Science 5 - Living Systems Books

This book is written at a level that is well-above grade 5, but what might make this a book that you want to use in you class is the fact that the illustrations are not only creative, but they are illustrating simple ideas. If All the diagrams could be taken from this book (and the writing left behind) we would likely have an ideal picture book for Science 5 students learning about the human body. What could be recommended, if making use of this book, is that students can use some of the key illustrations to answer various questions, and then for those done early, they can venture around the myriads of information about the body in this book.

Internet Archive Library (only available for people with print disabilities): https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781465429933/

Internet Archive Library: https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780241417812/

This is a book that has found the perfect balance (at a grade five level) of text with illustrations, most of which are photographic. The writing throughout this book is in short succinct sections, so average students in grade five should not feel like any of their reading in this book is long and strung-out. Most importantly, it happens to touch on six systems of the human body, and all five systems in the Science 5 curriculum are included in these six (the only system in this book that isn't in the curriculum is the nervoud system). 

Internet Archive Library: https://archive.org/details/humanbodyreveale0000davi

This is a piece of literature that I really hope every one of your students has a chance to read. Perhaps just by chance, the first five acts of this play are the five systems of the human body that are in the Science 5 currciulum. If it is anything like when I last taught with this book, students tend to be so amused by the way that all the factual information is presented that they read all of the acts. At a Grade 5 level it might be best to read just the first half of each act (as the second half always goes into greater depth), but the way that these characters are presented is simply brilliant!

Internet Archive Library: https://archive.org/details/humanbodytheater0000wick/

This book takes a very creative approach to us learning about our bodies by looking at all the issues we would face if we were superheroes. Each chapter opens by explaining what superpower some superheroes have in pieces of fiction, and then it really begins to look at what would need to happen to our bodies to have such powers (this is the part that really contains the content relevant to this unit) and then the issues we would face if we truly had those superpowers. Therefore, this is a great piece for teaching students the importance of developing critique of what is realistic in our world; a key piece of science.

Internet Archive Library: https://archive.org/details/superhumanbody0000linj/

This is a book that is nicely categorized into the various systems of the human body. What makes this book stand out is its incredible level of illustration--both photographic and artistic--that National Geographic is well-known for. Within each system, this book demonstrates a nice balance of fundamental facts to understand about the body along with fascinating trivial facts (that are sometimes the key pieces that students retain). 

Internet Archive Library (only available for people with print disabilities): https://archive.org/details/ultimatebodypedi0000wils/

"The Way We Work" is an absolutely brilliant book that I came upon after teaching Science 8 for a couple of years. Once my students had a class set of these books, not only were they amused to learn about the human body, but arguably more important, they were engaged to learn via a book. It really is a combination of the artisitic illustrations along with the creative humour in the illustrations. The writing is certainly at a level well above grade five, but who pays attention to writing when we have such incredible illustrations to teach us about this human body? Regardless that this is a digital version, there are countless reasons to use this book when exploring the human body in this unit.

Internet Archive Library: https://archive.org/details/wayweworkgetting0000maca/

This book seeks to answer the question in the title, and in doing so, this book directly addresses the outcomes in the Science 5 curriculum regarding xylem and phloem on pages 10 and 11. It is ideal that your students can continue to explore this book outside of pages 10 and 11 as the real goal is for students to draw lines of the similarities and differences between plants and humans. This book's discussion of the xylem and phloem give a good explanation, but does not directly create an analogy to the respiratory, circulatory, and digestive systems of a human, but gives enough detail that students might be able to make this connection.

Internet Archive Library: https://archive.org/details/whatisplant0000kalm/

Demonstrating that botany is interesting enough that it doesn't need creative titles, another useful book for this topic holds the exact same title as the book above, but is written at a slightly lower reading level. It introduces students to the processes of photosynthesis and water transportation within plants, explaining how nutrients travel through the plant using specialized tissues like xylem and phloem. The book uses clear language and engaging illustrations to help young readers understand how each part of a plant contributes to its overall health and development. 

Internet Archive Library: https://archive.org/details/whatisplant0000spil/