Grass Patch Project

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

The teacher has challenged her students to come up with a project for Earth Day. Jason, who recently started attending Sunrise Elementary, is a little unhappy because there is no grass around the school. He proposes that the kids plant grass to make the school yard more attractive. The students have other suggestions, but his garners the most votes. It is hard work, and it takes a few weeks for the grass to grow. Readers follow the students' activities while inset fact boxes provide more information about plants and their importance as well as specifics about grasses. Does the class win the prize? Will Jason make new friends? Read the story and then stretch yourself a bit more by trying out the activities at the end of the text. There is also a glossary and time line showing the life cycle of grass. The cartoon style illustrations are well matched with the text. The books in the "learn more" section are quite up-to-date, and FactHound is available to help kids find sites on the Internet. This is a Green Level book in the "Science Read It Readers" series, which presents more complex ideas, extended vocabulary, and language structure. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot