My students need a classroom set of "There's an owl in the Shower" book by Jean Craighead George to bring real life environmental issues to the science class.
Have you ever had a teacher ask you to follow along in your book as she reads it out loud? Have you ever had to do that while sharing that book with two other students?
My small set of "There's an Owl in the Shower" books are falling apart and the metropolitan library only has 9 copies available for the entire area.
The community that my students live in is small and surrounded by a large city and its other suburbs. Many of the children have been to two or more schools before they reach me. Many come to my district from another country. Many are from low income households. Even with our cultural diversity, many have had little experience of the world outside the city. With each change of school and/or country, they have fallen further behind in their academic skills as well. These two factors often lead them to become reluctant learners. But, when they are introduced to great books and activities that immerse them in a topic, they come alive. They become eager to learn more. Even though "There's an Owl in the Shower" is one of those books, the children are not quite so eager when they have to look over the shoulder of another.
My Project
Through "There's an Owl in Shower", the children are introduced to Bardy, the spotted owl, who lives in California, but who's future is uncertain due to the clear cutting of the old growth forest. The children also meet Leon Watson, a logger, who also has a fragile future due to the restrictions placed on the logging companies to try and save the decline of spotted owls. As each new character is introduced the children learn a new side to this controversy. They learn how the loss of these trees have affected not only the spotted owl, but many of the other animals living in the area as well as the people living there. Through this compelling story, the children learn that conflict between humans and nature have many faces and that conflict many not be easy to resolve.
This book brings literature into the science class and allows us to explore plot, settings, and character development while learning about the effects of change on an ecosystem.
There is something about holding a book in your own hands that connects you to the story, that makes you a part of it.
I want to put Leon and Bardy in each student's hand. Through Leon's and Bardy's difficulties, the students will experience the ideas and concepts we are covering in Science class. They will make the connection between the classroom and the plight of the spotted owl. A classroom set of this book will not only benefit this year's Science classes, but many classes to come.
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