My Light

This book jam-packs a lot of ideas and concepts for students to understand. It mentions the water cycle, natural forms of energy energy transfer, and even the different types of light bulbs. So as a teacher, I think that this book would be a great way to develop these ideas, just maybe not all at once.

Author: Molly Bang
Illustrator: Molly Bang
Year Published: 2004
ISBN: 978-0439489614

Science Topics

Minimum Suggested Grade Level

3rd Grade

Maximum Suggested Grade Level

6th Grade

Summary

This book talks about how the energy we receive from the sun can help things such as plants, the water cycle, wind turbines and other forms on energy and energy transfer.

Evaluation

Appropriateness: Medium
Authority: High
Accuracy: High
Liteary Artistry: High
Appearance: High

Questions

Does the book foster development of processes?

Does the book provide an opportunity for children to ask and answer their own questions?

I believe this book is great for teachers to ask questions like, "Why do you think this is happening?" "What are you thinking?" or "How does this work?" because the book is just stating facts. So this would be great for a discussion, but I do not think the students can ask/answer their own questions as the book is telling them the answer.

Does the book encourage children to think for themselves?

Because the book is just stating the facts and not going much into detail about how or why things are happening, I believe we as teachers can ask leading questions, like the ones mentioned above, to allow the students to think more in depth about how these energies are working/being transferred, etc.

Is the science topic addressed in ways that are appropriate to the lesson?

Yes. While I believe this book should be broken down into parts, I believe each area of content was very informative. The illustrations are also very beneficial in the understanding of these complex concepts.

Is the content based on sound scientific principles? Is it accurate?

Yes. All of the concepts mentioned in the text are accurate. Also, the illustrations featured in the book are very beneficial. The light energy is always represented as little yellow dots, so this would be a great noticing to point out to students so they can remember that our sun's light energy is involved.

Does the book distinguish between fact and fiction?

Not necessarily. Like I have stated above, the book is just stating facts about our energy. It is sort of written in a step-by-step process of what will happen as soon as the sun's energy reaches Earth. There is really no room for fiction.

Are the illustrations clear and accurate?

Yes. The illustrations are actually very beneficial for this book as the concepts may be confusing for some students. Having the energy from the sun constantly represented as these tiny yellow dots that we follow throughout the book is a helpful reminder that the energy from the sun is always involved.

Is the book written at the level of your students?

I believe that some of the vocabulary may be a bit confusing or above grade level depending on the grade you want to use this for. Some examples of possible difficult vocabulary words would be, "radiance, turbines, generators, electrons, etc". All of these would be great teaching points for our students as they are mentioned quite a bit throughout the book.

Is there a multicultural component? Is it free from stereotyping?

The book is mostly talking about "humans" and the Earth as a whole. There is no specific culture mentioned so I believe that is book is free from stereotyping.

Is the book free from gender bias?

Like I mentioned before, the author only mentions the term "humans" as the narrator of the story is the sun, so there is no gender specified in the book. So I do believe it is free from gender bias as well.

Does the book show the close association between science and other disciplines?

This book is strictly a book about science and facts about energy. There really isn't any mention of any other subjects or disciplines besides the concepts mentioned above.

Does the book present a positive attitude toward science and technology?

Yes. This book I believe unintentionally, but fortunately encourages our students to use a natural form of energy, like the ones mentioned in the book. While is really never specifically talked about technology, we could more into the technology around energy and what is the best form of energy we as humans could use. Overall, it was a jam-packed book, but I think the illustrations and the interesting content is very beneficial!