Wonders of the Land (Wonders of Nature: Natural Phenomena in Science and Myth)

renowned Storyteller Kendall Haven Brings His Expertise To The Authorship Of This Fourth Book In The 4-book Series, wonders Of Nature: Natural Phenomena In Science And Myth . Intended For Teachers To Use With Students In The Upper Elementary And Middle School Grades, It Focuses On Natural Phenomena Of The Earth (volcanoes, Earthquakes, Etc.) Through The Eyes Of Ancient Myth, And Then Looks At The Actual Modern Day Science That Explains Each Myth, Using An Interdisciplinary Style Of Teaching. Using Knowledge Gained As A Former Research Scientist, Haven Integrates Science Curricular With The Study Of Myth. Students Are Encouraged Not Only To Appreciate The Magic In Myth And Science, But To Understand The Commonality Of All Human Experience With Nature Over All Time. The Book Contains Myths From Several Different Cultures, And Accompanying Scientific Explanations. Bibliographies, Recommended Web Sites, Student Projects, And Discussion And Activity Ideas Are Also Included, While Illustrations And Diagrams Enhance Student Interest. The Book Is To Be Used By Teachers And Librarians With Students, And By Students In Libraries And Classrooms. Grades 4-8. school Library Journal gr 5-8-haven Rounds Off A Four-volume Series With A Mechanical, Scantly Illustrated Survey Of Geophysical Structures And Forces In Which Each Chapter Opens With A Variation On The Theme That Many World Cultures Used Stories To Explain Natural Phenomena. Providing Several Quick References And One Briefly Retold Myth For Each Of 10 Topics-from The Origins Of Land And Volcanoes To Creating Gems And Crystals, Glaciers, Water, And, Finally, Living Things-haven Goes On To Tally Selected Events And Assumptions In His Sample Tale, Demonstrating That Nearly All Have Been Shown By Scientific Research To Be Wrong. Aside From The Rare Chart Or Diagram There Are No Pictures, And The Author's Occasional Flights Of Language (there Are Two Types Of Glaciers-big And Monstrously Huge) Aren't Enough To Animate A Dry, Generality-laden Presentation. Despite A Promising Premise And Generous Multimedia Resource Lists That Include Both Science And Folklore, This Title Will Be Less Appealing And Useful To Readers Than James F. Luhr's Visually Compelling Smithsonian Earth (dk, 2003) Or Even A Standard Textbook, Such As Edward J. Tarbuck's Earth Science (prentice Hall, 2005).-john Peters, New York Public Library Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information. Annotation. Renowned storyteller Kendall Haven brings his expertise to the authorship of this fourth book in the 4-book series, Wonders of Nature: Natural Phenomena in Science and Myth . Intended for teachers to use with students in the upper elementary and middle school grades, it focuses on natural phenomena of the earth (volcanoes, earthquakes, etc.) through the eyes of ancient myth, and then looks at the actual modern day science that explains each myth, using an interdisciplinary style of teaching. Using knowledge gained as a former research scientist, Haven integrates science curricular with the study of myth. Students are encouraged not only to appreciate the magic in myth and science, but to understand the commonality of all human experience with nature over all time. The book contains myths from several different cultures, and accompanying scientific explanations. Bibliographies, recommended Web sites, student projects, and discussion and activity ideas are also included, while illustrations and diagrams enhance student interest. The book is to be used by teachers and librarians with students, and by students in libraries and classrooms. Grades 4-8 This book uses an interdisciplinary style of teaching to examine natural phenomena of the earth (volcanoes, earthquakes, and more.) through the eyes of ancient myth, and then through the actual modern day science that explains each myth A book intended for teachers to use with students in the upper elementary and middle school grades looks at such natural phenomena as earthquakes, glaciers, and volcanoes.