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I Fall Down
Do you know what makes things fall? Renowned science author Vicki Cobb explains the weighty subject of gracity with such ease that even the youngest kids will understand. Follow this book with a child who loves to play. Have lots of dropping races. Together you'll learn how much fun falling for science can be. Exciting hands on activities and irresistible illustrations by Julia Gorton make Science Play a perfect way to learn about science...just for the fun of it!
30 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
3 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
About the author
Vicki Cobb
113 books107 followers Vicki Cobb, the “Master Chef of Hands-on Science,” a graduate of Barnard College and Columbia’s Teachers College, is a former science teacher with a M.A. in secondary school science. The publication of her classic book, Science Experiments You Can Eat, (an updated, revised edition was released in 2016 by HarperCollins) established her as an innovator in hands-on science. Take a look on her website www.vickicobb.com to get a sense of her playful and accessible approach to science in her 90+ books for grades K-8 that cover physics, chemistry and biology, biographies, geography, and the human body.
She is also pioneering a video project based on her book We Dare You! Check out the hilarious videos at www.wedareyouvideos.com
She has performed “Science Surprises,” her interactive and engrossing show for kids, in 49 of the fifty states (missing only North Dakota) as well as internationally. A veteran motivator/professional development presenter of day-long in-services/keynote speaker, Vicki uses her expertise, humor, wit and background as an educator to inspire teachers to make science teaching the highpoint of their day. Currently she is president and founder of iNK Think Tank, Inc., a nonprofit company that focuses on the contribution that nonfiction literature and its authors can make to education. She contributes to: The Nonfiction Minute, www.nonfictionminute.org/ (which has had 5+ million page views over the past five years) and has been a Contributor to the Huffington Post and has recently launched www.vickicobbsblog.com in connection with the Nonfiction Minute, where she writes commentary on education and reviews nonfiction books as inspiring reading for children hungry to learn about the real world. .
Vicki Cobb received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2012.
She is also pioneering a video project based on her book We Dare You! Check out the hilarious videos at www.wedareyouvideos.com
She has performed “Science Surprises,” her interactive and engrossing show for kids, in 49 of the fifty states (missing only North Dakota) as well as internationally. A veteran motivator/professional development presenter of day-long in-services/keynote speaker, Vicki uses her expertise, humor, wit and background as an educator to inspire teachers to make science teaching the highpoint of their day. Currently she is president and founder of iNK Think Tank, Inc., a nonprofit company that focuses on the contribution that nonfiction literature and its authors can make to education. She contributes to: The Nonfiction Minute, www.nonfictionminute.org/ (which has had 5+ million page views over the past five years) and has been a Contributor to the Huffington Post and has recently launched www.vickicobbsblog.com in connection with the Nonfiction Minute, where she writes commentary on education and reviews nonfiction books as inspiring reading for children hungry to learn about the real world. .
Vicki Cobb received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2012.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
November 8, 2019
I Fall Down is a great interactive nonfiction book for children. Bringing in fun ways to introduce a harder topic of gravity to younger kids is major! The pictures and illustrations are so kid friendly and relate to everyday items they see around the world. This book introduces why things fall down and why things do not fall up. It also brings in the topic of weight as well as how to weigh ourselves. With bringing in fun ways to explain gravity to younger children, book like this are giving opportunities for students to have light bulb moments at such young ages in elementary school. The kids will love it and will be wanting to jump in and tell you everything they know about gravity before you even start the book.
I know when I used this book in a clinical, the students are were eager to tell me everything they already knew about gravity and they wanted to learn more. In the state of Alabama, there is standard for second grade about gravity, but this was first grade! It was amazing how this book still flowed and sparked interest. With using this in a classroom, I would for sure do what we did in our clinical by getting objects from this book that were used to be an experiment intertwined into this book. Having open ended questions as well as interactive parts of the book to get kids up and moving, is the key to keeping students engaged. With this being a lower elementary grade nonfiction book, they are understanding the concepts and truly learning, but putting it into complete sentences is another thing. With guidance from all inputs of what the students learn, you can make simple sentences and let them draw a picture to assess what they learned. Discussion and the illustration show how much nonfiction really does work. I never knew how nonfiction could be turned into fun cartoons with information besides like historical figures, but now that my eyes have been opened, nonfiction is the move!
I know when I used this book in a clinical, the students are were eager to tell me everything they already knew about gravity and they wanted to learn more. In the state of Alabama, there is standard for second grade about gravity, but this was first grade! It was amazing how this book still flowed and sparked interest. With using this in a classroom, I would for sure do what we did in our clinical by getting objects from this book that were used to be an experiment intertwined into this book. Having open ended questions as well as interactive parts of the book to get kids up and moving, is the key to keeping students engaged. With this being a lower elementary grade nonfiction book, they are understanding the concepts and truly learning, but putting it into complete sentences is another thing. With guidance from all inputs of what the students learn, you can make simple sentences and let them draw a picture to assess what they learned. Discussion and the illustration show how much nonfiction really does work. I never knew how nonfiction could be turned into fun cartoons with information besides like historical figures, but now that my eyes have been opened, nonfiction is the move!
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February 7, 2020Do you know why you fall or why you milk drips? That is the question the author poses at the beginning of this book. It goes on to ask more questions like why balls fall down when you throw them up. We then learn about gravity, a force that helps us stay on the ground. Everything falls at an equal speed, except things like feathers or tissues. We learn that on the moon there is no gravity. We see that when you tie two shoes to a rubber band, if one is heavier, the rubber band will stretch longer. This is due to the force of gravity. The book ends by explaining that if we weigh more, we fall faster.
I did not like this book, because I thought it was a little all over the place. There was not really a plot line. It started out a simply read, but the words got harder quickly.
I could use this in my classroom to talk gravity in science classes. It provides examples of gravity that I think the kids could easily catch onto.
I did not like this book, because I thought it was a little all over the place. There was not really a plot line. It started out a simply read, but the words got harder quickly.
I could use this in my classroom to talk gravity in science classes. It provides examples of gravity that I think the kids could easily catch onto.
May 14, 2019
An introduction to gravity and weight for kids.
I love the way that Vicki Cobb can break down science concepts into terms that little kids can grasp. This one does a great job of introducing the basics of gravity (she just goes with the most observable Earth gravity and doesn't get into the fact that all objects have gravity). There are simple experiments to demonstrate that gravity pulls on everything and that everything falls at the same rate and that wind resistance is the only thing that messes that up on Earth. The book then gets into weight and simple experiments to determine what weighs more. All the experiments can be done with things around a house or school. Highly recommended to lower grade/preschool science classes and curious kids.
I love the way that Vicki Cobb can break down science concepts into terms that little kids can grasp. This one does a great job of introducing the basics of gravity (she just goes with the most observable Earth gravity and doesn't get into the fact that all objects have gravity). There are simple experiments to demonstrate that gravity pulls on everything and that everything falls at the same rate and that wind resistance is the only thing that messes that up on Earth. The book then gets into weight and simple experiments to determine what weighs more. All the experiments can be done with things around a house or school. Highly recommended to lower grade/preschool science classes and curious kids.
October 15, 2017
Great interactive book. This was a fun way for children to learn about gravity. It provides different activities for your to perform so your child can answer the questions as he performs each task. The only thing you as a parent needs to do is to gather some objects so you can help teach your child about what gravity does to each of the objects on earth. The book also portrays fun pictures to follow and compare the activities. Great illustrations relative to the subject of gravity.
March 4, 2019
This book talks about gravity and how it effects you, allowing kids to understand why things fall and such!
This book was different, I really like the words and how they explain such a complex topic easily. But the pictures weren’t as engaging as I was wanting them to be!
In my class I would read this book and then have my students demonstrate gravity by using water and a cup, then having them write a “report” of when it failed and when it was accomplished
This book was different, I really like the words and how they explain such a complex topic easily. But the pictures weren’t as engaging as I was wanting them to be!
In my class I would read this book and then have my students demonstrate gravity by using water and a cup, then having them write a “report” of when it failed and when it was accomplished
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October 20, 2021Great interactive book. This was a fun way for children to learn about gravity. It provides different activities for you to perform so children can answer the questions as they perform each task. The only thing an adult needs to do is to gather some objects so they can help teach the child about what gravity does to each of the objects on earth.
December 4, 2021
I liked this realistic science fiction book as it is a great way to introduce the concept of gravity to students. The pictures are colorful and fun and help aid the reader in understanding the concept. This book also provides readers with fun experiments to try at home, this helps kids to get interested in science.
November 16, 2016
A nonfiction picture book about weight, gravity, falling for the young reader in mind. Author Vicki Cobb includes a note to readers on how to prepare for the book, recommending supplies for this activity-packed book!
July 11, 2017
Describes gravity in the most basic and relatable terms. Story weaves instructions for children to experiment page by page as they read along. Preface includes list of the few items suggested to have on hand while reading.
June 8, 2018
At the beginning of the book there is a note to the reader stating that the book is designed to be read and then activities done for hands on practice. I Fall Down tells about the effects of gravity. Each page shows a simple experiment that demonstrates the effects of gravity.
May 4, 2023
Great book that talks about gravity. This books includes many different experiments that you could do with your children to help teach them about gravity. I think that children would enjoy going through the experiments and determining the results as they read the book.
December 9, 2017
Nice intro to gravity.
February 1, 2018
Great for teaching students about gravity.
September 16, 2019
My tiny daughter how I like to call her got into the book club at her pre-school so now she have to read 1 book per week this one is the first one and it is so cute and funny she loved it .
April 15, 2020
Kind of an abrupt ending.
January 19, 2022
Learn about why we fall down and what role gravity has in it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2017
I Fall Down is an amazing non-fiction children's book. It teaches children about gravity in basic terms. The illustrations and keep kids engaged and entertained. If the kids are not able to read very well, the pictures are easy to depict what is going on. Throughout the book there are mini experiments that children are able to do and I think that it could give children something tactile to do. I was amazed at how well this author explained gravity. Highly recommend.
Educationally, I think this book says it all. A teacher could read this to the class and then do the experiments that are suggested in the book. It would be fun for kids to see how gravity actually works. The book clearly explains every topic and I think it would beneficial for children to read.
Educationally, I think this book says it all. A teacher could read this to the class and then do the experiments that are suggested in the book. It would be fun for kids to see how gravity actually works. The book clearly explains every topic and I think it would beneficial for children to read.
February 8, 2017
"I Fall Down" is a great read to introduce the idea of gravity in a fun away for kids. They are able to get all their wiggles out. This is good for the classroom most kids learn better when they can be moving around. The author has many genius ideas of how to demonstrate to kids on how gravity affects everyday objects. I'm sure that it would work great for classroom settings and one-on-one reads as well. This should work great for kids 3-8, depending on how the book is used. I hope to use this in my classroom someday.
December 4, 2013
I really enjoyed this book. It would go great with a science lesson about gravity. The book posed questions to the reader about certain objects and their gravity. The reader was encouraged to do an experiment of their own on almost every page. These experiments were kid friendly and simple enough to do in a classroom. For example, one experiment asked the reader to hold up two different objects and see if they hit the floor at the same time. This book had illustrations that went along nicely with the experiments, and they helped the reader to know how to do the experiment.
*This book posed a series of questions to the reader about gravity. For example, one experiment asked the reader to hold up two different objects and see if they hit the floor at the same time. I would use this book to do experiments about gravity with the students in my classroom.
*This book posed a series of questions to the reader about gravity. For example, one experiment asked the reader to hold up two different objects and see if they hit the floor at the same time. I would use this book to do experiments about gravity with the students in my classroom.
April 27, 2013
Personally, I was not a huge fan of this book. It does teach students about gravity, falling, and provide activities for the children to do in order to experience the effects of gravity. However, a teacher must be very careful in using this book. I feel like the terminology used could easily be over the heads of children in the class. I would use this as a supplemental book when teaching gravity, but would not use it as a soul resource for a lesson.
If I were to use this book as a primary resource, it would be to get their background knowledge activated and have them tell me things that they can throw in the air that fall to the ground. I feel that this would be a good conversation that could potentially lead into a physics lesson.
If I were to use this book as a primary resource, it would be to get their background knowledge activated and have them tell me things that they can throw in the air that fall to the ground. I feel that this would be a good conversation that could potentially lead into a physics lesson.
February 11, 2014
We used the first few pages of this simple informational book about gravity to introduce our theme of "FALLING" for library story time.
We followed the script by asking "What happens when you trip?" (but added a second question-- "Do you fall up?"). The children gave the answer the text provides on the next page -- "You fall down!"
-- does spilt milk drip up to the ceiling?
-- when you toss a ball into the air does it keep going up?
-- how about your mom's keys?
-- what about a block?
(Of course we pretended to toss each of these items in the air). And this is where we set this book aside and moved on to another story.
We followed the script by asking "What happens when you trip?" (but added a second question-- "Do you fall up?"). The children gave the answer the text provides on the next page -- "You fall down!"
-- does spilt milk drip up to the ceiling?
-- when you toss a ball into the air does it keep going up?
-- how about your mom's keys?
-- what about a block?
(Of course we pretended to toss each of these items in the air). And this is where we set this book aside and moved on to another story.
April 19, 2012
This book is for: 1-5
Topic: Gravity; experiments
Reflection:
I loved the real life examples that children can apply to their lives! Lots of experiments and activities regarding gravity. I would possibly read this to kindergarten but not get into the technical terms just yet. Just noticing how things fall back to Earth.
Topic: Gravity; experiments
Reflection:
I loved the real life examples that children can apply to their lives! Lots of experiments and activities regarding gravity. I would possibly read this to kindergarten but not get into the technical terms just yet. Just noticing how things fall back to Earth.
April 24, 2013
This book is an example of an experiment you may do in your classroom while exploring gravity. Including fun, hands-on activities and open-ended questions it allows for great inquiry based learning. Students will ask themselves, “do you know what makes things fall” as they read to reveal their answer.
February 26, 2015
I choose this book because I love the way in which the text and illustrations interact. The words are a part of the illustrations. This book is a great tool for a science lesson. Science experiments can be performed while the book is being read.
April 2, 2012
This book talks about gravity and how it relates to weight. I think that this book makes advanced science topics simple for kids.
August 5, 2012
This is an easy to understand book for kids about gravity. Teachers will like using this book and kids will enjoy it as well. The kid friendly activities are fun too.
April 15, 2013
Love the real life examples this book uses to teach gravity! This book would be great to use as a read aloud or independent read for a student when talking about gravity.
July 5, 2013
I think this book would be great if I include some hands on activities about gravity with it rather than reading this book only.
July 29, 2013
This book describes gravity in simple terms accompanied by pictures, examples and experiments to try. A great addition to your science collection!
October 20, 2015
Bad font choice - hard to read, particularly in large blocks of text.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews