Open Wide, Look Inside

There are many tiny city farms scattered across London where urban school children can  experience farming up-close.  The children can pet sheep, feed goats, see how fruits and vegetables are grown, and, if they are lucky, harvest some of the produce.  If we had city farms here, the book I would read to my future students before a field trip is  Pick, Pull, Snap!:  Where Once a Flower Bloomed  by Lola M. Schaefer.  What do peaches, raspberries, peas, corn, peanuts and pumpkins have in common? They all begin with a flower.  Lindsay Barrett George’s lifelike paintings take centerstage as they illustrate a flower being pollinated; the developing fruit; and finally, after you  fold-out the page, a child picking, pulling, or snapping the ripe fruit.

Curriculum Connections

It’s the detailed pictures–a bloom left on the end of a peapod, a cross-section showing seeds in fruit, a cut-away showing a tangle of peanuts underground–that make Pick, Pull, Snap! a great tie-in to any elementary grade-level life science unit on plants. (VA SOL 1.4, 2.4b and 4.4a & b).

Additional Resources

• What better way to teach about plants than to grow them in your classroom?  What Plants Need to Grow  will give you all the details, including lessons plans, reproducibles and answers to FAQ’s.
• If your classroom conditions aren’t right for growing, consider the other end of the plant life cycle–composting.  Composting for Kids, a Powerpoint with photos of children doing the work, shows just how easy composting is.
• Pick, Pull, Snap! takes you from seed to fruit.  Now go from Fruit to Seed with this classroom activity that ends with a delicious, healthy snack.

Book:  Pick, Pull, Snap!:  Where Once a Flower Bloomed 
Author:  Lola M. Schaeffer
Illustrator:  Lindsay Barrett George
Publisher:  Harper Collins Publisher
Publication Date:  March 2003
Pages:  32
Grade Range:  K – 5
ISBN-13:  9780688178345

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, written and illustrated by Eric Carle, is easily one of the most beloved children’s books of all time.  Its story is well-known by adults and kids alike, but the great thing about the text is that it can easily be incorporated into the classroom.  The unique and beautiful illustrations, coupled with the simple phrasing make this book a classic choice for a life science lesson about metamorphosis.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar begins with—–what else?—–a newly-hatched caterpillar who is in search of something to eat.  As he munches his way through the week, consuming fruit, as well as a smorgasbord of other treats, he grows bigger and bigger.  The book ends when the caterpillar builds “a small house, called a cocoon, around himself.  He stayed inside for more than two weeks.  Then, he nibbled a hole in the cocoon, pushed his way out and… he was a beautiful butterfly!”  It is the perfect way to introduce a lesson on metamorphosis, or even a simple art project to help students learn about the life cycle of a butterfly.  Its layout is also conducive to emergent readers exploring the book on their own, since the text is large and easy to read, and the pages are different sizes with holes in the middle to show students just what the very hungry caterpillar consumed!

Curriculum Connections

This book is perfect for launching a unit on life science, and even expanding upon the story with a caterpillar/butterfly project in your classroom!  It’s appropriate for many different SOLs in kindergarten, first, and second grade (K.6, K.8, K.9, 1.4, 1.5, 1.7, 2.4, just to name a few!) but also makes for a great read-aloud book because the illustrations are so colorful and exciting to see.  Because the pages are different sizes and have holes to show where the caterpillar crawled, younger readers will love to simply turn the pages and follow along, even without reading the text.  You can’t go wrong with this classic text—–students will love it no matter how it is presented.

Additional Resources

• This fantastic website has tons of ideas for cross-curriculum activities using The Very Hungry Caterpillar and also includes coloring pages and craft projects relating to the text!
• These free printable templates would be a great addition to any bulletin board, and could also be used to introduce a metamorphosis lesson, or to encourage students to illustrate their own caterpillar tale.
• Going Buggy on KinderKorner.com has a great selection of poems about bugs and butterflies, as well as links to other websites and book suggestions to use when teaching about the monarch life cycle!
• Eric Carle’s website is another fantastic resource for activities and lesson plans that relate to all of his books!  It also includes an author biography, as well as a photos and video section worth checking out.

General Information

Book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Author: Eric Carle
Illustrator: Eric Carle
Publisher: Penguin Group
Publication Date: October 1981
Pages: 32
Grade Range: K-3
ISBN-13: 9780399208539

Introduction/ Summary:
The book, Oodles of Animals, written and illustrated by Lois Ehlert, is a helpful resource for young students learning about different animals and different animal characteristics. The book consists of short, rhyming poems that study many traits and features about tons of different animals. The creatures explored range from caterpillars to frogs, lobsters to chickens, and porcupines to elephants, just to name a few. Over 50 animals are studied, in concise and catchy rhyming poems, that are each about 4-5 lines in total. The poems are short and easy-to-read and reveal what is unique about various animals:

“Caterpillar:
A Caterpillar’s
future plan
includes a
butterfly wingspan”

“Skunk”
If her tail’s raised,
give a skunk room,
unless you like
pee-yoo perfume”

These poems, included within the story, are important examples because within a few simple lines, a student discovers the important features of caterpillars (changing into a butterfly) and skunks (having a terrible odor).
The most distinctive and interesting feature of this story is the illustrations that fill the pages. The pictures portray the animals consisted of just a few different shapes and colors. The author designed each animal to show it’s distinctive features, while giving young students an introduction to shapes and colors. The title is clever and catchy as well, attracting the student’s attention right away. Using nine basic shapes to visually depict animal characteristics as well as short, witty poems to explain different animals, is a great way for young children to learn about animals.

Curriculum Connections:
This book is a wonderful resource for young elementary students to learn basic facts and characteristics of specific animals. It can be used to help students learn about animals and how they grow and change (SOL K.6a, K.8c), as well as different animals’ physical characteristics (SOL1.5b). Students can use this book’s illustrations to learn about different physical properties, such as color and shape (SOL K.4a,b) as well. Kindergarten or first grade students can use the short, yet informative and entertaining, rhyming poems and illustrations provided in this book, to learn about many different animals.

Additional Resources:
1). “Explore Animal Homes“- This site comes from Springboard Magazine and it explores the many different animal habitats (barns, caves, burrows, etc.) and which animals occupy each “home.” The site includes pictures and lists to help students learn about where animals live.

2). This website, for young children, is a site with many pictures of sea animals, including a quiz, that explores the many different animals that inhabit the ocean and characteristics of sea life creatures.

3). In this show, students will learn about animals and their young, through visual representations. Young students will also begin to understand how animals are born and how they grow.

4). “All About Farm Animals” includes farm animal facts, lots of illustrations, coloring sheet templates, clipart, and a variety of songs. This site can be used for various activities studying animals that live in the farm habitat.

General Information:
Book: Oodles of Animals
Author:Lois Ehlert
Illustrator:Lois Ehlert
Publisher: Harcourt, Inc.
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 56
Grade Range: K-1
ISBN: 978-0-15-206274-3

Introduction
Photosynthesis by Alvin Silverstein, Virginia Silverstein and Laura Silverstein Nunnis a book that provides great detail on the process of photosynthesis. This book provides good examples and illustrations of what happens during photosynthesis. Additionally, this book also gives many good activities for students to complete while learning about photosynthesis. Another important feature of this book is that it not only discusses the process of photosynthesis, but also the future of photosynthesis. This book also gives good resources for many science concepts and has a glossary as a resource.

Curriculum Connection
This book is geared toward helping students gain an understanding about the process of photosynthesis SOL 4.4(c). This book would be a great tool to challenge students who already have a basic understanding of photosynthesis. Some of the material in this book may be difficult for some students to understand. This book could also be used for a center because there are many good activities for students to complete. Additionally, this book can be used for students to expand on the knowledge of photosynthesis.

Additional Resources

• This website is a good resource for a teacher to go to for a lesson plan on photosynthesis. The lesson provides an activity for students to complete to learn more about photosynthesis.
• This website provides many different activities for students to complete. Teachers can pick from a variety of activities to complete with their students. Additionally, some of these activities could be used for homework assignments as well.
• This video is a good resource for students to look at to help them understand the process of photosynthesis. This video provides a lot of good information for the students.

General Information
Book: Photosynthesis
Author: Alvin Silverstein, Virginia Silverstein, Laura Silverstein Nunn
Illustrator: None Listed
Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books
Publication Date: 1998
Pages: 5-63
Grade Range: 4-7
ISBN: 0-7613-3000-3

Introduction:
Learning that different categories of animals have different life spans is an important aspect of the 2nd grade curriculum. Being able to decipher that frogs and butterflies undergo stages of transformation compared to other species that just resemble their parents has become an important task. From Tadpole to Frog by Wendy Pfeffer is a good book to introduce students to that helps them understand the life stages of the frog and the different apsects that represent what stage they are at during a specific time of the year.

Summary:
From Tadpole to Frog tells the story of the tadpoles from Frog Pond growing from tadpoles into adult frogs. We start off in the winter season, during which the frogs are in their hiding place. Throughout the story, we are taken through the different seasons, with spring being the time that the male frogs call out for their mates. The story goes on to tell what happens once the females have responded to the male calls. Tadpoles are then released into the pond where they continue to grow alongside being eaten by their predators. The end of the book gives us different examples of frogs and a map discloses to us where bullfrogs are living.

Curriculum Connections:
This book could be used at the end of lesson to help reinforce the SOL 2.4a- that some animals undergo distinct stages during their lives, while others generally resemble their parents. After going over the lesson, the book could be read to the class and then the teacher could ask questions based around the book and the lesson. Try connecting the two together and see if the students understand what is going on.

Additional Resources:
For more information on the life span of a frog try this website Life Cycle of Frogs

For an idea on an activity related to frogs and extra information try this website Kids Activity: Frogs

For a 2nd grade level thematic unit on frogs try Frogs: A Thematic Unit

General Information:
Book: From Tadpole to Frog
Author: Wendy Pfeffer
Illustrator: Holly Keller
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication Date: Jan. 1994
Pages: 8-32
Grade Range: 2nd
ISBN: 9780064451239