My past blogs have dealt with using trade books in science classes to use as resources as well as texts to teach with. I found many great resources for finding and using these books, and I was wondering what else could be used in a science class besides textbooks. One of my answers was children's magazines. There are often very good articles as well as activities and games in these that children would love to do. I found a website (http://www.monroe.lib.in.us/childrens/booklists/kidsmags.html) that lists all sorts of children's magazines including the targeted age group, and many of them are science based. Some of the magazines that would work well in a science classroom are:
Ask: Arts and Sciences for Kids (ages 6-9)
Click (3-7)
Dig (9-14)
Kids Discover (6+)
National Geographic Kids (8-14)
Owlkids Online (8+)
Ranger Rick (7+)
Your Big Backyard (3-7)
I think that having magazines in the classroom will interest the students, especially those who don't enjoy reading books. Magazines are a way to read and get information that doesn't seem quite so scary for them. As mentioned above, there also also great ideas for games or activities included in these magazines which will keep the children engaged in the topic.
Of the above magazines, the one I remember reading when I was a kid was Ranger Rick. In addition to the wonderful printed magazines, there is also a website where students can play games and read about all different kinds of animals. I also came across a section where they list some good science tradebooks along with reviews of them done by children. The site is http://www.nwf.org/Kids/Ranger-Rick.aspx and I recommend checking it out.
I love these magazines. So does my daughter. I have worked in conservation education for adults and children and I have used the very accurate information from Ranger Rick and National Geographic for my classes. These are also great resources for non-fiction for reading class. I have also used the old ones for the graphics-for cutting out pictures for various projects.The subscriptions were inexpensive and well worth the thrifty price.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like we are researching a very similar topic and I can't believe I never thought of magazines! I think that providing science magazines in your classroom is a great way to reach kids who are leery about science. The Ranger Rick website was wonderful and I ended up linking to the National Wildlife Federation from the R.R. website. The NWF site has a great section titled Faces in the Field, which provides a short biography about the scientist and his or her job.
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of these magazines, well besides NatGeo for Kids. Growing up my favorite science magazines were Popular Mechanics and Popular Science, the are probably for middle school students though. I think magazines are a great way to keep up on current events.
ReplyDeleteSince I don't see many magazines and other types of text (aside from books) in many classrooms, I sometimes forget what great value magazines and other texts are. The West Des Moines public library has a great "kids magazine" section with many of the above magazines available for check out. You can't check out the current copy, but you can check out past issues. Also, many of these magazines have their own websites with additional free stuff. Thanks for sharing the magazines! Some I hadn't heard of and have some great ideas in them.
ReplyDelete