In the Small, Small Pond

Author: Denise Fleming
Illustrator: Denise Fleming
Publisher: Holt
Date: 1993
Awards: Caldecott Honor (1994)
Ages: 2-8
Topics: picture book, nonfiction, pond, frog, pond life, pond ecology, animals, growth and change, nature and season, habitat, poetry, reptiles and amphibians
Summary: Learn about the cycle of pond life through this rhyming alliteration and colorful illustration.

Book Connections

• In the Small, Small Pond from Holt
• In the Small, Small, Pond from Scholastic

Topic Connections

Biomes

• Biomes from Wikipedia
• What's It Like Where You Live? from Missouri Botanical Garden

Frogs and Toad

• 42explore: Frogs and Toads
• Frogs from Wikipedia
• Frog Images and Media from Wikimedia commons
• Frogs from Exploratorium
• Frogland
• Sometime Froggy
• Frogs and Toads from Enchanted Learning
• Thousand Friends of Frogs

Papermaking

• Pulp Painting from Denise Fleming's Website
  Learn about papermaking and pulp painting
• Papermaking from Wikipedia

Ponds and Pond Life

• 42explore: Pond Life
  Links to resources related to pond life.
• ExplorA-Pond
  Explore the life in a pond
• Half-Barrel Pond Page
  Create your own pond
• Pond Action
  Lots of ideas and resources relatd to pond science
• Pond Dipping
  Learn about pond dipping
• Pond Identification Kit
  Find out about the creatures that live in the pond
• Pond: Seasons in Still Water
  Learn about seasons of a pond
• Ponds from Wikipedia
• Ponds from Wikimedia Commons
• Virtual Pond Dip
  Learn about what you can find in pond water

Turtles

• 42explore: Turtles and Tortoises
• All About Turtles
• Turtles Trax
• Turtles from Wikipedia
• Turtle Images and Media from Wikimedia Commons

Learning Connections

• Animal Exploration. Create a list of creatures found in the book. Learn more about one of the creatures. Write a poem about this creature that includes facts and colorful language describing how it looks and moves.
• Build a Pond. Try creating your own pond!
• Ecology Rhyme. Write your own rhyme related to a pond or other ecology topic. Use hte RhymeZone for help with rhyming words.
• Life Cycle. Learn about the life cycle of a pond creature. Then, write a story about the cycle.
• Pond Picture. When you think of a pond, what do you see in your mind? Draw a picture or find a photo that reflects your idea.
• Pond Mural. Create a mural of a pond habitat. Include both plants and animals.
• Habitat Collage. Create a habitat collage including plants and animals from the habitat.
• Papermaking. The author creates her own paper to make her illustrations. Look at the pictures carefully. Can you tell it's paper? Go to Pulp Painting to see her work and try it yourself.

Teaching Connections

• Create a literature circle activities with the other Denise Fleming books such as In the Tall, Tall Grass
• In th Small, Small, Pond Activities from the Official Website
• In the Small, Small Pond (PDF) from Scholastic
• Lesson Ideas
  • In the Small, Small Pond (DOC)

Learn More

Do a Thinkfinity search for lessons related to this book.

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