States of Matter in the Real World

Gr 3–5—Finely tuned to the needs and methods of a CCSS-based curriculum, these explanations of some aspect of the physical world intersperse a main text with recaps and review or study questions every few pages. All the titles close not only with leads to somewhat more detailed resources, but also several open-ended concepts for consideration and suggestions for enhancement activities. The narratives are divided into easily manageable sections, and the clean design incorporates informative, crisply reproduced, captioned photos; reproductions; diagrams; and graphics. Sidebars often include short but substantial passages from primary-source documents with the requisite analytical glosses and questions to test comprehension. The volume on the history and uses (in and outside the lab) of the scientific method are particularly valuable.