Author: Sophia Gholz
Illustrator: Kayla Harren
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
SONWA: 2019 Winner
Nature-based Activities

Nature-based Activities

Thank you for joining us in a reading of The Boy Who Grew a Forest by Sophia Gholz. We invite you to watch the video twice, paying attention to the illustrations and the text. See the description below for activities you can do with your classroom or at home.

★ Visit a young tree, an adult tree, and a grandparent tree. Take note of their differences. Which one would you want to spend the most time around?

★★ Find someone who has planted a tree before. How long ago was it planted? What type of tree is it? See if you can visit this tree with them.

★★★ Find a sapling that might need help growing. Plant it somewhere it can grow. Make sure to take care of it until it’s strong enough to grow on its own.

Extension for teachers:
Locate India on a map with your classroom. Locate the forest from the story on this map. How far away is your classroom located from the forest? Next, find out where the closest forest is to the school. Visit it if you can! Next, take some time to research public forests or other public lands within a specified radius from the school (ie. 30 miles, 100 miles and 300 miles). Have students work together in small groups or individually to make maps of these forested areas. Invite each student to research the forested area and find out how the forest is managed. Is it the same as in the story?

Enjoy the reading? Consider purchasing your own copy of The Boy Who Grew a Forest.

Author: Sigrid Schmalzer
Illustrator: Melanie Linden Chan
Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers
SONWA: 2018 Winner
Nature-based Activities

Nature-based Activities

Thank you for joining us in a reading of Moth and Wasp, Soil and Ocean by Sigrid Schmalzer. We invite you to watch the video twice, paying attention to the illustrations and the text. See the description below for activities you can do with your classroom or at home.

★ Stink bugs smell like farts and lychee pearls smell like perfume. Find similar smells in your own backyard. Find other smells too!

★★ Take some time to observe the movement and behaviors of insects. Notice what other species they interact with and see if you can discover who they are connected to in the food chain. Make a drawing of this food chain even if you don’t know the name of the species.

★★★ Make a piece of clothing or something to use out of outdoor material.

Extension for teachers:
With your students, brainstorm a list of species who live in your local area. Develop a food chain or food web based on these species. Explore the following questions: Who is at the bottom of the food chain? Who is at the top? How are these species interconnected? What would happen if one species in the chain went extinct? What might happen if the habitats in which these species live became contaminated or destroyed?

Enjoy the reading? Consider purchasing your own copy of Moth and Wasp, Soil and Ocean.

Author: Joyce Sidman
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
SONWA: 2018 Honorable Mention
Recommended ages: 10-12, grades 4-6
Nature-based Activities

Nature-based Activities

Thank you for joining us in a reading of The Girl Who Drew Butterflies by Joyce Sidman. We invite you to watch the video twice, paying attention to the illustrations and the text. See the description below for activities you can do with your classroom or at home.

★ Find something outside you think is “creepy” or a “vermin” and learn about it. Draw or paint it. Learn about it like Maria Merian. Is there a connection with this “creepy” thing to another plant, animal or insect nearby?

★★ Paint, draw, or journal the life cycle of something that makes you curious. Can you find a creature at each stage of its life cycle?

★★★ Butterflies are described as “summer birds” because people did not know about the life cycle of insects. Research the life cycle of the creature you found outside. Also, find out why the creature has the name it does.

Extension for teachers:
In The Girl Who Drew Butterflies, we learn that photography had not yet been invented. Instead, artists were responsible for drawings of the city, important moments and providing images for people to understand what was available to buy, sell or trade. Invite the students to imagine a life without photography (or even videography!). As a way to explore this through observation, head outside with the class, with journals and pencils/colored pencils in hand. Ask each student to choose an area and a specific species that appeals to them. Then ask them to draw, paint, sketch or journal about this item (without using cameras in any way to support). Give students 30-45 minutes to complete this task. When finished, have each student share what they created.

Enjoy the reading? Consider purchasing your own copy of The Girl Who Drew Butterflies.

Author: Suzanne Slade
Illustrator: Jessica Lanan
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
SONWA: 2017 Winner
Nature-based Activities

Nature-based Activities

Thank you for joining us in a reading of Out of School and Into Nature by Suzanne Slade. We invite you to watch the video twice, paying attention to the illustrations and the text. See the description below for activities you can do with your classroom or at home.

★ Be barefoot outside for at least ten minutes. Write or draw about your experience afterward.

★★ Find two things that interact with each other in the natural world. Observe them long enough to learn where their home is located. Draw a picture of them in their separate homes and how they interact with each other.

★★★ Set up your own outdoor learning space! Make an outdoor classroom for you and your friends or family. Guide your friends in learning something new in this outdoor classroom.

Extension for teachers:
Experiment with teaching your class inside and outside. Spending time outside is scientifically proven to enhance focus, motivation, attention and self-esteem, among other positive health benefits for youth and adults alike. What differences do you notice in your students? At first it might be challenging as everyone adjusts to the new learning environment, but what first may appear as distractions or too much excitement can be harnessed to support your academic exploration. Feel free to reach out to us for support! We love teaching and learning outdoors.

Enjoy the reading? Consider purchasing your own copy of Out of School and Into Nature.

Author: Emma Bland Smith
Illustrator: Robin James
Publisher: Little Bigfoot-Sasquatch Books
SONWA: 2016 Winner
Nature-based Activities

Nature-based Activities

Thank you for joining us in a reading of Journey: The Most Famous Wolf in the West by Emma Bland Smith. We invite you to watch the video twice, paying attention to the illustrations and the text. See the description below for activities you can do with your classroom or at home.

★ Head outside and make a smell map! How? See how many different types of smells you can find and make a creative map of where they are located. When you’re done, howl like a wolf!

★★ Spend some time exploring outside until you find a set of animal tracks that make you curious. Track this animal until you can tell its story. Go find someone and share the story you discovered. When you’re done, howl like a wolf!

★★★ What does home mean for you? What outside spaces are included in your home? Who is included in your home? Take some time to write, draw or share stories with a friend about the journeys you have taken to get to your home and any journeys that you have had around your home. When you’re done, howl like a wolf!

Extension for teachers:
Spend some time discussing animals in your region that may need some protection or support. Invite the students to research different conservation groups for a favorite species that lives near them. Challenge the students to volunteer at least one day with the group. Make sure to come back together and talk about what they experienced during their volunteer day.

Enjoy the reading? Consider purchasing your own copy of Journey: The Most Famous Wolf in the West.

Author: Claudia McGehee
Illustrator: Claudia McGehee
Publisher: Little Bigfoot-Sasquatch Books
SONWA: 2016 Honorable Mention
Nature-based Activities

Nature-based Activities

Thank you for joining us in a reading of My Wilderness: An Alaskan Adventure by Claudia McGehee. We invite you to watch the video twice, paying attention to the illustrations and the text. See the description below for activities you can do with your classroom or at home.

★ Find a comfortable spot outside to sit alone with nothing else. Sit here for 10 minutes (or longer). This is your sit spot and a place you can come to just to be quiet and relax whenever you want.

★★ In the story the eagle was a guide. Head outside and lean against a tree, rock or soil for a bit and consider who is a guide for you.

★★★ Spend a full day, morning to the next morning, without technology. If it helps, do this with friends!

Extension for teachers:
No technology day! Meet your students outside right when school starts and don’t go inside for the full day. (As the teacher you are only allowed to have a watch and/or phone). Have established expectations and guidelines already set up for this day including ideas for supporting students in how to be a leader of the group. Invite each student to be a leader for a certain amount of time (enough time to really lead but leaving enough for everyone to have a chance) and head out and explore the school grounds, forest, city streets, etc. Follow the guidance of your students’ interest and activity. At points during the day stop at certain areas just to sit, observe and engage the world. At the end of the day, come together to discuss the things the students liked about this day and the parts of the day they didn’t really enjoy. Come up with ways to bring the things they liked into the regular school day in the future.

Enjoy the reading? Consider purchasing your own copy of My Wilderness: An Alaskan Adventure.

Author: Aimée Bissonette
Illustrator: Claudia McGehee
Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Press
SONWA: 2015 Winner
Nature-based Activities

Nature-based Activities

Thank you for joining us in a reading of North Woods Girl by Aimée Bissonette. We invite you to watch the video twice, paying attention to the illustrations and the text. See the description below for activities you can do with your classroom or at home.

★ Go find your own “grandfather” log like in the story.

★★ Find your own special spot in nature and share it with someone special. Tell them what you love about this spot and let them tell you if they like it and why.

★★★ What character are you most like in this story? Head outside and do an activity you think the character you’re most like would want to do in your backyard or neighborhood.

Extension for teachers:
Have your students interview a grandparent or adult at home. Students should ask the following: 1. Where is your favorite place to spend time outside? 2. Where was your favorite place to spend outside when you were a kid? 3. What did you wear? Have a dress up day at school. Students will dress up as the grandparent/adult who they interviewed.

Enjoy the reading? Consider purchasing your own copy of North Woods Girl.

Author: Melissa Stewart
Illustrator: Higgins Bond
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
SONWA: 2013 Winner
Nature-based Activities

Nature-based Activities

Thank you for joining us in a reading of A Place for Turtles by Melissa Stewart. We invite you to watch the video twice, paying attention to the illustrations and the text. See the description below for activities you can do with your classroom or at home.

★ Take a hike in your backyard or neighborhood. What animals might live there? How can you help maintain a healthy environment for them to live?

★★ Find a place in your backyard, neighborhood or local park where turtles might live. Spend 10-15 minutes being still and observing this place. How can you help the turtles here live and grow?

★★★ Find an organization working in your local area to protect turtle habitats. Enlist the help of an adult if needed.

Extension for teachers:
With students, provide maps of the world and locate where all the different types of turtles live in the world. Note the ones that live in your bioregion and in your backyard. Discuss ways to help turtles live and grow in each region. Is it the same or different for each turtle?

Enjoy the reading? Consider purchasing your own copy of A Place for Turtles.

Author: Jan Reynolds
Photos: Jan Reynolds
Publisher: Lee and Low Books
SONWA: 2009 Winner
Nature-based Activities

Lesson Plan

Thank you for joining us in a reading of Cycle of Rice, Cycle of Life: A Story of Sustainable Farming by Jan Reynolds. We invite you to watch the video twice, paying attention to the illustrations and the text. See the description below for activities you can do with your classroom or at home.

★ Balinese created and visited holy temples to show their gratitude for water. Why are you thankful for water and who would you thank for life giving water? Create something outside that you might want to visit each day to show your gratitude for water.

★★ Go outside when it’s raining. Follow the different paths where the water flows. Where does it come from? Where does it go? After exploring in the rain, take time to draw the water cycle including your backyard or neighborhood.

★★★ Now that you’ve made a map of the water cycle and you’ve explored the movement of water, head to your kitchen. Pick at least one item (or more if you want an extra challenge). Make a list of the ingredients in this food. Then start researching! Where did the ingredients come from? How did it get to you? What were all the steps in between? Don’t just guess, look them up and learn about them. As you learn, make a map of the distance your food traveled and what it has gone through to get into your cabinet.

Extension for teachers:
Find a sustainable farmer in your area, give them a call and ask them if you can volunteer with the students at the farm for a day. While there, take time to talk about the role of water in their life, as well as why they were moved to become a sustainable farmer.

Enjoy the reading? Consider purchasing your own copy of Cycle of Rice, Cycle of Life: A Story of Sustainable Farming.

Author: Jacqueline Davies
Illustrator: Melissa Sweet
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
SONWA: 2004 Winner
Nature-based Activities

Nature-based Activities

Thank you for joining us in a reading of The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon by Jacqueline Davies. We invite you to watch the video twice, paying attention to the illustrations and the text. See the description below for activities you can do with your classroom or at home.

★ Head outside and start listening and watching carefully. As you become quiet, notice what birds come into your area. Pick one who seems more comfortable and observe it for a bit. What does it do? What does it eat? Where does it feel safest? What does it do when startled?

★★ Go back to the same place for a certain number of days in a row (we recommend 30 if you can!) and notice if your bird returns. Each day, spend time observing it, making notes and sketches about it.

★★★ John James Audubon is well known for his bird paintings. Do some research on him and find images of his drawings. See if you can find a drawing of the bird you observed. Then try to emulate the Audubon drawing with your own set of paints or markers.

Extension for teachers:
At the beginning of the year, take your students outside to an area close to the school that you can visit regularly. Make a plan to visit this spot daily (if possible) or at the very least, weekly (regardless of weather). On the first day, ask students to turn on their ears and/or eyes and take note of the sounds and behaviors of birds. Then, ask each student to pick one, not by name, but by observation. Each time you return, have students make naturalist notes about the bird by writing or sketching. Do this for the full school year, noting changes in behavior along the way.

Enjoy the reading? Consider purchasing your own copy of The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon.

Author: Consie Powell
Illustrator: Consie Powell
Publisher: Legacy Bound
SONWA: 2005 Winner
Nature-based Activities

Nature-based Activities

Thank you for joining us in a reading of Leave Only Ripples: A Canoe Country Sketchbook by Consie Powell. We invite you to watch the video twice, paying attention to the illustrations and the text. See the description below for activities you can do with your classroom or at home.
 
★ Consie Powell uses many sketches in this book. Head outside with some paper and colored pencils and make some sketches of different natural objects that catch your attention.
 
★★ Make a map of species in your area. Where are their homes located? Where do they travel? Where is their food source? Be sure to put these on your map.
 
★★★ What type of rock is under your feet? What is the geologic story of your home and neighborhood? Head outside, take notice of the rock around you: notice texture, colors, and hardness. Try and identify the different types of rock.

Extension for teachers:
Review with students that in this story, people traveled by canoe. Invite students to consider the following questions: What types of travel do people use today in the area where you live? How did the original people travel in your area? Ask students to discuss or write down all the different ways to travel and then calculate miles per hour for each type of travel they wrote down. Next, ask students to choose a favorite place they like to visit in town and calculate how many miles it is from their house. Then, ask them to calculate how long it would take to use each type of travel to get to that place from their home. Finally, ask them to test their calculations when they go home: each student should try at least one (or more) of the different ways to travel between their home and their favorite place. Discuss the students findings the next time you meet.
 
Enjoy the reading? Consider purchasing your own copy of Leave Only Ripples: A Canoe Country Sketchbook.