Teaching Children's Literature
“A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest.” ~C.S. Lewis
underGROUND
Fleming, Denise. Underground. New York: Beach Lane, 2012.
Genre: informational text (not biography)
Reading Level: AD310L
Summary: This is a really cool book about animals that make their homes underground. The illustrations depict animals – like snakes and chipmunks – nesting below the ground, while showing insects and other creatures above ground. While Fleming shares life above and below ground, another story subtly unfolds: a little boy is playing outside and is tending to his garden. He plants and waters a cherry tree, again showing how life exists above and below the ground.
Rationale for Classroom Use: Based on the book, students can recreate their own outdoor scene, showing what lives above and below ground.
Common Core Connection: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.3 Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.
