Have you ever stopped to consider your community and all the surrounding communities? About each particular one, who it consists of, and how it functions, as well as how they are all related to one another? That is just what Jeanne Bendick does in A Place To Live. This is a great book that brings up many of the issues that must be discussed in relation to lessons on life science, particularly for first and second graders.
There is a lot of material that is covered in the book, from communities and living environments to survival needs and the circle of life. While these are all important concepts that all students should know about, its 62 pages may be a bit too much to incorporate into a quick lesson plan, which is why the format Jeanne Bendick wrote the story in is so great. While the story is written so as to flow from beginning to end, it is also split up into chapters that can be read and comprehended on their own. Just what a teacher may need when wanting to present just a small lesson plan about plant needs one day and habitats another! Jeanne Bendick also does a good job in involving the reader by ending most of the sections with questions to the reader. Such as in the section Living Thinks Live Together.
Maybe the only plants in
your neighborhood
are flowers growing in flowerpots,
and weeds growing in empty lots.
But every plant that grows there
shares the neighborhood with you.
What plants do you share your
neighborhood with?
While the illustrations may not be the most thrilling to be found in a book, incorporating just the colors of green and black within the pages of the book, there are still pictures on every page of the book. This helps to keep the children’s attention while not overwhelming them and taking away from the content of the book.
Curriculum Connections
A Place To Live is a good starting point for teachers who are preparing lessons on plant or animal environments or needs and their relations with one another. Virginia teachers will be able to cover parts of the science SOLs, such as 1.4 and 1.5, pertaining to the life needs of both plants and animals, as well as 2.5, which consists of living systems. This book also brings up the issue about the environment and what would happen if we didn’t take care of it. This presents a great opportunity to teachers to discuss what we can do to protect our environment and be environmentally friendly!
Additional Resources
- For those classes that don’t have the opportunity to go take a nature walk, here is a virtual autumn leaf scrapbook to show your students.
- Perhaps having your own animal habitat in the classroom will help your students have a better understanding about life science.
- Have your students try to Build-A-Prairie on this interactive site and see if they can successfully create an ecosystem! This can help them to better understand the different ecosystems of our earth.
Book: A Place To Live
Author/Illustrator: Jeanne Bendick
Publisher: Parents’ Magazine Plus
Publication Date: 1970
Pages: 62 pages
Grades: K-2
ISBN: 9780819303851