Pass the Energy, Please! is a large-format picture book for children ages six through twelve. The idea of energy as food is shown here in a connected and linked cycle of the food chain. It all starts with the sun, of course, and then a plant, and then an herbivore, then carnivore. Several scenarios are pictured in different biomes. The last section deals with scavangers and saprophytes, which ensure we are not surrounded by decay. Finally the rhyming text advises us to keep some open spaces for the wildlife and work to sustain the earth. This would be a good read-aloud in addition to a good supplemental book to keep on the shelves for students to view independently. It could also initiate conversations about local wildlife and observable food chains.
— Connect Magazine (Synergy Learning)(Sept/Oct 2011)
PRODUCT RATING: EXCELLENT
Every child enjoys learning about animals, nature etc. This book/guide combo is sure to have their attention, in a matter of moments. Pass The Energy, Please shares natures way of passing energy from one animal to the next, through the food chain. This is done in a warm way, so children are not getting mad at one animal for eating another etc (*smile*) It also shares the intricate design of each animal which makes them a prime candidate as a predator on the animals they prey on. Full of beautiful, full color pictures, every child will enjoy reading or hearing this story read to them.
THEN! When you combine this great book, with their wonderful teacher’s guide to go with it … you have a winning combo that is sure to instruct your child(ren) in nature’s way of handling overpopulation, food for all creatures and life on planet earth. This guide has enough lessons for a 2 week thematic unit. It has reproducibles, for you to hand out to your students and many thought provoking lessons as you go.
This teacher’s guide has the following categories:
Letter to teachers Introduction : The why’s and hows of
- Multiple intelligences
- Benchmark standards
- Skills for living
- Center approach for living
Lesson plan Multiple Intelligence Centers
- Owl pellets (naturalist)
- A seedy activity (naturalist)
- Eye witness (intrapersonal)
- Animal interview (intrapersonal)
- Dinners and diners (bodily-kinesthetic)
- Create a food chain (interpersonal)
- Sounds good (musical – rhythmic)
- Animal cinquains (verbal-linguistic)
- Paper chains (visual-spatial)
- Pyramid power (visual-spatial)
- Weight & see (logical-mathematical)
- Creature features (logical-mathematical)
Teacher background information Multiple intelligences subcapacities How to teach the eight intelligences Resources
This is a great set for both the student and the teacher. There is much benefit to be had for both, as you both discover new information and ideas that will benefit your teaching as well as their learning. Highly suggested material and at an easy price to afford!
— Education Clearinghouse – www.educationclearinghouse.org (December 2002)
(Combined review of Pass the Energy Please! and A Drop Around the World.)
Teacher, writer and poet Barbara McKinney has written two books which attempt to bring some beauty and art to science lessons.
. . . In Pass the Energy Please!, Ms. McKinney . . . uses poetry to describe how energy is captured and transferred from one organism to another at various trophic levels. Once again, the illustrations are superb and the contents are entirely adequate for the children ages 6 to 12. Like her previous book, this one has a teacher’s guide available (separately). . . . Both books succeed in slowly and cumulatively making the points that the author intends. She manages to present things just as they are. As a former elementary and middle school teacher, I found these two books would make a nice addition to a creative and challenging curriculum. In addition, parents of young children would enjoy using these books as a good source to create a story or to simply add to child’s bookshelf.
— NABT (National Assoc. of Biology Teachers)
Reviewed by Jose Vazquez – Univ. of Illinois at Chicago
This rhyming book explains the food chain and how nature’s creatures “pass the energy” by becoming one another’s food source. The story’s hero is the green plant, upon which all other creatures depend. A teacher’s guide is available.
— Learning (Fall 2000)
Enjoyable book that interestingly and softly teaches about the food chain. The publisher’s description explains it well: “Each of nature’s creatures ‘passes the energy’ in its own unique way. In this upbeat rhyming story, the food chain connects herbivores, carnivores, insects and plants together in a fascinating circle of players. All beings on Earth – from the anchovy to the zooplankton – depend upon the green plant, which is the hero of the story. Barbara McKinney’s special talent shines again for being able to present the science curriculum so concisely, creatively, and cleverly.”
— Children of the Earth (www.childrenoftheearth.org)(April 2008)
