You CAN read picture books to sixth graders. For fun. To teach a lesson. To expand their horizons.
Here's why The Carpenter's Gift by David Rubel is a perfect fit for this grade.
Rubel tells the story of a poor family during the Depression who cut down pine trees on their land to sell in New York City on Christmas Eve day. When evening comes, they have a few trees left, so they give them to the construction crew who helped them unload the trees earlier that morning. They return home with the money they earned and a pine cone that the young boy took from one of the trees.
Their generosity is rewarded on Christmas day when those construction workers show up to build the family a better home.
The young boy takes the pine cone and plants it near his new house. Years later, the tree has become massive. When he hears that Rockefeller Center is looking for a Christmas tree, he donates that tree to them.
After Christmas, the author shares a tradition that has stood for many years. The tree is taken down and the wood is donated to Habitat for Humanity, where it is used to build someone else a new home.
This is a tree that keeps on giving!
Want to know what's even better? You can go to the Habitat for Humanity website and read more about this generous Christmas tradition that was started in 2007.
Then, have your students:
- POINNT OF VIEW - Write a letter of thanks from the point of view of a child whose home was built with some of the wood from that Christmas tree
- RESEARCH - Research what Habitat is doing in your local area
- MATH SKILLS - Figure out how long it takes to grow a tree that's typically selected for Rockefeller Center
And then? Give your students a STEM challenge to build a tree - the tallest, the one that can hold the most decorations, you decide! You could use:
- toothpicks and gumballs.
- nuts, bolts, and washers
- pipe cleaners
- construction paper
- paper bags,
- pompoms
- craft sticks
- Q-tips
- straws
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