{"id":2290,"date":"2010-01-30T20:04:22","date_gmt":"2010-01-31T01:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/archives\/2290"},"modified":"2010-01-30T20:04:22","modified_gmt":"2010-01-31T01:04:22","slug":"teaching-life-science-with-childrens-literature-a-logs-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/2010\/01\/30\/teaching-life-science-with-childrens-literature-a-logs-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching Life Science with Children’s Literature: A Log’s Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A Log’s Life<\/a>, written by Wendy Pfeffer and illustrated by Robin Brickman, tells about the life cycle of an oak tree.\u00a0 In the beginning, a large oak tree stands in the forest.\u00a0 Pfeffer tells us how the tree supports many different living things such as, porcupines, squirrels, woodpeckers, beetles, slugs, snails and fungi.\u00a0 Then one day a storm causes the oak tree to fall and the tree becomes a log.\u00a0 Pfeffer continues to explain how the log supports other lifeforms such as, millipedes, termites, ants, and salamanders.\u00a0 The log provides food and shelter for many years until it is broken down into nothing but a rich bed of soil.\u00a0 In the end, an acorn falls and a squirrel buries it in the rich soil.\u00a0 Soon after, another oak tree is born only one day to become another log.<\/p>\n

The illustrations by Brickman are amazing in this book and would appeal to children, especially those who have not seen some of the creatures that Pfeffer and Brickman bring to our attention.<\/p>\n

Curriculum Connections<\/strong>
\nA Log’s Life<\/em> would be an excellent book for children who are in kindergarten through the third grade.\u00a0 The book describes the life cycle of an oak tree, and how once the tree is dead, it is still an important part of our ecological system. (VA SOL 2.5a-c)\u00a0 Children will learn how something as simple as a log provides food and shelter to many different species of living organisms. (VA SOL 1.5a)\u00a0 Children will also discover how another oak tree is reproduced. (VA SOL K.7c)\u00a0 Young children will love the illustrations and will be introduced to knew types of wildlife such as, salamanders, millipedes, and termites.\u00a0 Older students should be able to read this book in a guided reading session and learn how important trees are to our environment.\u00a0 A teacher may incorporate why it is important for the human race to protect or plant trees.\u00a0 (VA SOL 3.5 b&d and 3.10a)<\/p>\n

Additional Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n