Out of the Blue: STEM Lessons & Videos

OUT OF THE BLUE: HOW ANIMALS EVOLVED FROM THE PREHISTORIC SEA — STEM ACTIVITIES & VIDEOS

Best Users: STEM Clubs, Educators, Public Librarians, School Librarians, After School Programs, Home Learning
Best Audience: Children Grades 00-05

Happy 1st Book Birthday to Out of the Blue: How Animals Evolved from Prehistoric Seas! In evolutionary time, one year is a tiny span, but look at ALL author Elizabeth Shreeve has put together with scientists and science teachers in that year to help educators teach the history of Earth!

ABOUT THE ENGAGEMENT TOOLS

Out of the Blue: STEM Curriculum
Kids, of course, love animals! But do they know that all animals of today’s world originally evolved from creatures in the oceans many millions of years ago? This curriculum offers an introduction to evolution, a subject fundamental to understanding the earth and life sciences in upper grade levels and beyond. This fun, flexible multimedia toolkit brings evolutionary science to any teaching setting, with crossovers to math, literacy, and visual arts. The complete package of book and curriculum will leave all involved fascinated with the history of life on our planet. The curriculum covers most science standards including NGSS.
DOWNLOAD Out of the Blue: STEM Curriculum (PDF)
DOWNLOAD Out of the Blue: STEM Curriculum Printables (PDF)

Out of the Blue: Video Collection
From “Quick Dips” into the history of the Earth to interviews with leading scientists from museums across the nation, Elizabeth Shreeve offers a deeply engaging channel of tools for students of the Earth.
EXPLORE Out of the Blue: Video Resources (YouTube)

Out of the Blue: More Resources
And Elizabeth Shreeve offers so many more educational resources on her ever-evolving website!

“I am so grateful for the opportunity to use Out of the Blue: How Animals Evolved from Prehistoric Seas book and curriculum for my 3rd graders. When my students began this unit, most were unfamiliar with the history of Earth or animals that have roamed it over the last 4.6 billion years. By the end, they had a comprehensive understanding. The hands-on activities tied well with the book and videos, and students loved creating their own predators and prey, making mini-books, and exploring how creatures might evolve. I look forward to using this program again.”
—Sierra S., K-6 STEM teacher, Southern California

ABOUT THE BOOK

Out of the Blue: How Animals Evolved from Prehistoric Seas
By Elizabeth Shreeve
Illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon
Published by Candlewick Press
ISBN-13: 9781536214109
Age Range: 6-11 Years

Clear and inviting nonfiction prose, vetted by scientists—together with lively illustrations and a time line—narrate how life on Earth emerged “out of the blue.” It began in the vast, empty sea when Earth was young. Single-celled microbes too small to see held the promise of all life-forms to come. Those microbes survived billions of years in restless seas until they began to change, to convert sunlight into energy, to produce oxygen until one day—Gulp!—one cell swallowed another, and the race was on. Learn how and why creatures began to emerge from the deep—from the Cambrian Explosion to crustaceans, mollusks to fishes, giant reptiles to the rise of mammals—and how they compare to the animals we know today, in a lively and accessible outing into the prehistoric past that boils a complex subject down to its lyrical essence.

• Blueberry Honor Book, 2021
• CCBC Choice, 2022
• School Library Journal Fuse 8 Science Booklist Selection

“A sweeping story thoughtfully summarized for the target age group.”
—Kirkus Review (Starred Review)

“A book to be read over and over for its intriguing story, illustrations, and captions.”
–School Library Journal (Starred Review)

“Shreeve adeptly communicates high-level scientific concepts in just a few paragraphs per page.”
—The Horn Book

THE GIVEAWAY WINNERS

25 individual educators and librarians from the planet Earth won a copy of this acclaimed non-fiction title. Our gratitude for this Candlewick Press book donation is bigger than the Cambrian Explosion!