Around One Log
Years after a great oak tree tumbled to the ground, a whole community of animals made it their home. Roly-polies and daddy longlegs prowled here and there, while chipmunks and salamanders dashed everywhere. Is the old tree alive? Or is it now dead?
LESSON PLAN: A Day in the Life
Around One Log: Chipmunks, Spiders, and Creepy Insiders introduces readers to the wonderful world of small creatures that inhabit the niche of a rotting log. In this activity, children describe a day in the life of one of the creatures.
Suggested Grade level: K-4
Materials:
- The book Around One Log: Chipmunks, Spiders, and Creepy Insiders
- Resources related to creatures in the book
Procedure:
- Read aloud Around One Log and invite each student to select one of the creatures.
- Have them review the “Field Notes” for that animal in the back of the book, and use the resources to learn more fascinating facts about their chosen animal.
- Invite each student to create a diary of events that occurred during one day (or night) as told from the perspective of that animal.
- Following are some prompts, which may help students focus their diary entries. When complete, have students share their writing with a partner.
- What does your animal eat and how does it find its food?
- How large is your animals family? Do they live together or alone?
- What is the most fascinating fact about your chosen animal? How does this help them to survive?
Extension:
Comparing two similar stories meets a Common Core standard. Around One Cactus: Owls, Bats and Leaping Rats, about the nocturnal creatures that live around a saguaro cactus, is a similar to Around One Log. Have students find the similarities and differences between these two stories. They may also write a diary entry for one of the desert creatures.
Common Core Standards (ELA K-4)
- ELA Writing: Research to Build and Support Knowledge K.7, 1.7, 2.7 3.7, 4.7
- ELA Reading and Literature: Key Ideas and Details (K.3, 1.3, 2.1, 3.1); Integration and Knowledge of Ideas (K.9, 1.9, 2.9, 3.9, 4.9)
Next Generation Science Standards (K-3)
- LS1.A: Structure and Function
- LS1.B: Growth and Development of Organisms
- LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems.