Eureka!

Prairie Builders, The

Publication Information

Author: Collard, Sneed B. III

Illustrator:

Title: Prairie Builders, The

Date: 2005

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

City: Boston

ISBN, paperback: 978-0-618-39687-0

ISBN, hardback:

Recommended audience:

ABE/ABLE: Yes

ESOL:

Family:

Young Adult: Yes

Picture: Yes

General Information:

Book Type(s): nonfiction, photographic essay

HSE Descriptor(s): science| social studies

Summary:

At the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in central Iowa, scientists are recreating a tall-grass prairie. Color photographs, a glossary, web sites, and an index document the difficult process of bringing back a small piece of the prairie.

Teaching Ideas:

_An American Safari_ by Jim Brandenburg, another book in the Eureka! database, could be paired with this book. Using a K-W-L to see what readers already know about prairies and semantic mapping to recall the steps of recreating a prairie would provide details for discussion and writing. Since the Neal Smith Refuge necessitated the cooperation of many individuals and groups, students might create a diagram of the working relationships and funding that could be compared to a local community project. Another use for this book would be as an inspiration for studying the changes to the environment where the reader lives. The book can be used to encourage further reading on the environment and the projects that are going on locally, statewide, nationally and internationally to try to save the environment. The photographs can serve as writing prompts.

Teaching Strategies: