Learning About Plant and Animal Interdependence

This teacher created an interdisciplinary lesson based on a trade book called “The Gift of a Tree” for her sixth grade students. The teacher assessed student understanding before engaging t... See More

This teacher created an interdisciplinary lesson based on a trade book called “The Gift of a Tree” for her sixth grade students. The teacher assessed student understanding before engaging them and used that to expand their knowledge on plant and animal interdependence. All aspects of the lesson are presented in this article.

Trees Take Root in Interdisciplinary Unit

This article explains how a sixth grade teacher uses the book, “The Gift of the Tree” by Tresselt, to develop an in-depth interdisciplinary lesson without watering down the science content. ... See More

This article explains how a sixth grade teacher uses the book, “The Gift of the Tree” by Tresselt, to develop an in-depth interdisciplinary lesson without watering down the science content. After students do an all-class dramatic reading of the book, they are guided through a series of activities to learn more about plant and animal interdependence. The article provides several probing questions to ask students and shows how to create a slide sandwich to observe some of the tree specimens students collect from a class walk to a nearby park. A research project is a requirement in this school’s sixth grade curriculum; therefore, students choose projects to research that have an environmental theme in this culminating activity.