The Tree Lady is part of our Starts With a Story Collection, which includes more than 550 picture book companions based on high quality children’s literature that support you in delivering highly-engaging interactive read alouds with follow up activities. Learn more about this children’s book below! - Jodi and the Starts With a Story Team
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SUMMARY
"The Tree Lady" by H. Joseph Hopkins is a captivating children's book based on the true story of Katherine Olivia Sessions, also known as "The Tree Lady." The book tells the tale of a young Kate, who has a deep love for nature and trees. Growing up in a dry desert town, she dreams of bringing greenery to her surroundings. As Kate becomes a botanist, she envisions transforming her city into a lush oasis. With determination and hard work, she plants trees and creates beautiful parks, eventually turning her dream into a reality. Through Hopkins' inspiring narrative and engaging illustrations, the book highlights the power of one person's passion and dedication to make a positive impact on their community and the environment. It encourages young readers to appreciate nature, recognize the importance of trees, and follow their dreams to create a better world.
 USE THIS BOOK TO TEACH:
Our read aloud lesson plans for this picture book come with reading comprehension questions (with sample student responses), 30 writing prompts, teaching ideas for grammar skills, social emotional learning discussion ideas, and more. Check out our list below to get a sneak peek at some of the skills this resource teaches.
- Encourage students to use their summarizing and retelling strategies.
- Discuss the different characters in the story and analyze their thoughts and actions.
- Practice identifying the genre of a story by analyzing this picture book.
- Have students sequence the important events in the story. This is an important skill when it comes to retelling a story.
- Help students to analyze what the author’s purpose for writing the book might be.
- Use examples of possessive nouns from the book to teach a lesson.
- Discuss what it means to persevere and why it is important.
NO-PREP PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES:
If you are looking for “ready to go” activities for the first day of school, be sure to check out the book companion. With it you’ll receive all of the following resources to align with this specific book:
- comprehension questions
- 30Â writing prompts with themed paper
- vocabulary activities
- word study print & go activities
- ideas for grammar lessons with focus sentence printables
- social emotional learning discussion topics
- graphic organizers to target specific comprehension skills and strategies
This book is a must have for your school or classroom library. Your students are going to love completing these activities for the book and you will be impressed with how much they learn. You will want to read this book to your class every year.
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
ADDITIONAL BOOK SUGGESTIONS
You and your students will love the similar books listed below, which can all be found in our free picture book list.
- One Plastic Bag by Miranda Paul
- The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
- Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré by Anika Aldamuy Denise
TRY OUT A SAMPLE COMPANION
It's hard to explain how amazing the Starts with a Story book companions are because there is just so much goodness included in each one. It's best if you experience using one for yourself. Sign up below & we'll send you an entire book companion to try out for FREE!
