The Three Little Gators!

 

Hey Science Friends,

I was really excited to open up my mailbox and find this book inside. I had a feeling that it might be a book that could help me with some serious integration this time of year. The setting of the is adorable book is an east Texas swamp and this time of year that really caught my attention because in Social Studies all things Texas are heating up to be a lot of fun this time of year. And who could resist a little compare/contrast with The Three Little Pigs and The Three Little Gators? I knew my kids would just jump at the chance with this new book. But the science teacher in me was also drawn to the mention of the usefulness of...rocks! Yep, rocks! And since we are wrapping up are study on rocks, this is just perfect for us. The first gator builds his house of rocks but the other gators think rocks are too heavy and too much work. The second gator builds a house of sticks. And the third gator builds a house of sand because it is the easiest one to build. When the big, bottomed boar shows up, which house is strong enough to stand up to the bump, bump, bump of his rump? I guess we will all have to read it to find out!

 

What objectives can we cover with this book?

 

Science-give examples of ways rocks, soil, and water are useful.

Math-compare two objects according to weight/mass (heavier than, lighter than or equal to) using rocks! 

Reading Comprehension-retell a main event from a story read aloud and describe characters in a story and the reasons for their actions and identify elements of a story including setting, character, and key events.

As you can see this is a book worth reading for so many different reasons!