It's a Good Thing There Are Spiders

Rookie Read-About Science

by Lisa M. Herrington

Most wouldn't believe you if you said spiders are good. Many people are seriously scared of spiders. But these creepy crawlies eat insects that harm crops and plants. They are also food for birds, frogs, and other animals. And scientists are trying to replicate spider silk, which may someday be used to bind wounds and to make bulletproof vests for the military. The well-organized chapters help students identify key details. The illustrations and text features such as captions and bold print help students navigate the text while the photographs add clarity and enable students to better understand the text.

Genres: Nonfiction, Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Library Binding

First published September 1, 2014

Reviews

[NayDoubleU · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book so much but hate that the author put poison instead of venom. There is a difference!!! Would have gotten 5 stars but that really irked me.

[Jenna Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview for kids about spiders.

[Angel Mouser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very clear and it had nice pictures!

[Ms. Cobbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Very Busy Spider

Nonfiction text 2:
Herrington, L. M. (2015). It’s a good thing there are spiders. Scholastic: New York, NY.

Twin Text: Carle, E. (2014). The very busy spider. Penguin Young Readers: New York, NY.

Rationale:
One of Carle’s favorite reads of my students The very busy spider is now available in a reading level suitable for readers at level 1.3. I can put this book out with my Eric Carle unit and Diary of a Spider, which is included in our curriculum reader and Writing as a mentor text. This book is appealing to below grade level readers as they have read other books published by Penguin Young Readers. The nonfiction text It’s a good thing there are spiders expands on the spider’s persistence and hard work to finish its “job” of building its web to catch the flies. The nonfiction text expands on how the spider fits into the life cycle eating and being eaten. There are sections on the types of spiders, their scientific classifications and offspring, and what they eat. The nonfiction title would also be appropriate for a read to self-choice along with The Very Busy Spider.

Identify Text Structures:
The text provides the reader with a Table of Contents and page numbers to teach navigation through a text to young readers. The sections use subtitles that direct readers to information they are interested in with bolded vocabulary words that may be defined by accessing the glossary. The reader may also use the index to locate information from key words or ideas they may have about spiders. There is a website for further reference and facts about spiders.

Engagement Strategy application:
The engagement strategies of K-W-L, webbing (spider-web, catch the ideas), compare and contrast, and activating prior knowledge may be utilized with this text along side the Whole-Group reading curriculum’s selection on spiders. The strategy chosen may vary depending on the order that this text is introduced within a unit. I would use the web strategy using a spider web (kinesthetic/ visual) allowing the students to place broader topics close to the center and then from that add their details on a web that we created together as a class. I would extend this to writing in two ways; nonfiction writing and writing from the spiders point of view using facts that we learned about spiders.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

AR Quiz No. 168869 EN Nonfiction
Accelerated Reader Quiz Information IL: LG - BL: 3.0 - AR Pts: 0.5

[Tim Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. Keeps the information fairly simple. Very nice full color photos. Would work well for the pre-k to first grade bunch.