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About the Book

This book was originally conceived with help from the Brown Junior Researchers, a graduate student run orgnaization that aims to connect students and scientists. This book explores basic concepts in ecology before guiding students through using the Scientific Method to design their own field experiment. The final half of this book is designed to act as a Field Notebook, encouraging students to ask an ecology questions and observe nature to answer. Accompanied by a trusted adult, students are recommended to spend a few hours in nature every week collecting data.

For Educators

Working with educators from a diverse range of disciplines and locations, this books was developed with the Next Generation Science and Common Core Standards in mind. This book was specifically designed to accompany a module developed with the Brown Junior Researchers. If you would like us to come to your classroom and teach this six week module, please reach out. I hope that from homeschool to public school, you will find my books both fun and educational.

This coloring book meets the following Next Generation Science Standards:

• 3LS1.1: Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
• 3LS4.3: Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
• 3ESS2.2: Obtain and combine information to describe climates in different regions of the world.
• 4ESS3.1: Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment.
• 5LS1.1: Support an argument that plants get the materials they need for growth chiefly from air and water.
• MSLS1.4: Use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively.
• MSLS1.5: Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
• MSLS1.6: Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.
• MSLS2.1: Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
• MSLS2.2: Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.

And the following English Language Arts Common Core Standards:

• 5.2: Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.
• 5.3: Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.
• 5.4: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a relevant text.
• 5.7: Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
• 3.10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts.
• 3.7: Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).