eSource: Free Teaching Guides

Select a product from the list below to view available teaching guides. Use the tags on left to filter the list.

Cover: Blue Everywhere

Lightning Bolt Books ® — Colors Everywhere

Colors are everywhere! Using a lively tone and examples from everyday life, this series helps readers recognize colors, identify various shades of colors, and understand how colors or color words are used. The fun text prompts readers to ask questions and carefully observe the photos and View →

 
Cover: Can You Tell a Stegosaurus from an Ankylosaurus?

Lightning Bolt Books ® — Dinosaur Look-Alikes

Dinosaur enthusiasts compare two prehistoric giants and explore the similarities and differences between them. The informative text supports science standards and builds readers’ expertise on the dinosaurs featured in each title. View →

 
Cover: What Holds Us to Earth?: A Look at Gravity

Lightning Bolt Books ® — Exploring Physical Science

This informative series introduces young readers to basic physics concepts, from gravity and friction to floating and sinking. Bright photos and accessible text clarify each concept and bring curricular topics to life. View →

 
Cover: How Do Helicopters Work?

Lightning Bolt Books ® — How Flight Works

Unlocking the secrets of flight is a fun way for readers to explore this ever-fascinating field of physics and engineering. By using a question-and-answer format, the books lend themselves to independent reading while also engaging readers in important aspects of the science curriculum. View →

 
Cover: How Do Tanks Work?

Lightning Bolt Books ® — How Vehicles Work

These engaging titles introduce all kinds of vehicles and explain how they work. From fire trucks and trains to big rigs and tanks, this series covers the gamut of high-interest machines. View →

 
Cover: Pygmy Goats

Lightning Bolt Books ® — Little Pets

What could be cuter than a mini pig or a pygmy goat? Appealing photos and fun text introduce readers to the life cycles and behaviors of these smaller-than-usual animals and show how their human owners care for their needs. View →

 
Cover: Do You Know about Insects?

Lightning Bolt Books ® — Meet the Animal Groups

Perfect for animal lovers, these rich resources explore the six major classes of the animal kingdom. Each title in the series describes the basic physical features, behavior, and life cycle belonging to that class. View →

 
Cover: Are You Ready for Summer?

Lightning Bolt Books ® — Our Four Seasons

Learn all about the different seasons in the Our Four Seasons series – part of the Lightning Bolt Books™ collection. With high-energy designs, exciting photos, and fun text, Lightning Bolt Books™ bring nonfiction topics to life! View →

 
Cover: Experiment with What a Plant Needs to Grow

Lightning Bolt Books ® — Plant Experiments

Young scientists will conduct simple experiments to answer key questions about plants. Each book provides step-by-step instructions; captioned photos help students follow along. Students analyze their results to build understanding of science concepts. View →

 
Cover: Robots at Home

Lightning Bolt Books ® — Robots Everywhere!

This series engages readers through a fascinating topic: robots! Each book covers a variety of examples, ranging from helpful robots that vacuum our floors to sophisticated machines that help scientists explore distant planets. View →

 
Cover: Angel Sharks in Action

Lightning Bolt Books ® — Shark World

Explore the world of sharks—the ultimate predators—with high-impact photos and clear text. Each book covers life science curriculum concepts including shark life cycles, what sharks eat, how they behave, and how they interact with their habitat. With plenty of fearsome photos and… View →

 
Cover: It's Rainy Today

Lightning Bolt Books ® — What's the Weather Like?

This enlightening series teaches basic weather concepts by asking young readers to observe the world around them. It also explains such concepts as the shapes of snowflakes, the different kinds of clouds, the water cycle, and other science concepts for beginning readers. Vivid photos,… View →

 
Cover: Eye Color: Brown, Blue, Green, and Other Hues

Lightning Bolt Books ® — What Traits Are in Your Genes?

In this series, accessible text, vivid photos, and a colorful design illustrate how we inherit genetic traits, while familiar examples make abstract concepts easy to grasp. Back-matter special features, including glossaries and further reading pages, bolster these informative texts. View →

 
Cover: What Is Taste?

Lightning Bolt Books ® — Your Amazing Senses

Accessible text, vivid photos, and a colorful design illustrate how we use our senses, while familiar examples make abstract concepts easy to grasp. Glossaries and further reading pages bolster these informative texts. View →

 
Cover: Magnificent Monarchs

Linda Glaser's Classic Creatures

Linda Glaser’s simple picture books honor some of our planet’s most fascinating creatures. Kids love these fact-filled and fun books with their bright and interesting illustrations. View →

 
Cover: Make Way for Animals!: A World of Wildlife Crossings

Make Way for Animals!

Around the world, city highways and country roads have cut through natural spaces. Wild animals are blocked from the resources they need to survive, or must make dangerous crossings across busy roads to get to them. Fortunately, solving this problem has inspired some creative solutions!… View →

 
Cover: Giant Plant-Eating Dinosaurs

Meet the Dinosaurs

“Dino” Don Lessem introduces readers to various species of dinosaurs, some that have never before been illustrated. He details their habitats, way of life and how they became extinct. These high interest books will capture kids’ attention with fun facts and colorful illustrations and… View →

 
Cover: El ciclo del agua (Earth's Water Cycle)

Mi primer paso al mundo real — Descubriendo los ciclos de la naturaleza (First Step Nonfiction — Discovering Nature's Cycles)

These Spanish titles help young readers identify and predict cycles in the natural world through examining animal behavior or natural phenomena. View →

 
Cover: Nature Spy Guide

Nature Spy Guide

What can you find in nature? Look for bright flowers and listen to buzzing bees! Feel rough tree bark and taste a sweet apple! Join author and photographer Shelley Rotner as she encourages kids to use their senses to safely explore the outdoors. With simple text and photos featuring kids View →

 
Cover: Night Becomes Day: Changes in Nature

Night Becomes Day

Night becomes day / Flower becomes fruit. Nature is always at work, transforming. Whether sudden or gradual, change is a constant in our world. Author Cynthia Argentine describes transitions including acorns sprouting, deserts blooming, canyons forming, and… View →

 
Cover: Night Creatures: Animals That Swoop, Crawl, and Creep while You Sleep

Night Creatures

As the sun sets, night creatures awaken. In their rural backyard, a parent and child camp out, watching as fireflies flicker, bats flap, and rabbits race. Atmospheric illustrations bring the nocturnal world to life in this lyrical and informative picture book. View →

 
Cover: Patterns Everywhere

Patterns Everywhere

Step outside. Let’s find designs— / branching, cracking, spirals, lines. / Search the earth, the seas, the air. / Patterns, patterns everywhere. Look around and discover patterns in the natural world! You might see them in leaf veins, in coral reefs, in sand dunes,… View →

 
Cover: Play Like an Animal!: Why Critters Splash, Race, Twirl, and Chase

Play Like an Animal!

Dash! Hide! Splash! Ride! Exuberant text celebrates all the different ways animals play, from rhinos taking mud baths and parrots somersaulting through the air to kangaroos boxing and dolphins diving through the surf. Additional text explains how playing benefits animals.… View →

 
Cover: Pouncing Bobcats

Pull Ahead Books — Animals

Perfect for young animal lovers, these rich resources explore a wide range of wild creatures—their physical features, habitats, and life cycles. The conversational text prompts the reader to pose questions, observe the photos carefully, and begin to understand animal groupings.… View →