This
is one fabulous book! I admit that I am partial to books that highlight
decision making and problem solving—books that I call the “literature of
inquiry.” Beetle Busters by Loree
Griffin Burns highlights inquiry by
showing how a community in Massachusetts responded to an infestation of Asian
longhorned beetles (ALB), nonnative species that attack and destroy trees. It brings us very close to this situation and shows us the difficult
decisions made by scientists and concerned citizens.
There
are a number features that make this book so successful as a page-turner and an
excellent source of information. Here are some things the author does for us:
·
Raises questions that don’t have simple
answers. Both at the beginning and at the end of the book, the author
raises these important questions about cutting down some trees in an attempt to save others:
Was
cutting those trees the right thing to do?
If
cutting trees in one community today would save the trees in
your
backyard tomorrow, would it be worth it?
Would
you feel the same way if you lived in that community and
the
trees being cut down were the only ones in your entire neighborhood?
(p. 57)
These
questions bring this problem close to all of us. What would we do if we
had
to made a decision about cutting down trees?
·
Provides a variety of graphics to help us
understand the problem. There are all sorts of graphics included: maps,
graph, photographs, captions, sidebars and page inserts, and photographs showing a
sequence of steps or stages. As we endeavor to promote graphical literacy, this
book is extraordinarily useful for discussing how a particular kind of graphic makes information understandable.
·
Shows how and why scientists collect data.
Among the many items we learn about is how scientists collect core samples from
the inside of the trees, enabling them to study the impact of the infestation.
We see the actual scientists and volunteers working in the field.
·
Shares the interpretation of the data. A
chapter is dedicated to sharing the interpretation of the data. This shows how
scientists move from collecting data to making statements about what this data
suggests. It’s a great look at scientific thinking.
·
Leaves us with unanswered questions. Here
is just one of several questions that scientists continue to work on: “If
left unchecked in the forest, would the Asian longhorn beetle eventually kill
all the members of the wide variety of trees it can inhabit in the wild” (p.
49)? That's an important question to think about.
When
we read books like Beetle Busters with
students, we can focus on the features listed above because they help us
understand the nature of science. Here are some questions we can discuss: What
problems are scientists and citizens facing? What do they do to understand the
situation? How do they collect and analyze data? What have they found so far?
What else do they want to know? By discussing science as a process—a way of
thinking and learning—we move away from concentrating only on facts and towards
using these facts to help us think about puzzling situations. That is why
quality nonfiction is an essential part of learning.
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