pictures what the words in the book mean. Sunshine Makes the Seasons tells students that without the sun, the earth would get colder. We would freeze without the sun. It also tells students that the earth spins around and axis and that is why we have daytime and nighttime. It explains that, "During a year the length of our day changes. In winter the days are short. It may be dark by the time you get home from school. It is cold because we don't get many hours of sunshine. As we move into spring, days become a bit longer. By summer they are even shorter."  Towards the end of this story, the book gives some nice activities for students to try. This allows students to be able to read the book, comprehend the facts it tells them, and then put their knowledge to work by trying the activities out.

This book would be extremely easy to add to a science lesson! When teaching about the seasons or the earth, sun, and its rotations, this book would be a perfect opener or launch to a lesson. Sunshine Makes the Seasons could even be used for an entire lesson. Students could each have a copy of the book or students could listen to the teacher read the book aloud to them. While reading through the book, the teacher could stop to elaborate on main points and ideas. Finally, when the class gets closer to the end of the book, they can pair up and work through the activities and test the information in the book with the activities that it gives. Students could record their observations and end results of each activity and then they could share what they found out from completing the activities. Overall, this book would be a fabulous way to incorporate reading into a science lesson, especially since this book is so informative and easy to read.