A Rock Is Lively

Yes, the book fosters the development of the processes of inquiry, observation, creativity, and language. There are several areas in the book, textually and visually, for students to ponder, ask questions, and make connections through teacher facilitation. For example, a teacher could ask "when a sedimentary rock goes through heat and pressure what rock does it turn into?", "why don't humans eat rocks to digest food too?", or "are rocks only from Earth?". The book also allows students to observe detailed images to reinforce the general concepts; i.e. a depiction of a sedimentary rock with fossils in it. The language in the book varies from moderate to challenging but clearly explains vocabulary in poetic terms. For example, "just as a batter of flour, butter, and sugar makes a cookie, a batter of minerals makes rock". This explains the combination of rocks and minerals in a creative way for students to understand the big picture and new vocabulary without being too dense. Students can easily imagine rocks being a giant recipe made up of different minerals and internal pressures from the Earth.

Author: Dianna Hutts Aston
Illustrator: Sylvia Long
Year Published: 2012
ISBN: 981-1-4521-0645-8

Summary

This books depicts the types of rocks and minerals, their processes, and the uses of rocks in past/present times. It is beautifully illustrated and written in a poetic voice that describes the many characteristics of rocks. A lovely blend of science, art, and poetry.

Evaluation

Appropriateness: High
Authority: High
Accuracy: High
Liteary Artistry: High
Appearance: High

Questions

Does the book foster development of processes?

Does the book provide an opportunity for children to ask and answer their own questions?

The book does invite the opportunity for children to ask and answer their own questions through the use of its illustrations. Students could use the detailed illustrations in the book to question what is going on or what the image represents, as their first initial thinking. As a teacher, you should gain feedback from the observation of images alone before you read the actual text; show the pages of the book first. There are some places lacking in textual explanation, but immense visual explanations. For example, after reading humans use rocks to create pencils, students will begin to question which rock. Some students may have the preconceived notion it is lead but can find, through the images and labeling, pencils are actually from graphite. This allows students to create their own wonderings and predictions from their current understanding of rocks and hopefully achieve a sound answer in the end.

Does the book encourage children to think for themselves?

Although the book does not exactly pose questions for students to answer, it does, however, include real life purposes of rocks that can allow students to make connections with; i.e. where they have seen something made of rock. There are definitely places for students to infer what other characteristics rocks may have. The author wrote this book to invite students to become curious and observant of Earth's natural processes. The book was designed to engage, be insightful, and relevant to students, which encourages children to think for themselves.

Is the science topic addressed in ways that are appropriate to the lesson?

Yes, the science topic is written in ways that are appropriate to the lesson.

Is the content based on sound scientific principles? Is it accurate?

Yes, the book is based on sound scientific principles. The book discusses the rock cycle: sedimentary rocks, metamorphic rocks, and igneous rocks, each with a provided description of the process. Sedimentary rocks have eroded over times into much smaller bits of rock and sand. With enough heat and pressure, rocks can become metamorphic rocks. From there, heat and pressure can build up and cause a rock to melt therefore forming an igneous rock. The book also went on to describe the many uses rocks have from past to present: toothpaste, tools (spearhead), to make petroglyphs, and to build with. As researched, the book does, in fact, display accurate facts!

Does the book distinguish between fact and fiction?

This book is non-fiction so there is no need to distinguish between the two. The book is clearly written using researched facts.

Are the illustrations clear and accurate?

Yes, the illustrations are breathtaking and very realistic. The illustrator did a fantastic with watercolors in order to accurately convey the beauty, complexity, and rareness of rocks and minerals. Throughout the book, the author introduces several types of rocks in minerals that are all labeled by name! As rocks and minerals can be easy to misidentify, labeling is a helpful detail.

Is the book written at the level of your students?

This book was written for grade K-3 and I believe it was mindfully crafted for the age group. Younger students could highly benefit from the colorful illustrations to help with context clues. Older students could benefit from the more difficult geology vocabulary through the text and illustrations, as well. I would even go as far as saying how much my fifth graders would enjoy this book as a read aloud based on it's engagement throughout the book. This book describes difficult concepts and facts in simple, metaphorical ways for students to understand.

Is there a multicultural component? Is it free from stereotyping?

There is not a multicultural component in this book and it is free from stereotyping because there are not any cultures or characters mentioned.

Is the book free from gender bias?

Yes, the book is free from gender bias. There are no characters in the book- male or female.

Does the book show the close association between science and other disciplines?

There is not an explicit association between science and other disciplines in this book. It mainly holds a scientific stance throughout the book. However, the book does display practical uses of rocks in connection to our everyday lives: rock are used to make paper, to help crush food in animals' stomachs, to create weapons or tools, to paint/draw, and to chisel great monuments. Rocks are useful in many aspects and moments of our lives throughout history.

Does the book present a positive attitude toward science and technology?

The author wrote this book with the intentions of drawing attention to how rocks have positively affected our lives without even knowing it! You will come to find how helpful the use of rocks are throughout our entire existence. As far as technology goes, although not explicit, there were mention of ancient technologies created from rocks that helped humans survive; rocks were resourceful. Rocks were used to hunt with, build with, grind food with, and decorate with. Rocks, for certain time periods, were the only type of technology they had until we began making technological advancements.

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