Tops and Bottoms By: Janet Stevens

This Caldecott Honor book is an excellent introduction to a lesson focusing on parts of a plant.  During my student teaching experience in a 2nd grade classroom, we first learned the life cycle of a plant.  Once my students understood the cycle, we concentrated on the parts of the plant using this book.

Tops and Bottoms

Author: Janet Stevens - Janet Stevens' interest in art as a child carried through her graduation from high school.  After graduating high school, Janet Stevens painted for a fabric company.  Later, she attended University of Colorado majoring in fine arts.  During her college experience, Janet Stevens began drawing numerous characters.  In 1977, she attended an "Illustrators Workshop" where she introduced her characters to other professionals.  Through the connections made at this workshop, Janet Stevens began writing and publishing her own children's books.  Janet Stevens

Genre: Nonfiction

Grade Level: Pre K - 2

Theme/Skill: Ways that Plants Grow

Brief Synopsis: Hare is in need of farm land to produce food for his family and Bear owns it all.  Since Bear is so lazy, Hare makes a deal with him that Hare will work all the fields and Bear can get top halves of all the crops.  Hare plants carrots, radishes, and beats allowing him to get all of the edible parts while Bear just gets the leaves from the plants.  In the next deal they make, Bear wants bottom halves.  Hare plants lettuce, broccoli and celery allowing him to get all the edible parts while Bear is stuck with the roots.  In their last deal, Bear wants tops and bottoms so Hare plants corn.  Bear gets the leaves and roots but Hare gets the corn.

Pre-Reading Activity: Do you plant vegetables in your garden?  What kinds? Display pictures of carrots, radishes, broccoli, lettuce, and corn on display in front of the class.  Once they know what the plants are, ask which part we eat.  Students should respond with saying that we eat the bottom of a carrot and a radish plant, the top of a broccoli and lettuce plant, and the middle of a corn plant.

Post-Reading Activity: How did Hare trick Bear?  Why did Hare plant carrots, radishes and beats in the first deal?  Why did Hare plant lettuce, broccoli and celery in the second deal?  Why did Hare plant corn in the third deal?  Students will be given a writing workshop book.  The book will be called A Tops and Bottoms Deal.  Page one will state – “If Hare gave me the top half; I would want him to plant ____________.”  Page two will state – “If Hare gave me the bottom half, I would want him to plant _____________.”  Page three will state – “If Hare gave me the middle of a plant, I would want him to plant ______________.”  I plan to read each sentence as a class and have students fill in their plants independently.  Above each sentence, there would be room for the student to draw a picture.  

Stevens, J. (1995) Tops and Bottoms. New York: Scholastic Inc. Grades Pre K – 2.