Literature-based thematic units are an effective strategy to address concepts across the curriculum. The central topic for a theme is chosen for its ability to spark a sense of curiosity and interest in young learners and to accommodate diverse learning opportunities. In this article, we take a closer look at a popular topic: wildlife.
Bears, deer, raccoons, squirrels, caribou, whales, bald eagles, salmon—the list of wildlife options is a long one, and your choice can be tailored to your students’ interests, age, and geographical location. A closer look at any one of these creatures would facilitate a study of biodiversity, adaptations, life cycles, food chains, and other science concepts that are embedded in elementary school curricula. Music, art, crafts, reading, writing, researching, and math are also skills that can be developed within a wildlife theme.
Shared and independent reading experiences are at the core of a thematic unit. Canadian publishers’ backlists are a rich source of appropriate titles. The following are a few recent releases that you might like to add to your resources.
The Smallest Owlet
written and illustrated by Georgia Graham
Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 2023
ISBN 9781554556144
40 pp, ages 5 – 9
fitzhenry.ca
This delightful book is based on the true story of a pair of great horned owls that nested in the aspen grove behind the author/illustrator’s house. The female lays three eggs in an old magpie nest, and the reader watches the pair through the winter winds, cold temperatures, and snowy weather of the 30-day incubation period. The growth and development of the owlets are described in detail throughout the spring and summer months. When fall arrives, all three can fly skillfully and fend for themselves. Several pages of diagrams, pictures, and interesting facts about great horned owls are provided at the end of the book. The detailed illustrations are skillfully painted to give a realistic look at this owl family.
The Bee Mother
by Hetxw’ms Gyetxw (Brett Huson)
illustrated by Natasha Donovan
Highwater Press, 2024
32 pp, ages 9 – 12
highwaterpress.com
The Bee Mother is the seventh title in the Mothers of Xsan series. Written by an award-winning storyteller from the Gitxsan Nation in Northwestern BC, this book explores the roles played by bumblebees, honeybees, and yellow jacket wasps in the Xsan ecosystem. Known primarily as pollinators, the honeybees and bumblebees make it possible for abundant crops of soapberries, huckleberries, and strawberries to be harvested by the Gitxsan people. The yellow jacket wasps also serve as pollinators but are primarily known for preying on insects. The brightly coloured illustrations, word boxes (definitions of scientific words), and the cultural information embedded throughout the book help to highlight the connections between Gitxsan knowledge, science, and sustainability.
The Book of Ant Records
by Katja Bargam
illustrated by Jenny Lucander
Orca Book Publishers, 2024
ISBN 9781459837492
48 pp, ages 8 – 11
orcabook.com
Katja Bargam has a PhD in evolutionary biology from the University of Helsinki and wrote her dissertation on the social life of ants. During her time as an ant researcher, Bargam counted tens of thousands of ants! Her experiences as a researcher, science writer, and editor provided her with enough background knowledge to write this entertaining and fact-filled book of “ant world records.”
The book is organized into chapters consisting of two facing pages. Each chapter is focused on answering a question about one aspect of ant life, and the “world record” is given to the ant species with that strongest attribute. For example, pages 24 and 25 answer the question Which ant is the strongest? That world record was won by the Azteca ant!
Each chapter is filled with amazing facts (Did you know that there are approximately 20 million billion—20 quadrillion—ants in the world?), informative and humorous illustrations (with many cross-sections of anthills), a map, and some charts.
The following lesson plan is intended as a Guided Group Practice in creating a captioned and labelled diagram of a crow. It uses the book A Spring Adventure With Crows to model the strategy and to create opportunities for students to participate in the process.
A Spring Adventure With Crows
by Brenda Boreham and Terri Mack
illustrated by Lisa Shim
Strong Nations Publishing, 2021
ISBN 9781771745680
24 pp, ages 7 – 9
strongnations.com
LESSON PLAN: Taking a Closer Look
Goal
Students will make an accurately captioned and labelled diagram of a crow with a closer look at one of the crow’s physical features.
Materials
• a pencil and Thinking Sheet for each student
• a copy of A Spring Adventure With Crows (or a class set if available)
• a chalk/whiteboard
Before Teaching the Lesson
• Engage students in activities that ensure that they are familiar with the appearance and behavioural traits of crows (reading books, looking at pictures, sharing any observations of crows that they have had, etc.)
• Read A Spring Adventure With Crows aloud.
Preparation
• Create a Thinking Sheet master copy and photocopy one for each student.
• Establish partners for “Partner Talk” during the lesson.
Step 1
• Review the meaning of “fiction” and “non-fiction” books.
• Explain that factual information is often provided not only in the text but also in other ways on the pages of non-fiction books (e.g., titles, headings, captions, labels, bold print, photographs, illustrations, fact boxes). A diagram is another way to present information.
• Have the students examine the diagram of a crow on pages 6 and 7 of A Spring Adventure with Crows.
• Have students turn to their predetermined partners and discuss the information that they found on these pages.
• Have a couple of students report their observations to the larger group.
• Have the students examine the diagram on pages 6 and 7 again and identify the captions, images, and labels.
• Remind students that the purpose of this diagram is to provide important information about crows that can be accessed quickly and easily.
Step 2
• Put away the books and distribute a Thinking Sheet to each student.
• Explain that you will help them draw a scientific diagram of a crow. They will copy your process on their Thinking Sheets.
• Begin by drawing the beak. Have a conversation with the students about this important feature of the bird. For example: “Do you see how sharp this beak is? Why do you think that’s important to the crow? What do you think the beak is used for?”
• Continue until the image of the crow is complete: head, eye, feathers, wing, tail, legs, feet, and talons. • Have the students caption the diagram on the line under the image, following your example: Adult Crow.
• Draw horizontal lines on the board and print labels on the lines: head, eye, feathers, wing, tail, leg, foot, and talon. Join the labels to the crow image with arrows. Have the students label their diagrams following your example.
• Ask students to put down their pencils and look at the image on the board. Read the labels aloud and ask students to turn to their predetermined partners and discuss which part of the crow’s body they think is most important for the bird’s survival.
• Have the students draw the part of the crow’s body that they think is the most important inside the circle. Have them caption the smaller image.
Step 3
• Have students leave their captioned and labelled diagrams on their desks and walk around the classroom looking at other students’ diagrams. Ask them to see if anyone else chose the same “most important part.”
• After a few minutes, have the students return to their seats.
• Ask a few students to share their discoveries with the group.
Extension
• Save the captioned and labelled diagrams to be used as part of a written research report on crows (in booklet form or on a display board).
• Have the students make captioned and labelled diagrams about another bird and then use the two diagrams to compare the two birds using a Venn diagram.
Other Wildlife Titles
Wolf Island by Celia Godkin
Umajut by Seeglook Akeeagok, Simon Awa and Stephanie McDonald
Eagles by Diane Swanson
Salmon Creek by Annette Le Box
Other titles in the A Spring Adventure series by Brenda Boreham and Terri Mack
Welcome to the World of Owls by Diane Swanson
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brenda Boreham
Brenda has 35 years of classroom experience. She has presented workshops on literacy strategies and has written a number of resources for teachers. She remains passionate about matching up kids with books.
This article is featured in Canadian Teacher Magazine’s Spring 2025 issue.
