Books with author Carla Mooney

FEMA stands for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Learn all about how FEMA responds to earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, and hurricanes, and brings relief and help to the people in need. During a tragedy FEMA responds by helping people find lost family members, friends, and even pets. Offering loans to rebuild and counseling victims, this federal agency is a life saving tool to people in need. This book will allow students to refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

What is industrial design? How does it affect our everyday lives? Why do microwaves open with a swinging front door? Why aren't smartphones round? Why do drivers sit on the left in the United States? Industrial design is the study of the design process behind the products we use every day, from blenders to school buses to laptops. In Industrial Design: Why Smartphones Aren't Round and Other Mysteries with Science Activities for Kids, readers ages 10–15 engage in and learn about the engineering design process from its earliest beginnings when individuals designed and crafted their own tools to today, when engineers work to find the best design for products that are then manufactured in bulk by automated machines. Why does design matter? It's the design of a product that increases or decreases its chances at success. If the design of your phone isn't quite right and you feel uncomfortable or frustrated every time you use it, you probably won't buy that model again. Engineers consider the user experience of every product they design to ensure that users have the best experience possible. Good design combines the right materials, colors, details, and form to make a person want to buy and use a product. A well-designed product is easy to use and does what it is meant to do.In Industrial Design, readers practice their own engineering design skills using the engineering design process and learn how to create useful, aesthetically pleasing designs for a variety of products. They learn about the history of industrial design and the transition from craft-based design to mass production. Through fun science and engineering projects, they explore the steps of the industrial design process including brainstorming, idea sketching, technical drawings, creating models and prototypes, and product testing. Like a good designer, they learn how to evaluate products for function, usability, ergonomics, aesthetics, and green design. Throughout Industrial Design, inquiry-based activities, essential questions, links to online primary sources, and an extensive engineering glossary all promote critical and creative thinking and serve to highlight the importance and beauty of engineering design and the role it plays in our world. In the Technology for Today set, readers ages 10 to 15 explore the digital and tech landscapes of today and tomorrow through hands-on STEAM activities and compelling stories of how things work, who makes them work, and why. Titles in this set include Industrial Design: Why Smartphones Aren’t Round and Other Mysteries with Science Activities for Kids; Big Data: Information in the Digital World with Science Activities for Kids; Projectile Science: The Physics Behind Kicking a Field Goal and Launching a Rocket with Science Activities for Kids; and Artificial Intelligence: Thinking Machines and Smart Robots with Science Activities for Kids. Nomad Press books integrate content with participation. Common Core State Standards, the Next Generation Science Standards, and STEM Education all place project-based learning as key building blocks in education. Combining content with inquiry-based projects stimulates learning and makes it active and alive. Nomad’s unique approach simultaneously grounds kids in factual knowledge while allowing them the space to be curious, creative, and critical thinkers.

In FEMA: Prepare, Respond, and Recover, young readers will learn about the agency that responds to natural disaster relief. Featuring 32 pages of real-life photographs, a glossary, websites to visit, and more, this title offers an inside look into how FEMA offers help to people in need.With vivid photos and engaging text, the titles in the Emergency Response series offer high-interest topics for students in grades 4–8. Readers will understand the dedication, expertise, and risks undertaken by the brave individuals who protect our U.S. citizens at home. Readers will discover the historical aspects of each job through timelines and gain reading comprehension skills with before- and after-reading activities, and more.

In Bomb Disposal: Diffusing Danger, young readers will learn exactly what bomb disposal experts do every day around the world. Featuring 32 pages of real-life photographs, a glossary, websites to visit, and more, this title engages young readers to understand the emergency response field. With vivid photos and engaging text, the titles in the Emergency Response series offer high-interest topics for students in grades 4–8. Readers will understand the dedication, expertise, and risks undertaken by the brave individuals who protect our U.S. citizens at home. Readers will discover the historical aspects of each job through timelines and gain reading comprehension skills with before- and after-reading activities, and more.

In It's Electric! Currents, students will learn all about electricity–how energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents, and much more. Readers will love discovering new information in this chapter book while also reinforcing learned skills with comprehension and extension activities. The Let’s Explore Science series allows readers to dive into the world of fascinating science-related topics while strengthening reading comprehension skills. Each 48-page title features full-color photographs, real-world applications, content vocabulary, and more to effectively engage young learners.

Some of the most exciting careers are in STEM fields. A strong STEM education will allow you to research, test, and build new things. If you like movies, this book will teach you all about computer animation, industrial light and technical animators, motion capture engineers, and what education and degrees it takes to obtain these exciting careers. Learn all the tricks they use to make the special effects and simulations that make today’s movies more exciting! This book will allow students to develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.

Where does the news that students hear--on television, the radio, and online--come from? And who decides what's news? Asking Questions about How the News is Created discusses how an event becomes a story, and how the biases of the gatekeepers of the news media can alter the messages being sent. Case studies prompt inquiry, further thinking, and close examination of specific issues. Additional text features and search tools, including a glossary and an index, help students locate information and learn new words.