Science & Social Studies Classroom Resources for Grades 3-6

Follett Library Resources and Weigl Publishers are pleased to present high-quality classroom resources to supplement your science and social studies curriculum standards for grades 3-6.

These paperbacks, teacher resources, and wall maps correlate to the national standards established by the National Science Teachers Association and the National Council for Social Studies. In addition, they offer content and topics that are relevant to most states’ curriculum requirements in science and social studies.

The materials provide all the classroom resources you need:

• 6-packs of paperbacks that combine easy-to-understand, well-researched content with eye-catching visuals. Learn More
• Teacher Resource guides that support each series’ core content and provide differentiated learning activities to extend student learning. Learn More
• Wall Maps that present a visual overview of the information in each series and offer ideas for extending your student’s learning activities. Learn More

Click Here to learn more about Weigl Publishers and the classroom resources they offer.

Learn more about our Biomes series
Learn more about our Exploring Planets series
Learn more about our Science Matters series
Learn more about our Indigenous Peoples series
Learn more about our Continents series

Features of Books

All the books in these series are offered as paperbacks. They can be purchased either as a six-pack of the same book, or as a set containing one copy of each book in the series – you choose the configuration that best meets your needs. The books in these series offer the following features.

• They utilize age-appropriate content, reader-sensitive print layout, and consistent type to encourage visual inquiry without interfering with the flow of text. Colorful sidebars present short, concise content to extend student learning on key concepts and invite further exploration.
• Key vocabulary is boxed and highlighted to draw the attention of the reader and to provide key concept connections to new vocabulary.
• Consistent page length and content elements provide a predictable format from title to title within a series. Students can be guided to look for recurring elements in the text, which supports the development of essential reading skills strategies for content areas.
• They promote diverse learning styles by presenting content in varied formats including easy-to-follow charts, diagrams, graphs, and maps, as well as key-concept sidebars and hands-on activities.

In addition, every paperback in these series has a Guided Reading level as well as a Lexile measure. Accelerated Reader quizzes are available for most of these paperbacks.

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Features of Teacher Resource

The Teacher Resource guides are one of the two key components that assist teachers in maximizing the educational outcome of each of these series. These guides address what teachers teach, how they teach it, and provide an educational rationale for why they teach it. They support each series’ content and provide additional resources and activities to extend student learning.

Each Teacher Resource includes the following components.

• A master chart of contents that outlines for every lesson the core activity, differentiated learning, materials, and curriculum correlation aligned to national science (NSTA) and social studies (NCSS) standards.
• Lesson 1 of each guide is designed as an introductory lesson to engage prior knowledge and introduce core concepts and vocabulary.
• The rest of the lessons provide differentiated activities for:
  • Enrichment learning to support the learning of highly motivated or gifted learners.
  • Integrated learning to engage students in verbal, written, and artistic expression.
  • Hands-on learning that involves kinesthetic learning or creative thinking to support the learning needs of both average and struggling learners.
• Each lesson begins with a prelesson assessment strategy and key vocabulary. Follow-up assessment rubrics are also suggested in the Teacher Notes. Additional activities using the corresponding Wall Map are also included.
• Activities are designed to be interdisciplinary and include suggestions for cooperative as well as independent work.
• All lessons focus on higher-level thinking skills as outlined by Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives.
• Strategies for addressing reading skills are listed under the Teacher Notes and are integrated into activities. These strategies are based on best practices for reading strategies as outlined by the National Institute for Literacy.
• Comprehension strategies are integrated into activities and are listed under Teacher Notes and throughout the guides. These strategies fall into six categories: making predictions, summarizing, questioning, inferential thinking, content, and imagery.
• Numerous assessment strategies are provided including reproducible Blackline Masters (BLM) which can be used for formative and summative assessment. Students are encouraged to use the BLM entitled "How are We Doing?" for self- and peer-assessment.

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Features of Wall Maps

The corresponding Wall Map is the second of the two key components that assist teachers in maximizing the educational outcome of each of these series. These Wall Maps visually present an overview of the information in each series.

• These large, laminated, full-color maps present comprehensive information that is taken directly from a series’ content. This information is presented in a bold, user-friendly style and written in clear and concise language.
• Color-coded content boxes along each map’s margin highlight key facts and directly correspond to visual details on the map to help students make critical geographic connections.
• Additional facts and concepts including graphs and charts appear along the border to extend student understanding of the key concepts presented in each series.
• These Wall Maps present each series’ content in several different ways in order to appeal to different types of learners.
• They can be used to encourage springboard activities and thinking skills.
• The Teacher Resource for each series includes strategies for incorporating the Wall Map into learning activities.

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