TEACHER GUIDE FOR THE SECRET OF THE SCUBA DIVING SPIDER ... AND MORE!

In The Secret of the Scuba Diving Spider, and More book, scuba diving spiders, whistling caterpillars, jamming bats, zombie beetles, and speedy, squeezable cockroaches each reveal a secret that makes them survivors in their natural world. 

Click here to access your teacher guide

Now, The Secret of the Scuba Diving Spider, and More free teacher guide connects the book to Common Core State Standards – Anchor Standards (reading, writing, speaking, and listening), as well as Next Generation Science Standards. 

Together, book and guide empower teachers to communicate scientific concepts with simple yet detailed language, while engaging students in reading and writing about the wonders of nature. And the video, also available in the teacher guide, grabs your attention as you marvel at this one-of-a-kind spider.

No bigger that your thumbnail, the scuba diving spider triggered the curiosity of scientist Roger Seymour since he was a young boy. At 10 years old, he read Erna Pinner’s book, Curious Creatures.  He told me, “One of the chapters described the diving bell spider that lived in ponds in Europe. I imagined what it would be like to live inside an underwater bubble.” That image remained in Seymour’s mind until he became a scientist and studied the spider’s secret.

Seymour teamed with scientist Stefan Hetz and together they made a home for the spiders in aquariums in the lab, and observed and measured their activities. They discovered how the spiders achieve this unique and quiet lifestyle. It has worked well for the spiders; it allows them to remain out of sight from predators, trap food, and create an underwater home for them to grow and have a family.

The spider, too, has an amazing name, Argyroneta aquatica, which means “aquatic spinner of silver.”

If this book appeals to you, may I entice you with more Animal Secrets? I invite you to visit my website to explore the other titles of this series.

The teacher guides for all the other Animal Secrets books are also available here!

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EXTREME EARTH DAY APRIL 22 WITH EXTREME ANIMALS IN EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS!

CELEBRATE EARTH DAY APRIL 22 EXPLORING EXTREME ANIMALS IN EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS! 

HOW DID POLAR BEARS HAPPEN?
WHAT DID PENGUIN ANCESTORS LOOK LIKE?
WHERE THE ICY WORLDS ALWAYS ICY?

The Arctic and Antarctica are two of the most extreme environments in the world.
They hold the world record for being freezing-cold, wind-blown, lip-cracking dry all the time and pitch black for half of the year.

But despite these extreme conditions, many magnificent animals call these icy worlds home.

Tag along with the brave scientists that travel the extreme cold to study these extreme animals. Their hard work has revealed incredible findings.

HOW DOES A BLIND FISH FIND ITS FOOD?
CAN A GIANT CENTIPEDE EAT A BAT FOR DINNER?

Caves are home to unique and bizarre creatures.
Cave-dwelling animals have found ways to survive despite the low food supply, the complete darkness and the toxic conditions. Some never leave the caves.

Vampire bats, giant insects, blind fish, long-legged spiders, and poison-tolerant creatures are some of the extreme animals living in extremely dark caves.

Join the scientists as they crawl through narrow corridors to uncover the mysteries of extreme cave-dwellers.

CAN YOU SURVIVE WITHOUT DRINKING WATER FOR MONTHS?
HAS THE SAHARA ALWAYS BEEN A DESERT?
HOW DOES THE KANGAROO RAT SURVIVE ON SALT-COVERED SALTBUSH LEAVES?

Exploring the desert is an unforgettable experience. It's the hottest place on the planet.
Most days there is not a cloud to shade the blazing sun. Within minutes, exposed skin shows signs of sunburn. It's very hard to find water and food is sometimes poisonous. Nevertheless, deserts burst with life.

Slap sunblock, throw a hat on your head and follow the sun-tanned scientists in the quest for rattlesnakes, gray foxes, roadrunners, scorpions, javelinas and other extreme animals of the hottest deserts.

WHY THE WATER PRESSURE DOES NOT CRUSH DEEP-SEA ANIMALS?
HOW DEEP IS THE DEEPEST PLACE?
IS THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA EMPTY OF LIFE?

The deepest oceans pose unique challenges to animal survival. When light and warmth totally disappear, when pressure can crush most bodies, and when food is extremely rare, how do deep-sea animals cope?

Wear your warmest jacket and gloves and hop inside an imaginary submarine for an expedition to discover the extreme deep-sea animals.

Enslow Publishers, 2012 

                                AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK AND LIBRARY BINDING 

I had a wonderful experience, made numerous new contacts, and met authors I only knew via Facebook and other media in the Texas Library Association Annual Conference in Houston last week. This photo is of my book signing at Enslow Publishers booth.

It's NONFICTION MONDAY, today hosted by  Books4Learning.

PS. I just remodeled my website. I invite you to check it out (It looks best with Firefox)