Lesson Plan #: AELP-CHL0229

The Giving Tree

An Educator's Reference Desk Lesson Plan

Submitted by: Marissa Jones
Email: marissalynnjones@yahoo.com
School/University/Affiliation: University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown

Date: January 25, 2003

Grade Level: Preschool Education, Kindergarten, 1

Subject(s):

Duration: Two 1-hour sessions

Description: This lesson integrates The Giving Tree with art, language arts, and science. Students will gain an understanding of the importance of trees and giving through three main activities.

Goals: National Science Education Standards (NSES) :
Life Science Content Standard C: As a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop an understanding of

Objectives:
  1. Students will be able to identify how trees are used and the importance of their existence.
  2. Students will be able to create their own story about giving and the significance of sharing.
  3. Students will demonstrate, through pictures, items they can give to someone.
Materials: Procedure:

Introduction:
One at a time, show the materials that have been brought to class, and ask what they have in common. Provide clues if students are not sure (the items are all associated with trees). Then ask students to share other things they can think of that come from trees or things that trees provide. Read the story, The Giving Tree , by Shel Silverstein. [ Summary of book: Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk, and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave and gave. After giving everything she had, the boy returned to the tree after many years. The tree told the boy that she had left nothing to give. The old man replies, "I don't need very much now. Just a quiet place to sit and rest." The tree offers its stump, the only thing it has left to give. Wearily the old man sits down. "And the tree was happy."]

Activities:
There are three main activities that the students will be involved in throughout the lesson. After listening to the story, they will write or draw on construction paper items they find throughout the classroom, objects in their house, or other common things they believe came from a tree. They will share their findings with the entire class and take them home to share with their family.

The students will then be paired off and be given a large piece of white paper and different colored markers. Each student will trace their partner's body onto the paper. Their bodies will be drawn to resemble a tree: legs together to resemble the trunk and their arms drawn different ways to resemble the branches. On their tree they will then draw things that trees provide or produce. Examples should be food, shelter for animals, products for people, oxygen, and shade.

Finally, the students will create their own story about giving. They will write a story or draw specific examples of things they have that they could give to someone in need. Possible things could be hugs, kisses, helping someone with homework, or house chores. Whatever they say or draw should be something they could give to others, just how the tree gave the boy things he needed.

Conclusion:
Review the story, and talk about the importance of trees and why they are so vital to people, animals, and nature. Hang up the "body trees" and talk about what students drew on their trees. Sing the following song (to the tune of: "Mary Had a Little Lamb") and collect their papers:

Mary had a little tree, little tree, little tree. Mary had a little tree; its leaves began to show.
And twice a week she'd water it, water it, water it. And twice a week she'd water it; the tree was sure to grow.
She sat it in the sun each day, sun each day, sun each day. She sat it in the sun each day, hoping it would bloom.
Little Mary smiled one day, smiled one day, smiled one day. Little Mary smiled one day, when it finally did bloom.

Assessment: Evaluate students' stories according to what they wrote and the things they could give; accuracy of ideas should make sense. Students should write things that make sense and not things that they couldn't give.

Useful Internet Resource:
 * National Science Education Standards (NSES)
http://books.nap.edu/html/nses/

Special Comments: I did this with a kindergarten class and they loved it! They really enjoyed drawing each other and thinking of things THEY could give--just like the tree!