Open Wide, Look Inside

Younger siblings have to constantly worry about the legacies that the older siblings leave behind. Velma Gratch & The Way Cool Butterfly by Alan Madison demonstrates different ways to excel in school. She is able to learn about butterflies and forgets about the legacies that her older siblings had left behind.

Velma is entering the first grade in the same school were both Freida and Fiona, her sisters, have attended. As Velma goes to each class she is bombarded by all the legacies that her sisters left. Velma feels terrible because she feels like she does not belong: “She wanted to curl into a ball and roll right back into Kindergarten.” Her mother consoles her by stating that she will soon be noticed. Velma takes this the wrong way and purposefully does the opposite of what her sisters were known for, just to be noticed.

Velma behaves so badly that she has to see Principal Crossly. Principle Crossly informers Velma that both her sisters had been noticed for GOOD things. This leads Velma to change her behavior. As she sits in science class (her favorite class) she begins to learn about butterflies and their life cycle from eggs to migration. Velma becomes extremely enthusiastic about butterflies and soon realizes that this is what she will be known for. Velma learns big complicated words that she at times changes the pronunciation ex. Metamorphosis as metal-more-for-this.

Velma visits the butterfly can-serve-the-story (conservatory) and gains a monarch butterfly as a friend. The butterfly does not leave her pointer finger for a very long time. Velma remembers my-gray-son (migration) is soon and takes the butterfly to the park so that it can leave to Mexico. This book not only gives a great introduction to the life cycle of butterflies but also shows young girls they can have fun in science and that they do not need to depend on others to feel good.

Curriculum Connections
Velma Gratch & The Way Cool Butterfly has many lesson for students to learn. A main lesson that was intricately woven into the plot was the life cycle of butterflies. The lesson was not very extensive and teacher could not simply focus on just that topic. However, this book is a great introduction to a lesson about the life cycle of butterflies. For teachers in Virginia this book is great for SOL 2.4a which corresponds with the distinct life cycle stages that butterflies undergo.

Additional Information

• Way Cool Activities for the Classroom has a variety of activities that relate directly to the book. One of the activities asks the students to show their metamorphosis through showing three different pictures of different stages in their life. This activity not only is fun but allows students to personalize what they are learning in the classroom to what their personal life. The activities are not all necessary but it is worth having as resource in the classroom.
• The Children’s Butterfly Site is a great website for children to actually see the monarch butterfly. This website allows students an opportunity to learn more about specific butterflies, and it is also very kid friendly. The website also provides various locations that would serve great for a field trip or places that the students could go with their parents.
• The Butterfly Website has a great lesson that has students create the life cycle. The students would create the eggs and butterfly and all the stages in between. This activity would be great as a review so students can have a visual of the cycle.

Book: Velma Gratch & The Way Cool Butterfly
Author: Alan Madison
Illustrator: Kevin Hawkes
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade Books
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 40 pages
Grade: 1-3
ISBN: 978-0375835971

Have you ever looked for a informative yet unique approach to introducing seeds to your class? Dianna Hutts Aston and Silvia Long in A Seed Is Sleepy, provide an eloquently written and beautifully illustrated non-fiction book that you will want to purchase not only for your classroom but for your home  collection as well.

Ashton and Long present interesting facts about a vast array of different seeds, most of which children see around them everyday. The text is written in an poetic sounding way that flows very nicely and will keep your class or child interested. The authors also do a phenomenal job at simplifying related technical science terms such as “gymnosperms” or “dicots”.  Every two pages, is started by a one sentence teaser about that group of seeds such as “A seed is adventurous.” The larger cursive sentence is then followed by an explanation of the previous teaser given:

“Most seeds sleep through a season or two, waiting for the warmer temperatures of spring. But some take their time. Ten years might pass before the bright red-orange seed of the Texas mountain laurel shows its purple blooms” (Page 2).

As you turn each page, you are drawn to the intricate illustrations that seem to pop off the page. The book even provides a labeled diagram of a seed embryo in addition to identifying a countless number of other plants. Aston and Long even go into the process of how plants get their nutrients through the process of photosynthesis. This book will help introduce to your class to all the different types of seeds ranging from the ancient date palm seeds to the pumpkin seed.

Curriculum Connections
This book will provide students with an introduction to seeds and basic plant structures. The student will also begin to examine photosynthesis and all of the necessary components that need to be present in order for this process to occur.  In Virginia it can be used to explain the structure of typical plants, touch on the structures and processes involved in reproduction and the process of photosynthesis (Science Standard of Learning 4.4 a, b, c)

Additional Resources

• Lesson plan about the transition from seeds to plants as well as a list of additional book resources.
• A math activity incorporating seeds!
• Activity to discover and actually plant sunflower seeds.

Book: A Seed Is Sleepy
Author: Dianna Hutts Aston
Illustrator: Sylvia Long
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 40 pages
Grades: 3-4
ISBN: 0811855201

Have you ever wondered what the life cycle of a butterfly is?  What are the different stages of that process? Anca Hariton provides a simple and illustrative explanation in the book Butterfly Story.

Hariton’s explanation of the life cycle of the butterfly is done with colorful illustrations and simple wording that younger elementary students would easily understand- particularly second or third graders. The book starts out by setting the scene as springtime.  The main butterfly throughout the story is described as having bright red strips on its dark wings.  Hariton explains that the butterfly lands on a nettle bush and lays one tiny green egg.  The stages are extremely distinct as she continues to explain that the egg contains a tiny caterpillar that hatches out of the egg after about a week.  The caterpillar is described physically in basic terms: “its body is soft and fuzzy, with fourteen stumpy legs.”  The caterpillar is very hungry and eats so much that it outgrows it’s skin four times!  Hariton also explains the dangers of predators and how the caterpillar uses it’s surroundings and physical traits to save itself.  Finally, the caterpillar is full grown and becomes a pupa.

Hariton uses simple illustrations to exemplify this simple transformation.  After two weeks, the pupa hatches and the illustrations and text explain how “something wet and plump” becomes a butterfly!  The physical traits of a butterfly are now explained and shown through drawings as well as how the butterfly attains nutrients.  Finally, this butterfly lays an egg on a nestle bush as well, completing the life cycle of the butterfly.  The most interesting part of this book is that on the last page it explains everything that happened to the butterfly in the book in more scientific ways.  It also explains the type of butterfly that was portrayed throughout this short story.  We learn that the butterfly was a red admiral butterfly and that the transformation of this particular butterfly is the same as all other butterflies as well as moths.  In addition, we learn every more information about the life cycle that the book leaves out.  For example: “the pupa that forms around the caterpillar as it begins its transformation into a butterfly is also called a chrysalis.”  This back page is an excellent resource teachers or parents can use to further explain the life cycle of a butterfly after the simple stages are introduced in the story.

Curriculum Connections 
This book provides a simple explanation of the life cycle of a butterfly.  It can be used to introduce the life cycle of butterflies as well as help explain some simple vocabulary terms associated with the life cycle of butterflies as well as moths.  In Virginia it can be used to explain that some animals (butterflies) undergo distinct stages during their lives (Science Standards of Learning 2.4a).

Additional Resources

• Here is a lesson plan that can help students learn about the butterfly’s life cycle by observing real caterpillars turn into butterflies.
• Make a butterfly life cycle mobile using these tips!

Book: Butterfly Story
Author: Anca Hariton
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Publication Date: 1995
Pages: 32 pages
Grades: 2-3
ISBN: 0525452125

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

Trees are not animals, but are they alive? In Are Trees Alive? Debbie S. Miller compares the qualities and needs of trees to the qualities and needs of people. Even though trees are not animals, they are still alive and are extremely important to the world in which we all live.

Miller effectively explains the concepts of roots, trunks, habitats, bark, branches and leaves, pollen, seeds, dormancy, and the life cycle.

Bark is dark or light, rough or smooth, thick or thin, just like people’s skin. Bark Protects the inside of a tree from harsh weather and insects, like your skin protects you.

One of the most captivating features of the book is its multicultural theme; each concept is illustrated with a tree from a different part of the world. Stacey Schuett’s illustrations show people, plants, and animals from many cultures as the story teaches about the concepts and ideas, which are true of every tree and culture across the world.

Curriculum Connections
This book could be used in the lower elementary school grades to teach about life science and how trees and other plants are living things that have needs. In Virginia, Are Trees Alive? can be used in connection with SOL 1.4 in which students learn the life needs of plants (food, air, water, light, and a place to grow) and their functional parts (seeds, roots, stems, leaves, blossoms, fruits), as well as the classification of plants according to certain characteristics.

Additional Resources

• Instructions for paper tree crafts
• A form for tree similes
• Lesson Plan about the variation of leaves

Book: Are Trees Alive?
Author: Debbie S. Miller
Illustrator: Stacey Schuett
Publisher: Walker Publishing Company, Inc.
Publication Date: 2002
Pages: 26 pages
Grades: K-3
ISBN: 0-8027-8801-7

Home for a Bunny, written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Garth Williams, offers a great way to introduce students to animal habitats and the differences between various animals, all while helping a cute little bunny to find a home.

It is spring. The robins are chirping, the frog is croaking, and the flowers are blooming. This is the scene in which a little brown rabbit sets out in search of a place to call home: “Down the road and down the road he went. He was going to find a home of his own. A home for a bunny, A home of his own. Under a rock or a log or a stone. Where would a bunny find a home?”

During his search, the bunny meets several different animals and asks each one where it lives, hoping that he can share its home. First, he finds a mother robin and her babies high up in a tree. The bunny realizes that he cannot live there, stating “Not for me, I would fall out of a nest. I would fall on the ground.” Next, he finds a frog living in a bog. Again, the bunny recognizes that this will not make a good home, as he would surely drown in a bog. The third animal he meets is a groundhog who lives in a log, but when the bunny asks if he can come in, the groundhog selfishly says no. So he continues “down the road and down the road” until he meets another bunny. This pretty white bunny shows him her home under a rock. When he asks to come in, she happily says yes and that becomes the bunny’s new home.

This book contains beautiful illustrations of the bunny and all the other animals he meets. Children can clearly see where the different animals live and will laugh in agreement as the bunny explains why he cannot live in a tree or a bog.

Curriculum Connections
Home for a Bunny would be an excellent book to use as part of a unit on animals and, more specifically, as an introduction to animal habitats. After reading the story, teachers could discuss with their students why the bunny cannot live in a tree or under water in a bog. The students could compare the various characteristics of the animals in the story and sort animals based on where they live. In Virginia, this book relates to Science SOLs K.6 and 1.5, which state that students will understand that animals have basic needs (including a suitable place to live) and can be classified according to certain characteristics (including water homes versus land homes).

Because the story takes place in spring, it could also be used as part of a lesson on seasons (science SOL 1.7a-b). The beginning of the book explains several aspects of spring, such as leaves budding on trees, flowers blooming, and baby robins hatching from eggs.

Additional Resources

• Here is a link to a lesson plan about animal habitats, which includes an internet scavenger hunt related to animal homes and a writing activity in which students compare an animal home to their home and then write a friendly letter to that animal inviting him to sleep over and explaining the accomodations that would need to be made
• This Home for a Bunny lesson plan contains a “Where do I live” webquest about animal homes, a bird nest making activity, and a Venn Diagram activity for sorting land versus water animals.
• Students will enjoy playing this interactive on-line Habitats Game, which explains how certain animals are best suited to live in the antarctic, the desert, a grassland, a farm, a forest, a pond, the sea, or a tropical rainforest.

Book: Home for a Bunny
Author: Margaret Wise Brown
Illustrator: Garth Williams
Publisher: Golden Books
Publication Date: 1956
Pages: 19 pages
Grades: K-2
ISBN: 0307105466