We’re really excited to share our newest Reader: “Taking Care of Our Forests.” In it, Woodsy Owl teaches kids from kindergarten to second grade about how our nation’s forests are cared for. This Reader continues the series of forest Readers that began with “All About Forests.”
Woodsy Owl’s motto “Lend a Hand, Care for the Land” is the theme for this Reader. Woodsy shares why forests are important and then talks about all the different ways people care for forests. See foresters and firefighters working on restoration projects or prescribed burns. See how engineers and volunteers make forests accessible for recreation by building and clearing trails and roads. Learn how scientists study problems in the forest to help people better care for forests.
Tools for Thought
We’ve included several resources in the Reader to help kids think through what they learn. “Woodsy Wonders” is a series of questions to get everyone thinking about the importance of forests and what we can do to “Lend a Hand, Care for the Land.”
A glossary compiles all the new words we learn in the Reader, and the words are also boldfaced and defined by Woodsy on the pages on which they appear. No need to flip back and forth for kids to find a definition!
In the Try This! section, kids get a chance to draw or list ways they can help take care of the forest and brainstorm ways to share this message with others.
Resources for Educators
Educators, we didn’t forget about you, either! In addition to the resources within the Reader, you’ll find even more resources on the Educator Guide tab on our website. There you’ll find correlations to NGSS, Common Core Reading, and National Social Studies Education Standards. You’ll also find some suggested lesson plans as well as a walk-through educator guide to all our Readers.
We also suggest some pairings that might be helpful in the Related Content tab. Read “All About Forests” as a companion to this Reader to learn more about the different kinds of forests and their benefits. Or pair this Reader with our scientist Readers so kids can learn about science done on forests, like Dr. Warwell‘s research on growing healthy seedlings for reforestation or Dr. Hoagland‘s research on mapping forested habitats for Mexican spotted owls.
We hope you enjoy this latest edition to our forest Readers series! We always love a chance to shine a spotlight on our nation’s forests and the many people working to care for them.
