Schoolroom Swag

Elementary Teacher

Having fun in the classroom and "balancing" life!

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Scientist biographies for primary grade readers

It's so hard to find biographies for primary grades. One of our standards in Science is :

*Identify how diverse people and/or cultures,
past and present, have made important
contributions to scientific innovation.

That's a toughie. Especially when your first graders fill in their graphic organizers with information like:

*tools scientists use:
-hammers
-screwdrivers

*work scientists do:
-make potions (about 6 of that answer)
-turn people into stuff (another 6...or more!)
-make meat without killing animals...hmm...tofu????

Ok, so clearly I have some work to do.

I'm trying to teach my students that scientists use everyday objects, make predictions, and conduct experiments to test their hypothesis. They do make potions, but not of the turning-people-into-stuff-sort. I'm also trying to impress upon them the important work that many scientists have already done. And we reap the benefits! 

So I created this:
 
It's a unit of biographies written for use in primary grades. I have some pretty gifted readers in my little first grade class. Not everyone in first grade will be able to read these. So I plan to give them to my higher level kids and let them partner read. Or you could partner with an older class.


There are 6 different scientists highlighted in the unit. I printed and laminated them. Then I bound them into a spiral book. You could use it in multiple ways. But it saves a trip to the library to dig up biographies that are too hard to read and frustrating for everyone!
Thanks for reading!

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