Song of the Wild: A First Book of Animals

How to Teach This Book

1. Animals are everywhere and Song of the Wild will get students thinking about the staggering variety of wildlife diversity on this planet. But what do they know about the wildlife in their own community?
2. Take students on a walking field trip to a park or plan a visit to a nearby natural area to observe and identify local wildlife. Ask students to brainstorm and write about what they think could be helpful or harmful to the animals and their environment. Invite a local naturalist or park ranger to review and discuss their ideas and share some examples of what students could do to help wild creatures in their community.

Questions for Discussion or Reflective Writing

1. How are animals alike and different from each other?
2. How are the places animals live alike and difference from each other?
3. How are the places animals live alike different from places people live?
4. Why is it important to have many different kinds of animals in the world?
5. If you were an animal, what animal would you be? What would your ideal habitat look like?

Additional Resources for Teaching About Animals

• Literature-Based Teaching in Science: Poetry Walks from Reading Rockets
• Animals Around Us from Mpala Live!
• Wildlife Lesson Plans at NEA
• Biocubes: Exploring Biodiversity from National Museum of Natural History
• Reading Is Fundamental support materials
• Animals: Poems for Kids from the American Academy of Poets
• “Chorus of Creatures” written and performed by Kwame Alexander
• “Mariposa” animated poem read by Andy Garcia