Electricity

This is a superb non-fiction text that incorporates history, geography and STEM by exploring the topic of lighthouses through a series of interesting questions. The text has both simplicity and depth which means that you could use it across the whole primary age range and I can imagine it pairing really well with related popular children’s fiction, such as Ronda and David Armitage’s ‘The Lighthouse Keeper’ books in KS1 or Emma Carroll’s ‘Letters from the Lighthouse’ in KS2. It is also a great example of a non-fiction text that could be read for pleasure over and over just because it is fascinating in itself.

Each double-page spread addresses a different question about lighthouses, such as ‘What Is it Like on the Top Deck?’, ‘How Does the Light Shine So Far?’ and ‘What Happens When It’s Foggy?’ and the text is cleverly structured so that each question builds on knowledge from the previous pages.

Accompanying the text are striking illustrations in primary-coloured tones, designed to emphasise the yellow light across the blue of the water and the reds of the lighthouse structures. The diagrams show a range of lighthouse types from all different angles and tend to highlight the way in which lighthouses are carefully constructed and engineered according to their geography and purpose. This is a text that covers the topic in such a way that every page is interesting and appealing and at no point through the book does the topic lose appeal. On the final pages, the reader is challenged to walk through the steps of designing their own lighthouse. A highly recommended addition to your primary library.

William Kamkwamba’s story of perseverance and achievement in the face of incredible adversity shows the power of curiosity, dedication, and education. His desire to use his skills and knowledge to empower and improve his community should be an example to us all.

This well-written and gripping book should be a must-read for anyone who feels driven to improve themselves and the world around them. This really inspiring story for young people in a world full of consumerism will help pupils to learn about how wind  can be used to generate power or electricity.

“The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” is a moving true story of a boy growing up in famine and poverty who uses the resources of his local library to build something incredible. This adapted version of the book is good for upper mature upper key stage two readers and young adults especially young adults who are interested in science.

This story documents life in Malawi and the discovery of wind power by a boy who could not afford to go to school, but acted on his own initiative to help his family. He did all the research in the library! Some emotional chapters, which are hard hitting and may be challenging to read for some students. The book highlights the unfairness of the world at times and how perseverance can pay off. William is a fantastic role model for all children to read about.

This book provides a lovely way to begin to introduce renewable energy to younger children.

It has bright, colourful, double-page illustrations throughout the book which also showcase the types of power used in a range of settings around the world. Each page has a short rhyming verse about that helps readers understand the process more easily. Each page also has small boxes that give further information about a particular part of the process and also highlights key vocabulary. The information pages at the back of the book provide more detail and also allow children to have experience of reading non fiction style texts. Putting these at the end allows the reader to gain some background knowledge about the subject before tackling the more difficult text. The information pages also have some great labelled diagrams that support children in understanding how the process works.

This amazing story of Nikola Tesla’s life is written in lyrical verse alongside stunning illustrations.

This magical story will inspire curious minds! Through beautiful words and colourful graphics this text paints a clear picture of Nikola Tesla, his life and his scientific impact in the field of electricity. A very cleverly designed biography of someone who changed the world we live in and the illustrations are exquisite.

For all of Tesla’s immense accomplishments, this story most of all connects us to his humanity, his creativity and his humility. This book is an easy read for children who are curious about groundbreaking inventions and learning about people who have changed our world. The final four pages of authors notes are a great summary of information to access to find out facts and information about Nikola Tesla and his legacy.

A great non-fiction addition to the text, which could be used in lots of ways in the classroom to support learning. An easy read for children aged 7-11 and something that could be read aloud and shared with a group easily.

This non fiction text, which is part of a history series is a great non fiction text for independent reading by Key Stage Two children. This books is set out as a simple information book with easy to navigate contents pages and lots of pictures and diagrams to support learning and understanding.

Thomas Edison was a famous American inventor in the late 1800s, who changed the world. His work with light bulbs got a lot of attention and we still learn about him today. Over time, many stories have been told about this work, including that he invented the light bulb. But this isn’t true! Discover what’s real and what’s fiction through clear infographics, primary and secondary sources, and scientific text.

This text is fantastic to discuss fact from fiction and how sources of information are so important to the information we absorb. This texts includes lots of great vocabulary to introduce to children and supports the science curriculum in school. It could be used as a whole text or extracts could be shared where relevant to teaching points.