The Great Kapok Tree
A Tale of the Amazon Rainforest
By: Lynne Cherry
One day a man went into the Amazon Rainforest and began to chop down a Kapok tree, a home for many animals that inhabit the forest. He became tired and sat at the trunk of the tree to rest. Soon, he feel into a deep sleep. A snake slithered up to his ear and hissed, saying the tree had been in his family for many generations. He asked for him not to cut down his home. Next, a bee came to him, buzzing in his ear that he needed this tree to live, for his hive was there. Monkeys, tropical birds, tree frogs, jaguars, porcupines, anteaters, sloths, and tribal children also came to speak of the necessity of the tree to them, as well as the consequences that would manifest if the tree were cut down. When the man opened his eyes, before him stood all the animals that depended on the Great Kapok Tree to live. He looked up and saw how beautiful the rainforest was from the Great Kapok Tree's view. He picked up his ax to begin chopping again, and suddenly dropped it, walking out of the rainforest. There the tree stood, and continued to provide life, shelter, and food for the animals of the Amazon Rainforest.
As a future teacher, I would use this book as a science read aloud. This book can supplement instruction in numerous places throughout 3-5 science curriculum in North Carolina. It narrates the effects that deforestation has on economies and communities in a way that is fun and interesting for the students. A project that I would implement in my class with this book would be a class play. I think that it would be neat for the students to each be assigned a different role, the tree, animals, tribal boy, and the man, and have them act it out. We could have a family night, in which the students put on the play for their families and then tell them some other effects that clearing land has on the environment.
No comments:
Post a Comment