What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?

 

 

 

Author: Steve Jenkins

 

Award: Caldecott Honor Book

 

Genre: Realistic Fiction

 

Subject Area: Science/Mathematics

 

Grades: Kindergarten through Third Grade

 

Theme:  Students and readers will understand the different body parts that make different animals unique and special in their own way. Students will also learn the importance of sizes and a teacher could incorporate a measurement lesson into ELA as well.

 

Quick Summary: This short story is about the many amazing things that animals can do using their five senses, as well as their other interesting body parts. This book illustrates how animals use their nose, mouth, ears, tails, and eyes in very different ways that make each creature very distinct. This short story helps children learn about many different animals in a fun-oriented, but educational style. Young students will learn that lizards can completely break off their tail and use it as a defense, which will grow back over time. Furthermore, they'll find out that crickets' ears are on their knees. Most fish have two eyes, but some have four, the better to see above and below the water at the same time. This book is very scientific and can be used for such a young audience. (http://www.amazon.com/What-You-Tail-Like-This/dp/061899713X).

 

Pre-Reading Activities: Discuss with the class how different animals use different parts of their body in unique ways. As a teacher, I will make sure they understand that like humans, each animal is different and each animal has unique characteristics. Before the story is read to them, ask the students if they know how elephants use their noses or how a zebra may use its neck? Students will be very enthusiastic in learning about the different aspects of each animal in the story.

 

Post-Reading Activities: After the reading, I would set up five small stations around the room and have each sense (smell, sight, touch, hear, taste) at each station. The students would go from station to station using each sense and describing what he or she came up with using that particular sense. After the stations were all completed, the students and I would discuss the things that we observed in using our five senses. Next, I would show a short film showing how other animals can use their senses, as well as their unique body characteristics, to exploit an advantage in the environment. For example, a chameleon can change colors to protect itself from predators. We would then discuss what we saw as a class and the students would tell me what they learned from the activities we practiced today.

 

Assessment: As a class, we will go over what the students came up with using their five senses. This will demonstrate that while we all have the same five senses, our senses can work in different ways sometimes because of our individual differences. (I may also incorporate a measuring lesson as well in the future).

 

-Overall, I emjoyed this book as well. It makes a difficult topic (individual differences) fun and exciting for young readers and learners. After this book, students will want to display their own unique differences and be proud of what they bring to the class.

Jenkins, Steve. (2003). What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? Boston: Houghton Mifflin            Company. Grades K-2.