My Place in Space

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by Robin and Sally Hirst. Illustrated by Roland Harvey and Joe Levine. Picture Book. 32 pages. Grades PreK-2.
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Teacher's Guide

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This book is currently (2013) out of print but still widely available used and through libraries.

Most of this article is an excerpt from Picture Book Math by Carol Otis Hurst and Rebecca Otis which is now available in its second edition, as an eBook.

Henry and Rosie tell the city bus driver that they want him to take them home. When he teasingly says that maybe they don't know their home address, Henry rises to the occasion and tells him precisely and extensively what his address is: 12 Main Street, Gumbridge, Australia, Southern Hemisphere, Earth, solar system, solar neighborhood, Orion Arm, Milky Way Galaxy, local group of galaxies, Virgo Supercluster, the universe. The end result is a clear picture of our own place in space.

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Activities

  • Math Activities

  • Grades 1-3
    Measurement and Time
    Chart the time it takes light to travel the various distances mentioned in the book.

  • K-Grade 3
    Data Gathering, Analyzing, & Measurement
    Graph distances to the various places in the book using the speed of light as your unit. How will you approach the problem of the vast differences in the figures? Will you need two graphs?

  • K-Gr 2
    Data Gathering and Analyzing
    Graph the size of some of the places mentioned in the book.

  • Grades 1-3
    Numeration & Measurement
    List the number and the unit of measure for each place described in the book. Take time to reflect on the numbers, what they mean, and how they are written.

  • Grades 1-3
    Spatial Sense
    What would you include as your address on Earth, assuming your address in the universe is the same as Henry's? What could you add? Is there a room within an apartment or house, for instance? Where in the city or town is your street? Where is your house on that street? In what part of the county or state is your town or city?

  • Grade 2-3
    Measurement & Computation
    Traveling at sixty miles per hour, how long would it take to get from where you are to the center of Australia? To the center of the southern hemisphere? To the center of the earth? To the center of the solar system? To the center of the galaxy?

  • Grades 1-3
    Attributes & Classification
    Get facts about and photographs of different galaxies. Categorize the galaxies according to as many attributes as possible.

  • Grades 1-3
    Attributes & Classification
    Classify a selection of stars or planets by various attributes. What classifications do astronomers use?

  • Grades 1-3
    Measurement & Computation
    Discuss light years and other units of measure. Create some other possible measurements for distances: the speed of sound, the speed of people, cars, birds, cheetahs. Calculate some distances based on those measurements

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Related Books

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    Grades 1 - 4
    Magic School Bus in the Solar System by Joanna Cole. Illustrated by Bruce Degen. (1992, Scholastic. ISBN 9780590414296.) Picture Book. 40 pages.
    Find this book: Local Bookstore, Amazon, B&N icon

    Ms Frizzle and her magic school bus are back for yet another zany adventure. This time Arnold has brought Janet, his know-it-all cousin, along for the ride through the solar system. Janet has done it all, is hard to ignore, and is never surprised by anything. Things get really exciting when Ms Frizzle is lost in space and Janet takes over.

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    Grades PreK - 3
    My Light by Molly Bang. (2004, Blue Sky Press. ISBN 9780439489614.) Nonfiction Picture Book. 40 pages.
    Find this book: Local Bookstore, Amazon, B&N icon

    Caldecott Honor winner Molly Bang has done a wonderful job here of creating a picture book all about the sun's light and how it becomes electricity and other forms of energy on earth. Vibrant paintings and detailed text describe how sunlight causes rainfall and rivers and how it forms coal and feeds plants and more. A stunning science book.

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    Grades 2 - 8
    Our Solar System by Seymour Simon. (2007, HarperCollins. ISBN 9780061140082.) Nonfiction Picture Book. 72 pages.
    Find this book: Local Bookstore, Amazon, B&N icon

    Here's another beautifully executed and richly illustrated title from Seymour Simon. This overview of our solar system: the planets, moons, sun, asteroids and meteors is illustrated with photos taken by the Magellan and Voyager space probes.

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    Grades 1 - 7
    Stars by Seymour Simon. (2006, Perfection Learning. ISBN 9780756967475.) Nonfiction Picture Book. 31 pages.
    Find this book: Local Bookstore, Amazon, B&N icon

    Seymour Simon provides the most up to date information about stars and their variety and uses full color startlingly beautiful photographs to illustrate his points. The book covers white dwarfs, quasars, pulsars as well as the supernovas and nebula caused by their explosions and more.

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Related Areas Within Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Web Site