Beneath the Sun by Melissa Stewart; Desert Baths by Darcy Pattison; D is for Desert by Barbara Gowan; Survival at 120 Above by Debbie Miller; Sand Swimmers by Narelle Oliver

A Hot, Dry Bath?

Inspiration Books:

Beneath the sun by Stewart, Melissa — Peachtree, 2014. 591.5; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.7. Explores how wild animals survive the heat. FREE Teaching Resources (Reader’s Theater Script & Teacher Guide)  available for download from Follett.com

AND

Desert baths by Pattison, Darcy — Sylvan Dell Pub., 2012--591.754; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 4.5

Describes how desert animals face the difficulties of staying clean in a dry and parched land. Explore the desert habitat through its animals and their hygiene habits. With gorgeous pictures, this great book introduces the desert and omf of it inhabitants. The story tells how 12 (turkey vulture, Anna’s hummingbird, desert tortoise, roadrunner, mule deer, diamondback rattlesnake, scaled quail, western banded gecko, javelina, pallid bat, coyote, bobcat,) animals take baths in the desert. 6 pages of activities and at FREE Teaching Resources available for download Follett.com

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D is for desert : a world deserts alphabet by Gowan, Barbara — Sleeping Bear Press, 2012--577.54; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 5.1 D is for desert : a world deserts alphabet by Gowan, Barbara An A-Z pictorial for children including desert terms such as arid, Bactrian camel, cactus, and Death Valley introduced with poems accompanied by expository text to provide detailed information. FREE Teaching Resources available for download from Follett.com.

Teacher Guide at https://sleepingbearpress.com/teaching_guides/tag/AlphabetBooks

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Survival at 120 above by Miller, Debbie S — Walker & Co., 2012--591.754; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 5.1 Introduces readers to animals who live in the desert, including the sand goanna and the red kangaroo, and describes ways they have adapted to survive in a harsh, hot climate.

Teacher Guide for Survival at 120 Above http://media.wix.com/ugd/255037_4b6047208e9be38cb314f73b134eb3f5.pdf

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Sand swimmers : the secret life of Australia's desert wildernessby Oliver, Narelle  — Candlewick Press, 2015.  591.754; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 5.5. Illustrations and simple text chronicle Charles Sturt's explorations of the Australian desert.

Rationale: The National Science Teachers Outstanding Science Trade Books list included five books about deserts since 2012. The books could be used together or you could reserve a book for each of the three grade levels. Based on other resources available, I use Desert Baths with all grades and use specific activities for Desert Baths for each grade level as suggested below. I use Beneath the Sun with primary grades. D is for Deserts is appropriate for Grades 3-6, and Survival and Sand Swimmers for Grades 6-8. In my school the desert biome is studied in grade 3. United States geography, including the deserts, in grade 5, and world geography in grade 6. Each of the books has thorough teacher guides for your use.

I have not been a fan of many Sylvan Dell Publisher books, but I am becoming a fan of the resources they provide for many of their books. The resources for Desert Baths are excellent. My question, why reinvent the wheel and try to create a whole new lesson of my own? I can’t create better tools, so I strongly suggest that you pick and choose from the Sylvan Dell resources to personalize the plans you need to correlate with what’s happening in your classrooms. Additionally, the website links are extensive and lend themselves to a study of the animals in deserts and desert national parks. There are also ideas for using the book for paired reading and/or guided reading. There are ideas for map reading and chart reading plus visual literacy activities and hands-on activities. I’ve made a list of the activities Sylvan Dell provides that are suitable for each grade level grouping. There are two sets per grade grouping, depending on whether you are using the shorter Creative Minds or the longer Teaching Activities.

Activities for Desert Baths: All Available online http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/ForCreativeMinds/DesertBaths_FCM.pdf

Grades K-3 Desert Habitat Fun Facts

Bath Time: True or False

Grades 3-6 Desert Adaptations Matching

Deserts in North America

Grades 5-8 What Time of Day?

Hands on: Telling Time by the Sun’s Position

Publisher’s Teaching Activity Guide for Desert Baths (52 pages)--excellent-- http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/documents/TeachingActivities/DesertBaths_TA.pdf

Grades K-3

Pre-Reading Questions

Observation Skills: Art Scavenger Hunt

Edible Sorting and Classifying Activity

Animal Card Games

Desert True or False?

Science Journal

What Time?

Grades 3-6

Pre-Reading Questions

Comprehension Questions & Writing Prompts

Cross-Curricular Vocabulary Activities

Classifying Animals

Animal Card Games

Desert Adaptations True or False?

Desert True or False?

STEM Build a Bird Bath

Math: Measuring (compare & contrast)

Map Activity

Grades 5-8

Pre-Reading Questions

Comprehension Questions & Writing Prompts

Cross-Curricular Vocabulary Activities

Classifying Animals

Animal Chart (s)

Animal Card Games

Adaptations

Desert Adaptations True or False?

Patterns in the Sky

STEM Build a Bird Bath

Math: Measuring (compare & contrast)

Map Activity

Long list of related websites--this is a wonderful resource for desert animal research based on animals in the book http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/relatedwebsites.php?id=119

Deserts of the World http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/desert/ofworld.htm

Other Titles for Display, Research and/or Check-out:

Note: The numbers in front of the titles indicate the number of positive reviews for that title.

1-Seasons of the desert biome by Duke, Shirley Smith  — Rourke Educational Media, 2014--577.54; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.3 Explores the desert ecosystem through the seasons.

2-Baby animals of the desert by Bredeson, Carmen — Enslow Elementary, 2009--591.754; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.5 Up-close photographs and simple text provide information about baby animals of the desert biome.

1-Life in the desert by Auch, Alison — Capstone Press, 2012--577.54; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.5 Color photos and simple text describe animals and their adaptations to a desert habitat.

5-Animal baths by Barner, Bob — Chronicle Books, 2011--591.5; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.7 Explores ways in which a variety of animals--such as mammals, insects, reptiles, and birds--stay clean; and includes information on morphology.

2-Desert habitats by Ringstad, Arnold  eBook— The Child's World, 2014--577.54; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.8 Discusses the characteristics of desert habitats and presents examples of many desert animals and plants, describing their relationships with their environment.

2-Desert seasons by DeMarin, Layne — Capstone Press, 2012--577.54; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.8 Simple text and color photographs introduce readers to basic information about deserts, including plants and animals.

2-What eats what in a desert food chain by Slade, Suzanne  — Picture Window Books, 2013--577.54; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.0 Explores the ways in which desert plants and animals are connected through food chains.

3-Animal baths : wild & wonderful ways animals get clean! by Fielding, Beth — EarlyLight Books, 2009--591.5; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.1 Explores ways in which a variety of animals--such as mammals, insects, reptiles, and birds--stay clean; and includes information on morphology.

2-Desert food webs in action by Fleisher, Paul — Lerner Publications Company, 2014--577.54; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 3.3 Explains how the plants and animals of a desert form a food web in which energy is distributed throughout the entire environment. FREE Teaching Resources available for download from Follett.com

2-Desert by Callery, Sean  — Kingfisher, 2012--551.41; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 4.2 Explores how eleven creatures that inhabit deserts are interconnected through a food chain, features information on each creature's life cycle, and highlights three key facts about each animal.

3-Fennec foxes (Checkerboard Animal Library: Nocturnal Animals) by Petrie, Kristin  — ABDO, 2010. 599.776; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 4.6. Fennec foxes -- Ears to tail -- Desert home -- Active at night -- Digging for food -- Young fennecs -- Desert dangers -- The future of fennecs. Text and photographs describe the physical characteristics, behavior, and habitat of the nocturnal fennec foxes of Africa's northern desert region.

3-Cactus hotel by Guiberson, Brenda Z  — H. Holt, c1991 p1993--577.54; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 4.7 Describes the life cycle of the giant saguaro cactus, with an emphasis on its role as a home for other desert dwellers.

2-Endangered desert animals by Allgor, Marie — PowerKids Press, 2013--591.68; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.7 An introduction to endangered desert animals that provides an overview of the region's climate and habitats and profiles five animals that are in danger of becoming extinct.

2-24 hours in the desert by Schomp, Virginia — Cavendish Square, 2014--577.54; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.8 Looks at what takes place within a 24-hour period in a desert, covering the features, plant life, and animals of the habitat.

2-An Australian outback food chain : a who-eats-what adventure by Wojahn, Rebecca Hogue — Lerner Publications, 2009--577.54; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.8 Explains what food webs are, and follows a dingo, emu, carpet python, saltwater crocodile, koala, kangaroo, and other animals as they weave food webs in the Australian outback. Includes descriptions and photographs of various desert plants and animals.

7-Watching desert wildlife by Arnosky, Jim — National Geographic Society, c1998 p2002--591.754; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 5.5 Presents descriptions and painted illustrations of several desert animals of the American Southwest, including the roadrunner, rattlesnake, pronghorn, and antelope squirrel.

1-Endangered animals of the desert by Rice, William B — Teacher Created Materials, 2013--591.68; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 5.7 Introduces readers to endangered animals that live in the desert.

3-Desert animals by Newland, Sonya  — Smart Apple Media, 2012--591.7; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 6.3 Discusses desert animals around the world and the ways in which they adapt to the desert ecosystem. Introduces endangered species and conservation efforts and suggests ways for readers to contribute.

2-Deserts by Hunter, Nick  — Raintree, 2014--577.54; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 6.4 Sand and rock -- Where to start -- Who's going with you? -- Discovering the deserts -- Seeing the sights -- Interview with a desert expert -- The living desert -- Interview with a conservationist -- Human-made wonders -- Are the deserts changing? -- World map of deserts -- Timeline -- Fact file -- Glossary. Examines what it would be like to explore deserts, including detailed information on the science, geography, exploration history, what you would need, and how to stay safe while exploring.

3-Who needs a desert? : a desert ecosystem (Ecosystems (Tundra))by Patkau, Karen — Tundra Books, 2014. 577.54; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 6.6. An introduction to desert ecosystems, describing the plants and animals native to these regions.

4-Sonoran Desert by Lynch, Wayne — NorthWord, 2009. 577.54; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 6.8. The desert world -- The sun-baked four -- Sunbathers : desert wildlife -- Hot and thirsty -- Hot days, cool nights -- Plant tricks -- The porcupine plants -- Desert plains and washes -- Desert slowpoke -- Toads with shovels -- Night traffic -- Sand dune country -- Sand travel -- Creepy crawlies of the night -- Clown of the desert -- Bajadas : the rocky slopes -- Cactus champs -- Gila monster -- The cactus pig -- Desert mountains -- Ringtails and coatis -- Cliff dwellers -- Sonoran Desert websites. Describes the many animals, plants, and terrain found in the Sonoran Desert.

3-The Atacama Desert (Deserts Around The World) by Peppas, Lynn — Crabtree Pub. Co., 2013. 983; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 7.0. Describes the climate, plant and animal life, geographical features, history of, and problems facing the Atacama Desert.

4-Deserts inside out (Ecosystems Inside Out) by Cohen, Marina — Crabtree Publishing Company, 2015. 577.54; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 7.0. What is an ecosystem? -- Energy in ecosystems -- The Sahara Desert -- The Mojave Desert -- The Gobi Desert -- The Chihuahuan Desert -- The Atacama Desert -- The Sonoran Desert -- The Great Sandy Desert -- The Kalahari Desert -- The Arabian Desert -- Antarctica -- Don't desert our deserts!. An exploration of desert ecology that discusses the organisms that live there, from scorpions and cacti to penguins and meerkats. FREE Teaching Resources available for download from Follett.com

2-Gray foxes, rattlesnakes, and other mysterious animals of the extreme deserts by Rodriguez, Ana Maria, 1958-  — Enslow, 2012--591.754; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 7.0 Explains why the world's deserts are extreme environments and examines how gray foxes, rattlesnakes, and other animals have adapted to the harsh climates.

2-Biodiversity of deserts by Pyers, Greg — Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, c2010 p2011--577.54; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 7.4 Discusses the variety of living things in a desert ecosystem.