Listing of books available for on-site use at the Michigan Geological Repository for

Research and Education, WMU Geosciences 

August 2007

 

 

 

Barker, Charles F.  (2005).  Under Michigan The Story Of Michigan’s

         Rocks and Fossils.  Detroit, Michigan:  Wayne State University Press.

      35 pages.  ISBN:  0-8143-3088-6.

This book illustrates the history of the Michigan Basin-from its formation to the valuable natural resources that can be found within.  Appropriate for all earth science classrooms from elementary thru high school.

 

Blobaum, Cindy.  (1999).  Geology Rocks! 50 Hands-On Activities To

        Explore The Earth.  Nashville,  Tennessee:  Williamson Books.  95   

     pages.  ISBN:  1- 885593-29-5.  

This book is a wonderful collection of activities that allow children from early elementary up through middle school ages to explore the Earth from the inside out. Children will learn of the Earth’s different resources as well as their importance to our present day lives.

 

Bolles, Edmund B.  (1999).  The Ice Finders.  Washington, D. C. : 

     Counterpoint.  257 pages.  ISBN:  1-58243-101-9.

The Ice Finders is a great adventure story through which the teen or adult reader traverses the historical paths of a poet, a professor, and a politician on their quest to find the great ice age.

 

Brown, George Jr.  (1995).  Human Evolution.  Dubuque, Iowa:  Wm. C.

      Brown Communications, Inc.  265 pages.  ISBN:  0-697-24307-9.

This book is a great resource for both the teacher and high school student.  It tells the history of man’s evolution from the perspective of DNA comparisons and climatic influences.

 

Desalle, Rob, and D. Lindley.  (1997).   The Science of Jurassic Park and

      the Lost World or, How To Build A Dinosaur.  New York, NY:  Basic

      Books.  194 pages.  ISBN:  0-465-07379-4. 

A great read for juveniles, young adults, as well as teachers.  This book provides a brief introduction into the life of terrible lizards, how to extract their blood from rocks, the structure of their DNA, and Murphy’s Law - all the ingredients one needs to build a dinosaur.

 

Eldridge, Niles. (1991).  Fossils The Evolution and Extinction of Species.  New York,

      NY:  Harry N. Abrams, Inc.  220 pages.  ISBN:  0-8109-3305-5.

Students from early elementary through high school will enjoy this book.  From cover to cover, the reader/curious investigator will enjoy beautiful photos of dinosaur fossils as well as a brief telling of each one’s possible life history and extinction.

 

Fortey, Richard.  (2000).  Trilobite Eyewitness to Evolution.  New York, NY:  Vintage

     Books by Random House, Inc.  284 pages.  ISBN:  0-375-40625-5.

This book is a wonderful resource for teens or adults wanting to learn about the history of the Earth.  The unique thing about this book is that the story of the Earth’s evolution is told through the study of fossils.  

 

Hatheway, Becca; Zarlengo, K.  (2006).  All About Earth Our World Stage.

    University Corporation For Atmospheric Research.  30 pages.

    www.globe.gov/elementaryglobe. 

Elementary children will love this adorable story for its simple explanation about the important relationships and interactions that occur among the Earth’s differing spheres:

Hydrosphere, Biosphere, Atmosphere, and Geosphere.

 

Hatheway, Becca; Zarlengo, K; Gardiner, L.; Henderson, S.; Hehr L.  The Scoop On

     Soils, 2006.  University Corporation For Atmospheric Research.  30 pages.

     www.globe.gov/elementaryglobe.

This book provides elementary students with a simple explanation as to why soils differ, and how they form.

 

Hochleitner, Rupert.  (2000).  Minerals: Identification, Classifying, and Collecting

     Them.  Barron’s.  236 pages.  ISBN:  0-8120-1777-3.

This colourful field guide and mini-encyclopedia is a wonderful resource for middle school and high school students, as well as earth science teachers.  The colourful photos and explanations aide students with identifying minerals plus understanding how they originated and where they can be found.

 

Hooper, Meredith.  (1996).  The Pebble In My Pocket A History Of Our Earth.  New

     York, NY:  Penguin Books USA, Inc.  31 pages.  ISBN:  0-670-86259-2.

Elementary students will gain an understanding of how the Earth has changed throughout time from the perspective of one little pebble.

 

Humann, Paul.  (1993).  Reef Coral Identification.  Jacksonville, Florida:  New

     World Publications, Inc.  239 pages.  ISBN:  0-13-748955-2.

This beautiful guide to coral reef identification would make a wonderful addition to any earth science classroom.  Its colourful photos captivate the imagination of students both young and old, while scientific explanations help provide an understanding of the organisms biological background. 

 

Jagnow, David H.; Jagnow, R. R. (1992).  Stories From Stones, The Geology Of The

     Guadalupe Mountains.  Carlsbad, New Mexico:  Carlsbad Cavern Guadalupe

     Mountains Association.  40 pages.  ISBN:  0-916907-04-x.

This pamphlet, with its colourful photos and illustrations is a great resource for the earth-science student and teacher alike.  It provides a brief history of the geological events that are believed to have taken place during the Permian Period (250 mya), and resulted in the Guadalupe Mountains, which today rise up out of an ancient sea basin.

 

Levin, Herold L.  (1990).  Ancient Invertebrates and Their Living Relatives.  Upper

      Saddle River, New Jersey:  Prentice Hall.  385 pages.  ISBN:  0-13-748955-2

This book provides a great resource for the earth-science teacher and older student alike, in that it presents the history of biological evolution in such a manner that the reader is able to see the link between the past and present.

 

Lewin, Roger.  (1982).  THREAD OF LIFE:  The Smithsonian Looks at Evolution.

     Rockville, Maryland:  Holladay-Tyler Printing Corporation.  256 pages.

     ISBN:  0-89599-010-5.

This book, with its colourful photos, charts, and historical accounts, is a great resource for the teen or adult who wishes to explore the ways in which early life began to diversify and change over time to become what we know it as today.

 

McClutcheon, Marc.  (1999).  The Beast In You:  Activities and Questions to

     Explore  Evolution.  Charlotte, Vermont:  Williamson Publishing Co.  96 pages. 

     ISBN:  1-885593-368.

Elementary children will love learning about evolution through the fun-filled activities provided for the teacher in this book.  The lessons and activities can easily be modified for older students as well.

 

McKinney, Michael L.  (1993).  Evolution of Life Processes, Patterns, and Prospects. 

     Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey:  Prentice Hall, Inc.  394 pages. 

     ISBN: 0-13-292939-2

This book provides the earth-science teacher and high school student with the history of evolutionary thought and its relevance to the history and biology of life, both past and present.

 

Norman, David.  (1989).  Fact Finder Dinosaurs.  New York, NY:  Crown

      Publishers, Inc.  64 pages.  ISBN:  0-517-67728-8.

The wonderful pictures and illustrations make this an invaluable reference book on dinosaurs for teachers and students of all ages.

 

Palmer, Parker J.  (2007).  The Courage To Teach Exploring the Inner Landscape of

     a Teacher’s Life.  Hoboken, NJ:  John Wiley & Sons.  248 pages.  ISBN:  978-0-

     7879-9686-4.

This wonderful book guides the teacher on an inner journey towards reconnecting with their inner selves, colleagues, and students while reiterating that good teaching is not dependant upon techniques, but rather the identity and integrity of the teacher.

 

Parker, Steve.  (1992). Rocks and Minerals.  New York, NY:  DK Publishing, Inc.  61

      pages.  ISBN:  0-7894- 1682-4.

This is a great how to guide for amateur rock collectors of all ages.  It discuses the different rock types and how they form, what to look for and where to find them while rock collecting, and how to display rock collections.

 

 

 

Preiss, Byron.  (1992).  The Ultimate Dinosaur Past, Present, Future.  New York,

     NY:  Bantam Books.  336 pages.  ISBN:  0-553-373048.

This thought-provoking book will challenge the minds of earth-science middle and high school students.  The reader is presented with several theories as to how evolution occurred, dinosaur extinction, and “what if”questions regarding dinosaurs.

 

Symes, R. F.  (2004).  Eyewitness Books:  Rocks and Minerals.  New York, NY:

     DK Publishing, Inc.  72 pages.  ISBN:  0-7566-0719-1.

This book is a wonderful resource for students of all ages.  Its colourful photos, illustrations, and glossary will guide students in their discovery of Earth’s rocks and minerals from their formation to their modern day uses.

 

Van Rose, Susan.  (2005).  Eyewitness Books:  Earth.  New York, NY:  DK   

      Publishing, Inc.  72 pages.  ISBN:  0-7566-1069-9.

This encyclopedia presents students with colourful photos and information that will allow them to discover life’s secrets on our planet, and how all life forms interact with the environment.

 

Walker, Cyril; Ward, D.  (2002).  Smithsonian Handbooks:  Fossils.  New York, NY:

     Dorling Kindersley, Inc.  320 pages.  ISBN:  978-0-7894-8984-5.

This reference book of fossils is a must for any earth-science classroom.  It presents evolution through beautiful photos of fossils and literature.

 

Wilford, John N.  (1985).  The Riddle of the Dinosaurs.  New York, NY:  Vintage

     Books.   325 pages.  ISBN:  0-394-74392-x.

Of all the unanswered riddles today, that of the dinosaur seems to be one of the most pressing.  The author attempts to answer this puzzling riddle by presenting the history of life’s evolution on planet Earth through fossil studies-the link between what happened in the past and the living fossils of today.

 

Wood, Rachel.  (1999).  Reef Evolution.  New York, NY:  Oxford University Press,

     Inc.  414 pages.  ISBN:  0-19-857784-2.

Reef Evolution is a wonderful reference for teachers in that it documents the biological innovations that have moulded the evolution of reef ecosystems and give rise to the complex communities found today.

 

British Museum (Natural History).  (1979).  Dinosaurs and Their Living Relatives. 

     London:  Bentley House.  72 pages.  ISN:  0-521-29698-6.

This book is designed to enable students of all ages to think about, define, and determine the relationships among groups of animals.  Students will also be able to determine which animals of today are living fossils.

 

 

 

 

VIDEO REFERENCES

 

 

 

 Essential Science for Teachers:  EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE.  60 minute 

     presentations.  S. Burlington, VT:  Annenberg Media.  ISBN:  1-57680-834-3.

 Essential Science for Teachers courses are designed to help k-6 teachers gain an  

 Understanding of some of the bedrock science concepts they need to teach

 standard-based curricula.  The series of courses also includes Life Science and

 Physical Science.  Earth and Space Science consists of eight one-hour video pro-

grams accompanied by print and Web materials that provide in-class activities and homework explorations.  Real-world examples, demonstrations, animations, still graphics, and interviews with scientists compose content segments that are intertwined with in-depth interviews with children that uncover their ideas about the topic at hand.  Each program also features an elementary school teacher and his or her students exploring the topic using exemplary science curricula.  Use the complete course for teacher education or professional development, or individual programs for content review.

 

Video Presentations:

  1. Earth’s Solid Membrane: Soil                       6.   Restless Landscapes
  2. Every Rock Tells a Story                              7.   Our Nearest Neighbor:
  3. Journey to the Earth’s Interior                            The Moon

4.   The Engine That Drives the Earth               8.   Order Out of Chaos:  

      5.   When Continents Collide                                     Our Solar System                                              

 

 

Geology Why Bother?  (2003).  Boulder, Colorado:  Why Bother Films, LLC. 26 min.

     WWW.WHYBOTHERFILMS.COM.

 

   Because geology is more than just pretty rocks.

 

   Students learn about Geologic Disaster as well as Geologic Resources.