Literature, Subject Integration and Blogging

A great book can be such a wonderful springboard for integrated learning!

The book The Gardener is an example of a picture book that can be used to address multiple discipline areas across multiple grade levels.

As I write this post, Calgary weather remains a frigid -23C. Although Lent begins today, there are NO signs that ‘spring is just around the corner.’ Outside my window, everything is a big white blanket with splashes of gray. 

As soon as I pick this book up and begin reading, I can't help but find my spirit lifting!

The Gardener, written by Sarah Stewart and illustrated by David Small (a husband and wife team), is the story of Lydia Grace, a young girl, who is sent to New York to live with her Uncle Jim during the Great Depression. Her story is told through a series of letters written home. Her mission is to make her grouchy uncle smile, and to nurture her growing green thumb by creating a rooftop garden. It is a story that illustrates perseverance, hard work, hope and kindness.

The book can be found in many CCSD school libraries.

Curricular themes and concepts the book can help address are (this list is not exclusive – you and your students will come up with many additional ideas!):

Social Studies	Family, the Great Depression, quality of life, rural and urban, stories of the past, caring for the environment
Science	Plants and growth, seeds, parts of a flower, regenerating an inner city building, gardening, soil, respect for living things and environments, and commitment for their care
Language Arts	Narrative (historical fiction), events of a story, sequencing, parts of a letter, finding important ideas, questioning, reading with a purpose, synthesizing ideas (For additional lesson and unit ideas go to Learn Alberta Online Reference Center’s TeachingBooks )
Religion	Acts of kindness, renewal, resiliency
Art	Sketching, watercolors,  (see David Small’s video on sketching and illustrating at TeachingBooks.net and for a great art project idea see http://www.nccil.org/experience/artactivities/smalld/index.htm

The Critical Thinking Consortium has selected The Gardener as part of their Thoughtful Books series. For a lesson plan (Grade 3+) on how to read The Gardener critically and to thoughtfully consider ethical matters, click here.

Some Blogging suggestions (at the Grade 5 level) are:

1.       Have students identify and summarize the most important idea in the letters Lydia sent home i.e. “In the letter dated ________, the most important idea was ______.”

2.       Take pictures of completed art work (see suggestion in table above), post on blog and invite parents and blog visitors to take a ‘gallery walk’. They can leave comments if they wish.

3.       Grade 5 students can blog an answer to the question “In what ways did the Great Depression affect Lydia’s way of life? Uncle Jim’s life?” Have students provide evidence (cite page number from the text) that supports their thinking.

4.       Students create iMovie or Photo story of random acts of kindness being performed during lent. Post stories on blog as a way to encourage and inspire others to do their own acts.

5.       Discuss Lydia’s actions and how they affected her environment. Ask students to brainstorm actions they can do to show care, concern or respect for the environment. Come up with a Top 10 list by ranking actions from most powerful to less powerful. Post Top 10 on blog and invite feedback and alternate Top 10 lists.

Have fun blogging and searching for signs of spring!