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The Littlest Gardener An Interactive Children’s Book on the Role of Garden Insects in Food Growth

The Littlest Gardener An Interactive Children’s Book on the Role of Garden Insects in Food Growth . Community Based Learning Initiative Garden Project for Real Food for Thought and NJ DOE Alana R. Tornello ENV 307: Food & Agriculture January 7, 2011. An Alternative Lesson Plan.

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The Littlest Gardener An Interactive Children’s Book on the Role of Garden Insects in Food Growth

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  1. The Littlest GardenerAn Interactive Children’s Book on the Role of Garden Insects in Food Growth Community Based Learning Initiative Garden Project for Real Food for Thought and NJ DOE Alana R. Tornello ENV 307: Food & Agriculture January 7, 2011

  2. An Alternative Lesson Plan • Traditionally illustrated children’s book • Plus three interactive worksheets • Will meet multiple NJ DOE CPI # standards for: • Science • Language Arts • Visual Arts • For 1st to 3rd grade (~ages 7-9)

  3. Motivation • Riverside Elementary School children’s interest in bugs • Termite playground • Compost piles • Butterfly activities • Worm lesson • Merge of environmental studies, visual arts, literature, & childhood education/development • Background in bug identification • Relevance to food growth

  4. Use of Children’s Books in Education • Science in early childhood books (Smardo, 2005) • K-3 teachers spend avg. 17 mins on science a day • Isolated group taught with books improved vocabulary, grasped science concepts, and asked questions • Insect science curriculum (Annual Review of Entomology, 1997) • Lists 30 successful, educational, & often used insect books • Trend in books coupled with scientific method & field study • Success of “bug book” genres • The Hungry Little Caterpillar (Carle) • Charlotte’s Web (White) • Miss Spider’s Tea Party (Kirk) “An understanding of insects is in a sense a prerequisite to a broader understanding of life.” ~WJ Fischang

  5. The Book: The Littlest Gardener • A child who hates bugs meets an ant • Ant introduces 3 groups of insects: • Pollinators (bees & butterflies) • Decomposers (worms & termites) • Protectors (ladybugs & spiders) • The life cycle is highlighted • Learns how important bugs are for food growth • Learns to respect animals and the environment

  6. Science Curriculum • Standards (Science Practice & Life Science) • “Handle and treat organisms humanely, responsibly, and ethically.” • “Describe the ways in which organisms interact with each other and their habitats in order to meet basic needs.” • Worksheet • Draw a diagram of the life cycle. • How are decomposers and pollinators a part of food growth? • Which insects are helpful to humans or food? • Which ones are hurtful?

  7. Language Arts Curriculum • Standards • “Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text.” • “Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about.” • Worksheet • What is real in the story and what is fake? • Vocabulary & spelling words • Write about which bug in your book is your favorite and why? How does this bug help or hurt the food that grows in the garden?

  8. Visual Arts Curriculum • Standards • “Use symbols to create personal works of art based on selected age-appropriate themes, using oral stories as a basis for pictorial representation.” • “Create works of art that are based on observations of the physical world.” • Worksheet • Can you identify this bug? • Draw what is missing on this bug. • Draw your perfect garden and what bugs would live there.

  9. Extended Use • Teachers of many subjects can use book in collaboration • Hope to spread to other schools beyond Riverside • Does not necessarily need a garden • With garden, hands-on activities could be created • Could potentially lead to a series of garden adventures • More lesson plans created for this book (other curriculums) • Model replicated if successful “Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar.”  ~Bradley Millar

  10. References • Carle, Eric. The Very Busy Spider. New York: Philomel Books, 1984. • Gibbons, Gale. The Honey Makers. New York: Harper Collins, 1997. • Hovanec, Erin. I Wonder What It's Like to Be an Ant. New York: Powerkids Press, 2000. • Matthews, Robert W., Lynda R. Flage, and Janice R. Matthews. “Insects as Teach Tools in Primary and Secondary Education”. Annual Review of Entomology. Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia: Athens, GA. 1996. Vol. 42: 269-289. • Pranis, Eve. “Insect Appeal: Getting to Food by Studying Bugs”. KidGardening.Org. Web. <http://www.kidsgardening.com/Dig/DigDetail.taf?ID=1119&Type=Art> • Smardo, Frances A. “Using Children's Literature to Clarify Science Concepts in Early Childhood Programs”. The Reading Teacher. International Reading Association: 2005. Vol. 36, No. 3. 267-273. • State of New Jersey – Department of Education. “New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards”. Web. < http://www.njcccs.org/search.aspx> • “ ‘Teacher’s Pests’ Lessons Plans”. Terminix Insect Education. Web. <http://www.terminix.com/Information/Teachers> • University Games. Do I Bug You: A ‘Who am I?’ Book. University Games: 2007. • University of Washington Botanic Gardens. “Garden Insect Identification”, Web. <http://depts.washington.edu/hortlib/resources/hort_web_sites/plant_id.php>

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