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Nature School: Planet Earth is a beautifully illustrated learning resource offering lessons and activities that engage and enthrall children with the workings, surroundings, and composition of our incredible planet.
List of contents
Introduction
CONTENTS
1 EARTH’S PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE
The Universe as We Know It
Milky Way: Earth’s Galactic Home
Our Solar System
The Planets
Earth and the Moon
Celestial Influences
The Goldilocks Zone
Earth’s Natural History
Space Exploration
Activities
2 EARTH’S COMPOSITION
Composition of Earth
Magnetic Earth
Earth’s Crust and Lithosphere
Earth’s Pedosphere
Plate Tectonics: Earth’s Moving Parts
How Mountains Are Made
Earth’s Geological Characteristics
Earth’s Natural Wonders
Activities
3 EARTH’S HYDROSPHERE
The Blue Planet
The Water Cycle
Properties of Water
Salt Water: Earth’s Oceans
Seabed: The Landscape of the Ocean
Earth’s Fresh Water
Earth’s Groundwater
Earth’s Cryosphere
How Water Shapes Earth
Activities
4 EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE
Composition of Earth’s Atmosphere
Stratification: Layers of the Atmosphere
The Transfer of Heat Energy
Climate and Weather
Clouds
The Wild Wind
Types of
What We See in the Sky
Air: Essential to Life on Earth
Activities
5 LIFE ON EARTH
Biosphere: Earth’s Global Ecosystem
Ecology: The Interconnectedness of Life
Ecosystems
Ecosystems around the World
Location and Life on Earth
Energy Flow
Biodiversity: The Variety of Life
Life Cycles-
Biochemical Cycles
Our Ever-Changing Earth
Activities
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Index
About the author
Lauren Giordano is an author, illustrator, and owner of Chickie & Roo, an educational curriculum and resource company for families and schools. She home educates her two children in Florida and taught in her local homeschool co-op community, where she led nature classes. Lauren is passionate about bringing children closer to nature and helping them develop a deeper understanding of our natural world. Her work has been featured in The Peaceful Press, A Year of Learning, Chickadees Wooden Toys, Wild & Free Co., FunSchooling Books, and more. You can find her work at chickieandroo.com.
Stephanie Hathaway is a Kansas City–area artist who specializes in creating educational content inspired by our natural world. She believes in using beautiful, dynamic illustrations to make learning about science and nature exciting and accessible to children of all ages. She is guided by the notion that many of life’s valuable lessons can be learned from nature. She hopes that her work will inspire families to explore and learn from the natural world right outside their own door. You can see more of Stephanie’s educational nature-based studies and original artwork at stephaniehathawaydesigns.com.
Laura Stroup is the founder of Firefly Nature School, a nature study curriculum designed for homeschooling families, co-ops, and classrooms found online at fireflynatureschool.com. Laura has a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Ecology from Iowa State University with an emphasis in natural resource education. A former museum educator and upper school science teacher, she now directs School of the Wild, an immersive nature school that serves her local community. Laura resides in the countryside near Springfield, Missouri, with her family.
Summary
Nature School: Planet Earth is a beautifully illustrated learning resource offering lessons and activities that engage and enthrall children with the workings, surroundings, and composition of our incredible planet.
