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Books in Do It Yourself series

  • Cities: Discover How They Work with 25 Projects

    Kathleen M. Reilly, Tom Casteel

    Hardcover (Nomad Press, April 15, 2014)
    To a child, a city is a chaotic, vibrant community whose workings can seem quite mysterious. How did people create subways? How does the water get to the very top of a skyscraper? Is there any organization to a bustling metropolis? Cities: Discover How They Work gives kids a view into the inner functioning of urban areas. They’ll learn about all the parts that come together to make cities work and how they’ve grown and changed since the very first riverside settlements.Fascinating sidebars, unique illustrations, Words to Know, and fun Did You Know facts combine with age-appropriate hands-on activities to make learning about complex urban environments fun and reinforce learning. Projects include creating subway cut-aways to understand how transportation systems work, building an aqueduct to learn how cities get water, and experimenting with skyscraper design and water filtration. This STEAM title, which integrates science, technology, engineering, art, and math includes a glossary, list of resources, and index.Cities meets common core state standards in language arts for reading informational text and literary nonfiction and is aligned with Next Generation Science Standards. Guided Reading Levels and Lexile measurements indicate grade level and text complexity.
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  • Projectile Science: The Physics Behind Kicking a Field Goal and Launching a Rocket with Science Activities for Kids

    Matthew Brenden Wood, Tom Casteel

    Paperback (Nomad Press, Aug. 3, 2018)
    What are the forces behind ballistics? Why do rocks and rockets soar through the air in an arch? The game is on the line. Suddenly, you hear the crack of a bat and the roar of crowd. Where will the ball land? How far will it travel? Is it a home run? You might think that hitting a home run or nailing a three-pointer is just luck, but there are many forces at work that determine if you’ve made a game-winning shot or the final out. If you’ve ever kicked a ball, thrown a rock, or even played Angry Birds, you’ve experimented with the forces behind ballistics. In Projectile Science: The Physics Behind Kicking a Field Goal and Launching a Rocket with Science Activities for Kids,one of four titles in the Technology for Today set, kids ages 10 to 15 learn why projectiles follow the paths they do and what factors influence those paths. Readers who are fascinated with potato cannons, slingshots, and rocketry will love taking that next step and applying what they learn about the laws of physics to the science of figuring out where to aim. Math is the language you use to understand the science of ballistics. In this book, readers will learn about the forces that act on the projectiles and how to calculate those forces to make educated predictions about where their homemade rockets and other projectiles will land. 25 Safe, hands-on STEAM activities using materials that are easy to acquire are a terrific way to foster real-life learning about ballistics. Kids will perform Galileo's famous test for gravity, create clinometers to measure height and distance, and build a machine that can throw curve balls. Essential questions that promote critical examination of the science, primary sources, online videos, and science-minded engineering activities let readers have a blast learning about the physics of ballistics! 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.
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  • Climate Change: The Science Behind Melting Glaciers and Warming Oceans with Hands-On Science Activities

    Josh Sneideman, Erin Twamley, Alexis Cornell

    Hardcover (Nomad Press, April 15, 2020)
    A book about climate change for middle readers who want to learn the science behind a warming planet and make a difference for their own future! What’s causing extreme weather around the globe? Why are some species rapidly dwindling in number? And what does the future hold for planet Earth? In Climate Change: The Science Behind Melting Glaciers and Warming Oceans with Hands-On Science Activities, students ages 9 to 12 take a deep dive into the science behind the changing climate in order to best contribute to the methods underway to solve the problem of a rapidly changing planet―and think up new solutions! Essential questions, cool facts, and links to online primary sources and other relevant material make complex concepts easier to understand. This book is rich in text-to-self and text-to-world connections, along with hands-on science and critical creative-thinking exercises designed to explore the research being done to combat this global problem and encourage kids to find new solutions! This title has been revised and updated to reflect 2020 educational standards and incorporate new scientific discoveries! • How do we know the climate is changing? By looking at the science from the past 200 years or so, all of which points to the fact that humans have had an adverse impact on the health of the planet, and this impact is great enough to affect many different ecosystems, living species, and the human species itself. • The study of planetary science, arctic ice bubbles, coral reefs, and more all contribute to the wealth of knowledge we are gaining, knowledge that can be used in the science and engineering innovations underway around the world to address global climate change.• Focused on a proactive approach to environmental education, Climate Change engages readers through hands-on activities, such as building a solar pizza oven, along with stories of people, including kids, who are making a positive environmental difference. About the Build It Science set and Nomad Press Climate Change is part of a set of four Build It Science books that explore accessible science. The other titles in this set are Fairground Physics, Backyard Biology, and Kitchen Chemistry. Nomad Press books in the Build It series integrate content with participation. 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. All books are leveled for Guided Reading level and Lexile and align with Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards. All titles are available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook formats.
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  • The Ultimate Guide to Gardening: Grow Your Own Indoor, Vegetable, Fairy, and Other Great Gardens

    Lisa J. Amstutz

    Paperback (Capstone Young Readers, April 1, 2016)
    Whether inside or outside, decorative or edible, this book is full of gardening projects large and small. Easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions are accompanied by photographs that guide the aspiring gardening through planting all kinds of gardens.
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  • Re-Craft: Unique Projects That Look Great

    Jennifer Lynn Jones, Carol Sirrine

    Paperback (Capstone Young Readers, March 1, 2011)
    Teens with a passion for crafts and our planet will love this book! Transform torn jeans into a fashionable new purse, make an old t-shirt into a chew toy for your dog, or use bottle caps to make a picture frame. With easy instructions and inspiring photographs of finished projects, Re-Craft provides the earth-minded reader with creative ways to be green, look good and have fun.
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  • Party Time

    Caroline Pitcher, Louise Nevett

    Library Binding (Franklin Watts, Dec. 1, 1984)
    Easy-to-follow instructions teach children to make hats, masks, decorations, invitations, and other party items
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  • Animals

    Caroline Pitcher, Louise Nevett

    Library Binding (Franklin Watts, Oct. 1, 1983)
    Presents detailed, step-by-step instructions for a wide range of simple craft projects, with tips on using everyday materials to create a Potato Cow, a Floating Duck, and other animals
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  • THE HUMAN BODY: 25 FANTASTIC PROJECTS Illuminate How the Body Works

    Kathleen M. Reilly, Shawn Braley

    Paperback (Nomad Press, Oct. 1, 2008)
    Kids will be amazed at all the action that’s going on right inside their own bodies, from understanding just how that apple turns into energy to how the “leftovers” make their exit. The Human Body: 25 Fantastic Projects Illuminate How the Body Works will engage kids with hands-on activities that will show them all the fantastic, well-orchestrated systems at work in their very own bodies—they’ll see exactly how smoke affects the lung, how the heart really acts as a liquid pump, and how the different joints are structured and serve different purposes. Kids will gain a concrete understanding of their bodies—and realize in the process just how amazing they really are.
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  • All About Magnets/Book and Magnet

    Stephen Krensky, Paul Meisel

    Paperback (Scholastic, June 1, 1994)
    Recounts the history of the use of magnets, describes what they can do, and provides suggestions for experiments using them
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  • Custom Confections: Delicious Desserts You Can Create and Enjoy

    Jen Besel

    Paperback (Capstone Young Readers, Sept. 1, 2014)
    Bake up surprises in cupcakes and cookies. Create custom desserts with ease. Or decorate all kinds of creative confections like a pro. Forty fun, simple recipes will have kids and kids at heart creating delicious desserts to decorate and devour! Step by step instructions and photos make red velvet cookies, black and white angel food cake, cheesecake stuffed strawberries, and more easy to achieve and tasty to eat. Sweetly simple, appetizingly fun!
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  • Great Medieval Projects: You Can Build Yourself

    Kris Bordessa, Shawn Braley

    Hardcover (Nomad Press, Sept. 1, 2008)
    Great Medieval Projects You Can Build Yourself brings the Middle Ages in Europe alive through hands-on activities for kids ages 9-12. Addressing various aspects of medieval life, this book provides historically accurate details of the period leading up to the Renaissance. From monastic life to castle living, villages to towns, each section offers a glimpse into the daily existence of the people who lived in medieval Europe. Sidebars and fun trivia break up the text. Readers will expand their knowledge of this era beyond knights, fair maidens, and castles as they learn about siege warfare, life in a medieval village, medieval clothing, markets and fairs, the Plague, medieval medicine, and the Crusades.
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  • Native Americans: DISCOVER THE HISTORY & CULTURES OF THE FIRST AMERICANS WITH 15 PROJECTS

    Kim Kavin, Beth Hetland

    Hardcover (Nomad Press, June 1, 2013)
    Explore how the first Americans, faced with varying climates in a vast land hundreds and thousands of years ago, developed everything we take for granted today: food supplies, shelter, clothing, religion, games, jewelry, transportation, communication, and more.Native Americans: Discover the History and Cultures of the First Americans uses hands-on activities to illuminate how the Native Americans survived and thrived by creating tools, culture, and a society based on their immediate environment. Entertaining illustrations and fascinating sidebars bring the topic to life, while Words to Know highlighted and defined within the text reinforce new vocabulary. Projects include building an archaic toolkit, creating Algonquin art, experimenting with irrigation systems, inventing hieroglyphics, making a “quinzy,” and playing the Inuit game of nugluktaq. In addition to a glossary and an index, an extensive appendix of sites and museums all over the country offers ideas where families can learn more about the various Native American cultures.Kids ages 9–12 will gain an appreciation for the diversity of people and culture native to America, and learn to problem solve in a way that respects the environment.
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