When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree 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
"When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree" by Jamie L.B. Deenihan and Lorraine Rocha is a delightful and empowering picture book that teaches children about the value of patience, responsibility, and the joy of growing your own. The story follows a young girl who receives a lemon tree as a gift from her grandma, despite hoping for something more exciting. Initially disappointed, the girl learns to care for the tree and discovers the many wonderful things it brings into her life. Through lively illustrations and engaging text, the book emphasizes the importance of nurturing nature, finding beauty in unexpected places, and the satisfaction of hard work. As the girl tends to the tree, she learns lessons of perseverance, problem-solving, and the rewards of patience. "When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree" is a heartwarming tale that encourages readers to appreciate the simple pleasures of life and find joy in unexpected gifts. By the end of the story, the girl's transformation reflects the profound impact that nature and love can have on one's perspective.
 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.
- Practice making predictions throughout the book. Encourage students to check and see if their predictions were correct.
- Have students identify the point of view and discuss the benefits of the narrator.
- Teach a lesson on making connections to enhance comprehension.
- Have students sequence the important events in the story. This is an important skill when it comes to retelling a story.
- Introduce and act out action verbs.
- Teach a lesson on the different types of sentences.
- Lead a class discussion on goal setting.
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.
- The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster
- The Gardener by Sarah Stewart
- The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
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!
