Evolution and Classification

by Anna Claybourne

Evolution and classification are brilliant things to study scientifically. Plants, humans and other animals have incredible adaptations that mean they can survive in their habitats on Earth. In Evolution and Classification you'll delve into the science behind these marvels of the natural world by conducting investigations and experiments using the ATOM method - Ask, Test, Observe and Measure - to ensure you're working just like a professional scientist. Find out why camouflage is important for survival and how humans and other animals decide whether something is food or not. Discover the ways some animals attract a mate to breed with and the important role genes play! At the end of the book, scientific guidelines explain why scientists do things a certain way and the things they look out for or try to avoid. Science Skills Sorted are six topic books for children aged 8+ studying KS2 science. The ATOM method is designed to help readers work scientifically as they are taught to in the classroom, and each of the investigations is accompanied by explanatory text to uncover facts about the topic. A range of experiments in each book means that while some may need a little more equipment than others, there are plenty experiments that are cheap and accessible, using objects easily found in the classroom or at home.

32 pages, Paperback

Published November 14, 2019

About the author

Freelance children’s writer and editor, based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Anna Claybourne writes children's information books on all kinds of topics: science experiments, ancient history, the human body, things to make, the environment, robots, evolution, art, fashion, Shakespeare and many more - as well as retellings of myths, legends and Shakespeare plays, and rhyming stories.

She studied English literature at university, but has always been interested in science, technology and art and design as well. She loves making and crafting, especially sewing, and her house is full of fabrics, craft materials, tools and books. Other interests and passions include camping, cats, outdoor swimming, news and politics, and music - she plays the trombone and has played in many different bands and orchestras, including performing live on a John Peel session in 2002 with Scottish band Ballboy.

Anna was born and grew up in Yorkshire, but has also lived in Canada as a student, Iceland as an au pair, and Costa Rica as a conservation volunteer, where she saw tarantulas, tapirs, monkeys, sloths, crocodiles and giant katydids. She now lives in Edinburgh with her two children and two cats, Skye and Socks.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although Anna Claybourne’s presented text for her 2017 non fiction picture book Evolution and Classification (and part of her Science Skills Sorted series) is pretty textbook like in scope and therefore not really meant for pleasure reading (and thus most definitely one hundred percent teaching and learning oriented), for me (both for my inner child and also so for my older adult reading self) Evolution and Classification rates with a very rare five stars.

For yes indeed, not only is the set-up for Evolution and Classification wonderful and really nicely suited to and for educating children from about the age of nine to thirteen or so about evolution and biological classification (with Claybourne presenting clearly defined basic but not ever simplistic chapters, interesting and fun scientific accompanying activities and experiments to solidify and to provide proof regarding the textual information and details on evolution and classification being covered and analysed, a glossary, and a current up to 2017 bibliography providing both books and websites), Anna Claybourne’s explanations in Evolution and Classification regarding what evolution and classification are (and also showing what they are not), these are solidly factual, easily understood and with her not only mentioning evolution as something prehistoric, as presented by Charles Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace and Herbert Spencer (who first used the term survival of the fittest) but also showing how evolution happens even today, yes, for me this makes Evolution and Classification an all-round excellent introduction and also a perfect steppingstone to further knowledge and learning.

And well, albeit that I have not actually tried to do any of the activities and experiments Anna Claybourne suggests in Evolution and Classification (and likely never will either since I read Evolution and Classification on Open Library), they all sound super fun and delightfully educational (and also pretty easy to set up and do both in a classroom setting and also at home, and that in particular my inner child sure wishes that she could have had books like Evolution and Classification in grade seven biology and also a science teacher who actually believed in evolution). So yes indeed and in my humble opinion, Evolution and Classification should work really well both for teachers and also for homeschooling parents, but with the caveat that Evolution and Classification and Anna Claybourne definitely do very much feature a completely pro evolution attitude and philosophy, which I personally find wonderful and scientifically solid, but that parents etc. who are categorically opposed to evolution as a theory and concept should probably stay away from Evolution and Classification.