{"id":1726,"date":"2009-09-13T11:51:32","date_gmt":"2009-09-13T16:51:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/archives\/1726"},"modified":"2009-09-13T11:51:32","modified_gmt":"2009-09-13T16:51:32","slug":"teaching-life-science-with-childrens-literature-this-is-the-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/2009\/09\/13\/teaching-life-science-with-childrens-literature-this-is-the-tree\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching Life Science with Children’s Literature: This is the Tree"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"thisisthetree.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This is\u00a0the Tree<\/a><\/em>, written by Miriam Moss and illustrated by Adrienne Kennaway, \u00a0is a prose poem that centers around the ancient baobab tree in Africa. Each three line stanza starts out with the phrase, “This is the tree,” and explains the importance of the baobab tree to the ecological system around it.\u00a0 The short stanzas on each page make this book a great read-along for young readers, and the water-color-like artwork is a beautiful way to show children how vital the tree is to the wildlife it supports.\u00a0 In addition to teaching kids about the African habitat, the book can be used to aid reading lessons which focus on poetry and poetic devices like metaphors and personification.<\/p>\n

“This is the tree with the huge rounded belly,
\n\u00a0 all lacy with shadows
\n\u00a0 in a sea of new grass.<\/p>\n

\u00a0This is the tree that the tribespeople visit
\n\u00a0to cut bark, spilling insects
\n\u00a0on read beaten earth.”<\/p>\n

After the story is finished, the final two pages of the book provide more trivia-like facts about the Baobab tree. This is the Tree <\/em>does a fabulous job of combining science and reading in a poetic way, and would be a great\u00a0staple peice of children’s literature\u00a0in\u00a0any classroom or home library.<\/p>\n

Curriculum Connections:<\/strong>
\nThis is the tree<\/em>\u00a0provides a combination of the teaching of reading\u00a0along with an understanding of the life needs of animals and people (VA SOLs 1.5). The book’s illustrations help show students the physical adaptations animals make, such as gathering food and finding shelter, in order to survive (VA SOLs 3.4).<\/p>\n

Additional Resources:
\n<\/strong>The book’s author, Miriam Moss<\/a>, has her own website which provides detailed descriptions of all her other children’s books. Many are written in the same style as This is the Tree<\/em>, and also give great lessons on wildlife and other subjects.<\/p>\n

To find out more information about the Baobab tree, there are many websites, like this one<\/a>, that give a lot of great facts about the actual tree and the\u00a0importance of\u00a0it to the life\u00a0surrounding.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The National Geographic For Kids <\/a>website would be a excellent resource for students to do more\u00a0research about the animals mentioned in This is the Tree<\/em>.<\/p>\n

General Information:<\/strong><\/p>\n