Nonfiction Book:

Title: “Body Invaders”

Author: Jane Penrose

Date of Publication: 9 January 2014

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This book is all about germs and how they can affect one’s body. The book includes tips for how to prevent the spread of germs and germs that can be found in food. Vivid pictures with great depictions of germs are used throughout which makes it a great resource for young children! The language used is simple enough that second grade students could understand the ideas while reading alone and still be able to pull information from the story to use in other contexts. The end of the book even includes a glossary with important key terms used throughout the book. Students could compare this book to a fictional story about food safety or germs. The students could identify big ideas throughout the two books that were similar or different. This was the best book I found because it clearly describes the relationship of germs and food. 

Quotes from the Book

• “Some germs can be swallowed.”
• “Germs grow on food that is old or not cooked properly.”
• “Never eat food that is too old or not properly cooked.”
• “A germ is a tiny living thing that can make you ill.”
• “The germs make poison. This makes you feel ill.”

Comparison to other Books

Another similar book is  Food Safety by Christine Taylor-Butler. While this book does more specifically cover food safety and how to avoid becoming ill from what you eat, it doesn’t make cross curricular connections as well as Body Invaders does. The Western Washington University library also holds many other non-fiction books about germs and how they affect food. These books would be great for older students or as a resource for teachers to build lessons! Of these books, Body Invaders connects to core subjects while also being at a comprehensible level for second graders the best.

Second Grade Integration

Through this book, students can learn about life forms and how microorganisms can affect the body. This can easily be related to a lesson in biology about how microorganisms grow and repopulate. This book could be used as an extension or and introduction to a lesson on food safety. This way, students can take their ideas about food safety and expand on that to learn about germs in food in more detail. Students could also use this information about germs and how they work when they learn about food safety to have a better understanding of what germs are before moving into a lesson on food safety.

Standards

NHES Standards

• PHW1.2.11 Identify different ways that disease-causing germs are transmitted
• PHW1.2.14 Explain that foods can contain germs that can cause illness
• PHW1.2.15 Identify food safety strategies that can control germs that causes foodborne illnesses.
• PHW1.2.12 Identify ways to prevent the spread of germs that cause common infectious diseases
• PHW6.2.2 Identify who can help when assistance is needed to achieve a personal health goal.

Next Generation Science Standards

• K-L S1-1: Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.
• 1-l S1-2: Read texts and use media to determine patterns in behavior of parents and offspring that help offspring survive.

Common Core Standards 

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.2: Identify the main topic of a multiparagraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.5: Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.9: Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic.

 

Fiction Book:

Title: The Magic School Bus: The Giant Germ

Author: Anne Capeci, Joanna Cole

Date of Publication: June 1, 2001

Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

Summary

This book is geared towards grades 2-5 and children ages 7-10. It is a chapter book with illustrations and is based on the hit kids show The Magic School Bus. I think that this book is a great choice because it takes the educational fun from the show into paperback form as a second outlet for kids. The Magic School Bus is always fun to watch and now to read! The Magic School Bus takes non-fiction topics and blends them with a fictional story line for kids. This makes the topics interesting and engaging for children. This is just one book in a whole series so children can read more The Magic School Bus books if they are so interested.

Quotes from the Book:

• • • “‘Not all microbes make us sick,’ said the Friz. ‘The few that do give all microbes a bad name. Most people don’t know that microbes do a lot more good than harm.’ ”
    • “Microbes that can make you sick are called germs.”
    • “Each one of those spots of mold is actually made up of millions of tiny microbes.”
    • “Microbes come in all different sizes, shapes, and colors”

Comparison to other books:

A similar book is Achoo! It is a book from the series Mysterious You, and this particular book focuses on germs and illnesses. This book has facts and activities for kids to try. This book is a bit different because it is not a chapter book, and the Magic School Bus does not have activities for kids to try! I think that Achoo! Would be a good resource to have in the classroom and I think that the activities would be interesting to try out!

Second Grade Integration

This book and others in its series can easily be integrated in your second grade classroom. It can be part of a lesson plan, read aloud, or independent reading. Books provide practice and experience in literacy and its dimensions. Students can read the chapter books and create their own story, write reviews, help other students, write reading journal entries, and many other activities!

Standards

NHES Standards

• Standard 2: Students will analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology, and other factors on health behaviors.
  • 2.2.3 Describe how the media can influence health behaviors.
• Standard 8: Students will demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family, and community health.
  • 8.2.1 Make requests to promote personal health.
  • 8.2.2 Encourage peers to make positive health choices.

Common Core Standards

• • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.7 Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.5 Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.