Wednesday, July 9, 2008

27 - Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman

This lovely little book made me think of tons of things to do in my classroom! It is the story of what happens in a vacant lot in a run-down Cleveland neighborhood when a little Vietnamese girl decides to plant some lima beans. The whole community gets involved, turning the trash-filled lot into something beautiful and hopeful and learning quite a few things in the process.

I would love to connect this book to Weslandia by Paul Fleischman and possible one of the Giver books by Lois Lowry, maybe Gathering Blue. There is a strong theme of growth, both of cultivated plants and the people cultivating them. I would also love to start a container garden with my students (what a wonderful Science connection) and grow vegetables and flowers. I'd have to do a lot of research to make that successful and I would probably have to try and get a grant or some donated materials, because gardening isn't cheap. But it would be an excellent unit that could span across a whole school year. Very exciting!

1 comment:

Marsha said...

I really love the way your enthusiasm shows when you talk about teaching. You are a born twacher!